Easy-to-use, convenient Golf GPS with Bite Magnetic Mount by Bushnell
Bushnell Phantom
Bushnell is an American company specializing in outdoor products and sporting optics. Golf-specific products include laser rangefinders, GPS watches, and handheld GPS. Our review focuses on the handheld Phantom, which gives golfers a visual aid along with helpful distances to the front, center, and back of the green. The Phantom comes preloaded with 36,000+ courses in more than 30 countries and includes either a clip attachment or a built-in magnet to attach right to your golf cart. Golf is already hard enough, which is why you should look into Bushnell Phantom to help you hit more greens and shave a few strokes.
Usability
With such a competitive market for mobile apps, having a smooth user experience and usability is crucial to foster an app’s adoption. The Bushnell app does a great job making things simple with a home screen consisting of four options, “my device”, “play golf”, “tee times”, and “golf scores”.
Tap “my device” to connect the app to your handheld and sync them together. Another cool feature is the ability to book a tee time in the app. That way, you’ll never have to leave the app when planning your next round! Play golf selects the course you would like to play while the scores module is where you can track your rounds and scoring trends. The device also has the ability to update courses wirelessly, which makes it easy to keep the Phantom data up to date.
Customization
The Phantom app does not allow for much customization but that’s because you really don’t need it. The customization piece comes within the app with features like auto course recognition and auto hole advancement, along with 3D flyovers and distances on a handful of courses.
Round Experience
Once you are ready to start your round, your handheld GPS will automatically start you on hole 1. The handheld is best kept as a magnet onto the cart-pole and acts strictly as your precise GPS location to make sure distances are accurate. Most of your activity will be done in the app to view the flyover and plan your next shot.
The app will show you distances to certain hazards off the tee and an average drive distance to help you gauge how much yardage you will have left to the green. The only thing I had trouble with was being able to drag the distance icon to anywhere I wanted in the fairway. It kept popping back to the original location, making it hard to hold my distance and see where I want to land the golf ball. Perhaps I was missing something, but if not this is easily fixable with an app update!
The handheld does require charging, but the battery lasts up to 2 rounds before needing a charge. This could prove a bit frustrating if you forget to charge the device or do not have access to an outlet, especially if you are traveling out of town to play. Perhaps they will come out with a battery option in the future (similar to their rangefinders).
Engagement/Sharing
The app also offers the ability to track your round history and current scoring trend. Unlike other golf apps, you do not have to keep your score electronically. It only asks for the date played, the tees played, score, and the number of putts. This is ideal because you can input all past rounds to see your scoring trend. Just remember to track your putts!
Conclusion
No rangefinder, No Problem the Bushnell Phantom is an easy to use cost effective golf GPS
What I really enjoyed about using the handheld/app is there is a device specifically dedicated to GPS accuracy. Sometimes while using a phone app for both GPS and course management, the exact location is not accurate, which can greatly affect a shot or two. Bushnell makes it simple to download the app, automatically identify your course location among 36,000 courses, and begin tracking your round. If you have a big budget we still recommend splurging on the Bushnell PRO X2. However, at just $99.99, the Phantom is a great cost-effective option if you are not willing to spend $400 on a laser rangefinder. The Phantom’s ease of use combined with the effectiveness and accuracy of GPS makes the Phantom a no-brainer to improve your golf game and hit more fairways and greens!
If you’re interested in learning more about the Bushnell Phantom check out the details on the Bushnell website.