Golf Gifts – Ideas for the Golfer in Your Life

Of course we think GPS and laser rangefinders make the best golf gifts! Ideas for non-rangefinder golf gifts can be found on our Pinterest board. However if you’re seriously looking to score with your gift, let’s see if we can’t find the best GPS or rangefinder for your budget. All of these models are pre-loaded with golf courses and have NO FEES.

Gift Budget: $70 – $75

• Izzo Swami 3000 – Don’t worry about buying the least expensive golf GPS on the market. If your golfer doesn’t yet own any type of distance measuring device, it’s extremely likely that he or she will love this device. Users reviews are excellent. The price point is low because the features are basic, but plenty of golfers prefer the simplicity of a small basic golf GPS. It provides distance to the front, middle and back of every green, and that’s more than enough information for most golfers. There is a less expensive model, the Izzo Swami 1500, but the 3000 has all the golf courses pre-loaded, so it’s a much better deal.

Gift Budget: $100 – $150

• Izzo Swami Golf Watch – Golf watches have become extremely popular and this one is definitely the most affordable. It’s a basic golf GPS with distance to front, middle and back of the greens, and it also includes a scorecard and shot measuring feature. On top of all that, we really like it’s sporty appearance! As this is a brand new model in late 2012, there aren’t many user ratings yet, but Izzo has a history of products that score very well with golfers.
• Bushnell neo+ – We love the neo+ and user reviews show that most golfers love it too! It’s pre-loaded with golf courses and provides distances to the front, middle and back of the greens as well as to key hazards. The price, the size and the ease of use, make this one of the most popular golf GPS devices on the market today. Be careful not to get this model confused with its predecessor, the Bushnell neo.
• Golf Buddy Voice – The ratings on this little device are excellent. It’s very basic and easy to use. It give distances to the front, middle and back of every green and allows you to measure your shots. As indicated by the name, it also provides voice distances for golfers who have difficulty seeing a traditional screen.

Gift Budget: $150 – $225

• Garmin Approach S1 Golf Watch – This extremely popular and highly rated golf watch offers only distance to the front, middle and back of all greens, along with shot measuring. It’s easy to use and extremely convenient!
• Golf Buddy Tour – This is a nice hand-held unit with great color, big numbers and the green layouts. The ratings are terrific and the price is right!

Gift Budget: $225 – $300

• Garmin Approach G6 – This small full-featured hand-held unit from Garmin is a big hit with users. It has a wonderful color touchscreen and full hole views. Definitely consider buying this one if it’s in your budget.
• Garmin Approach G5 – The predecessor to the G6 is larger and maybe not as bright, but it has good ratings and will cost quite a bit less. It’s also a full featured unit with a color touchscreen.
• Callaway Diablo Octane Laser Rangefinder – If you’re buying for a good golfer, you might want to think about buying laser instead of GPS. Laser rangefinders are more accurate and often preferred by lower handicap golfers. The Callaway Diablo Octane rangefinder is highly rated and reasonably priced.

Over $300

• Bushnell Hybrid – This is the best of the best because it combines laser and GPS in a single device. The GPS operates like the Bushnell neo+ and the laser is equivalent to the Bushnell V2. Both do their job quite well. If you’re looking to score big points with the best golf gift ever, put this on your short list!
• Garmin Approach S3 Golf Watch – Perhaps the most appealing of all the golf watches on the market. The S3 provides distances to the front, middle and back of every green, as well as distances to key hazards and green views so you can manually reposition the pin. Garmin also added a sophisticated scorecard feature to the S3. Somehow they put all these features in a nice looking sports watch with a touchscreen and still made it easy to use.

There are plenty of golf gifts available that will wind up in the back of the closet, but if you want to make the golfer in your life, really happy, a GPS or laser golf rangefinder will be the gift that keeps on giving. You see, most golfers see improvement in their scores soon after they begin using one.