Tag Archives: golf course gps

Finding Your Way Round The Golf Course – Playing Blind Holes

  By golfer | August 27, 2010 - 6:50 pm | Golf Course Strategy
Comments Off

How do you feel about playing blind holes? Playing your golf shot from a position where you will not be able to see the ball come to rest once you have hit your golf shot, over a ridge, for instance. Like most golfers, I find these shots a little daunting, though it helps if you walk forward before you play the shot and see for yourself the layout of the land in front of you.

This also helps me to visualize the golf shot before I play it. It is like taking a mental photograph. Once you have looked back to where you are about to play the shot from, then forward to where you are aiming, the problem then is picking out a landmark that you can aim for so that you know you are aiming on target. I typically look for a tall tree in the background as a marker, aiming straight at it, or to the left or right of the marker. If there are no obvious landmarks, then that calls for more ingenuity on the part of the golfer.

Since researching the GPS for golf, in particular the Garmin Golflogix GPS 8, I realize there is another dimension to these golf shots. The lay up. The golf course gps allows me to lay up to say, fifty yards from the green, depending if there are any hazards in my path. Call this strategic thinking, or safety play, if you like, but I see it as a strategy to save me wasting golf shots and keep my ball in play.

Some golfers might see lay ups as a defensive style of play, but I think this is a sensible option. Going back to the playing over the ridge example above, one way of playing the hole would be to play to the top of the ridge, where you can still see your ball, then play the next shot to the green, from where you now will be able to see the green in front of you. Do you sacrifice a shot by doing this? Perhaps. But at least you are less likely to lose your ball, or hit it out in a hazard, or worse, play it out of bounds.

It makes a difference of course, when faced with these shots, on how well you know the hole you are playing. If you have played it before, that makes a difference. This type of strategy might make more sense if you are playing a course that you do not know. As always in golf, it calls for judgment on your part, with a view to returning the best golf score you can.

Why You Need A Golf Course Rangefinder

  By golfer | August 20, 2010 - 7:41 pm | Golf GPS Review
Comments Off

The golf course rangefinder is one very handy piece of equipment for the golfer who wants to play better golf and not waste too much time on the links. You know what it’s like when you think you have a three hour slot you can fill by playing most of a round of golf, if you are lucky. Well, the golf course rangefinder can help you speed up your progress round the course by giving you the exact distances to the flagstick and other course features, such as hazards.

When your golfing buddies see how accurate they are, and here I am referring to the Garmin GolfLogix GPS 8 in particular, they will surely want you to keep feeding them with distance information, if they do not have their own GPS systems. It is a bit like having your own clever computer caddy alongside you the whole time. The major difference is the Garmin GolfLogix GPS 8 gives more consistently accurate distances.

When considering purchasing a golf course gps, look for one which has good graphics that are easy to read, even in bright sunlight. Shockproofing helps as well, as does selecting a waterproofed model. If you don’t, every time it rains you have to prevent them from getting wet. Who wants to do that?

I prefer golf course rangefinders where you don’t have to press too many buttons. One that just looks after itself and updates as you make progress round the golf course. The Garmin GolfLogix GPS 8 does just that, and you can read my review by following the link.

When you try a golf course rangefinder for yourself, and see how clever and accurate they are, you won’t want to be without one.

A Personal Review Of The Garmin Golflogix GPS 8 – GPS For Golf

  By golfer | July 31, 2010 - 9:12 pm | Golf GPS Review
Comments Off

golflogix gps by garminAs a golfer myself, who was brought up before the golf course gps existed I was curious to find out what I had been missing all these years, and discover for myself what a gps for golf could do for my golf game.

After all, I had relied on approximate distances from well known landmarks on our local course, such as bunkers, trees, etc.,for so long that I did not know any other way to get round a golf course. I was in for a surprise. Golf GPS rangefinders are a real asset to the serious golfer.  I did some research into the best golf gps for my money I could find, and I came up with the Garmin GolfLogix GPS 8

What to look for in a golf GPS rangefinder?

When buying a gps for golf there are a few important features to bear in mind. These are:

User Friendly Interface
Display Key Yardage Distances On the Course
A Large number of golf courses in the database
Waterproof and Shockproof
Screen Easy To Read
Good Battery Life

If you settle for anything less than these features you might be disappointed later. The GolfLogix GPS by Garmin measures up to these features as follows.

User Friendly

Switch it on and scroll down to the hole you are playing. It doesn’t get much simpler than that. The screen advances automatically to all of the targets on the golf course so there are no buttons to push or lasers to point during your round. The GolfLogix GPS 8 recognizes the course you are playing automatically.

Display Key Yardages

As you play your round of golf the main distances that are going to be useful to you are, the distances to the front, middle and back of the green, and the distance to the nearest hazard. The Garmin GolfLogix GPS 8 calculates these distances for you as you walk round. It also tells you the distance of your last shot. That can be useful if you want to know typically how far you are hitting a particular club, such as the driver. That appealed to me as I am constantly trying to hit my drives longer.

Aside from the distances to the front/center/back of green, the Garmin gives the distance to; hazards; bunkers; water; lay-ups; and carries.

It is so nice to have a gadget alongside you that is able to give you the distance you need to hit the ball, so you can concentrate fully on playing the next shot. It speeds up the time it takes to get round the golf course as well, as there is no pacing out needed.

Number Of Golf Courses

You naturally want the course you are playing to be available on the golf course gps. The Garmin GolfLogix GPS 8 lets you download up to 20 golf course maps on your unit at one time. If the golf course you are looking for isn’t there GolfLogix has a database of more than 15,000 golf courses, and you simply download the one you want to your pc.

The first course map, of your choice, you can download for free, using the included golf gps software. If you want more course maps, you can download many more for an annual membership fee.

Waterproof and Shockproof.

Water can damage your golf GPS, so it is reassuring to know that every time it rains you don’t have to think about protecting the Garmin GolfLogix GPS 8 because it is waterproof. In fact it is 100 percent waterproof. It is also shock proof and impact resisitant for rugged outdoor use.

Can You Read The Screen?

When the sun is shining it can make reading the gps display really difficult, but with a screen size of 1.25 x 2.25 inches and a screen resolution of 64 x 128 pixels the Garmin GolfLogix GPS 8 copes with that very well by means of an adjustable screen contrast. For darker conditions there is a backlight to assist visibility.

Battery Life

The battery is the heartbeat of the golf gps and you need to know it is not going to let you down when you need it most. The Garmin GolfLogix GPS 8 has a battery life of up to 22 hours which is reassuring to know.

How Much Does It Cost ?

The Garmin Golflogix GPS 8 is normally priced between $300 and $150, and the cheapest I have seen it priced is on Amazon.

What’s In The Box?

GolfLogix GPS by Garmin

USB cable

Belt/bag clip

2 AA alkaline batteries

Printed instructions.

What Are Others Saying?

This golf course GPS model is well received by customers and has an overall 4 star customer rating on Amazon.

Here are some comments:

“Simple and accurate golf GPS”

“Excellent product”

“Wonderful instrument”

“The GolfLogix Garmin GPS works as advertised!”

“Best ever”

“So far so good”

“Easy golf”

“This is all you need”

Where Can You Buy The Garmin GolfLogix GPS 8 ?

You can buy this product from Amazon, where it is currently selling for a great price and comes with the free shipping option just now. Click here to view on Amazon

Want To Read More Customer Reviews for The Garmin GolfLogix GPS 8 ?

The best place to get these reviews from customers who actually use the product is from Amazon. Click here to read more.