GolfBuddy is also the only company that focuses 100% on golf, maps courses on foot for added accuracy and provides completely fee-free access to its extensive worldwide database of courses. It means GolfBuddy is the only Distance Measuring Device (DMD) brand which offers products to suit all golfers, however they want to receive distance information – laser rangefinder (LR4), GPS handheld devices (PT4), GPS watches (WT5, WT4), compact audio GPS (VS4) and now wearable tech GPS (BB5). “BB5 tells the time and has a pedometer for those who want the additional benefit of owning a ‘fitness tracker’.” GolfBuddy BB5 colour optionsīB5 was designed by GolfBuddy as fitness bands such as Fitbit, Bowflex and Razer – which help users track aspects of their life such as exercise, diet and heart-rate – have helped the ‘wearable tech’ sector of consumer electronics reach record sales levels. “It’s very slim and light when compared to GPS watches, so appeals to golfers who don’t currently like to wear a watch when they play, or lady and junior golfers looking for a lighter or more comfortable GPS option. “The BB5 delivers outstanding distance measuring accuracy to the front, middle and back of over 500,000 worldwide golf course greens and also provides shot distance measurement, so golfers can record how far they hit each club. Said GolfBuddy’s John Ennis: “The global rise of the fitness band has firmly established ‘wearable tech’ and the launch of the BB5 positions GolfBuddy once again at the forefront of bringing the latest mainstream consumer trends to golf. It comes supplied with two sizes of band S/M and L/Xl, with six different colour bands available as accessories. Golfers can also measure their shot distances, record the number of steps they take and tell the time.īB5 weighs just 1 ¼ ounces, is water resistant to IP65 rating and has a rechargeable lithium battery giving up to 13 hours in golf mode. The first BB5 will be available in Europe next month (April) as part of a global launch programme of a product seen as a genuine major development in the way golfers receive distances on the course.īB5 gives precise distances to the front, middle and back of the green on over 37,700 global golf courses. The company’s new BB5 GPS band (MSRP £199.95) is significantly slimmer and lighter than a watch and delivers supremely accurate yardages via a ‘tickertape-style’ LED dot display. Golf Buddy has heritage too - it's been knocking out golf watches and hand-held GPS trackers for years.Ĭheck out its online store for more info, the BB5 comes in six colours (the straps are interchangeable) and will be available in April.GolfBuddy – the pioneer of on-foot mapping and 100% fee-free features in the distance measuring market – has launched the world’s first golf GPS band. It's IP65 certified, so should be fine in the rain, and has a 10 hour battery life in GPS mode - plenty for two rounds for even the slowest of players. That's the same price as the aforementioned TomTom effort, which packs a lot more tech in, and £60 more than the low-end Garmin Approach S2, which does boast lay-up and dog-leg distances.īut, if you're after a wristband rather than a watch-shaped wearable the BB5 is really your only option and it will work on over 37,000 courses – that's more than 500,000 greens – around the world. However, some golfers don't want to be bogged down with lay-up distances and keeping their score digitally - so the BB5 may well be the answer. The Golf Buddy BB5 isn't exactly a rival to the information overloaded Garmin Approach S6 or the TomTom Golfer – it simply counts your steps and gives you your distance to the front or back of the green on its LED dot display.
Golf tech: Best golf wearables, GPS watches and swing analysers Golfers around the world have been slapping on GPS watches way before the wearable tech revolution even hit first gear so we were surprised to hear that the Golf Buddy BB5 - which goes on sale next month - is the first GPS golf band the world has ever seen.