[KYTeacher]

We just spent the longest amount of time in The Villages since we purchased last summer and was out golfing every day possible! It was so much fun and we met some very nice people. A few of the guys I played with had rangefinders and I would now like one...recommendations please.

What do you use (like)?
General cost?
Any annual or subscription fees?
Best place to purchase?

Thanks so much in advance for your responses!

[schotzyb]

The most popular seems to be the Golf Buddy which is preloaded with ~25,000 courses. No annual fee. Just turn it on at the 1st T box and it will automatically dtect the course and hole #. Golf Buddy features 3 different models with the cheapest ~$250 and the most expensive ~$350-$400

[PJOHNS2654]

I have had Golflolgix because of the Garmin Name. It was somewhat accurate in FL but did not work well at all in the White Mountains of NH.

I have been using Sky Caddie SG5 model for about two years and it is very accurate everywhere. Originally sold for $429 now available for $199 Highly recommend it. Yearly subscrtiption is $49 for all states plus you can keep your score and your stats can be uploaded to their web site.

[renrod]

Originally Posted by schotzyb

The most popular seems to be the Golf Buddy which is preloaded with ~25,000 courses. No annual fee. Just turn it on at the 1st T box and it will automatically dtect the course and hole #. Golf Buddy features 3 different models with the cheapest ~$250 and the most expensive ~$350-$400

I had a Golf Buddy, it worked just fine but the font was too small, couldn't read it without reading glasses, which I don't wear playing golf. Sky Caddie SG5 is my choice, can load 20 courses which takes care of the Championship courses here.

[DaleMN]

I got a super deal on a Callaway UPro Go. No annual fee. Had all the Villages courses, including the executive. Paid $150 on Ebay and got $50 rebate. That's a while ago so probably not still availabe.

[Tom Hannon]

I paid $199 for Golf Buddy Tour. It has all the courses in TV. Why spend an extra $100 on the Golf Buddy Premier unless you play lots of golf outside the United States. BEWARE!!! I hear some GPS only have Championship courses on them. I used the Golf Buddy Tour the other day. As practice I walked across my lawn to the 7th tee at Redfish Run and the GPS said, Redfish Run- hole 7

[eweissenbach]

I bought a Sonocaddie gps three years ago on ebay for $120. You can download up to five courses for free. There are other options for unlimited downloads.

[Oren L Miller]

$29.95 ap for most phones. Mine is on my IPhone. No update fees and it gives both picture views and yardage views. Thousands of courses. Will give you a map to the golf course. GPS very accurate and mails your scorecard home to you when you are done if you want or allows you to post it on FB.

[KYTeacher]

Originally Posted by Oren L Miller

$29.95 ap for most phones. Mine is on my IPhone. No update fees and it gives both picture views and yardage views. Thousands of courses. Will give you a map to the golf course. GPS very accurate and mails your scorecard home to you when you are done if you want or allows you to post it on FB.

Thanks to all who have responded - if there are other ideas, please keep them coming!!!

The phone app - does it included all the execs as well as our championships? I play both in TV and found it very helpful when playing with the guys who had them.

[jebartle]

Originally Posted by schotzyb

The most popular seems to be the Golf Buddy which is preloaded with ~25,000 courses. No annual fee. Just turn it on at the 1st T box and it will automatically dtect the course and hole #. Golf Buddy features 3 different models with the cheapest ~$250 and the most expensive ~$350-$400

Posted on all bulletin boards....We have a golf buddy and it is nice to just show up and turn it on....Think we have owned them all, sky caddie the first, G1, G5 all requiring downloads and annual fee...Ugh.....U-pro had nice overhead view of hole, but the golf buddy platnium has a great touch screen ability, only complaint is the screen is sometimes hard to see in the shade, better to read in the sun with many options (yardage from and to traps/water)....I'm sure many will tell you the most accurate is the bushnell, although many friends tell me that you have to have a steady hand to zero in on flag....

[Oren L Miller]

Originally Posted by KYTeacher

Thanks to all who have responded - if there are other ideas, please keep them coming!!!

The phone app - does it included all the execs as well as our championships? I play both in TV and found it very helpful when playing with the guys who had them.

I am moving to TV in April and haven't used it there yet. I will try it out in Dec when we come back down to finalize the house part. Lot is already picked out. SANIBEL!!!!!!!

[KYTeacher]

Originally Posted by Oren L Miller

I am moving to TV in April and haven't used it there yet. I will try it out in Dec when we come back down to finalize the house part. Lot is already picked out. SANIBEL!!!!!!!

We drove around Sanibel while we were down latter part of June and 1st week of July - another fantastic Village! Let me know...not returning to TV until Christmas so probably won't rush out to purchase one...

[ajbrown]

I am happy with the one below (nothing too fancy). It runs on my BlackBerry. It is as accurate as the phone's GPS which is better than me. I have found the yardage matches up with expensive units when I play with other folks. If I recall it was $29'ish. No maintenance fees, no cost at all after purchase, unless you change phones. Details on the web site:

http://www.nrange.com

My buddy got an app for his Droid for $10 which did the same ..

If I was to spend hundreds of dollars to know my yardage, I would get a laser range finder where I could get yardage no matter where I am. i.e., driving range. It is accurate to one yard, just my opinion....

[Biker Dog]

Just upgraded from Sky Caddie SG2 to the newest SGX. The most accurate gps I have ever used. More features than the average golfer will ever use.

Try it on demo days and you will buy one.

[l2ridehd]

Any reviews for the different golf apps for the iPhone? I have a sky caddie SG5 and it works really well, but then your carrying that and the phone. It would be really nice to have it on a single device. And that cost is $129 for 3 years of service.

Questions would be:

accuracy
battery hours impact
update fee's
original cost
number of courses
cover executive & championship
ease of use
features
distance to traps, water, etc
any other comments

Thanks