Golf GPS units to take to the links are now both common and affordable, as the competition in the marketplace drives the prices down and causes manufacturers to make many features free download or standard equipment. There are many handheld models to choose from, applications to load into iPhones, and over a thousand accessories available online.

Knowing the distances from green to green, or from where you are in the rough to the middle of the green, is better than guessing and also makes it easier to select the proper club for each situation. Saved data helps in later assessments of which club worked best or how a hole could have been played to better advantage.

The screen display of many devices gives the par for each hole, score is kept and scorecards can be saved, and touch screens are now common. There are mounts to attach a handeld GPS to the golf cart, if the player prefers not to carry it. Screens are in color, with large characters to make reading distances and the menu items easy, and brightness is one of the competitive features.

A feature that is found on all units is a list of golf courses in the United States, stored in the unit and able to be expanded or updated online using a USB connection. It is easy to check online to make sure a device you are interested in lists your local courses and the ones you regularly play on vacation. Some units will tell you how far listed courses are from your current location, which would be helpful when deciding whether to accept invitations from golfing buddies.

Advantages of using a guidance program while playing golf include previewing the course, measuring the fairways and plotting the hazards. You can also select the perfect club after getting precise distances, keep score, and save both scorecard and length of shot information. Course maps reveal details of the landscape that are not always visible from where you stand, such as the direction a stream turns or the shape of a bunker.

Replaying the game shot by shot in the Clubhouse later is much easier with the saved data in a golf guidance system. For example, having past scorecards and past shots in the saved menu can help you back up claims that otherwise might be dismissed as wishful thinking.

Variations on golf GPS units include degrees of durability and waterproofing, programs for iPhones, fees charged for maps and updates, and tools included as standard equipment or available as options. It is easy to compare features online.

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