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I've got a GolfBuddy GPS and love it. Granted, I haven't tried a laser finder, but the GoldBuddy is accurate 99.9% of the time and I've got no plans leaving that bad boy.

I have a GPS and a few Apps on my phone. I want to get a laser sometime soon. They are more precise and last longer than a GPS battery. Every really good golfer that I know prefers a Laser over a GPS for the reason that they are accurate to within one yard and you will find that most GPS units are only accurate to within 5 yds. I have seen two of the same GPS units sit right beside each other and read as much as 12 yds difference. I think you will be better off with a laser. One perk of a laser is that it lets you dial in your yardages with you clubs more accurately.

I can't help you with the GPS vs. laser part, but I can add this if you choose to get a laser:

Don't try to save money on a cheap laser. I've used good ones ($300 plus) and a cheap one (about $150), and the cheap one sucks to the point that it's almost no help from outside 100 yards. The good ones don't require a tripod to hold it so steady that you can hit anything.

So Gregory, like in your foursome, you'll get some strong opinions here. A lot of it has to do with how much and what kind of information you want. Also, how involved you want to be with your 'distance device' while out on the course.

Laser advocates generally like its simplicity (point and shoot) and tend to be interested in distance to the pin and that's about it. They may also have had bad experiences with some GPS applications in the past such as: less than accurate distances, difficulty viewing the screen, or insufficient battery life.

GPS advocates tend to want more information. Distances to fairway bunkers and other hazards, to the front and back of the green. Lasers can only give you distances if it has a line of site to the target and something to focus on. So distances to anything on the other side of the dogleg, over a hill, to the back of an elevated green and so on is out.

Some GPS advocates like other features that come with the GPS app like scoring for example.

If you end up considering a GPS application on your smartphone, you'll need to let us know what smartphone you have. There are lots of GPS applications available, but which ones are available and how well they work does in some cases depend on the make and model of smartphone you have.

Get yourself a bushnell tour v2 laser, dont get a cheap one, it will drive you crazy, the cheaper models are for hunting, or not golfing, can give you a read out on a building, but not a flag, The line of site issue with laser versus gps is not a problem for me very often, once in a while it comes up, but not enough to warrant the extra fooling around with gps. My laser bag has a clip, the caddy clips it on her belt, she hands it to me, zap, accurate distance to anything, in a flash.

I used the GolfLogix app on my phone and while it does pretty much everything right down to keeping score, I had the same problem with battery consumption and ended up switching to GolfShot which did all the same stuff (the only exception was logging your individual shot distances, which they've now included for the IPhone on the latest update and Droid's will be out soon) which MUCH less battery consumption. Plus, I liked the interface better than GolfLogix.

But if you're that on the fence about which way to go as far as GPS or laser...why choose? Bushnell came out with a hybrid that has both on one piece of equipment. The GPS portion is not as fancy as you would get with a standalone or phone app. You get front, middle, and back of green measurements, but that's about it. Here's the link:

http://www.bushnellgolf.com/hy..

Thanks for the feedback everyone.

As far as phone apps -- It seems like Golfshot and Golflogix would have pretty much everything I would be looking for. I like the interphase of the golf logix -- just knowing the distance to the front, middle and back at a glance is really nice.

One of the questions I do have is -- would buying a GPS device (Sky Caddie, Garmin Approach, of Golf Buddy) be better than using a smart phone.

The one thing I do like about the Garmin Approach is the fact is uses double A batterys. To some this may seem like a pain but if they can be easily changed out if they run out in the middle of a round. Plus rechargable AA would help in that situation.

It also doesn't really bug me to pay for a yearly fee -- I see a $20 - $30 dollar yearly fee as not that big a deal to me.

As far a lasers -- I use my friends alot. It works good but I tend to like a little more info than the flag distance. There is always the doubt in my mind did I hit the flag or not. Also I find it a little bit of a pain to always grab the laser, shot the flag and get set. With the apps and devices I know everything I need just at a glance.

As Mark said -- I like knowing more info than just the flag.

Any thoughts on a device or a phone App??? Or are they pretty much about a wash.

This is one of the big reasons why players use lasers. They laser the crud out of the driving range, so they know how far they're hitting it that day. It's a big plus for the laser in the laser vs. gps question.

Gregory, the difference between a GPS device and what you can get on a smartphone has narrowed--surprisingly in a few instances what you get on your smartphone is better. For example, some smartphones have much larger and brighter displays than what you typically find on GPS devices.

SkyCaddie for some time grew like crazy because their product was head and shoulders over the rest. Now you can (not will but can) get most all of the same features on a smartphone app. The one advantage SkyCaddie will harp on today is the course mapping they do, which they will claim still gives them an accuracy edge. I'm not convinced that is in anyway significant today. I have several times found myself playing with someone using a SkyCaddie and rarely find our readings off by more than a yard. Also, any modifications to the course now require a physical remapping by SkyCaddie.

Now my results are comparing a SkyCaddie to FreeCaddie running on a Motorola DROID X. Use a different smartphone or software and your results might vary. Others have reported significant differences, even 5 to 10 yards difference using other software and hardware.

You've got three major variables: The hardware, the software and the actual course mapping. Most courses are mapped using satellite images and pinpointing on those maps the front edge and back edge of greens, hazards and other points of interest. Course mapping errors are easily corrected, but can be annoying. Most smartphone apps are giving you distances from these points. SkyCaddie maps the entire edge all around the green, so if you send your approach way off on the right or left of the green this can be an advantage.

Most smartphone apps offer free trials, some apps like the one I use are free apps. So if you want to try some out for yourself, it's easy and low risk.

If you don't want to spend a lot of money to start, try SkyDroid. It's a $1.99 app. I recently got it for my Droid phone but I'm not sure if it's available for others. All the courses you want, no yearly fee. It gives you a satellite view of the hole with as many distance points as you want. You can go to the website and edit the points as YOU want them.

I can't speak on lasers as I've never had one. Some people swear by them. Although they're probably more accurate, I can't be that super consistent with my clubs to justify the accuracy. I had a Golf Logix that just provided points and front middle and back of the green. While it worked for me, I liked the SkyDroid sattelite view of the holes. For $1.99 it's worth a try.

Laser pointers are awesome. I love the accuracy. I have only used one a few times. The last time I was on that day, and it was very helpful to have precise yardages. I shot a 70 that day. GPS is good too, but they are not as accurate. I have used them a lot more, and I notice repeatedly that they are often 5 yards off, which is huge in certain situations.

The most important info that a GPS gives over a laser is how long to fly a hazard or something like that, but I rarely need that kind of info. If its sand, I rarely care if I get in it, if its water, i'll only hit the shot if i'm about 90% sure I will have no issue clearing the water anyway.

Some if this depends on your skill level. I think low handicappers will like the precision of the laser rangefinder most of the time. Just my opinion though.

One more benefit of a GPS is knowing the dimensions of the green. If I have that info, and know where the flag is on the green it is really helpful. This is probably the best information from a GPS, now that I think about it.

If I know the green is 40 yards deep and the flag is on the front it can easily make a club, or even two club difference; however the rangefinder helps with this too.

Hey Greg - I have both and go back and forth depending on a couple of things. If I am familiar with the course I will tend to use the laser (Nikon Range Finder). If its a new course for me then i will tend to use the GPS (sky caddie)
For the most part i use the laser more than GPS. Many folks have said that 'Laser Players' only shoot the pin and are interested in the one yardage. That simply isn't true - at least not for me. I shoot the distance to the tree in the middle of the fairway, or the bunker lip protecting the green or the layup spot on my second par 5 shot, or anything else that will help you manage the course as you play. Its quick and doesn't take much to scope out the immediate portions of the course you are faced with at the time.
I bought a very nice range finder for a buddy for his birthday last year and he still has a tough time using it. For some reason he cannot hold the thing steady enough to hit the pin or other targets to get an accurate reading. So try it out first and make sure you can 'easily' use the laser because you don't want to fumble with it while playing - your focus should be on making the right swing.

Not even going to read the post. LASER!!!!!!! I have used all 3 and LASER is by far the best. Gives you exact distance to the pin, but I myself use markers out of the fairway unless the person riding with me has a laser.

I am strange enough to have both laser and GPS. I have the latest SkyCaddy GPS which I use 99% of the time. The good thing about GPS is that it does not require line of sight, and as Simmons mentioned you can measure to water or hazards or your favorite lay-up distance.

That being said I do have a laser. Generally speaking I don't use it unless I forgot to charge my GPS or I don't believe the pin location is correct.