Voice Caddie 300 - Product Review
The Good: Extremely easy to set up and get started, simple to use, speeds up play on the course, over 25,000 courses already preloaded, chic feature in that it reads the distance to you.
The Bad: Very obvious accessory that may be considered unfashionable; only provides yardages to the green, not to pin.
The Bottom Line: A very useful tool to provide you with a accurate distances for approach shots. No distances are available from off the tee, and yardages are not exact. A great option for players of all abilities, however mid-to-high handicappers will benefit most, for whom exact yardages to pins as well as landmarks off the tee are usually not a priority.
If you want to play your best golf, you need to know the distances that you hit each of your clubs, and these yardages should be as precise as possible. Golf GPS distance devices are a fantastic way for golfers to become familiar with their yardages, while at the same time know how far they are from each green when on the course. After all, what good is knowing how far you hit each club, if you don’t know how far you are from the pin. Golf GPS and rangefinders provide players with the means of making distance measurement a habit in each pre-shot routine.
The Voice Caddie 300 is such a tool. Designed to clip to the brim of your hat, it will state front, middle and back of green yardages. Many similar products provide a visual of the distance that you have in for each approach shot, but the Voice Caddie 300 actually reads the distance to you.
Target Consumer
This product is ideal for mid-to-high handicappers. While it certainly is useful for lower handicappers, when your game is at that level, you often want exact yardages to particular pins, as well as carry distances off tee boxes. This product will benefit all players, but is most useful for mid-to-high handicappers, or in other words, the majority of the golf population.
Getting Started
The product comes in a small, compact box which keeps the limited amount of accessories together. The limited accessories is a good thing, for there is less to keep track of, and speaks to the simplicity in using the device. Contained is a short, easy to follow guide for how to use the product. It’s nice to see a device where you don’t feel you’re needing to read a novel in order to become an expert on how to use the product. The developers of the Voice Caddie 300 have done a very good job of creating a tool for golfers to use on the golf course that is easy to become familiar with, and then easy to use on the golf course.
Use on the golf course
When you arrive at the course simply turn on the device and it will prompt itself to search for the course. While this is a very straightforward process, it is important that you turn the device on as soon as you arrive at the course, for if you wait until the last minute, it is possible that you will have to go a hole or two without being able to get yardages. It sometimes takes a little bit of time to locate your venue.
By clicking the centre of the device one time, you receive the distance to the middle of the green. When you click two times, you are told the distances to the front and back of the green. It really cannot get more simple than this, and simplicity is imperative so as to ensure that it is a tool that compliments your pre-shot routine, rather than diverting your attention away from the shot you are about to hit.
An issue I encountered was when I was close to another hole, and the Voice Caddie thought this was the hole to provide measurements for. It has been designed with a very easy fix. By simply holding down the two volume buttons simultaneously, it allows you to then use those same buttons to go up or down hole numbers to find the hole you are currently playing. I must say, I am very impressed with how easy all the features are to learn and then implement.
The Voice Caddie 300 is designed to clip onto the brim of your hat. The problem with this is that it can serve as an eyesore. While many golfers don’t care about such appearances, fashion is a major part of our industry, and many a player wants to look the part when they step onto the first tee. The device is in no way ugly, it’s actually quite modern and sleek, but it is sleek for a technological device, not from a fashion standpoint. The good news is that the device can be clipped to a belt buckle, or even to your golf bag. This way you can use the device, without compromising fashion.
Cost: $129.99
About the Author This article was written by Jonathan Carr (@jonathanwcarr) as part of our 'product review' section. As a scratch golfer himself, Jonathan has a keen eye for what it takes to be successful on and off the golf course. His passion for golf is surpassed only by his passion for his faith and his family. Read some of Jonathan's other articles here.
Our goal with all product reviews is to provide an unbiasted look at various golf products, what we like, what we didn't like etc. All opinions are those of the author and not necessarily the official opinion of Eat Sleep Golf.
