IZZO Swami 1500 Golf GPS Unit

This device basically does one thing, and does it well: displays distance to the green. One of the four buttons, labeled FCB, cycles through the distance to Front, Center, and Back of the green, so it is possible to determine depth of the green as the difference between front and back. The other three buttons are on/off, next hole, and previous hole. There's no touchscreen, scorekeeping, weather reporting, etc. This is my evaluation, based on limited (several rounds) experience: Pros + Simple and effective + Accurate (within a couple yards of on-course markers and center of green) + Good battery life (at least 4 rounds per charge) + Includes AC/USB adapter (computer not required to charge the device) + Large LCD display; numbers easily seen at a glace + No issues with software, setup, course selection, downloading + Good value, considering base price and $10 annual data fee Neutral o Plastic belt clip - I wonder how long until it breaks o Overall size is not small... Read more

Bought the SWAMI 1500 because all I really need is distance numbers; front, back and center. Three of my playing partners spent between $275 and $450 on GPS units to get the same yardage information. Granted the SWAMI doesn't post your scores, do statistical analysis of your game, have a color display, show the shape of the green and all the other trick stuff. Just give me the number so I can get the ball on the green. For $125 it is well worth the money. There was a local course that was not mapped yet and within 6 days after requesting I received an email saying it was ready to go. Great service.

I bought the unit and received it in a very timely manner. The unit was easy to program by downloading courses onto it from the website. There is a $10 annual fee for access the website in order add course downloads and software updates (cd and instructions included with the unit). You are not required to renew every year. The unit holds up to 10 coarses, which you can change if you desire or you can just have the 10 and never have need to access the website again. There were two courses I wanted that were not listed. I requested and they were mapped with 4-5 days. I was notified they were available and I added them to the unit without any trouble. I used my unit on a course that had GPS in the cart and the Swami unit read within 5 yards of the yardage noted on the cart's GPS system(for my game,that is close enough).I recommend this unit as an excellent value for the money.

Simply put, this is the best deal on an entry level golf gps out there. All it does is lock onto the satelites fast, recognize the course you are playing without any input from you, and tell you how far you are from the center, back or front of the green. It updates constantly as you move, and all you have to do is hit the ^ button after each hole, advancing it to the next one. The readout is large enough to see from quite a distance, so you can clip it to the cart when carts are allowed on the grass, but it's more than small enough to fit comfortably in your pocket. If you are good enough to need distances to all the hazzards on each hole, and are willing to pay at least twice as much, look elsewhere. Otherwise, this unit this close to $100 is the bomb. Be sure the wall charger is included, 'cause some vendors are lowballing this unit without telling you it isn't in the box. (Charging it with the computer cable included requires that your computer and their software is running, and th... Read more

I had skycaddie and it was constantly having problems with the yardages. It was painful to have to pay for a subscription again for a product that worked about 50% of the time. So when I saw the SWAMI I went for it figuring it would cost about the same as a couple of years subscription to skycaddie. I play the same courses most of the time so I doubt I will need to do an update beyond the 10 I download. The device works great. Easy to read and front, center, back of the green is really all I need. I found the install easy once I had read others reviews and realized I needed to follow directions carefully. I think this is a great value.