What is the Best Golf GPS?

If you enjoy playing golf and vary where you play, then you will know how hard it can be to gauge the distances and the layout of a course. This is especially true for golf courses that you have only played a few times.

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What you need is a golf GPS system to aid your play and increase your sense of “what’s going on” while playing. But with a deluge of golf GPS systems on the market how can tell what is the best golf GPS for your needs? Here is why the Garmin Approach G5 is the best golf GPS at the moment.

The golf GPS market is huge, and there are so many major players in the market jostling for a share of the pie that it is no wonder that opinions vary so wildly. Callaway, Skycaddie, Bushnell, Golfbuddy, the list goes on and on and each maker has its own set of devoted followers. Enter Garmin with a new product that attempts to better them all in terms of features. The G5, unlike a lot of its rivals, does not need an annual subscription to get the most out of it; it is subscription free. Other products charge you per course downloaded, but the Garmin comes with 100’s built in which can be updated as well so it works out cheaper in the long run to own one of these.

The Garmin approach features a full color screen, which is about the same size as the iPhone’s screen if you want a comparison. The screen is a special reflective LCD screen that is designed to reflect the natural light back off the surface increasing its brightness. The resolution is ultra sharp and everything is clear to read. There are a few problems reading some of the text on the screen at times however, so if play without your glasses on you may have trouble with some of the smaller fonts. The screen has a self dim feature, again much like an iPhone, which conserves power while on a long course.

Waterproof and Battery Powered

The unit is nice and chunky; presumably its thickness is because it is designed to be waterproof. The unit runs on standard AA batteries, although you will want to buy a couple of sets of rechargeables to save money if you use it often. Standard battery life is about 2 -3 rounds of golf, but I prefer having batteries that you can swap out after being left high and dry when I have forgotten to charge them overnight.

Garmin Specific Features

The user interface on the G5 Approach is first class, with the distance to the flag denoted in the top right hand corner in big numbers that are easy to read. Being a touch screen, you can point at any point on the overhead map and the Garmin will show you how far away that point is, so you can easily plan you next few shots. You can also enter your scores onto the unit and let it keep track of them, just like most other GPS systems. One nice touch is that you can tap on the green on the map view and it will zoom in, allowing you to move the flag to where it is on that day – great for planning approach shots.

Overall

While you can get smaller GPS units, the Garmin G5 Approach makes up for its chunky size with a wealth of features that puts it ahead of the competition. The main plus point for the Garmin is that it is so easy to use with a nice, big display – it is hard to go back to units that only display the yardage in text after using the G5. While not the cheapest golf GPS, it is cheaper than most in the long run since you get the maps built in without needing a subscription service. The best golf GPS? At this present moment, and for the number of features, sure.

Not Convinced? Read In Depth Reviews Here