Compare Golf GPS – Part 2

This is PART 2 of a four-part series where we compare golf GPS top rated models. We have divided them up into categories, so that you can compare apples to apples.

Our four categories are:

  1. Full-Featured Golf GPS (Part 1)
  2. Mid-Featured Golf GPS (Part 2 – You Are Here!)
  3. Basic Golf GPS (Part 3)
  4. GPS Golf Watches (Part 4), overlaps some with Basic

MID-FEATURED GOLF GPS COMPARISON

The golf GPS devices in our mid-feature category will at minimum show a graphic depiction of each green. They may show hole views and have other advanced features, but do not have the ability to get distances to any point on the hole.

Golf Buddy Tour Review
The Contenders:

Our Pick: Golf Buddy Tour – because it is preloaded and has no annual fees. The SkyCaddie SG5 gets slightly better ratings, so if you don’t mind the annual fees and downloads, it’s also a really good pick.

Check out the comparisons below.

Golf Courses SkyCaddie has nearly 30,000 golf courses mapped, but the SG3.5 and the SG5 will only store 10 at a time. Of course that means downloading them from your computer and also paying an annual fee to do so. The Golf Buddy Tour comes preloaded with thousands of courses. It will hold up to 20,000, but we’re not sure if Golf Buddy has that many in the database. We believe they have about 16,000 courses in their library, but hope to find out definitively very soon.
Screen All three models have color LCD screens and the only one with complaints was the SkyCaddie SG3.5. Some users had trouble seeing it in bright sunlight.
Size / Weight The SkyCaddie SG5 is the largest and heaviest of the three units. Its screen size is the same as the SG3.5 and only slightly larger than the Golf Buddy Tour. The SG3.5 is a little smaller than the GB Tour.
Battery Type The Golf Buddy Tour takes a rechargable Li-poly or three AAA batteries. We like that option the best. The SG5 uses a Li-ion rechargeable and the SG3.5 uses three AAAs.
Battery Life The Golf Buddy Tour and the SkyCaddie SG5 both claim up to 14 hours of battery life. The SkyCaddie SG3.5 make a claim on this, but users indicated that it used batteries quickly and recommended rechargeable AAAs.
Rainproof The Golf Buddy Tour is water resistant and to our knowledge, neither of the SkyCaddies are.
Other None of these units have touch screen, touch targeting, or stat tracking. They all have shot measuring, scorecard, auto course recognition and auto hole advance. The SkyCaddie SG5 offers hole layout views on some courses and QuickVue which gives some indication of the hole shape.
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Compare Golf GPS Top Rated Models

This is PART 1 of a four-part series where we compare golf GPS top rated models. We have divided them up into categories, so that you can compare apples to apples.

Our four categories are:

  1. Full-Featured Golf GPS (Part 1 – You Are Here!)
  2. Compare Golf GPS Part 2 (Part 2)
  3. Basic Golf GPS (Part 3)
  4. GPS Golf Watches (Part 4), overlaps some with Basic
FULL FEATURED GOLF GPS COMPARISON:

GPS models that have full hole views and the ability to determine
distance to any point on the hole using a touchscreen or a cursor.

Garmin G6 Approach ReviewThe Contenders:

Our Pick: Garmin Approach G6 – the early reviews are very strong and number of preloaded courses make this the model to beat right now!

Check out the comparisons below.

Golf Courses The Garmin G6 has over 27,000 courses, while the G5 now comes with over 18,000. The Golf Buddy World has a course capacity of 40,000, but they don’t advertise how many courses are actually preloaded. We have contacted them about this and hope to hear back soon. It appears that Golf Buddy has only about 16,000 courses in their library, so we expect the number to be 15,000+.
Screen Early indications are that the new Garmin Approach G6 may have the best screen. Both of the other models get some complaints about readability issues in bright sun.
Size / Weight The Garmin G6 is the smallest and lightest of the three, but also has the smallest screen. The Golf Buddy World and Garmin G5 have larger screens, however the GB World is smaller and lighter with almost as much screen real estate.
Battery Type Both the G6 and the Golf Buddy World have rechargeable batteries which is nice unless you forget to recharge. The Garmin G5 takes AA batteries, so you can use rechargeable if you want, but keep an extra set in your golf bag.
Battery Life Both Garmins claim they get up to 15 hours of battery life. The Golf Buddy World only claims 10.
Rainproof All three units are rainproof, but both Garmins can survive if you drop them in water and it’s not clear whether the Golf Buddy World could.
Other All three units have a touch screen, touch targeting, shot measuring, scorecard, stat tracking, auto course recognition and auto hole advance.

If you’re wondering why there are no SkyCaddie models in our list, it’s because in our opinion, the reviews just don’t support spending the extra money in annual fees. We love the SkyCaddie Ground Verification and if you don’t mind annual fees, aren’t afraid of computers and don’t mind a little hassle, you probably should consider the SkyCaddie SGX or the SkyCaddie SGXW.

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Golf Buddy Platinum Review

The Golf Buddy Platinum II (2012) has been retired. Check out our current recommendations for today's best golf rangefinders..

'Golf Buddy Platinum II (2012)'

Golf Buddy Platinum II (2012)
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New and improved in 2012! Take a look at our preview of Golf Buddy’s newest handheld GPS for golf. We’ll get our Golf Buddy Platinum Review up as soon as we find some customer feedback. Be careful not to get this model mixed up with its predecessor, the Golf Buddy World Platinum, or the other similarly named Golf Buddy World. We have no idea what they were thinking when they came up with these names, but we’ll help you sort it out.

Golf Buddy Platinum II (2012) User Rating: 3.35 Stars 3.35 out of 5 (26 reviews)

Score compiled from multiple sources.
What’s New in the Golf Buddy Platinum
  • Improved high contrast TFT-LCD screen (optimal under all conditions)
  • Improved sensitive touch screen (for easier navigation)
  • Nearly double the battery life (last up to 18 hours)
  • Refined design
  • It’s a tiny bit wider and a tiny bit heavier

Since many of the complaints about its predecessor, the Golf Buddy World Platinum, had to do with battery life and difficulty reading and maneuvering on the touchscreen, it seems Golf Buddy may be on their way to another successful golf GPS device.

Golf Buddy Platinum Features and Specifications
Golf Buddy Platinum II (2012)
Course Download Fees N/A
Pre-loaded with Courses Yes
Full Hole Views Yes
Slope / Elevation No
Battery Life up to 18 hrs.
Battery Li-poly rechargeable
Size (Width x Height x Depth) 4.3 in. x 2.46 in. x 1 in.
Measure Shot Distance Yes
Screen Size 3 in.
Resolution N/A
Display Type Color TFT LCD
Weight 5.65 oz.
Rainproof water resistant
Touch Screen Yes
Touch Targeting Yes
Manual Pin Positioning Yes
Stat Tracker Yes
Digital Scorecard Yes
Computer Analysis Tools N/A
Ground Verified No
Alternate Targets Yes
Green Rotates to your shot angle N/A
USGA Compliant (local rule) Yes
Notes Water and shock resistant case - improved high contrast TFT-LCD screen (optimal under all conditions) - Improved sensitive touch screen (for easier navigation)
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Golf Buddy World Platinum Review

The Golf Buddy World Platinum has been retired. Check out our current recommendations for today's best golf rangefinders..

'Golf Buddy World Platinum'

Golf Buddy World Platinum
Not Available


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Golf Watches

Our Golf Buddy World Platinum Review is based on the analysis of pros, cons and ratings found in over 130 user reviews. Feel free to read the details below, but if you want a quick recommendation, we suggest you consider one of Golf Buddy’s similarly named products:

Golf Buddy World Platinum User Rating: 3.92 Stars 3.92 out of 5 (130 reviews)

Score compiled from multiple sources.

  • the Golf Buddy World is a very similar model that gets much better ratings and is ususally less expensive.
  • the Golf Buddy World Platinum, released in 2012, is Golf Buddy’s effort to improve upon the Golf Buddy World Platinum.
Most Mentioned Pros (in order of mentions high to low):
  • Easy to use
  • Accurate
  • No fees
  • Good Customer Service
  • Good value
  • Easy to read
  • Quality/durability
  • Hole Layout View
  • Scorecard for up to four players
  • Stat tracking
  • Shot Measuring
  • Auto course recognition
  • Auto hole advance
  • Fast
  • Easy computer updates to add new courses and update courses
  • Preloaded with courses
  • Graphics
  • Worldwide courses available in database
  • Alternate targets
  • Lots of courses available
  • Speeds up play
  • Size
Most Mentioned Cons (in order of mentions high to low):
  • Not enough courses in full layout view (see our comments above)
  • battery life (2 rounds or less reported by several users)
  • Needed to update on computer to get full layout view of some courses
  • Problems with accuracy
  • Limited alternate targets (Note: on courses with hole layout view, you can use touch targeting to anywhere)
  • Difficulty using touchscreen
  • Poor technical support
Golf Buddy World Platinum Features and Specifications
Golf Buddy World Platinum
Course Download Fees No
Pre-loaded with Courses Yes
Full Hole Views Yes
Slope / Elevation No
Battery Life 10 hrs
Battery Li-poly rechargeable
Size (Width x Height x Depth) 4.3 in. x 2.4 in. x 1 in.
Measure Shot Distance Yes
Screen Size 3 in.
Resolution 240x400
Display Type Color TFT LCD
Weight 5.15 oz.
Rainproof water resistant case
Touch Screen Yes
Touch Targeting Yes
Manual Pin Positioning Yes
Stat Tracker Yes
Digital Scorecard Yes
Computer Analysis Tools No
Ground Verified No
Alternate Targets Yes
Green Rotates to your shot angle Yes
USGA Compliant (local rule) Yes
Notes -
Order Golf Rangefinders from Amazon
GolfRangefinderShop.com is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program. If you buy anything after clicking through, we get a small commission at no extra cost to you. It helps us keep the site up and running, so thank you! We work very hard to obtain the correct information about product features, but cannot make any guarantees about the accuracy. Please double check with the merchant or manufacturer before making a purchase.
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No GPS in Bubba Watson’s Golf Watch

No GPS in Bubba Watson's Golf Watch photo
Photo credit: Hone Morihana

Since Bubba Watson’s win at The Masters, everything he says, does and wears gets a whole lot of extra attention, including his Richard Mille watch, said to be worth $525,000. At that price, can you believe there is no GPS in Bubba Watson’s golf watch? So what makes it so pricey and what makes it a golf watch?

First of all, it’s designed by luxury watchmaker Richard Mille. The RM 038 Tourbillon is able to work in golf’s extreme conditions with 3 specifications: lightness, extreme shock resis­tance and comfort. The baseplate, bridges and balance cock are made of grade 5 titanium, which allows the whole assembly to be given great rigidity, as well as precise surface flatness. It’s also a limited edition – rumor has it only 38 will be made.

It’s an interesting looking watch for sure, but my needs and budget are better suited to the golf watch Bubba promotes in commercials… the MOTOACTV Golf Watch!

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