GPS rangefinders are nothing new – golfers have long used them to determine distances between fixed points at the course, arming them with better information for their club and shot selection. The GoGolf GPS takes those same rangefinders and integrates it in a wearable that can give you the distance between your current position and the center of the green that you are approaching at any time.
Instead of having to pull out a phone or a dedicated handheld device to take measurements, you simply push a button on the wearable to prompt it to recite the precise distance from the hole to your location. No apps to launch, no touchscreens to tap, and no complicated controls to mess with, making it the most convenient way to get precise distance to help inform your game.
The GoGolf GPS is small device no bigger than a thumb drive that you can clip to the rim of your glasses, the visor of your baseball cap, or the collar of your shirt – basically, any part of your clothing where you can hear the audible sounds that play from the device’s integrated speaker. Weighing a mere quarter of an ounce, it’s completely lightweight, ensuring it won’t get in the way of your playing, no matter where you decide to mount it. To ensure simple operation, it comes with just two buttons: one that prompts it to announce the distance to the center of the green and another that announces the distance the ball traveled during your last shot, two crucial pieces of information that can help you make adjustments on the fly.
During use, the device pairs over Bluetooth with a companion app (iOS and Android), which does the actual distance calculations. It uses GPS information and course map information to make the measurements, by the way, so it will only work with courses that are included in the database. The good news? The app currently has access to information on 30,000 golf courses worldwide, so there’s a good chance it’s going to work at wherever you’re playing next. Oh yeah, it also supports up to 35 languages, so non-English speakers should find it just as useful to their game.
The GoGolf GPS comes with an 8-Ohm micro speaker, which should make it terrible for playing music but good enough for listening to spoken readings of distance measurements. Since it’s, essentially, a Bluetooth speaker, you can use it like one, so you can listen to podcasts, turn-by-turn navigation, and crappy-sounding music using the wearable device.
A water-resistant build allows you to keep it clipped to your clothing regardless of weather conditions, so as long as you don’t drop it in a water hazard, the wearable should keep running the whole time you’re playing. It has a rechargeable battery rated at five full 18 rounds of golf between charges, so you can probably play all day without needing to plug in to a power outlet, all while recharging fully in just an hour.
The GoGolf GPS is available now.
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