GB72
Money List Winner
I have to admit that I was pretty confused about the whole GPS market when I was looking to buy one the other week. It used to be simple but now there are so many all singing, all dancing models around that I really did not know where to start.
I knew that the very highest end models were out as I could not justify the cost. Unfortunately, whilst I liked the accuracy of the Skycaddie units, they were also off the list. At the price point I was looking at, I could not really justify spending nearly 50% of the cost of the unit every year to get data beyond the front, middle and back options that come free.
I also spent some time working out what functions I would actually use. Having borrowed one from a mate for a couple of rounds, I found that I spent probably 80% of the time on the basic front, middle and back screens with the occasional look at distances to hazards etc. That left me in an awkward area, I did want a little more detail than basic distances to the green but not all of the functions on the more expensive devices. I was willing to consider a watch but do not normally wear one and if it was to be a stand alone unit it had to be small enough to fit in my pocket and not be too bulky.
The Bushnell Neo Ghost was one of very few that fitted the bill. It gives the basic green distances as you would expect and also distances to 4 pre defined hazards or lay ups per hole. It can measure shot distances easily and has the basic features that you would expect, pre loaded courses, auto course detection, auto hole change etc.
I will be 100% honest and say that first impressions on opening the box were mixed in that the unit was plastic and light and did not feel top quality. That said, the construction is aimed to keep the unit small and light, which it certainly is. You really do not notice that it is in your pocket. After that, everything got much better. Setting it up takes seconds and then it is ready to go. It picked up my club in no time and had the course loaded and running in seconds. It picked up all of the hole changes well even when playing them out of order (I played 10-18 then 1-9). The screen was very clear and bright in all conditions and easy to read and the measurements were exact when compared to my playing partners’ Garmin S1 watch and Skycaddie Aire. Once you are on the course, operation is total simplicity. Press one button to show the hazard distances, press the shot button to measure shot distances and that is it. The 4 hazards per hole also seem well selected though, to be fair, 4 hazards covers most hazards on any hole on my course.
For £99 this seemed a bargain for me. Cheaper than even the oldest basic watch model, offers just a little more than the basic distances, easy to use, small and light so as to not get in the way and after the last 2 rounds the battery was still on 80% so there is going to be no issue there.
Basically, as long as the build quality remains up to standard then this is a cracking entry level GPS unit for those not looking to spend big bucks but want a little more than front, middle and back distances.
I knew that the very highest end models were out as I could not justify the cost. Unfortunately, whilst I liked the accuracy of the Skycaddie units, they were also off the list. At the price point I was looking at, I could not really justify spending nearly 50% of the cost of the unit every year to get data beyond the front, middle and back options that come free.
I also spent some time working out what functions I would actually use. Having borrowed one from a mate for a couple of rounds, I found that I spent probably 80% of the time on the basic front, middle and back screens with the occasional look at distances to hazards etc. That left me in an awkward area, I did want a little more detail than basic distances to the green but not all of the functions on the more expensive devices. I was willing to consider a watch but do not normally wear one and if it was to be a stand alone unit it had to be small enough to fit in my pocket and not be too bulky.
The Bushnell Neo Ghost was one of very few that fitted the bill. It gives the basic green distances as you would expect and also distances to 4 pre defined hazards or lay ups per hole. It can measure shot distances easily and has the basic features that you would expect, pre loaded courses, auto course detection, auto hole change etc.
I will be 100% honest and say that first impressions on opening the box were mixed in that the unit was plastic and light and did not feel top quality. That said, the construction is aimed to keep the unit small and light, which it certainly is. You really do not notice that it is in your pocket. After that, everything got much better. Setting it up takes seconds and then it is ready to go. It picked up my club in no time and had the course loaded and running in seconds. It picked up all of the hole changes well even when playing them out of order (I played 10-18 then 1-9). The screen was very clear and bright in all conditions and easy to read and the measurements were exact when compared to my playing partners’ Garmin S1 watch and Skycaddie Aire. Once you are on the course, operation is total simplicity. Press one button to show the hazard distances, press the shot button to measure shot distances and that is it. The 4 hazards per hole also seem well selected though, to be fair, 4 hazards covers most hazards on any hole on my course.
For £99 this seemed a bargain for me. Cheaper than even the oldest basic watch model, offers just a little more than the basic distances, easy to use, small and light so as to not get in the way and after the last 2 rounds the battery was still on 80% so there is going to be no issue there.
Basically, as long as the build quality remains up to standard then this is a cracking entry level GPS unit for those not looking to spend big bucks but want a little more than front, middle and back distances.
