Every manufacturer states that it has thousands of golf courses available in its database (see Table 1) – but we think it’s more important to know if they actually have the courses that you play (see Table 2 and check the manufacturer sites for the courses you most frequently play). In general, devices with full hole views have lower course availability than those without.
We also tested how easy it is to map courses that aren’t available from the manufacturer, and in cases where the course is mapped and available, if you can add more targets points to each hole.

Table 1. Manufacturer Claim of Courses Available (Updated Spring 2012)

Notes:
Source for “Courses Available” data was each company’s website, marketing literature or company representative.
Garmin courses are within the United States and Canada. Garmin G3 and G5 and S1 devices reviewed are North American versions, and do not have the ability to download courses in other regions.
For reference, the National Golf Foundation states there were 15,979 golf courses in the United States as of January 1, 2010 and Golf Digest estimated the number worldwide at over 32,000 as of 2005.

Our Survey

We took a cross-section of 100 public courses across the country and searched to see if the courses were available for each device. In order to avoid having a skewed result, we tried to utilize as broad and representative a sample as possible.
We counted courses as “covered” only if the highest level of functionality advertised is available for the course (for example, if SkyCaddie provides Intelligreen Pro, and if Sonocaddie provides Video Flyovers for the V500 devices).

To test if there were specific areas lacking in course coverage:

• 20 courses were selected in each of 5 geographical regions of the United States – the Northeast, Southeast, Midwest, Southwest, and West.
• Courses from 48 states were represented in our survey.

Selections were also evenly dispersed among 5 different types of courses:

• Top 100: The best of the best, these 20 courses are listed among the top 100 public courses in the country as determined by various publications.
• Destination: This group consisted of 20 resort courses that didn’t quite make the grade for Top 100 awards.
• Best New: As a test of how quickly companies make new courses available, we selected 20 courses recognized by various publications as among the best new courses of 2007 or 2008.
• Best Value: We decided to test whether companies would map courses for the frugal golfer, and found 20 courses recognized by various publications for their value for the money (”Best Public Courses Under $50″, et al).
• Tolerable 20: Finally, to see if course coverage extended to the average golfer, we selected 20 public golf courses that received absolutely no accolades – the type of munis and other local courses that the average duffer plays every weekend.

The Results

Overall Coverage

As shown in Table 2, the GolfBuddy World and Platinum devices lead the pack, with the Garmin Approach family, SkyCaddie (SG5) and IZZO devices right behind. All devices continue to creep upwards in course coverage since our initial reviews in 2009, though eight devices, the Callaway upro mx, the Golf Guru 4, Celestron CoursePro Elite and CoursePro, Matrix SHOTMATE Voice, SkyCaddie SGXw/SGX and Sonocaddie V500 have not cracked the 85% coverage level. Scores were out of a possible 100. Full detail of courses tested is available.

Table 2. Critical Golf Test Results – Course Coverage (Updated Spring 2012)

* Motorola MOTOACTV Golf Edition relies on a 3rd party of USER-mapped courses for its database.

Notes:
We define our course coverage statistic to only count a course as “covered” if it was mapped in the most advanced mode a device provided. Thus, in the case of the Callaway upro mx, only courses for which ProMode maps are available are counted as “covered”, with similar analyses for devices such as the GolfBuddy World Platinum (full hole layouts and green information), SkyCaddie SGXw/SGX (HoleVue and IntelliGreen Pro), Sonocaddie V300 (overhead maps) and Sonocaddie V500 (satellite images and video flyovers), Golf Guru 4 (AerVu maps) and Bushnell Neo/Neo+ (distances to hazards, custom points). The change in our methodology results as more and more devices evolve to providing overhead maps. We believe consumers want to know if these devices they are buying are able to deliver what is promised, and not a lower level of service.

Coverage by Course Type

When it came to course type (see Table 3 below), it was clear that coverage of “Best New” courses is the differentiator between the upper echelon and also-ran competitors in this category. That wasn’t too surprising (we would presume that the primary challenge for the makers of these units will always be keeping up with new courses that open) – but we were pleasantly surprised to see most units providing solid coverage of the Tolerable 20. Scores were out of 20 for each course type.

Table 3. Critical Golf Test Results – Course Coverage by Course Type (Updated Spring 2012)

See our list of golf courses tested for full details.

Coverage by Geography

The breakout by geography in Table 4 shows that devices that aren’t in the top tier of our course testing generally have one or more regions that trail their strongest regions in coverage. Scores were out of 20 for each region.

Table 4. Critical Golf Test Results – Course Coverage by Geography (Updated Spring 2012)

See our list of golf courses tested for full details.