Are you still pacing off yardages? How many times do you find a marker that seems inaccurate? Wouldn’t you rather have a rangefinder? I know, they’re expensive, but now there’s one that costs less than a new fairway wood.
The iGolf Neo represents the new entry point for GPS rangefinders. At $149.99 (plus a $30 annual subscription), the iGolf Neo will make owning a GPS rangefinder a more likely proposition for many golfers.
I know what you’re thinking, a GPS rangefinder for $150? It must be seriously limited in features. Well, as a matter of fact, this review is a bit overdue, because I’ve been enjoying playing golf with the iGolf Neo instead of writing about it.The debate over whether GPS or laser is the better technology wages on in forums in elsewhere (you can find my thoughts in a Trap Five article). Overall, each technology has its pros and cons and like everything else, you should go with the one that works best for you.
One drawback of both technologies (that is improving in each camp) is the size of the unit itself. The iGolf Neo is the smallest golf-specific device that I’ve seen to date. There are devices for running and hiking that are smaller, but those units generally don’t require the same level of intelligence that a golf unit does (to follow hole-to-hole routing, for instance).
Honestly, I didn’t expect that much from the Neo. At this price and size, just how well could the thing work? Surprisingly well, it turns out.
Design and Construction
The 2.5 ounce Neo is a compact but functional rangefinder. At 1.75″ x 3.25″ x .75″, the Neo is about the size of a closed flip-style cell phone. I had no problem reading the 80 x 120 high-contrast LCD screen even in bright sunlight. For those twilight rounds, the Neo also has a backlight that you turn on and off by tapping the Power button.
All of the buttons are found close together along the Neo’s lower edge and are, therefore, necessarily a tad on the small size. Still, I found them easy to use, though I wonder if moving the Power and ESC/Menu buttons to the sides or top of the device to spread functions out a little might make the Neo even more user friendly. For the most part, you’ll use the Screen and Up/Down buttons the most and they are located adjacent to each other making it easy to switch between holes and get the information you need quickly.
The Neo and the entire iGolf line is manufactured by L1 Technologies, which has a substantial presence in manufacturing GPS units for other applications. iGolf is its golf-only brand.
Though the Neo is small in size, it is reasonably tough. I managed to drop mine onto the cart path from a moving cart a few times, and, aside from a few scratches, the Neo continued to work well.
Getting the Neo Ready to Play
You can use the Neo right out of the box (after charging the battery) if you want to map your own course. Chances are you’ll want to download courses for the device, however, and happily there’s not much to setting up the Neo. I didn’t even read the directions, and everything worked out fine. You just load the iGolf Neo Sync software onto your Windows computer from the included CD, and you’re ready to start downloading courses from the iGolf website.
Your computer will be the storage device for most of your courses. The Neo only holds 10 (or fewer) courses at a time. It also serves as the archive for any Custom Points you add to existing courses and for any courses you map yourself. If you use these functions (and you’ll probably want to add at least a few Custom Points to your home course), you’ll want to be sure to use the Save Course function in the iGolf Sync interface, which uploads courses from the device to the computer. Once you customize a course, you probably won’t need to add additional customization, so most of the time you’ll use the interface only to download new courses.
Because the course information is saved on your computer, if you plan to use the Neo on the same bunch of courses you always play, it’s possible to pay the $30 per year subscription the first year, download the courses you want, and drop your subscription the following year. If, like me, you play several new courses each year, then the subscription price starts to sound fairly reasonable. Especially when you consider that many resort courses are charging $5-10 for GPS rentals these days.
Most of the courses that I play were easy to find on the website. From lower-range publics to all but the most exclusive privates, I was able to download GPS information for nearly any course in my area as well as courses when I vacationed in North Carolina. There are omissions (a C-list 9-holer near me and a new semi-private were missing), but for the most part you should be able to find the courses you play. You can establish whether your course’s GPS information is available even before purchase by doing a simple search on the iGolf site. You don’t have to log in until you want to actually download the information.
Once you’ve downloaded the course information you want to add to the Neo, you hook up the included USB cord between the Neo and your computer and hit the “Sync Courses” button on the main screen of the Sync program. You’re then prompted as to which courses you want to download. From there, it’s just a click to load the info onto the Neo. I experienced no problems at all with the process.
Playing Golf with the Neo
The basic functionality of the Neo is simple to use. The toughest thing to remember is that you have to advance the device manually from hole to hole using the Up and Down buttons, which is not all that tough. The screen clearly shows the hole the device thinks you’re on in the upper right corner, so you can always make sure you’re getting yardage to the right green.
To begin a round, just turn the Neo on by holding down the power button until the welcome screen appears. Then you just select “Play Golf” from the Main Menu, which brings up a menu of the courses you have downloaded to the device. Select the one you want to play, and you’re ready to go… almost. You will want to turn the Neo on several minutes before your tee time, because it will generally take a few minutes to locate three satellites and start calculating distances. Until then, the hole information will remain blank. Make sure that the Neo has an unobstructed view of the sky, and the Neo will be displaying yardage in no time.
iGolf has crammed a good bit of functionality into the Neo. It provides Front/Back/Center readings to every green, as well as four additional yardage points. In general, downloaded courses will have two of these additional points used to mark distance to bunkers or water hazards. You can use the other two points to mark custom distances to make the Neo even more useful on your most often played courses.
Each screen in Play Mode gives you distance to the Center mark, so even if you are checking distances to bunkers (or measuring the distance of your drive) you can get the distance to the center of the green. If your course provides pin sheets that give you yardages from the center to the flag, you can get a very accurate yardage to go pin hunting. Otherwise you can make a reasonable estimate of the distance by going for the midpoint between Front and Center (or Center and Back, as the case may be) or by eyeballing how far up or back the pin is and taking your best guess.
All yardages are provided numerically. There are no diagrams of the hole. At the Neo’s price, I think that’s perfectly understandable and generally not necessary. However, there are two scenarios in which this does create slight issues (these are common to most GPS systems, not just the Neo).
First of all, the preset points (aside from the Front/Center/Back green yardage) are not necessarily those you (or most rational humans) would choose to map. Occasionally on a hole with a forced carry or a fairway bunker in play, the download will give you distance to the right and left greenside bunkers. Since there’s no diagram of the hole, there’s no feature to place a cursor on the hole to determine the distance to that point. Happily you can work around this by customizing the course.
The second issue is closely related. If you approach a green from a different direction than the “normal” course of play (or if the person who originally mapped the course lost their mind on a hole), the Front/Center/Back readings will be out of whack. On a course I play fairly often, there’s a short par 5 where most golfers will have a shot at the green on their second shot. The downloaded course, however, maps the Front/Center/Back distances from the lay-up area, 90° from general direction of play. Therefore, the Front/Center/Back distances are exactly the same from the center of the fairway. It’s goofy, but you still get a good idea of where the center of the green is. And, again, you can always add custom points to get around this limitation.
You’ll run into the lack of lay-up/carry information more than you will find the green distances askew, but the Neo provides workarounds for both situations. Overall, the Neo gives you useful information for getting around the golf course. I played two tournament rounds with one (yes, it was legal) and a bunch of casual rounds. I found the device helpful and easy to use on the course.
Carrying the Neo
The Neo will fit in your pocket easily or even in a cell phone holster. At 2.5 oz., it’s not going to weigh you down or be too uncomfortable to carry. Good thing, because the included belt clip lasted a mere round and a half, and then broke. I’ve heard others complain about the belt clip, as well. Basically I just wouldn’t count on the plastic belt clip that comes with the Neo. If you don’t want to carry it in a pocket (preferably one without divot tools and tees to avoid scratching the screen), your golf bag, or the cart, you can always order the $24.99 belt case available on the iGolf site.
For the record, you can pick up other optional equipment on the iGolf website, including: a car charger ($24.99), a storage case ($24.99), a replacement wall charger ($9.99), and a replacement belt clip ($9.99).
Over about 15 rounds this summer, that was the biggest annoyance I had with the Neo, and it wasn’t exactly a big deal to me. While, I wouldn’t recommend purchasing a replacement belt clip, I would recommend considering the Neo if you’re looking at rangefinders and getting a bad case of sticker shock from the $300+ models. At this price and size, it’s easy enough just to carry it in your pocket.
Additional Functionality
On top of the basic yardage measurements and the ability to customize maps or create your own, the Neo has a few other tricks to show off.
Want to know for sure how far you hit the ball off the tee? Just hit the OK/Shot button once to turn on the Shot Distance feature and then again to mark the point from which you want to measure. Then you simply walk or drive to your ball. The Neo keeps updating from the point you hit the OK/Shot button the second time until you press it a third time. That means you can go by your buddies’ balls on the way to yours and tell them how far they hit it, and, by subtraction, how much farther past them you blasted it. The Neo continues to show yardage to the Center, so you don’t have to quit the Shot Distance operation to give a friend the yardage to the green.
You can use the Map Golf Hole feature to add Custom Points or even modify existing points from a download. While on the hole you want to customize, simply press the ESC/Menu button to return to the Play menu and select Map Golf Hole. You then use the Up/Down buttons to find the yardage point you want to modify. When you select it, using OK, the device prompts you to move to the position on the course you want to mark. When there, you hit OK, again, and you’ve added your custom point. You can then add another, or use ESC/Menu to again return to the Play menu and select Return to Game to get back to the yardage screens.
You can map an entire course using the similar functionality of the Map Course feature. You can either modify an existing course or create an entirely new mapping with this feature. I did not map an entire course, as it didn’t strike me as good use of time. If the iGolf site lists the course you need – even if it’s one – I’d consider the $30 annual subscription a bargain compared to the time it would take to properly map a course. If you play a course that’s not listed or you still prefer to go without downloads, this feature will allow you to map your local course(s). This process would take a few hours on the course, and you probably wouldn’t be able to do it while playing without slowing down play substantially. I’d recommend mapping a course either early in the day or late in the evening or during the week when the course is relatively empty.
Conclusion
I like this little rangefinder a lot!
In a market that is still dominated by $300-400 GPS and laser units, the iGolf Neo is a welcome change. At half the price of most units, the Neo is a great option for anyone who has wanted to get a rangefinder but has previously balked at the price. It provides a good bit of functionality in a compact package, and would make a good primary rangefinder for most players.
The iGolf Neo is the smallest and least expensive golf-specific GPS device that I’ve encountered. It works great. Even if you already have a laser, you still might consider adding a Neo if you play courses with a lot of blind shots. Just pull it out of your pocket (once the belt clip breaks), and it gives you instant yardages. Any GPS has some drawbacks, just like any laser, but the convenience of getting quick, reasonably accurate distances makes it a good addition to anyone’s bag.
Are there any rangefinders out there where you can track where each ball is struck from and with which club?
This functionality could be very simple to add. This information could drive some very powerful game improvement statistics like actual yardage for each club and course managment. How often you are short or long, left or right.
I’m sure I’m not the first to think of this. Has it already been done?
David, I make some golf statistics software and several people have requested that we add this functionality to our software.
We’ve not added this functionality to our software because it’s fairly pointless. Missing a green short and left when the pin is back right is a wholly different thing than missing in the same spot when the pin is front left. Uphill shots, downhill shots – GPS can’t measure that, nor can it measure wind, whether you take a 3/4 swing, whether you blade the ball, or how much the greens release or hold.
Most of the average players I know would benefit greatly from simply improving their ballstriking and relegating themselves to one miss (not three or four). Most of the good players I know already know what their one miss is and know their club distances. I think such software is pointless, but if you still really want this functionality, you can check out this app.
If it’s, as the illustration of the iGolf Neo shows, 149 to the front and 174 to the back — how in the world can it be 168 to the middle?
The middle is 6 yards from the back and 19 yards from the front?
I own this rangefinder and would agree this is pound for pound the best product out there. To be honest I play the same course mostly so have mapped the course myself and other than on approaches do not require the GPS. The battery life, size and accurate yardage really make it difficult to consider any other.
The NEO does have a shot distance feature which is great for drives however you must remember that GPS yardage does not take into account elevation changes and wind. But by using the GPS regularly do get a good understanding of how much these conditions will affect the distance. A software that tracks this would not be accurate in the end and could be skewed. Plus the unit would then not be legal for tournament play.
I beleive the GPS Guru does provides this functionality.
Problem is these GPS units don’t always agree with each other. You can take four of the same model, stand together and get totally different distances, by 10 or 15 yards sometimes.
I’ve also noticed on cloudy days distances are different from sunny days.
Lastly they are tied to annual plans which is a rip off, because as course morph (moving bunkers, redoing greens or tee boxes), the maps rarely change, thus making the unit completely unfit for use on that course or hole.
But also because annual tie in plans raise the cost of the unit significantly and are not considered by most reviewers. For example even the cost of batteries is often left out. The total cost is rarely provided by reviewers much to the glee of manufacturers.
I have this and couldn’t be more pleased. Fits in my pants pocket. Pull it out as I walk up to my ball, look at the three yardages, and make a decision as to which club I am going to use.
No-brainer downloads of listed courses and really easy to do it yourself.
Reasonably priced, small and easy-to-use.
Great review!
I’ve been a SkyCaddie fan myself, but I will have to check out the Neo as I haven’t purchased a GPS for myself.
Which SkyCaddie unit does the Neo compare to, as far as functionality?
the review of the Igolf by George Promenschenkel tells it all. I bought the Neo this spring, and it has helped my game a lot. I haven’t had to guess distances and the “shot distance” function has been helpful as I have worked clubs in and out of my bag.
The more expensive GPS’s may have more features, but for the everyday person, the Neo has the features that are, in my opinion, more important and are easily accessed.
The Neo is a great unit for the price. I’ve owned mine for about 5 months and have found it to be very helpful and easy to use.
One of my regular golf partners owns a SkyCaddie and the disances on our 2 units are almost always within 2-3 yards of each other.
My only complaint is that the belt clip broke after about 3 rounds.
igolf… don’t have to have annual plan (especially not after first year).
batteries… rechargeable AA’s… most people have enough devices that take AA’s that buying a charger and some batteries is a good investment.
this review was right on… I have a caddieII and friend has Neo… we get the same yardages +-0-2 when standing next to eachother.
oh… and as to courses changing… use the edit function, pretty simple.
i just got a new igolf neo and it was having problems syncing the courses from the computer to the device. tech support was fast but they didn’t have a solution to the problem, yet. i’ve tried all their suggestions to no avail. i’m so frustrated that i got this device. 😳
I had the same issue. If you saved your course downloads to your desktop (as I did) just go to “settings” and change the default file location to your desktop (instead of igo backup) and the neo will find them! (Or, instead of this, just go to Windows explorer and move the course files from your desktop to igo/backup – then you can save them to the neo.)
I purchased the Neo last summer and am very pleased. Except for a couple of local courses, no problem with downloads. The pesky belt clip problem is solved with $6.00 cell phone belt holder from Walmart. The only issue I have is the 10 course memory. I am planning trip to MB in spring and staying at a condo without a computer. So I have to limit myself to guessing what 10 courses to load into the unit before I leave home. Wish it would hold more courses.
PS…..I had to call customer service for initial setup as booklet was confusing. Customer service is outstanding and easy to reach.
I was having the same problem with getting it to sync courses(at step 2 of course sync it couldnt find the files i downloaded)
I talked to their tec support(very quick response) and when i saved my files to the folder it saved them as get_file, which i thought wasn’t right. when you save your file go in and rename it as a .glf file and that should work. (ie pebble.glf) Hope this helps
Can someone PLEASE help me! I am so frustrated with iGolf support that I’m about to throw my new neo golf gps away! They have shown absolutely no diplomatic courtesy to my needs toward my frustration in downloading a local course. I followed all the steps they gave me from items one thru seven, but when I get to item number eight, they say I should get a “SAVE AS”prompt. That is not the case when I try to download my local course. When I try to view the course from the green iGolf desktop folder, it gives me a prompt saying, “c:\Documents\Setings\Owner\Desktop\Belle_Meade_Country_Club.glf is not a valid Win32 application.”; I’ve tried downloading from the “desktop” and “my documents” folder, but my computer says it does not recognize the file. I’ve been an avid computer user for over eight years, and I’ve never encountered this type of problem downloading a simple file as this. IGolf support is pathetic to this point. Hopefully, someone out there can help me, as I mapped out a local course recently with great results, but other than that, I am unable to enjoy my recent Christmas gift. Thanks for your support. Good golfing to you all. Hal
Hal,
Win32 may refer to your monitor display setting. Try setting your monitor to a lower setting to see if this will help.
Hal,
Not a valid application indicates to me that Windows is trying to run it, not save it…that’s strange. Perhaps you’re hitting enter or something, that is causing Windows to think you’ve selected the Run option instead of the Save option? Also try switching browsers, just in case your browser has some strange default. If you’re using Internet Explorer, download and use Firefox…or visa-versa.
Windows may also have a bad file association with .gif files. Mine has Microsoft Picture Editor, but again, you should not be trying to run it so this should be moot.
Post back if you’re still having trouble!
-Mike
My husband got a Neo a couple of months ago and loves it. I went through 4 Bushnell Yardage Pro GPS that kept failing and finally gave up and bought a NEO (the Bushnell is twice as much). While the Bushnell was working we would compage yardage and it was almost always exactly the same. The Bushnell would take a bit longer to adjust when we stopped, but usually ended up with the same yardage. My husband has mapped custom points for his game on his unit and I plan to do the same.
One thing I really like is the size. The pockets in women’s shorts/pants/skorts are not nearly as large as men’s pockets and it was always challenging to figure out how to carry my GPS around with me. I use a remote controlled cart, so I already had a remote unit that I was carrying. The NEO is so small I can even put it in my pocket without it bothering me.
The price really can’t be beat and it works!
Okay…I’ve been using my Neo for a few rounds now. My partners play much more expensive models and true, they have more features. However, yardage has been right on the money. Yeah you have to tell it to go to the next hole but still, at this price…I’ll deal with it!
I also ordered a Garmin Geko Stretch Holster ($6.77 at vanns.com) and added a little keyring belt clip ($2 at Lowe’s) which gave me a GREAT little case I could clip to my bag. This has worked very well!! There is another model of this stretch holster with a carabiner included. Looks like it would work just fine too.
Since iGolf won’t give us a clip-able case, build one 🙂
Nit-picky! I have the Neo, and for someone used to using the sprinkler head, or 150 stick in the fairway this is one heckova bargain. I mapped a course that I play regularly fairly easily, saved the data and update it when I find new real estate. I got mine on a well known auction site for less than $100 including shipping. No bells or whistles, but all you need!
I really love my igolf neo. It provides just the right amount of information needed, without having to scroll through endless information that when all you need is…how far away are you.
The size is absolutely perfect. And it stays on you, not in your cart….that allows it to be left behind after a round.
And props to the company. I sent them an update about a course that had been redesigned, and within 2 weeks, the course had been re-mapped and an update sent to me no charge….
All for roughly 1/2 price of the next GPS….a no brainer… get this. You will love it….
My wife bought this for my birthday for about $130 with shipping, and I love it! I have used it on SEVERAL courses and it is really easy to use and accurate. Software is easy to use. The annual membership is $35, and you can download up to 100 courses per year and not renew the membership if you dont want to. I’ve downloaded about 30 local courses and I can see that I’ll have a hard time filling up 100.
I love knowing the distance to the front, middle, and back of the green. My club selection is quicker, easier, and more accurate! I’m able to put more emphasis on strategy now that I know exactly what I’m working with. For example, if I’m 260 yards out, and I don’t think I can get there with the 3 wood, I can throw it to 90-100 yards. Before, I would have tried to hit the 3 wood and overswing… producing a slice or topping the ball.
If there is one drawback it is that the item is so small and lightweight. I can see it fine, but I’m paranoid that it will fall out of my pocket or out of my golf bag while I’m walking. (I like to walk and carry my clubs.) The belt clip is not really useful because the unit can fall out of that easily, too. I ended up looking around the internet and using my imagination, and I bought an Aquapac “Micro” Waterproof Case for about $30 with shipping (shop around). The unit fits into the case perfectly, and it comes with a “neckcord”, which I attach to the golf bag, and I can read and operate it while it is in the case and still attached to the golf bag. The unit is weather resistent on its own, but I know for sure that it is protected in the case, because it is completely waterproof in the aquapac case. No worries about dropping it or water damage.
One thing, this unit has its own internal battery, and does nor run on rechargeable AA’s as stated in some prior reviews. Not sure where the reviewer got that info, but it is not correct.
I HIGHLY recommend this product. Even with the membership and the Aquapac case, the total cost is around $200 and I’ve got everything I need. Speeds up the game and every once in awhile I pull off an incredible shot because I had the correct distance… this is why we keep playing golf, isn’t it?
OK i have read alll these positive things about the NEO but I got to tell you I just got 1 and have used it on 2 different courses and I got to be honest maybe I am not doing something right but on the first hole it says green is 789 yards away and as I drive closer to the green after my tee shot the numbers go up and not down. Yes I am sure it is the correct course, the correct hole and satelite signal is very strong. I contacted bushnell and i was told I would have to map out my points and there was nothing that could be done . I am wondering if it is possible maybe the file got corrupt during download? The unit keep giving me crazy numbers like 412 yards on hole number 3 which is a 160 yard par 3. I finally just turned the unit off after 6 holes and my round was shot to hell because here I am thinking I just wasted 140 bucks on a piece of junk….Please any input would be GREAT .I reallly want to trust this unit but so far not looking good…………..Bubba827
Bubba827…Contact their support, they have been responsive to my email contacts and I’m sure they do phone support as well.
Either your unit is bad or there is something wrong with the downloaded courses. Either way, it can be resolved. My playing buddies use several different brands, one of them was nearly $500. Yeah it’s really cool and everything buy my Neo matches his unit on yardage readings…and matches all the various brands my partners use.
Get yours working right and I’m pretty sure you’ll be happy with it.
Yea I contacted them and I got to admit the guy was very helpful, by what he told me I should clear out the unit and redownload the courses and install them…..and if I still had the same problem to contact igolf. He said it sounded like their was some human error with the input with the yardages….thanks I am going to go back to course on Mon. after i redownload the courses and see if it has same problems…will post back with results…thanks Bubba827
This is a great little unit! Inexpensive but does the job extremely well. Takes all the guesswork out of club selection. I found it very useful all over the golf hole, both on the fairwary and off. One real benefit is if you hit your ball off the fairway and you can’t see the green but you have the exact yardage, you can club accordingly. Overall, excellent value. 5 out of 5.
I bought my iGOLF Neo through Amazon for $139. I was worried about the software working on my Mac, but their customer service assured me it would be OK. However, I still needed to contact them and download a “patch” to get the software loaded on my iMac and working properly. Their customer service was very prompt and helpful by phone and e-mail and this part was a minor issue. Next, I paid my $35 on-line and downloaded all the local courses. This was very quick and easy. I’ve used it 4 times on 4 separate courses. For an 11+-hcp the distance to the center of the green is totally adequate information. No more looking for sprinkler heads. The operation is very simple. The distance accuracy (GPS function) seems perfect. It helps most on par 3s w/ multiple tees and no other yardage info. It is also very useful on wedge shots, especially in the 40-80 yd range, where I often used to guess wrong or make a poor swing due to uncertainly about the distance. The “shot” distance feature is fun to use for drives, although I quickly learned my drives were often 10-20 yds shorter than I had previously thought. Quality of construction is excellent and battery life quite good (a 5 hr round only uses up 20-30% of the juice). 5 out of 5 and an excellent value. Why pay more??
I have had Neo for almost a year, small it is but having to push the button every time you change holes is a headache.
My screen just went out and igolf told me that the only thing I can do is send it in and for $50.00 they will send me a replacement [re-furbished] not new.
Battery won’t show it’s charging.
Even if the battery goes out it’s still $50.00 they have no repair shop.
phil
I would just like to take the time to acknowledge a product and a company that I think gets it.
The product the I GOLF NEO is a simple and very useful GPS unit. It simply the best $135 or so that I have spent. It works and is so simple and easy to use. On top of that when I needed customer service the level of service was absolutely the best. Simple and easy to understand directions regarding software and any changes I needed to make. Oh and response time was great!
If your thinking about a GPS and want something simple and efficient I GOLF NEO should be your choice.
Frank
Yes, your correct Frank, $135 is a good price for such a small effecient Golf GPS.
The battery only lasts a year so expect to spend $50.00 per year cause you can not install a new battery your self you must send it in…and its $50.00 for a replacement unit [re-ferbished] not your own unit.
So lets see $50 per year 5 years $250 + $135 = $385.00 + $35.00 yearly membership $560.00
Dam you could have had a GOOD one!
phil
I purchased one of the neo(bushnell and had it about 6 week when I accidentally dropped it about 2 feet and broke the screen on it ,Sent it back for repairs and they want to send me a new one for $102.20 saying that they do not have a screen that they can replace it with a new one am not willing to put another 100.00 in one of these unit if it will not withstand a 2 foot drop.I thought in good customer relation that maybe 50.00 would be a fair deal.
I am looking at the golf guru gps no annual fees and loads of course to down laod. only about 100.00 more tha the neo.
Follow up: Continuing to love my NEO…. I have used the customization features to add additional points to my home course.. that I have used to produce a yardage book that my playing partners consider gospel.. The real genius of this is during my practice.. The shot track feature allows me to track distance/ club/ stroke..Now I have a true shot matrix for any distance within 100yds of a hole… I truly am a better golfer for having the NEO…
I have owned the IGolf Neo for several months. I bought it like others said because of the sticker shock of the $300+ units. I play with lots of people who have the more expensive units and our yardage almost always agrees. I took the Neo out of the box and began using it immediately – very easy to learn and to operate. I have downloaded lots of course and have never had any trouble. Great value!
I bought an Igolf Neo approximatley 12 months ago and love it. It has so much functionality. I have had problems with the belt clip provided and don’t use it. I got my wife to make me a soft (T’Shirt fabric) pocket that the unit fits in and I carry it in my pocket. I am having problems with one rubber button that activates the OK. It fell off one day (fortunately on a green) and I found it and placed it back in position but it will not stay there any more. Can I get a replacement?
Hey Mauire
Check with support on that rubber button cover problem. About that belt clip…Check out this little case:
http://www.amazon.com/Garmin-Carabiner-Stretch-Holster-010-10480-00/dp/B0001RM726
You can google for “stretch holster” and see examples with and without the carabiner loop/clip.
I went to Home Depot and bought a little keyring belt clip and now I just clip my Neo to my bag. It also protects it if you drop it!
Bought this earlier this year and love it..made a huge difference in iron selection on approach shots….and I love the “shot distance” feature….other than that its’ small size is the best, fits right in my pocket where its there when i need it and unobtrusive when its not!!!!
Love the Neo, just one question – how do you access the custom points, all I can see are the green front, center and back numbers? The golf courses that I have downloaded indicate that they have this feature. Also, tried to input one custom point and could not see that on one either after entering.
press the screen button…it is the one just to the right of the power button.
after doing that, if there are more than two custom points the programmers put in…then push the same screen button again to pull up the other custom points.
If you notice a item on a course not put already in custom points i.e. a new water hazard..or i.e. a carry yardage for something you want…then go to that spot…pull up the menu..it will ask you in options if you want to map…click that…follow instructions and choose an abbreviation…then make sure you save it before moving on.
then next time you push screen button the items put in by the programmers are there and so are the ones you added.
its a great unit, i have lowered my scores by about 3-4 strokes a round.
My wife has one of these units. Seems to work well. One question – She has downloaded courses onto an older laptop. If its HD fails, or we want to move to a new computer, what happens to the courses. Can we download them again without affecting our download count?
Regarding battery. Has anyone tried opening a unit to see if it could be a DIY job? Anyone have a broken one that could check that?
Is there a chance your home course “morphed” since it was mapped. For example I play at the Waikoloa Beach Course in Hawaii. About 18 months ago they closed a proshop and reconfigured the holes. What was the 6th hole is now the first. If you did not know that and turned the neo on, it would say the first green was way away. So we switch the neo to the 6th hole and the accuracy is restored.
Aloha
Bought the Neo from Wal-Mart on-line for $85 with no shipping cost using their Site to Store service.
Being a member at a private course, I play my home course 95% of the time. I programmed my home course GPS values while playing a round! It is ridiculously easy! Besides the usual Front, Center & Back of Greens, I also recorded creeks, ponds & layups on dog legs. It is very easy to add more custom points of interest on the fly.
I like the small size, screen is easy to read even in sun light.
It does not automatically recognize the hole but it is easy to advance the hole number with up & down buttons. I do not bother changing hole numbers until I need the distances to the green. At that time I check the hole number and adjust if necessary. The display always shows F/B/C distance to green and hole numer. Pushing the “screen” button brings up the custom points.
The battery lasts 3 rounds before needing recharge. Once the unit has zeroed in on satellites, distance calculations are almost instantaneous. Overall I like the Neo much better than my much more expensive Golf Buddy GPS, which had automatic recognition of golf course and hole.
The unit seems durable except for the push buttons. I have seen feedback saying the rubber push buttons can fall off.
I will post another review on the 1 year anniversary.
Now I’ve been using my Neo since around April 2009 (I posted to this site at that time). Not a bit of trouble out of it. Everything still works perfectly, still holds a good charge, perfect in every way (knock on wood). I play more than 50 rounds a year.
It actually out performs some of my playing partners more expensive models (gets a signal quicker and their’s sometimes has trouble getting a signal at all).
I have always kept it in a little stretch holster designed for non-golf GPS units (Garmin Geko). It protects it very nicely and allows me to clip it to my bag (which is always on my push cart).
I’ve more than gotten my money’s worth at this point, every round I get now is just a bonus (I still get about three or four rounds per charge).
For me, the Neo has been a super value.
ssg – Albuquerque
I have had my NEO about 3 years now and it is still going strong…….beginning to have an issue with the buttons as it is wearing out…..I play 2 to 3 rounds per week year ’round.
Recently i saw a display of them at Sam’s Club …they were $70 with a free one year subscription(value $35)….thought abourt changing out my hardware then decided to wait as I like the extra features of the Garmin G3 and Callaway uPro MX….just don’t like the price.
Guess I’m staying with my NEO until it breaks.
Well, I decided to get the Neo +…after reviewing all the new stuff, I just want yardage and the Neo + is all about yardage and very compact. The Neo + also is loaded with 16k courses.
It has a slight hesitation when you get out of the cart, but is dead on accurate.
I bought a Neo, It worked well for about 6 months then battery went dead, I sent it back with some money and they returned a different one, refurbished one, I down loaded Kayak Point GC and all it gives me is the first 9 holes (my favorite course) also downloaded Maplewood GC
and again only the first 9 holes. I click to change from hole 9 to 10 and it goes back to number one, sad, I am not paying another $30.00 to join each year, I’l just get one that has 40,000 courses and don’t have to click the gps every time I change holes…..my put.