Over the years distance measuring devices have evolved into truly outstanding pieces of kit. With a large number of manufacturers now hitting the market and the big boys now producing upto their fifth generation, they are becoming increasingly popular to any generation and common knowledge to all. Some still may feel this is a form of “cheating” but with many devices being accessible for tournament use and the avid golfer now possessing one of these, don’t you think it’s time you bought one too?

As a GPS supplier we feel it is about time we tested these units and let you fellow golfers know what we feel are the positives of each of them. What we must remember is each of these units has been designed and manufactured containing attributes that will suit you more than your partner. For example the two options on offer, GPS or Laser. As our article "GPS vs Laser" outlined the clear differences between the two it might be worth having a look at that before you read on, to give you a clear understanding of what really is the difference between the two.

The decision was made by our technical team accompanied by fellow friends to test all the top units and a two day event set in stone at a local club in the South West to give each of them a thorough review. Each of the units stated below were taken fresh out of the box “as new” to give that first usage review, the units analysed were:

We feel that the units above are what could be classed as either the top spec, or most popular via generated sales with each of the top manufacturers. The units mentioned were classified based on the following:

• Value – initial cost, download costs if required

• Set-up – initial setup ease and downloading courses if required

• Ease of use – Ease of reading yardages including all other features

• Information on offer – as stated

• Ergonomics – the use in hand, button layout and if required ease of clipping to bag/cart

• Accuracy – reading yardage markers, books etc

• Performance – how robust is the unit, battery life and overall usage

So let’s get started: