I have never been very good at judging distances. I honestly can’t tell the difference between something 100 yards or 60 yards away, it’s all a guess for me. Needless to say the assistance of a GPS unit is pretty much mandatory when I play golf. Sure I could go searching for sprinkler heads marked with the yardage, but having a GPS unit makes things so much easier. If I had my choice of going sprinkler head hunting or having a compact GPS unit right in my pocket I would take the latter any day of the week. So when Izzo Golf asked us to review the new Swami 3000 GPS unit I tackled the other THP writers for the chance to review this device.
From the Company:
Enhanced Golf GPS
Includes all the great features of the SWAMI 1500, plus:
Course name displayed right on screen
Pre-loaded with over 19,000 courses
Ready to use right out of the box
Includes AC wall charger
No hassles with uploading courses
No Computer or Subscription Required
Just Charge and Play!
After reading everything the Swami 3000 could do it almost seemed too easy and too good to be true. So the minute it arrived I took it out of the box, and before even trying to plug it in to charge, I turned it on. I wanted to see if it would immediately start searching for a satellite signal, and just as advertised it did. I was too far from the course for it to pick up anything but within seconds it was already at work looking for a golf course. I plugged the unit in and let it get fully charged and then I headed out to the course for some testing. As I was pulling up to the course parking lot I turned the Swami 3000 on and within 60 seconds it knew where I was. I was extremely impressed with how quickly it picked up my location.
Before I talk about how it performed I want to talk more about the actual unit and its features. The first thing I noticed was just how small this device is and how light it is too. For some reason I expected it to be heavier. I was pleasantly surprised that it fit so easily in my pocket, it didn’t feel bulky or get in the way at all. For people who do not want to put the Swami 3000 in their pocket there is also an attachment that comes with it where you can secure it to your waistband or belt loop. The buttons are all self explanatory and even without looking at the user manual I found operating it to be simple and extremely user friendly. This is a no frills GPS, it isn’t full color, it doesn’t show sand traps and water hazards and it’s not touch screen, but it will tell you how far you are from the front, middle and back of the green and it does it with ease.
Testing:
I used the Swami 3000 for several rounds of golf at various golf courses in two different regions of the state and never once did it fail me. I don’t want to sound like an infomercial but I honestly cannot say one negative thing about this device for the money. I played at courses with GPS units built into the carts and I also brought a different GPS unit with me in order to compare the accuracy of the Swami 3000. I found the yardages to be extremely accurate. There might have been yard or two difference between the different units but nothing that would affect my game or cost me strokes.
Where I found this device to be the most helpful was during days after a big rain when the course was cart path only, or if I hit a shot into the woods and I couldn’t have the cart GPS with me to get an accurate yardage to the pin. The other GPS unit I had with me, while small, wasn’t nearly as small as the Swami. The Swami 3000 fit securely in my back pocket, almost like having a yardage book back, so I could quickly take it out and get an exact number to the green for those wayward shots. I loved knowing exactly how far I had to reach the pin, because as I mentioned earlier, my judgment when it comes to measuring distances is questionable at best. I was very impressed with the accuracy and convenience of the Swami 3000.
Overall:
If you are looking for a GPS that is full color and shows you every sand trap and hazard then this is definitely not going to be for you. However, if you are looking for something to let you know how far you are from the pin no matter where your shot landed, and something that you can easily carry in your pocket, then this is a great piece of equipment to have. At only $99 with no monthly fees and pre-loaded with over 19,000 courses you really cannot find a better GPS for the money. With the holidays coming up I know what I will be getting a few family members as a gift. I used to use a device that was touch screen and had all the bells and whistles but now I just use the Swami. I just love how portable and light weight it is, how quickly it starts working and how easily it recognizes a course. For more information on this GPS unit and other great items from Izzo Golf you can check out their website at www.izzo.com.
Your Equipment Guru,
GolferGal
Nice review GG! That is so cheap for a GPS and seems amazing for the money! I will be taking a strong look at this for sure! I don’t need colored displays or hazards, just yardage, so this seems like a great GPS for me!
Nice review GG! I remember when this came in and you mentioned you would be reviewing it. Sounds like a very affordable basic GPS unit. I do have one question: I know from your review that it does not show images of bunkers/water, etc but does it give distances to say a pond right or creek crossing the fairway, etc? I know that some basics one like this do and some don’t. Some allow you to program that info in for your home course, etc. thanks!!
This device has some great things going for it. It really seems to be something that the value conscious golfer can use. Simple and small can be a really good thing for walking the course too. Thanks GG!
Michael –
When using the device I have not seen a way to find a point of interest, just the Front, Center and Back of the green. Thanks!
-GG-
Great review GG. I think that is a great deal for a GPS. I used my cell phone right now, but I am going to check that out next time I am at the store. Thanks for the awesome review.
Great review GG! I have been looking at this one hard because its priced so good.
Great review GG!!! How quick did it give you distances when you were walking around or from hole to hole? With my current GPS I find the signal gets blocked at times if I’m in a cart did you notice that all? Tons of questions but I might be looking for a new easy GPS to compliment my rangefinder. This seems perfect with the size too.
Nice review GG! I am currently using Golfshot GPS on my Iphone, but it can be slow to update to new distances at times, for the price I may have to check this one out.
Solid review GG!! You can’t go wrong with a price like that with no added fees!
Yoccos –
It gave me distances almost instantly there was no delay.I didn’t have any issues with the signal while in the cart I was really impressed with how responsive it was. Keep the questions coming.
-GG-
Great review GG! This is a really neat looking GPS unit. Very slim and small, which is a bonus for me as I always carry my bag…don’t want to be hauling a bigger unit around.
A great price point for a GPS which performs well, this should get a lot of attention!
Nice Review GG, I have the Swami 1500, and other than not having all the courses I would like it worked very very well.
This thing would be a very nice supplement for my wife when we are at different parts of the course (more of an issue for me than her!). There’s so many times that she could use a yardage and I am way off the beaten path to give her one! This could be the thing to solve that problem.
Great job GG. A basic no frills unit is what I need come spring if it has the courses I play. Its nice to have the bunkers, creeks and dogleg distances, but for the price this looks hard to beat.
I thought it was a solid review. Great job. Did you notice you wishing there was another feature or did it seem ot be enough?
$99 for this is a steal! I love that there are no additional subscription fees and no courses to load manually. What a great GPS unit, thanks for the review! One quick question, how was the battery life?
Puttin4Bird –
That is a great question and something I should have added to the review. The battery life was great. Swami says you will get 12 hours, and while I normally charged it after every round I can say with confidence that you can easy make it through a round without any concern for the battery dying.
Which is more than I can say for my phone after a round.
Solid review, GG. I have the original Swami that had the annual fee. This version sounds much better just for the ease of use and no annual fee. The only problem I had with it was on dogleg holes where you can’t see the green, but that’s not usually a big problem.
Nice review GG! This price point is great for people that are only looking for distances to the green. I know that my dad has been looking for something like this as he plays the same 2 courses most of the time, sounds like it would work well for him.
One-T –
At first I was missing the touch screen feature where I could simply touch a hazard or bunker and know how far it was but that went away pretty quickly. There were times when I would use a range finder in addition to the GPS but overall for the price this device did everything I needed it to.
Great review GG! It sounds like IZZO has developed a product that is a no nonsense product. I love the simplicity of this product. In a world of increasing complexity and cost, it is great to see this product give you exactly what you need and at a great price!
I’m still bruised from that tackle GG!! Sometimes the maps, hazards etc on other units can cause information overload so this unit and its right to the point yardage information may be what some golfers need. This is the statement that makes this device worth every penny!!!! – $99 with no monthly fees and pre-loaded with over 19,000 courses you really cannot find a better GPS for the money – Add the portability aspect of this and it sure sounds like a winner.
Is there a list of courses covered?
For a $100 seems like a useful tool. Great job!
Very nice review GG, this seems to be the perfect compliment to those of us who use rangerfinders, just a little help for those times that we don’t have line of sight to the flag. and P4B I too am curious about the battery life for this unit.
Seems like a nice simple device. Good review GG!
If you haven’t already purchased or subscribed to having a device like this, this one sounds good and priced accordingly.
Hi, I purchased a swami 3000 this year, unfortunately it does not work on my home course(other devices do) It also failed me on an outing, luckily playing partner had another device which worked fine. I have been e mailing my problem but replies have dried up
Jaydee
The unit I bought stopped holding a charge after 1 month of use lot of money for only 5 rounds of golf its crap don’t buy one even the people that sell them Amazon do not stand behind them more than 30 days