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IZZO Golf's SWAMI GPS

IZZO Golf's SWAMI 1500 GPS

David A. Dodson

Slow play is a cardinal sin at most courses, and one of the major contributors to tee box traffic jams is time wasted by trying to divine yardage. How much time is lost searching for sprinkler heads, colored stakes, or sunken markers? Laser range finders are OK, but they are pricy and you still have to run back and forth from the cart to the ball to get it. Global Positioning Systems are great, but again, three to five hundred dollars is quite steep when all you need is a quick read. And they aren't exactly convenient; you still have to drag it out of the cart before every shot and make sure that it is securely put away before going for your club. After all, when you drop that much cash on electronic equipment, you generally don't casually toss it in the dash and let it bounce around on the way to the next shot. Wouldn't it be great if somebody would come out with a basic, inexpensive GPS that could automatically give you the distance without requiring the care and attention you'd give a newborn? Well worry no more digital duffers, because IZZO Golf has you covered with their SWAMI GPS. The big idea: peel away all the expensive bells and whistles until you have a reasonably priced GPS that is simple to read and fits easily into your pocket.

But is the SWAMI really all-knowing? I'd say that it's plenty smart. After loading up our SWAMI we ran it down to a few courses and were pleasantly surprised. True to the advertising, it knew exactly which course we were on as soon as we started it up. With its large numbers and two-button interface, the SWAMI is remarkably easy to use. Just advance to your current hole with one button and select either front, center or back of the green pin location with the other button and the SWAMI does the rest. At about the size of a cell phone, the SWAMI fits comfortably in your pocket; simply whip it out when you are standing over your ball and get a real time distance read. No more wearing a path to the cart to fuss with a range finder or cumbersome larger GPS.

The SWAMI gives you access to 12,000 USA courses and holds up to ten courses at a time. I was actually surprised by the course availability. There wasn't a course in my area that wasn't either already mapped and ready to go or available for request. Even the dinky, par-three pitch-and-putt down the road was represented. Requested courses usually took about three days to be mapped from time of request to when I got a conformation email saying that they were ready for download.

The SWAMI's rechargeable lithium-ion battery is good for sixteen hours of golf per charge, so the SWAMI won't leave you hanging in the middle of your round. And the SiRF star III chips and the INSTA-LOK Technology guarantee an instant and accurate read at a glance.

As much as I like this product, there are some things to watch out for. First of all, Mac users are out of luck, it's only PC compatible. Secondly, though it works great once you get it going, initial setup is not a breeze. It took me several tries of loading and reloading drivers to get the various components (website, computer, and SWAMI unit) to link up and play right. Lastly, and this may be nit-picky on my part, but I wish that the SWAMI had instant hole recognition rather than depending on me to push a button after every hole. It's a bad feeling when you check your yardage and you're six hundred yards from the pin on a par four. No big deal if you happen to be on the next hole, but if you've gone through a few greens without telling the SWAMI, it can be a real hassle to catch it up.

Overall, the SWAMI GPS unit from IZZO Golf is the way to go for the golfer looking for a quick, convenient method of tracking yardage without breaking the bank. It's accurate, easy to use and fits neatly into your pocket. For about one hundred and fifty dollars plus a thirty five dollar annual registration fee, you get the SWAMI GPS unit, USB cable, charger, belt clip and all the necessary software. You can pick one up almost anywhere golf equipment is sold or online at www.IZZO.com.