Category: Reviews

The Expresso AG50 comes loaded with front, center and back green distances along with pre-mapped targets. With a paid membership via iGolf.com (the same company that provides data for Bushnell XGC/XGC+ golf GPS devices) of $34.99/year , players will also have access to full hole images and the ability to determine distances to any point on the course. The Expresso AG50 isn't just a golf GPS device, however. It is equally a car navigation device, and multimedia player. With its smorgasbord of offerings, it is a member of a unique category of golf GPS devices that also includes Golf Guru.Check back for our Expresso AG50 review, or follow us on twitter (twitter.com/criticalgolf), where we tweet all our latest reviews they are released. Retail price: $199.95 Three year total cost: $304.92 Amazon.com: Check price now Golfsmith: Check price now

The Expresso AG1 (the "AG" standing for "Automotive" and "Golf") provides a navigation system for while you are on the road, and a golf GPS device for when you are on the course. Not limited to just GPS use, the device also can acts as a portable media player, with the ability to show photos, and play both music and video. Whether users find these additional features a plus or a minus, however, we leave (until our review) for others to debate. Retail price: $249.99 Three year total cost: $354.96 Amazon.com: Check price now

We never had a chance to test the Sun Mountain KG:2 carry bag, but here's what we know: The KG:2 comes with a host of Sun Mountain's premium stand bag features, including light weight, the E-Z Fit Dual Strap System, and a cart-friendly bottom and new leg-lock system. The bag features a 9.5" 4-way top, three integrated top handles, and 8 pockets (with a mobile phone specific pocket - just make sure you turn it off though, OK?). The bag comes in eight color combinations. Retail price: $299 Availability: Discontinued. Replaced by the Sun Mountain Series One.

With the V300 Plus, Sonocaddie is starting to rival SkyCaddie with the sheer number of devices they have available: 6 versus SkyCaddie's whopping 7 devices. A marketer's dream! The Sonocaddie V300 Plus has a color screen and comes preloaded with basic distance information, including course hazards, targets and a graphic indication of whether they are on the left, center or right side of the hole. It does not, however, provide a map of the hole. Accessing hole maps, which include both color graphic layouts and satellite images, requires an additional membership fee of $29.95 per year. Retail price: $229.95 Amazon.com price: Check price now

Bag Boy, well known for their push and pull golf carts, also offers a remote controlled electric cart, the Navigator 2. The Navigator 2 has two rear wheels, a 360-degree swiveling front wheel (with suspension), and the common rear wheel stabilizer. Dual 140-watt motors power the cart, which has controls for front/reverse and left/right. The Bag Boy Navigator 2 also comes with a removable seat with storage, in case there aren’t any benches on the tee to take a load off. Bag Boy Navigator 2 Retail Price: $1,995.95 Availability: Discontinued. Replaced by the Bag Boy Navigator Elite

The Callaway upro mx has now been officially discontinued, ending its disastrous 16 month lifespan which included the initial launch, a litany of initial problems with both the device and uxplore portal, the (supposedly temporarily) recall of the device, a release of PC beta software in an attempt to fix issues, and as of today, the official scrapping of the device without ever being re-released. We can now say that this was the worst golf GPS launch GPS (actually probably the worst of any consumer tech device) we have ever seen. Read our detailed Callaway upro mx news update for further information Availability: never! Retail price: $199 plus $59.99 for unlimited ProMode (satellite view) courses Replaced by: Callaway upro mx+

Please note that as Shotsaver products have an extremely limited number of courses available within the U.S. and are manufactured and distributed within Europe, we are not offering a full review at this time. Retail price: £249.99 For those in the UK, Shotsaver S430 is available directly from Snooper.

While we have not obtained a Bushnell Tour V2 Slope Edition laser rangefinder for testing, we believe that it will provide the same level of performance as the Bushnell Tour V2, reviewed on our site. These two rangefinders have the same specifications, with the exception of the slope-adjusted distances available on the Slope Edition version. Retail price: $399 Amazon.com: Check price now Golfsmith: Check price now

FreeCaddie is one of the few apps listed here that doesn’t include either satellite or graphic hole images. The app provides distance readings to the center as well as front and back of the green, along with hole and par information, and offers far better course coverage than most apps on our list. But given the bugs we experienced, the lack of hole views and scoring, users can do better elsewhere. Download FreeCaddie from iTunes

As hard as we tried, we never could get this app to launch successfully, receiving a variety of error messages upon launch. At least there is a 24-hour trial so players can see if the app works for them before purchase. And if you succeed, you get the pleasure of paying a blistering $50 yearly to access the iGolf GPS database, the highest-priced iPhone golf GPS app tested. Price: Free for the basics, $50 per year for GPS functionality Download iGolf Golf GPS for iPhone from iTunes

With a combination of extremely sparse course coverage and an interface that isn’t quite as polished as others, Orrie Golf is going to struggle against both paid and free competition. We mapped a course in our area via the Orrie Golf website, but were unable to access it for play. Sad to say, we can't even get this app started. Price: $9.99 Download Orrie Golf from iTunes

We attempted a number of times to test Sonocaddie for the iPhone, only to find that it does not work on the new iPhone OS4.0. Most iPhone golf GPS app companies have been quick to make this transition to the latest operating system, and we take this as a bad sign of how the Sonocaddie app was developed. We’re going to wait for availability o the latest OS arrives before reviewing. Price: $34.99 Download Sonocaddie from iTunes

TeeDroid lacks the satellite or hole graphics that all other paid apps reviewed by Critical Golf provide, and has consistently been one of the least stable apps tested. The good news is that you have 45 days to demo the app for free before deciding not to pay the annual fee. Price: $19.95 per year Download TeeDroid from iTunes

The Bushnell XGC, which we have not had the opportunity to review, includes course maps, distances to up to 5 custom points per hole, the ability to determine the distance to any point on the hole, and scorecard and statistics tracking. The device features a 2.2" high resolution color screen and storage for up to 100 courses. Amazon.com: Check price now Golfsmith: Check price now

An augmented reality iPhone golf GPS app?! Yup, it's true. The good news is when it's working it's a pretty nifty app to show off to your friends. The bad news is that the current version is riddled with bugs. We would love to spend more time, but we'll wait until the app is more stable. Price: $19.99 Download Golfscape from iTunes

From one of the top optical companies in the world comes the Leica Pinmaster. The Pinmaster sports a lightweight carbon-reinforced body and is watertight (to a depth of a meter, so don't throw it into the pond in a fit of rage). The device offers an exceptional 7x magnification (matching the Bushnell 1600 series and the Callaway LR1200), with an adjustable eyepiece that is suitable for glasses wearers and an LED display that adjusts its brightness based on the lighting conditions during play. The whopping $799 price tag is tops the in our tests, but rest assured you will likely to be the only one in your foursome playing this beauty. Retail Price: $799 Amazon.com: Check price now

The iGolf Neo was re-branded under an agreement with Bushnell and is marketed (and reviewed by Critical Golf) as the Bushnell Neo. The iGolf Triton and Saturn are now available as the Bushnell Yardage Pro XG and XGC.