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.

Ka-Ching Course Game

Ka-Ching is an on-course betting game where players earn one of ten coins, based on what they do on the course. There are five good coins (birdie, for example), and five bad ones (as in lost ball), each with a different point value. At the end of a round, players total the values of the coins they earned, and payouts are made based on the score.

There actually are dozens of different golf games similar to this one. The Golfers Game Book is a nice compilation of these. 

Gotta Grip

Seeking a solution to slippery, worn-out grips, inventor Westy Foss developed Gotta Grip, a tubular device designed to restore your grips whenever you feel the need. The tube is lined with a sticky material that adheres to the grips, offering instant tackiness.

To use it, you just insert the club, and squeeze the cloth covering material several times.

Of course, the best solution is to change your grips. It’s not hard, and you can get complete instructions here.

ASSORTED G-Tee Rubber Tee for range mats ( 2-Pak)

I hate driving range mats. Their hard and unforgiving nature messes up my irons swing and results in pain in my wrists and elbows. About the only thing I can practice at a range is my driver ... but even that offers the frustrating challenge of finding a rubber tee of the correct height.

Which brings me to this G-Tee. You slip it under a range mat, and then insert a regular tee into the holder. It can then be adjusted to the proper height.

I’m getting a pack.

The Golfing Caddy

Grade: B
Teachers’ Comments: Useful if you don’t have enough pockets on your bag.

I’m a packrat. And that particular mental illness extends even to my golf bag. I like to stuff the pockets with every sort of imaginable objects—stuff that I just might need, from bandages to duct tape to extra cleats and so on. It’s gotten much worse since I started using my Sun Mountain golf cart and no longer have to schlep the stuff on my back.

I guess the “Be Prepared” motto from my Boy Scout years struck a little hard.

Of course, with all of that stuff, I need a lot of pockets. In fact, I have yet to meet the golf bag that has enough pockets to suit me. So the Golfing Caddy is a useful addition to my storage capacity.

The Golfing Caddy clips on the outside of your golf bag and provides convenient, extra storage. The core of the Caddy is a holder for a bottle of water or pop. It comes with a neoprene cover that you slip over the bottle before inserting it into the top of the Caddy. On the outside of the Caddy is a pocket for your wallet or phone, and a clip for keys. It also has an attached microfiber mini-towel.

The caddy is constructed from a durable-looking black nylon fabric. The weight bearing clips are attached to externally sewn nylon strapping, which should prevent it from pulling away from the Caddy itself. There’s a little silkscreened golf ball logo on the bag.

The Golfing Caddy is an extension of the company’s two other, very similar, water bottle holding products, the Crusing Caddy and the Fitness Caddy. The Cruising Caddy is designed for walkers; the Fitness for trips to the gym.

My only suggestion here would be for the company to reposition the uses of the pockets. I don’t need my wallet, keys and cell phone during a round, so I’m perfectly content to have them in a deep pocket somewhere (with the cell phone OFF). I’m going to use those two pockets for Clif bars and apples—my usual in-round snacks. I probably also will stuff a chapstick in there.

I’ll also comment that I can’t see this working for people who lug their bags on their backs. I think that having it swing around would be annoying.