If your on the market for golf GPS, there are tons of options available to choose from and at varying price points. What if your looking for a basic golf GPS unit that only gives you Front, Middle, Back of green measurements, and has only 4 buttons? You might want to check out the new IZZO SWAMI 1500 GPS.
Look and Feel
The Swami is IZZO Golf’s answer to a simple golf GPS that is utilitarian in design and easy to us. The SWAMI is about the size of a garage door opener and features a large easy to read display with four buttons to operate the unit. The up and down arrows are meant for you to cycle through the holes your playing and the FCB (Front, Center, Back) for changing the reading to the front, center,or back of the green. The ENT button is used to power on and off the unit. The SWAMI body is made of plastic and has a slight curve at the top of the unit, and also features a mini-usb port for syncing and charging the unit. Also included is a belt clip for wearing the Swami on your belt if you feel inclined to do so.
Performance
The SWAMI 1500 GPS features Insta-Lok Technology & powered by the latest SIRFStarIII chip, which instantly calculates distance to the Front, Center and Back of the green of 12,000 US courses. The minute you fire up the SWAMIi, the GPS automatically recognizes the course you’re playing. This is a great feature, because you no longer have to cycle through a bunch of menu screens to start playing golf.
In order to begin using the SWAMI 1500 GPS, you need to install their SWAMI Map Manager desktop application on your PC (the SWAMI Map Manager is not MAC compatible) to load the courses on your SWAMI. After you have registered your unit and purchased the annual golf course map fee of $35 for an entire year, you can begin to add courses to the SWAMI. The SWAMI can store up to 10 courses at a time. Just locate your courses with its easy to use search by name or zip code, and hit the Load to SWAMI button.
In terms of battery life the SWAMI does come with a rechargeable Lithium Ion battery that holds a charge for a minimum of 12 hours at time. During my tests, the SWAMI held its charge and lived up to its specs. I like having a long lasting battery, because the last thing I want to worry about is the GPS running out of power or having to constantly recharge the unit.
How accurate is the IZZO SWAMI 1500 GPS ?
I discovered in my tests that the SWAMI was extremely accurate and quick at getting my measurements to the front, center, and back of the green. As mentioned before, the minute you power up the unit, it automatically recognizes the course your on. I compared the distance reported on the SWAMI against the course markers and with a laser rangefinder. I was very impressed by the Insta-Lok technology and how accurate and reliable it was.
The SWAMI is very easy to use and accurate, but it does have a couple of small drawbacks. First, I’d like to see the SWAMI Map Manger be available for MAC or at least offer a web based version of the software. In this day and age you really need to offer both a MAC and PC version of the software. Next, I’d like for the SWAMI to automatically advance to the next hole, after you completed your previous hole. It doesn’t take much effort to press the up arrow, but it would be one less thing to have to remember to do. I found myself several times expecting the SWAMI to advance to the next hole, only to realize I had to press the down arrow to advance to the next hole.
Overall the IZZO SWAMI 1500 GPS is great value for a no fuss golf GPS. If you’re looking for a simple and intuitive golf GPS, that is lightweight, accurate, and has great battery life, then pick up the IZZO SWAMI 1500 GPS.
IZZO SWAMI 1500 GPS retails for $149.99
