Best Budget Golf GPS Rangefinders
Here is our roundup of the best budget Golf GPS rangefinders including features and reviews. We look at the best available handheld golf GPS category especially if you are on a budget. Our first few recommendations are small compact golf GPS units that easily fit in your pocket. Or can be clipped to your equipment or hat if preferred.
Things to Consider Before Buying a Golf GPS Rangefinder
Most of this style of compact golf GPS units may include voice commands and are typically in the $150 and lower price range. What they offer it is a good price point and compact form that is easy to carry as well as a very easy to operate device.
As we move into the more upscale and color units we will typically be in the $140 to $250 range. These units primarily offer full color displays touch screen screens. These screens are also able to operate even with gloved hand. They will include more upscale features including distances to the fairway, to hazards, to lay-ups and the ability to Pin an exact target and get precise yardage.
We hope you started with our golf GPS watch roundup, where we looked at the top 10 Golf GPS watches in our quest for the best golf GPS watch to buy. If you missed it please check it here.
Now let’s get into the best golf GPS Handheld devices you can find and look at some units that we recommend in the handheld rangefinder golf GPS category.
Here are the Best Budget Golf GPS Rangefinders
#1 Golf Buddy Voice 2
The is one of the easiest to use talking golf GPS that displays (and speaks) distances to front, center and back of the green.
The Dynamic Green View Technology provides distance readings from the golfer’s perspective.
The biggest drawing of the Golf Buddy Voice 2 Golf GPS Rangefinder is it’ simplicity. It is designed to be a simple audio golf distance GPS that will measure distances to fronts and backs of the green. And it will provide all the right course information in full recognition in maintaining legality for tournament play.
An interesting feature is a dynamic green viewing technology which shows a distance readings from golfers perspective. Users can choose male or female voice options depending on your preference. You also get the choice of 11 different languages.
The battery will give up to 14 hours of battery life giving up to 2 rounds per charge, and the Golf Buddy Voice 2 is water resistant.
With the price of around $100 at Amazon this is a good choice for an entry level golf GPS. This unit offers legal for tournament play and the convenience of voice technology.
#2 Golf Buddy Voice
The Golf Buddy voice is probably the most popular voice call GPS tracker available. It provides audio distance information actually speaking the distance to the front center and back of the green. You can have your choice of the different languages and this one comes pre-loaded with 35,000 golf courses. As an extra, shot distance measurement will tell you the distance of your golf shot through its audio speaker
The vast majority of users on Amazon have rated the Golf Buddy Voice GPS Range finder of solid five out of five stars. The overall rating from all users is a very respectable four and a half stars.
The benefit of this Golf Buddy Voice unit is its small size. It ios not much bigger than a matchbox yet carries thousands and thousands of courses pre loaded. What users like about this GPS device is its ease of use with full voice talking to guide you with a distances.
For those of you looking for a low cost unit, did we mention this is well below $100 ? And in a compact form this is definitely easy to carry.
#3 Bushnell Neo Ghost – The best cheap Golf GPS Rangefinder
Here is the updated version of the Ghost, the Neo Phantom:
The Bushnell Neo Ghost is another compact size golf GPS . At not much bigger the box of matches it will easily fit into a pocket so that you hardly know it is there.
It is designed for users who want a compact comfortable golf GPS to give the important distances, and do it at a rock bottom price. At well below $100 it is a solid buy that users are very happy with.
Like all golf GPS units, again the Bushnell Neo comes oaded with over 35,000 golf courses. Users enjoy the easy to read display showing front center and back distances to the green
The Bushnell Neo Ghost will measure up to four hazard distances per hole. There are no downloads and no membership fees to worry about, ever.
This little unit is fully tournament legal and it also has all the course recognition and automatic hole advance. The display is easy to read and to see your distances to front center back of greens. Hazards and lay up distances on each hole are also easy to read.
If you are looking for a cheap golf GPS for 2017 then we highly recommend that you consider the Bushnell Neo Ghost golf GPS. It can be had for a price that is hard to beat. Check it out above.
#4 GolfBuddy VS4
The GolfBuddy VS4 is designed for golfers who want a golf GPS that is easy to operate and provides simple yardage measurement.
This unit can speak the distances to the front center in back of the green. It is quite small and versatile enough to be clipped to your hat or belt, or easily stored in your pocket where you will hardly know it is there.
The GolfBuddy VS4 is brought to you from the same people who made the original GolfBuddy voice. The original Voice is the best selling golf GPS of all time on Amazon. So with the VS4 you also get to hear the distance to the front center back of the green.
This unit can clip to the users belt or hat. It has optional accessories so you can wear it on your wrist as a watch or clip and onto your golf bag or cart.
Some 38,000 courses are already loaded into this GPS memory. It has automatic course and hole recognition, can track shot distance measurement. All this while providing battery life that is average at 10 hours in GPS mode.
A feature many users are sure to appreciate is dynamic green view.
For those who are interested in other languages there isn’t a choice of eight different languages to choose from.
In a nutshell this version is very similar to the original Golf Buddy Voice but it is a newer version that offers a wealth of features. Faster speeds for starting up, detecting the next hole, and displaying the distances for your shot. All this at a price typically at just under $100 . This is also a nice economical choice and very convenient to wear and use it.
#5 Garmin Approach G6
In looking at the Garmin Approach G6 we move up to a slighter larger model hand held golf GPS unit. The G6 offers a full color screen display at a price that can be below $200 when on sale at Amazon.
This unit comes loaded with worldwide courses and no subscriptions are ever required. It is larger than the small pocket style clip-on GPS units but the Garmin G6 is still only 2.6 inches long and is still fairly compact.
It is built to be waterproof and robust so will hold up very well during usage even if you get rained on the golf course. The display is touch screen and is also glove friendly. No need to remove your glove to operate the unit. And there is an adjustable back light so this unit is easy to read regardless of lighting conditions
Users find the Garmin Approach G6 six is a nice compact slim design featuring a full color touch screen display. The display is easy to read making it very easy to operate. There are two buttons to give you instant access to the green view or the shot measurement or the digital scorecard.
The G6 is loaded with thousands of courses, and there are and never any extra fees or subscription payments involved. The scorecard features include scoring options for Stroke Play, Skins and Match Play and Stableford with adjustable handicaps. The enhanced tracking feature will keep track of your fairways hit, greens in regulation and pars per round. You can check your stats after the game you can download them. You can even print them to your home printer unit.
The colorful display will show lay-up arcs for 100, 150 and 200 yard distances. On the longer holes to the 250 yard marker will show you how far you need to hit your ball. You can use the touch point on the screen to zero in with a pin to really fine tune your aim and get the most accurate yardage possible.
With the Garmin G6 you get the precise distance to any hazard or spot that you desire to see. That includes exact measurements to the landing area or on area of the green that you wish to hit.
If a full color touch screen with some of these advanced options are features you want or need, the Garmin Approach G6 is definitely an asset to your golf game and at a decent price.
#6 Garmin Approach G8
The Garmin approach G8 golf GPS is really an upscale version of the G6 model. It provides distances to the target the adds adjustment for uphill or downhill shots. That is something that was not available on the better priced G6. With the G8 you can also connect your smartphone so that you can receive e-mail texts or alerts from your phone while on the golf course.
There’s also a club memory feature that will track and remember how far you hit each golf club club. This Garmin device will also give you recommendations on which club to use based on your average club distance. And the pinpoint feature also provides accurate pointing distances to all areas of the fairway and also to hazards.
There’s also a big number mode for easy review on your screen. This allows you to increase the font size which is a great feature if you have a little more trouble reading and viewing the display without your reading glasses.
This is like a big brother to the G6 except this G8 model has the larger 3 inch color display. It is a full color and touch screen display. It comes loaded with courses as you would expect with any good golf GPS. If by chance a course if not on the unit there are automatic course updates by connecting through a Wi-Fi connection. There never are any fees or subscription costs involved with this excellent GPS.
The pinpoint area allows even greater accuracy than most other GPS units. It allows you to locate the pin on the fairway clearing any hazards or to the green to give you a greater degree of pinpoint accuracy. If you don’t mind being disrupted while the golf course you can allow it to pair your smart phone to receive e-mail or text on golf course.
One of the key features you get for the extra money is club tracking. This golf GPS will recommend a club to use based on your stats. The G8 will even adjust that club to adjust for uphill or downhill shots to help enhance the accuracy of your play.
Yes, the Garmin G8 golf GPS is a little bit more expensive but offers a number of great features that may be worthwhile if you’re willing to pay a bit more for a premium golf GPS.
We highly recommend checking the full review of the Garmin Approach G8 golf GPS or you can use the link above to go directly to Amazon to pick up this handheld golf GPS.
#7 Izzo Swami 5000+
With the Izzo standard features include preloaded with over 30,000 golf courses on a global scale. There are never any costs or download fees ever required and auto course recognition.
Here is the link to our original full article for the Izzo Swami 4000 golf GPS Review.
Distances to the front center and back of the green, and lay-up distances to hazards and dog legs are provided.
The 1.8 inch color display has large writing and is easy to read. It will also perform was shot distance measurement as well auto hole advance and lastly ability to edit the course map.
The Izzo Swami 5000 is a newer version of the original is 4000 golf GPS unit that proved very popular. Overall this Izzo golf GPS has a very high rating of four 1/2 five stars at Amazon with the majority of users rating and a solid five.
The swami golf GPS is designed to offer ease of operation, easier readability and high accuracy with very quick response. This near model includes lay-up and carry distance to hazards and dog legs. This is a definite improvement over the the previous model.
It retains the nice colorful display that is easy to read even in bright sunlight conditions. Auto course recognition and hole advance are also welcome additions to this GPS unit.
The battery will last for 10 to 12 hours of the full charge which is a respectable amount of time. You should be good for two full rounds of golf. Price wise this unit is right at or just under $100 mark making it a value golf GPS. It is certainly worth the money for an entry-level handheld GPS unit.
#8 Garmin Approach G3
The Garmin Approach G3 is a nice little handheld color screen golf GPS unit. It’s available with the 2.6 inch or 3.0 inch screen. With a $100 premium for larger screen we would recommend the small or 2.6 inch screen version.
The Approach G3 will provide yardage measurements to fronts and back of the green as well as to lay up distances, hazards and fairways. As you advance through the golf course your position will be updated on the display to give you the distance to each target.
The Garmin G3 three is designed to be a more upscale color touch screen golf GPS but at the value price level. If you can stay with the 2.6 inch screen at a price below $150 we believe that Garmin has really hit the mark
The exact distance to each upcoming target the G3 three offer in a color screen display at a price of many monochrome units making it a very good buy. You’re getting a high quality unit at a good very good price.
Rangefinder Final Verdict
That concludes our summary of the best handheld golf GPS devices you can get. You can’t go wrong with any of the units, but its best for you to choose the features and model that looks best for you.
If your idea of the best budget Golf GPS rangefinders is for a wearable golf GPS watch model, then check out our article where we take a look at the the best Golf GPS Watches and provide our top picks.
