Golf Buddy - advice please

irishtweety

Hi all,

I want to buy my boyfriend a golf buddy GPS thing for his birthday.

I know he will want all of the Irish courses included.

Can anyone tell me if the Irish courses are loaded as standard on all the golf buddy GPS things and also which ones are bets to get?

Thanks

saintastic

When you buy the Golf Buddy GPS, you have to install it when you get it. The installation isn't too long, maybe 3/4 minutes. At this stage, he can then choose which courses he wants. Some of them hold 40,000 courses and there are around 400 in Ireland so he will probably load Ireland, UK, USA as standard.

There are 5 Golf Buddys:

Golf Buddy Plus - basic - very limited availability
Golf Buddy Pro - Good machine, black and white, limited availability
Golf Buddy Tour Around €280 - should get it in the shops same as Pro but in Colour
Golf Buddy World Around €330 - touch screen
Gold Buddy Platinum Around €390 - touch screen (might have more functionality than the World)

They are expensive enough but if he's a regular golfer, he will really like it. You may be able to find some of the Golf Buddys on e-bay for cheaper as well.

irishtweety

Thanks Saintastic...

So once he gets one does he click load and can load courses for the full country?

Do they often need to be updated (like a Sat Nav) and is it free to load and update?

Thanks

SuburbanHomeboy

I have a golfbuddy world platinum and am delighted with it. All the courses are preloaded so all you have to do is turn up and turn it on. The unit recognises your location and loads the holes as you come to them.

It's touch screen, but you shouldn't expect it to respond like an iphone. It's not all that sensitive. It allows you to enter your scores but I found that quite frustrating. That's not why I bought it though and it performs its main functions very well.

You can create an account on their website and download the latest versions of any course you need very easily, and at no cost. All told, I highly recommend it. You won't have to cook for a couple of years if you get him this. If Kilcoole in Wicklow is handy, I was told you can get them for about 250 there (compared to 429 in McGuirks) . Seems too good to be true but worth a call perhaps.

Johnny_Fontane

also have the world platinum, its a beast of a machine. I updated it recently no problems and all the courses are there.....its an excellent device for distance, particularly as you can select on the map how far to lay up etc....its not just to the green.

If you have any mates in the US, they can be got for $280 online....about €210

saintastic

Yes, once he gets it, he loads the country and all the courses load on to the system.

The GPS only needs to be updated once a quarter and that is in case there are software updates or golf course updates. If your own course has no changes, you don't need to update it at all after the first installation.

irishtweety

SuburbanHomeboy wrote: »

I have a golfbuddy world platinum and am delighted with it. If Kilcoole in Wicklow is handy, I was told you can get them for about 250 there (compared to 429 in McGuirks) . Seems too good to be true but worth a call perhaps.

Thanks a million... I called The Golf Sports Shop in Kilcoole and they have them for €345....

irishtweety

Thanks a million for all your feedback... Birthday present sorted

Tones69

irishtweety wrote: »

Thanks a million... I called The Golf Sports Shop in Kilcoole and they have them for €345....

Some money, if you look hard enough ul find one for 100 euro cheaper id imagine

Tones69

heres the Golf Buddy World Golf GPS, prob one of the best you can get, 310 euro, good site too

http://www.onlinegolf.co.uk/product/Golf-Buddy-World-Golf-GPS/p95044.aspx

irishtweety

Tones69 wrote: »

heres the Golf Buddy World Golf GPS, prob one of the best you can get, 310 euro, good site too

http://www.onlinegolf.co.uk/product/Golf-Buddy-World-Golf-GPS/p95044.aspx

Thanks Tones... It seems to be a choice between the World and the World Platinum... I wonder is there much of a difference...

Tones69

irishtweety wrote: »

Thanks Tones... It seems to be a choice between the World and the World Platinum... I wonder is there much of a difference...

Prob not to be honest, the reviews on that world one i just showed you seem to be brilliant, guessing the world plat will be every bit as good, plus a bit more cant go wrong with either

Holy Diver

Anyone know where's the cheapest to get one of these - i have friends in the US for the next 3 weeks so can buy online to ship to them?

Irishvillian

I got mine posted over from the states for €300,(Golfbuddy World)

cillchainnigh

Read this thread and made an impulse purchase of a Golf Buddy Platinum for US$270 last night!

Lots of options on eBay, including the following:

http://cgi.ebay.com/GOLF-BUDDY-WORLD-PLATINUM-COLOR-TS-GPS-RANGEFINDER-NIB-/220822255510?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item336a083796

Dormy

The World model is practically the same as the Platinum.
Its the latest model(released early this year i think). The Platinum has been around for a while. I recently bought a GB World in new york for $250 in a fathers day sale in a golf shop. That was with 20%off I think. Courses from all over the world including Ireland preloaded. I didn't have to download anything. Fantastic bit of gear particularly at courses you are not familiar with but also great at home course.

Holy Diver

Thanks

I think I'm going to go with the Platinum from amazon.com - $299 - around €200, not bad like

One question - is there any need to get the additional bracket and pouch or are what comes with it adequate?

colmjh

I bought the world new on ebay about 6 months ago. Worked out at about €230 including shipping from the states. I couldn't be happier with it.

I find the clip on the holder more than adequate and just clip it to the strap on my colf cart that goes around the top of the bag.

What I also find very handy is a belkin car cigarette lighter adapter I got on amazon for about £3.50 that you can plug the usb cable from the golf buddy directly into and recharge it in the car. http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2009/04/belkin-nubbin-t/

It's output is 5V 1Amp so perfect for the golf buddy, your iphone etc.

Salmoy

Amazon are offering a Caddy Lite Plus at a good price which has good reviews. My only reservation is will it have Irish courses either loaded, or easily downloadable?

The previous comments about the Golfbuddy would seem to suggest yes, but I am buying this as a prize and dont want to buy and find the winner has to spend a lot of money to download Irish courses.

colmjh

Salmoy wrote: »

Amazon are offering a Caddy Lite Plus at a good price which has good reviews. My only reservation is will it have Irish courses either loaded, or easily downloadable?

The previous comments about the Golfbuddy would seem to suggest yes, but I am buying this as a prize and dont want to buy and find the winner has to spend a lot of money to download Irish courses.

As regards the Golf Buddy units, I've yet to find a course in Ireland that's not mapped. their website lists 327 mapped Irish courses. Better still, all 327 courses are stored on the device (actually 40 thousand worldwide) and updates are free so there is never any further costs.

The Caddy lite, going by their website have 311 courses mapped in Ireland so not too far off the mark. http://www.golf-plus.co.uk/mappedcourses.php
However it seems that a maximum of 10 courses can be stored on the unit and you have two choices as regards paying for maps... you can buy map credits which you can redeem against individual maps, or pay for a yearly membership where you can download as many as you wish.

In this respect I feel that the golf buddy is a better long term investment, and if you were buying for yourself I would recommend going for that, but I guess if you're on a budget for a golf prize then the Caddy lite might suit your needs better.

Salmoy

Many thanks, very helpful. As I thought really.
Salmoy

JOSman

Hi Irishtweety.

Did you buy the golf buddy and how did you get on (with regard to delivery)?

Thinking of buy this model myself. Does your boyfriend like it?

Thanks J

plfoley

Hi
Does anyone know where I can get a cracked screen replaced on a golf buddy tour gps
peter

GreeBo

Golf Buddy should replace it for you, thread on here before about someone getting it done for free....drop them a mail and see what they say!

Mr. Larson

GreeBo wrote: »

Golf Buddy should replace it for you, thread on here before about someone getting it done for free....drop them a mail and see what they say!

Yes thdat was me! I'll post details later but basically I got a freebie after smashing my own.

plfoley

plfoley wrote: »

Hi
Does anyone know where I can get a cracked screen replaced on a golf buddy tour gps
peter

Thanks for tip may try email and see what happens

plfoley

Mr. Larson wrote: »

Yes thdat was me! I'll post details later but basically I got a freebie after smashing my own.

Thanks very much for reply
Looking forward to your post

Mr. Larson

Here are the contact details.

They should replace the unit for you...


GolfBuddy Customer Support.
www.gpsgolfbuddy.eu

Please note that we have phone numbers in several countries, please see below for details. Our lines are open from Monday to Friday 09.00 -18.00 CET

-UK +44 2033181768
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