Golf Buddy Tour GPS

GOLF BUDDY Tour GPS

From my non-technical, layman’s point-of-view, the hardware in GPS units are all pretty much the same. What makes them different is the software and the amount of data they store. For example, while my Garmin nüvi  and the built in navigation system on my Subaru work pretty much the same—and I’m sure with the same accuracy—the Garmin is for me superior because it has many, many more “points of interest” listed in its internal database.

So I was intrigued when I read that the Golf Buddy Tour GPS comes preloaded with all available courses across North America. Their literature says it has a 20,000 course capability, but I can’t find how many the company has actually mapped.

In Michigan, they have mapped 460 courses—that’s about half of the courses in the state. For my purposes, however, it’s missing too many of my favorites, such as The Grande and Calderone Farms in Jackson. It also doesn’t have Tullymore, Golf Digest’s #14 public course.

Still, they do have a good selection. And the software offers a few nice twists. For example, the green view changes shape to reflect your angle of approach. For courses that you play frequently, you can add eleven custom targets on the course. Golf Buddy also claims that you don’t have to do any fiddling with the unit. You just turn it on, and it automatically finds the correct course and hole.

Intriguing. But I don’t think it’s going to replace my trusty laser finder.