Hello fellow golfers,
i have been looking at the systems and would prefer the GPS to the laser or optical type but i dont know anyone who has used them, most seem to be USA based (Sky, the Uk GPS Caddy system seems to only map from aeriel photos and i have heard the accuracy is suspect? and i play a few 9 holers which probably will never get mapped, can you map your own courses?
Thanks,
LTG

I use a holux bluetooth gps unit hooked up to my smartphone with Intelligolf installed on it - superb bit of kit and very useful for statistical analysis!

Si

Don't see the point. Why not get a laser one instead?

You can hit the flag and get precise distance. You can't do that with GPS because it doesn't know where the flag is.

You can hit bunkers on fairways to see if you can carry them. Likewise with greenside bunkers in front of the pin.

You can also measure your drives.

I got a "reconditioned" Nikon one off eBay for around £120 and use it every round.

There's myth about the accuracy of GPS to, (but it's good enough for what most of us want with a bit of cleaver mathmatical fudging). So depends how accurate you want it to be, if with in 5/10 yards to the front of the green is enough then give one ago, but a range finder is probably better.

Also things like trees, buildings etc effect the accuracy, so if you play on a very woody course, your accuracy going down.

There were some long threads not so long ago about this exact same issue.
It seems to boil down to two things:-
Laser rangers are more accurate (normally to less than 1 metre... but most golfers aren't this accurate)
You just point and shoot and can take rangings to other hazards very simply also.

GPS systems are generally quicker, if your course is mapped you just place your bag near the ball and it will show on a readout the hazards they have pre-mapped, no pointing and shooting of the ranger.
Problem with GPS systems, and why i ended up buying a laser rangefinder, is that your course needs to be mapped onto the GPS system.
Each course you play needs mapping and you have to transfer it to your GPS (no major problem) but you normally have to pay to have the map of each course. Some GPS have subscription services where a monthly fee buys you so many maps.
I've only got to buy batteries

Horses for courses

Ive got this one
http://www.sureshotgps.com/

You can map your own course, own hazards ect ect.

Only problem I've found with it is it takes time to map the course.
you can keep adding data all the time you use it, it has club selection ect ect.

In user a mode it's great. Clipped to the bag i stop next the ball a look at the screen all the info i have inputed is there green front back middle carry to hazards even carry to my usual lay up places are there if I have inputed them.

Short answer i think for this gps is the more you put in the more you'll get out.

The GPS V's Laser issue has been a long running issue. I have had a laser for over 4 years and it is the best piece of kit I have bought. I have hired GPS devices on courses I have played and compared to the laser they were up to 20 yds out depending where the flag is.

Buy a laser and the only thing you have to buy is batteries, who wants the hassle of a subscription and paying to map a new course.

With the laser you just point and measure and it works on any course! My golfing partners did take the p**s when I first used it but now they ask me to measure the distance for them. It is superb when playing a new course.

Frogmella,

If your mates were taking the p**s were you not tempted to add or subtract ten yards each time they asked you?

They would not do it again !!

T.

Tony, of course I told them the wrong distance. Where would the fun be if I did not do that.

We were at the Players Club in Bristol, lots of water. There is a Par 5 with a long carry over water with the second shot. I cut 25 yards off the carry distance. All 3 of my playing partners put their balls in the water, you think they would have worked it out I had stitched them up after 2 of them hit the water! They were then trying to work out what went wrong but I gave it away as I cracked up.

As soon as I started to put the ball pin high (Only when I hit a decent ball, it does not hit it for you) they started to take it seriously.

The GPS will give you a measurement even from behind trees or over doglegs etc and im watching some on ebay that will probably sell for less than £150

Read my comment about trees: excuse the gcse science but I'll explain why.

GPS works by receiving time and position signals from satelites, it knows where the sats are and the time it sent the signal, therefore; how long it took to arrive. It can then triangulate the distances to each sat and work out where you are. Problem is this is only accurate to about 30m (at best depending on number of sats it can see etc). So they get more accuracy by having gps stations on the ground at a known position which send out a correction which your gps factors in. So this gets you to within 10m real time (mm if you have time to post process the maths). Anyway, problem is the signal can bounce off stuff, like high sided buildings, lots of trees etc. It's no longer taking a direct line (imagine the a triangle, it's gone from point a to b via c). You're then out by the extra distance for that signal. No amount of correction from the fixed signal will ever address this.

Anyway, hit over trees at your peril.

i have a sky caddy and think its brilliant . the yardages seem very accurate , certainly more accurate than my golf swing !

Nice One "Frog" - that'll teach 'em !!

I have a GPS speed camera sensor in a car. Just last week it told me I was in a school zone (it was Tesco's), couldn't calculate my speed correctly while in motion, found several non-existent cameras, another school zone (it was my house), and then said I was doing 70 mph, parked, in my driveway, with the handbrake on.

i found this test via google, which tests the sureshot against the sky
http://www.golferchronicles.com/archives/the_golf_gps_wars_begin_-_golf_gps_review.html

anyone any experience of the igolf?
there is also others called the Suunto G9 golf watch, sonocaddy or the GPS caddy, anyone used these?

That's exactly what I'm saying bhoy, I've used very expensive surveying GPS equipment on a tripod so it aint moving anywhere, but the gps says it's moving all over the place. It's only accurate if it can get corrections from a fixed know position and good post processing, and there's nothing blocking the GPS signal.

I used a cart based system on the Bobby Jones course in Sarasota and found it was excellent, i was looking for a handheld version over here, but it seems us british take a while to embrace the new technology, there must be more people out there who have used these

weve just had a cart GPS system installed at my home club...I've only used it twice but have found it very reliable and accurate...no problem with distances to the flag beacuase first thing each morning the greenkeepers report the positions that they are going to put the flags in for the day and one of the lads in the clubhouse updates the central computer.

I'm considering getting one but only if it is compatible with the system we allready have in the club...because not knowing yardage to the pin is a bit daft!!

had a laser rangefinder but to be honest it aint allways that easy to "focus" the thing on a flag.

Im sure the handhelds would not be compatible with you club, unless you could download the daily pin positions, played 9 holes with a guy who had a gps today and it was excellent, you can watch the yardage count down as you walk the fairway.
Im definitly getting one now!

Forget the Sky as its too expensive, its either the Caddy or the igolf as you dont need to have subscriptions, anyone used either of these?