Bushnell and iGolf

[Fourmyle of Ceres]

So the Bushnell GPS units like Neo Plus and XGC+ get their course maps via iGolf, somehow or another.

 

So let's say you go to the iGolf web site and punch "Podunk Golf Club" into the SEARCH box and it shows check marks for GPS enabled and so forth. Does that mean you can download that course into your Neo Plus or XGC+?

 

Or is there some stuff on iGolf that works with Bushnell and some that is other formats?

[avgjoe]

yes... if on igolf it should come preloaded, for the neo+ at least, or if not you can download/update. you also get 50 credits for them to map any unmapped courses. some units do have diff formats (eg, neo and neo+), but it does not matter to the user

[Wayneo]

The lat/long's are the same, but the 'wrapping' around them is different. The Neo's dont have hole layouts or pictures. The earlier units could display up to 8 custom points, while the Neo and Neo + only 4. Their course files however show room for all 8.

I believe your credits are only good for 1 download, and that's if they can get a satellite view. OR, you can send them your mapping from on the course, and they'll increase your download limit.

[Fourmyle of Ceres]

Thanks, guys. I might be tempted to give one a try (the Neo+ in my case). Fairly cheap and real small/simple.

I'm going on a golf holiday trip at the end of the summer and will play a couple courses I've never played. Both courses appear to have the full info available at iGolf but all I really care about is front-center-back. The other hazards and such I'm happy to wing it but not having to cast about for the basic "How far is the green" distance would be worth having a little Neo strapped to my bag.

[chas521]

[quote name='Fourmyle of Ceres' timestamp='1338555271' post='5010700']
Thanks, guys. I might be tempted to give one a try (the Neo+ in my case). Fairly cheap and real small/simple.

I'm going on a golf holiday trip at the end of the summer and will play a couple courses I've never played. Both courses appear to have the full info available at iGolf but all I really care about is front-center-back. The other hazards and such I'm happy to wing it but not having to cast about for the basic "How far is the green" distance would be worth having a little Neo strapped to my bag.
[/quote]

Good luck with your trip. Just a word of advice. Keep your GPS in your pocket until you have left the first tee. They have a reputation of "growing legs" if you know what I mean.

[Fourmyle of Ceres]

Yeah, especially one that's like two by three inches...you could literally "palm" a Neo+ (like a magician!) if you have big hands.

[Fourmyle of Ceres]

The courses I'll play on vacation are in the database and they do download just fine onto the Neo+.

Tried it out today and it works fine on my home course. I think it was mapped from imagary instead of survey because the centers of the green are about right but the front and back edges are randomly anywhere from 3-4 paces onto the green to maybe 5 paces beyond the edge of the putting surface. On average, pretty close. But if a hole say the back is 167 it might be 164 or 172 instead. Plenty accurate enough for my game, anyway.

[Medic]

I have an XGC + and can tell you a little about it:

Pros:
- Good battery life
- Was simple to download courses
- Is very user friendly
- Is accurate most of the time
- Is small, compact, and light
- Comes preloaded with almost every course in US and North America
- Durable
- Measures shot distances - nice feature to see how far you are really driving the ball
- Belt clip works nicely and comes with unit

Cons:
- Does not really show course details all that clearly
- No backlight
- No memory - holds your score right up until you turn it off
- No zoom feature
- Sometimes "Front, Middle, and Back" are off by as much as 10 yards
- iGolf only good for one year - then have to pay subscription

If I were going to go after another GPS I would take a serious look at a GolfBuddy. My friend has one and it comes preloaded with all of the course info, has a nice zoom feature, shows hazards and such clearly, and the battery last a really long time. They cost a little more but there are no extra fees.

I have owned my Bushnell for about 2 years now and there have only been two or three courses that were preloaded incorrectly. One of them, a local muni, had just completed some construction that involved and the course had changed. There was one par 5 that was playing over 500 yards but my unit still showed it as a par 4 playing just under 400. After the round I emailed iGolf and they assured me that they would upload an update. I DL the so-called update and played the course again a couple of weeks later and it was the same. My friend's GolfBuddy already had the update in it.

Hope this helps a little. Enjoy your trip!