golf gps, is it worth investing?

I've been toying with the idea of getting one for a fair few months now. I was going to get one for Christmas but decided to invest in some decent wedges and a fairway wood for now.

My dilemma is whether to save and get one, wait till my phone upgrade and get an app or just not bother?

Other than the obvious help by giving you exact yardages i would be using the facility on them to measure my shots as i have no definite knowledge on how far i hit my clubs. I know this relies on hitting a decent shot to really work but would it make as much of a difference to my game or am i just being drawn in to the gadget side?

I'm not a member of a club and don't play in comps, I play on average every other week and would like to hear if anyone has noticed a vast improvement just from the use of gps and its facilities.

thanks darren

I love mine, it takes the guess work out of yardages. I know there will be people on here who don't like them and think they slow play down on the course.

For me its the times when you're away from the fairway, its difficult to judge those distances, especially when you play a forgiving driving course. There are no yardage markers on the other fairways

Looking at your handicap, I would invest the money in lessons, become more consistent with your ball striking and distance control before spending �200 on a GPS. Wait for your phone upgrade and spend �15 on a GPS application for your smart phone.

If you do ever play in a competition however you wont be able to use your phone, its against the rules to use a device that can connect to the internet, uses a compass, has an internet connection etc, im sure someone can clear up that rule, i use my app in practice rounds and its quite accurate, surprisingly so. it really helps for me to pick the right club but i dont think it really improves my score much. I vote lessons as the best investment too, you pay for the experience rather than a gadget

Learning to play with your eyesight is the only way to get consistent. knowing the yardage is only a part of the story and in itself is of no use whatsoever for accurate distance control. This comes from an ability to feel the distance dependent on which club you choose and how you intend to play it.

Thanks for the comments. I think i will wait until uprage time and go from there.

I'd love to have lessons but just don't get the time to go to the range to practice until my little boy goes to school full time.

There's also the point that a gps can put you in two minds. That said, if one of our group has one I'll ask what the yardage is.

I've ummed and arghed over a GPS for sometime but what with courses having 150 yard markers and never being a million miles from them, my guesses are never really that far away from what playing partners have on their little gadgets.

Besides I'm tight :-)

If you are not a member of a golf club. And you don't intend playing in any competitions. Get the app for you phone.

Once you play in a competition you will not be able to use your app on your mobile!

I do love having my GPS (but don't like paying the annual rip-off subscription fee!). At our level of golf I would suggest buying one of the GPS devices without a subscription fee.

My GPS speeds up my play. As I walk to my golf ball I position the marker where the pin is on the green. Having taken all the other factors into account I know how far I hit each club so it's simply a matter of taking a club out of my bag.

You have to decide why you want one? Is the expense worth it? That's up to you and what kind of golf you are going to play (social or competitive).

Russ

I use a Bushnell device. As I am not willing to pay a subscription each year. I rarely have to use it at my course as it is played fairly frequently I have a very good idea I have left to play.

Just because my sight says it is 149 yards to the pin doesn't mean my shot will go there as you could be wayward still but it does help on unfamiliar courses.

thanks for all the comments guys. I've bitten the bullet and bought myself a sky caddie sg5, it's a used one and only paid �80 including postage. I'm going to try it and see how i get on with my distance judgements and finally get some idea on how far i can really hit my clubs. I think i could get away with 1 years subscription as i don't tend to play that many different courses so will just download my frequently used courses and some that i may play.

If i feel it's not helping my game in anyway then i can always re sell it without too much of a loss.

I've got a Garmin S1 watch and I love it. At 18 handicap all I need to know where the front, the middle and the back of the green are, and that is exactly what it tells you at a glance. No subscriptions, free updates and its a watch as well. You can also measure shot distances and its an odometer so you can know how far you have walked during your round. I find it very useful inside 150 yards and it can be the difference between under and over clubbing.

a vote for bushnell from me, like it's been said, you still have to hit the ball virtually the same each time for it to really work

I use freecaddie on my phone and would thoroughly recommend it. I have an old (4 yrs)snooper 280 shotsaver that works fine and is subscription free. The new shotsaver 320 would be worth a look if comps are your priority.

I also have an S1 and it has certainly helped my game it also saves time like a previous post said you know the yardage as soon as you get to your ball and I have found that it makes me feel confident about my club selection.

I had a club competition last week & walking down the 3rd fairway I noticed that my competitor was using an app on his phone. I asked him if he knew it was illegal to which he replied "so they say"!!!

I told him that I had left my Bushnell in the car as it had the 'slope' feature on it which was also illegal.

I said if he wanted to carry on using it then I didn't mind (I didn't want to cause a fuss) but I couldn't help it if other players on the course spotted him & reported him.

He didn't use it again!