VC300 Voice Caddie Review

'Voice Caddie VC300'

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Our VC300 Voice Caddie Review reports takes into account our experience using the device, as well as user feedback.

As Voice Caddie is not the biggest name in golf GPS, we didn’t really expect to be “Wowed!” with the VC300, but as it turned out, we really were. From presentation to performance, we were impressed!

Voice Caddie VC300 User Rating: 4.42 Stars 4.42 out of 5 (173 reviews)

Score compiled from multiple sources.

Voice Caddie seems to have taken a page out of Apple’s playbook.

The VC300 comes packaged in a simple beautiful box. Upon sliding the box open, you don’t see cords or batteries, just the smooth VC300, no screen and not even any buttons in sight. It’s shaped like a guitar pick, but with more rounded corners. Upon further inspection, there are two small buttons on one side and one small button on the back along with a clip and a magnetic ball marker. If you look hard, you can see the rubber cover over the charging port. At this point, we started to wonder if something so simple could possibly make a good golf GPS.

Voice Caddie VC300 in box     Voice Caddie VC300 shown in box

The next layer in the box held the very simple user manual, the USB cable that can charge the device via computer or the included wall charger. Although it’s preloaded with over 30,000 golf courses, we always like to get the updates when we get a new device, We plugged it into the computer and went to VoiceCaddie.com to update the device. Downloading and running the VoiceCaddie Manager was easy and it only took about six minutes to download the 400 new courses that had been added to the database since the unit was manufactured. One note, make sure you click the “Connect Voice Caddie” button before “Add” when using the Voice Caddie Manager.

One of the first things you’ll notice when you turn on the VC300 is the pleasant and very clear voice that greets you. On a unit that does not have a screen to display the numbers, clarity is very important. The VC300 quickly locates the golf course and when you arrive at the first tee, it announces hole information. The VC300 clips snugly and unobtrusively onto a visor. Since many golfers wear a ball marker on their visors, we love the magnetic ball marker on the bottom of the clip. To hear the distance to the center of the green, you simply press down anywhere near the logo. There are also seven different volume levels. One of our testers used it with hearing aids and with it being located so close to her ear, could probably have heard it without them.

The instructions for the Voice Caddie weren’t the best, but once we realized that getting distance to the front or back of the green required only a swipe in one direction or the other across the the logo, we were good. The shot measuring feature was also easy to use, only requiring a “press and hold” at the start location and at the finish location. We never had to change holes, as the VC300 did that perfectly, but it was little confusing when we tried to change just for sake of testing.

We tested the accuracy using a laser rangefinder and four other GPS devices. Although no golf GPS is perfect all of the time, we felt the VC300 to be as good as any of the others, including Garmin and Bushnell. The battery life would probably make it through a 36 hole day, but it might not. The unit does charge fairly quickly.

In summary, we would put the Voice Caddie VC300 at the top of our list if we wanted a simple GPS to clip on a visor. We don’t see any reason to have a digital screen if that’s how you plan to use it. It looks better than other voice units we’ve seen and does its job quite well. The instructions and the battery life could be better and you do have to be careful not to swipe it accidentally during your nearby opponents backswing. Fortunately, the volume is low enough, that someone on the other side of the fairway is unlikely to hear any noise from it at all. We also love the price on this device!

Here’s what we’ve learned users of the VC300 are thinking…

Voice Caddie VC300 Favorable Comments
  • Easy to use
  • Accurate
  • Stylish
  • Loud enough, but not so loud as to bother others
  • Price / Value
  • Small and lightweight
  • Visor clip
  • Voice
  • Battery life
  • No fees
  • Preloaded
Voice Caddie VC300 Unfavorable Comments
  • Sync problem (1 user)
VC300 Voice Caddie Specifications
Voice Caddie VC300
Course Download Fees No
Pre-loaded with Courses Yes
Full Hole Views Yes
Slope / Elevation N/A
Battery Life 8 hours
Battery LiPoly
Size (Width x Height x Depth) 1.77 in. x 1.77 in. x .47 in.
Measure Shot Distance Yes
Screen Size None
Resolution N/A
Display Type None
Weight .8 oz.
Rainproof N/A
Touch Screen Yes
Touch Targeting No
Manual Pin Positioning No
Stat Tracker No
Digital Scorecard No
Computer Analysis Tools No
Ground Verified N/A
Alternate Targets No
Green Rotates to your shot angle N/A
USGA Compliant (local rule) Yes
Notes Multilingual, choice of 8 spoken languages (English, Spanish, German, Italian, French, Japanese, Chinese, Korean)
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Comments

  1. James L. Finchum says

    Bought my voice caddie 300 on 21 Mar 2014. No place to register. Why? So far the distance is correct with gps located on carts at Lake Marion, SC. Live in NC.

    • Golf Rangefinder Shop says

      Thanks James. I’m not sure why they don’t require registration. I’ll check with my contact there.

  2. I understand the VC300 isn’t MAC compatible? Can I download to an iPad or isn’t this a big problem? Thanks for any feedback.

    • Golf Rangefinder Shop says

      Hi Kathy. I think the only way to update courses is through Windows, but I am double checking with my contact at VoiceCaddie. It does come preloaded and most courses won’t have changed much, but it is nice to be able to update and add new courses. For a similar unit, I would recommend the GolfBuddy VS4.

  3. James McCreadie says

    My vc300 will not give me distance when pressing device any ideas what’s wrong ,it works in every other way

    • Golf Rangefinder Shop says

      Hi James. You can press in different places on the top of the VC300 and it should be giving audio distances to the front, middle, or back depending on where you press. Can you hear it when it announces a new hole? If not, try increasing the volume using the top button on the side. If you still can’t get it, contact GolfBuddy here: http://voicecaddie.com/en-us/center/contact.php

      Let us know if you get if/when/how your issue is resolved. Thanks!

  4. does it recognize holes such as a shot gun stop –

    • Golf Rangefinder Shop says

      Hi Mike. I believe it tries to find the correct hole when you start somewhere other than the 1st hole. However, I’ve heard it sometimes has trouble. You can manually make the adjustment and then it should continue from there.

      To change holes on the VC300, press and hold the + and – buttons simultaneously for 2 seconds. You’ll hear “Changing holes”. Then press + to increase the hole number or the – to decrease the hole number. You’ll hear the hole number each time you adjust. When on the correct hole, press the touchpad.

  5. SANDY J NAVIN says

    How do you turn the unit off? How do you know that it is really off?

    • Golf Rangefinder Shop says

      Hi Sandy. Press and hold the power button for 2 seconds. I think one of our editors is using the VC300, so I’ll get back to you on how you confirm that it’s really turned off.

  6. I bought my VC300SE on Amazon, updated it right away with no problems, four months later went to update on computer and it would not connect or be found (although it was able to be charged). Called Voice Caddie and sent receipt for warranty. Voice Caddie sent me a message back and said they would not warranty the produce and I had to go back to Amazon. Amazon says they do not replace after a 30 day window and I would have to go back to Voice Caddie. The unit still works fine but cannot update and Voice Caddie does not care. Purchased Apr 2019

    • Golf Rangefinder Shop says

      Hi David. I’m disappointed to hear that Voice Caddie support was not helpful. Did they say why the warranty didn’t cover it? Did you try it on more than one computer? Let us know if anything changes.

  7. David Hale says

    This 300 has the same problems that the 200 had. After a few months the battery cannot be charged and there is no way to replace the battery. It is worthless unless you just want a ballpark.

    • Golf Rangefinder Shop says

      Sorry to hear that. We had one that lasted several years. Did you contact Voice Caddie?

  8. Any current 2021 user feedback? Is product battery and reliability improved?

    • Golf Rangefinder Shop says

      The Voice Caddie VC300SE seems to have good reviews on Amazon. (See Disclosure statement on the side of this page).

  9. I have a new model 3000 it’s a VC4 and the problem I’m having is it changed from english to japanese and I don’t know how to change it back, can you help me?

    • Golf Rangefinder Shop says

      Hi Thomas. Is there a button on the back of the unit (near the bottom) might be under the belt clip. I’m looking at the User Manual. See the very first thing under “Getting Started” – it looks like it might be in Japanese. Maybe that’s it.

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