Written by: Tony Korologos
| Date: Wednesday, October 1st, 2014
Categories: Golf • Golf Accessories • Golf Gear • Reviews
Tags: Golf Buddy • Golf GPS
Categories: Golf • Golf Accessories • Golf Gear • Reviews
Tags: Golf Buddy • Golf GPS
My latest gamer in the golf GPS
department has been the GolfBuddy VS4 Golf GPS. The VS4 is a tiny
golf GPS, the size of a watch but without a watch band. Not only is this
golf GPS tiny, it speaks your yardages to you. Suggested retail price on
this unit is $179.99 but I’ve seen street pricing averaging at around
$149.99.
GolfBuddy VS4 Feature List
- Speaks yardages as well as informing golfer that he’s on a certain hole/tee box (just don’t hit shot from one hole to next tee box!)
- Detachable back allows unit to be mounted to hat, belt
- Water Resistant
- Displays yardages to front/center/back of the green
- Green view
- Preloaded with 37,000+ global courses
- Automatic course & hole recognition
- Measures shot distances
- 10 hour battery life
- Standard micro-usb charging cable
On The Course
I’ve found the convenience of the
VS4 to be stellar. The unit is so small and light that I usually carry it
in my left pocket (right pocket is tees and divot tool). When I want a
yardage I can push the talk button through my pocket and the lady’s voice tells
me “180 yards to center of green.” I’ve also mounted the unit on my belt
and can easily see the center yardages as well as front and back.
The yardages in this unit are solid
and accurate. I use a golf laser rangefinder as well, and the yardages to
green center are either exact, or within 2-3 yards. The advantage of the
GPS over the laser is that I can get yardages from anywhere without having to
have a straight line of sight. And lately with my driving accuracy issues,
I need yardages from behind trees, houses, cars, buildings, airplanes,
mountains.
GolfBuddy VS4 Golf GPS
The unit lasts close to two rounds,
about 10 hours. I make sure to charge it before every round.
Speaking of charging… a big gripe I
have with watch sized golf GPS units is that they all have proprietary charging
cables. So if you forget your cable, you can’t charge it by using a
standard cable. That especially sucks when you are on a golf vacation.
The VS4 uses a standard micro-usb cable for charging. Very
convenient and if one forgets the cable, a new one can be purchased nearly anywhere
for super cheap, like less than $2.00.
Critiques
The only missing feature I can think
of with this great golf GPS unit is changing voices. I’d die and go to
heaven if they put in the “scottish caddie” voice. When you click the
button a burly caddie speaks to you in indecipherable gibberish and at the end
of the yardage says “f*&*ing hit it!”
Accessories
I’m not a watch wearer but for those
who are, an optional watch band allows this unit to be worn on the wrist.
Conclusion
I have at least 10 golf GPS units in
my garage thanks to running a popular blog. The VS4 is the unit I’ve
chosen as my go-to gamer. This is the one in the bag. The size,
convenience, and accuracy make the GolfBuddy VS4 my GPS of choice.
$148.84 with free shipping on Amazon.
$148.84 with free shipping on Amazon.
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