Best there can only be ONE GPS/laser/app

jimmybcool · October 25, 2017

Hi all,

Thanks for letting me join the forum. I joined because I am making a decision on equipment but will probably stick around longer. Looks like a nice place.

OK, I play a bit of golf. Some in Arizona and some in Thailand. For distance aids I've been pretty stable the last 5 years using both a Garmin S2 Approach and Bushnell laser.

Thing is, the laser is getting wonky (doesn't work in dim light? Go figure) and the S2 doesn't seem to fully charge any longer. And I am wondering if GPS is advanced enough now to dump the laser entirely. I was looking today at the S60 and the G8. What I think I want is something that allows me to determine distance to the pin AND obstacles. Such as edge of water or bunkers. Plus able to move the pin on the green for accuracy inside 100 yards. But I need to trust it. I'll keep the laser in the bag for courses that aren't on the list yet of course.

Both the Garmins seem to offer what I want. But the screen on the S60 is kind of small to get the crosshair right to the edge of a bunker. And the G8 isn't wearable plus has been out a while.

I also downloaded an APP for my iPhone. haven't tried it on the course yet but if it does what the G8 does do I really need to get a dedicated GPS?

A bewildering array of choices out there. Open to alternatives to there choices and I'm not in a hurry.

Thanks all.

MidMOGolfer · October 26, 2017

I went from the Garmin S2 to the G8 and love it. I can point at any target that I want and get the actual yardage as well the elevation adjusted yardage. It also lets you zoom in on the green and move the pin around to get actual and elevation adjusted yardage. For blind shots, it has a compass that points at the green. You can also enter your clubs and yardages and it has a caddy feature that suggests a club to hit. If you play in tournaments you can turn off all of the illegal features.

Really the only things it is missing is information on the wind and contour mapping on the greens.

jimmybcool · October 26, 2017

Thanks Midmo. I am concerned about the illegal features. Most of my golf is tournament (not high end I am no pro). And some of the players are very watchful of the rules of golf. And I have no issue with that. But I suspect I can't use the G8 or someone will not accept that I disabled the illegal features. At this point I am trying golflogix and golfshot on my iPhone. If they work well enough maybe I can justify a new iPhone X.

Parker0065 · October 27, 2017

Having grown up in the "pace" era, my pace count was never ever more than 2 to 3 yards off from my "old a**" skycaddie GPS Now a lot of things could be in play with that.

My home course could have way more accurate yardage markers than the OP's, or the GPS modules could just be that far off.

Just seems weird that in today's world of modern technology you could be that far off.

If it's a new purchase I would ask for a return or rebate because something is not adding up.

Like I said I had a extremely old(but up to date) GPS. 1 to 2 yard difference was average, 3 yards was the maximum differential.

jimmybcool · October 27, 2017

Hi Parker, I don't think yards off is an issue with any of the technology. And I haven't made a purchase yet. Perhaps you have my post confused with something else on the site. Cheers.

jimmybcool · November 1, 2017

OK, I experimented with a phone app called Golfshots. And mixed results but overall certain now what direction I am going.

In general I prefer a laser as it is quick and I know they are precise. So that will remain the primary tool.

For the rare cases when I have no line of sight, or when I am trying to calculate layup distance and can't find anything to get a laser reading, I will use the Golfshots app on the iPhone. Likely only need it on courses I have little experience on. But it seem to work well and fast enough for those shots.

And I also learned that devices with built in slope features ARE legal in tournaments provided they have the ability to be disabled and the player in fact does disable the banned feature. I suspect this will lead to many an interesting conversation over the years.