From speakers and smartwatches to phone holders and swing analyzers, the game of golf has more than its fair share of gizmos and gadgets. Whether looking for something to kick up the fun on the course, improve your play, or flash a little style, deciding which golf gadgets are best can feel as daunting as taking swings in a steep sandbox.
But there’s no need to sweat! We’ve dropped into the bunker, so you don’t have to, and dug up the best golf gadgets available in 2023.
Top 11 golf gadgets of 2023
Best Bluetooth speaker: Bushnell Golf Wingman Speaker
Best golf watch: Tag Heuer Connected Calibre E4 Golf Watch
Best wearable swing analyzer: deWiz Golf Swing Analyzer & Modifier
Best putting trainer: PuttOUT Premium Pressure Putt Trainer
Best golf tees: Zero Friction Victory 5-Prong Golf Tees
Best rangefinder: Nikon Coolshot Pro II Stabilized Rangefinder
Best warmup stick: SKLZ Gold Flex Golf Swing Trainer Warm-Up Stick
Best chipping net: Callaway Chip-Shot Golf Chipping Net
Best launch monitor: Garmin Approach R10 Launch Monitor
Best phone caddy: Desert Fox Golf Phone Caddy
Best electric golf cart: Batcaddy X8R Electric Golf Cart
How we chose the best golf gadgets
We researched customer feedback and professional reviews to find the best golf gadgets in terms of quality, performance, and pricing. We compared product ratings of items in the same categories, compiled a list of pros and cons for each, and weighed our findings against overall customer and reviewer satisfaction.
Best Bluetooth speaker: Bushnell Golf Wingman Speaker
All of our market picks are independently selected and curated by the editorial team.
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Benefits
— Great sound quality
— Strong magnetic cart mount
— Audible GPS distances are highly accurate
Drawbacks
— Remote drains battery
— Somewhat limited Bluetooth range
The Bushnell Golf Wingman Speaker is built top to bottom for the golf course, full stop. This speaker is designed to deliver superb sound quality — be it for music or the audible GPS distances you can get for more than 36,000 courses through the Bushnell Wingman app.
This Bluetooth speaker packs enough juice on a fully charged battery to keep the beats pumping for 36 holes. That equals roughly 10 hours of power, which you can also use to charge other devices by hooking them up to the speaker’s built-in USB port.
The speaker’s body sports magnetic technology that clings right to your cart bar without a problem. And it carries an IPX6 waterproof rating, meaning it’ll hold up just fine against rainy weather. Customers praised the speaker’s sound quality and strong magnetic hold, and you’ll be happy to know a detachable remote is included.
Best golf watch: Tag Heuer Connected Calibre E4 Golf Edition
Benefits
— High-resolution OLED display
— Reasonably priced compared to competitors
— Durable construction comprised of high-quality sapphire, ceramic, and steel
Drawbacks
— No Sp02 sensor
— No speaker for hands-free phone calls
The Tag Heuer Connected Calibre E4 Golf Watch is designed to marry elegant style with functional substance. Its interface displays high-resolution 2D maps of more than 40,000 golf courses worldwide, so you can track distances, spot hazards, and get important information about each hole, such as par and fairway measurements.
As you play, the watch’s automated shot tracker counts your swings and collects metrics that detail how you’re performing with each club. This will help you to focus on and adjust your game with greater precision over time.
When you pair the watch to the Tag Heuer Golf app on your iOS or Android, you can see a heat map highlighting where your balls landed on the course and which clubs were used. The app also uses 3D mapping and data from your watch to recreate your shots in shareable 3D videos.
The Tag Heuer Connected Calibre E4 golf watch is designed to make tracking your game performance and biometrics easy. It can even track your swimming, running, and bicycling metrics, monitor your daily steps, burned calories, and heart rate, and notify you when you hit your wellness goals.
Best wearable swing analyzer: deWiz Golf Swing Analyzer & Modifier
Benefits
— Provides real-time feedback on your swing
— Bio-feedback technology offers accelerated learning
— Easy setup and highly accurate
Drawbacks
— Pricey
The deWiz Golf Swing Analyzer and Modifier gives you real-time feedback on your swing. This will help you modify your game while on the course to add more length, hit straighter, and get closer to the hole in fewer strokes.
The lightweight, wearable analyzer measures all the key elements of your swing, such as the length of your backswing and how fast you swing from takeaway to impact, and compiles these measurements into your performance baseline. The analyzer then helps you consistently improve these baseline numbers.
However, this tool doubles as a modifier, meaning it does much more than collect metrics and track performance. It’s designed to take an active role in improving your swing. The device features patented technology that delivers an electric pulse whenever your swing breaks from your proper form. This approach is based on observations in neuroscience to minimize poor motor-skill habits and develop better ones. And when you need to hear from a live coach, real-time audio coaching is also available.
Best putting trainer: PuttOUT Premium Pressure Putt Trainer
Benefits
— Easy to set up and use right out of the box
— Provides immediate feedback
— Encourages muscle memory through repetition
Drawbacks
— Pricey
— Can be frustrating to score
While other practice putting aids simply provide a surface and target, the PuttOUT Pressure Putt Trainer is designed to recreate actual putting conditions on the course. It returns each successful putt the same distance the ball would’ve traveled had it missed the mark. This provides insight into your putting mechanics to help add precision to your game.
The trainer is also designed to reject bad putts, which delivers even more feedback. Other features include multiple targets for practicing different distances and angles and an alignment stick holder to keep your stick within reach.
Best golf tees: Zero Friction Victory 5-Prong Golf Tees
Benefits
— Bio-composite material is more durable than plastic or wooden tees
— 3 color options (blue, green, purple)
— 5-prong design to minimize ball contact
Drawbacks
— Prone to bending
The Zero Friction Victory 5-prong Golf Tees are constructed from bio-composite material and designed to be both durable and performance-enhancing. The tee’s five prongs reduce the contact area between the tee and the golf ball, helping to boost the strength and straighten the trajectory of your shot. And multiple customers have declared these tees to be borderline indestructible.
According to the manufacturer, the design of the Zero Friction Victory 5-Prong Golf Tees will add an extra 5 yards to your drive. While some customers reported that they hadn’t noticed a drastic difference, others swear that these tees do, in fact, extend their shots.
Best rangefinder: Nikon Coolshot Pro II Stabilized Rangefinder
Benefits
— Accurate distance reads
— Very effective image stabilization
— Lightweight and sturdy
Drawbacks
— Lacks a built-in magnet
— Setup can be challenging at first
The Nikon Coolshot Pro II Stabilized Rangefinder uses stabilizing technology and lenses to minimize shaking and provide a steady line of sight to your target. It features a monocular telescope lens with six-times magnification, anti-glare, high-contrast technology, an adjustable diopter, and an OLED display.
The Coolshot Pro II is water- and fog-proof and designed to provide measurements in roughly 0.3 seconds — this gives you more time to assess the course and decide on your approach. You can enter a continuous measurement mode to gauge the distances of trees and other hazards in real time. And you can rely on the Coolshot Pro II’s targeting technology that visually and audibly confirms when you’ve targeted the pin.
Best warmup stick: SKLZ Gold Flex Golf Swing Trainer Warm-Up Stick
Benefits
— Easy to use
— Reasonably priced
— Fits easily in your golf bag
Drawbacks
— May have to cut the rod to size, depending on your height
Never underestimate the sway a warmup stick can have on your swing. The SKLZ Golf Flex Warm-Up Stick is designed to help you beat back slices and hooks and improve your tempo, strength, and flexibility. It also doubles as a low-impact stretching tool for pre-game warmups.
Customers confirmed that consistent practice and warmup with the SKLZ Golf Flex Warm-up Stick improves lag time, is a great tempo trainer, and helps you learn what a proper swing should feel like. Meanwhile, several professional product testers dub it one of the “best training tools” available.
Best chipping net: Callaway Chip-Shot Golf Chipping Net
Benefits
— Quick setup and breakdown
— Solid construction for reliable durability
— Lightweight and portable
Drawbacks
— No carry bag included
The Callaway Chip-shot Golf Chipping Net is designed to help you dial in your short game, even if you only have a spare minute to practice. It pops up when you’re ready to chip and flattens down quickly into a disc when you’re done. Using the net’s three targets that run vertically along its center, you can work on a variety of shots from various angles and distances.
Customers online appreciated the net’s easy pop-up and collapsible design. Many of them also noted the net’s solid construction and durability.
Best launch monitor: Garmin Approach R10 Launch Monitor
Benefits
— Records every swing and overlays your stats during playback
— Consistently ranks high in accuracy with product testers
— 10-hour battery life
Drawbacks
— Has trouble capturing accurate backspin data
— Slightly more accurate outdoors
The personal launch monitor allows golfers of all levels to track club head and ball speed, spin, launch angle, direction, and other metrics. Garmin released its Approach R10 Launch Monitor so you can gain and track these metrics in a portable design that fits anywhere you have enough space to swing a club.
It records each swing and overlays your actual stats in the footage for video playback. The monitor is also pre-loaded with over 42,000 golf courses, so you can play rounds by yourself or compete virtually against friends on a course of your choosing.
The Garmin Approach R10 Launch Monitor comes with a 30-day trial to the Garmin Golf App, where you’ll find loads of golf content and additional features.
Best phone caddy: Desert Fox Golf Phone Caddy
Benefits
— Provides easy slide-in and slide-out access to your phone
— Customizable
— Strong grip that fits all golf carts
Drawbacks
— Supports most but not all phone cases
The Desert Fox Golf Phone Caddy straps to the frame of your golf cart to protect your phone while keeping it within quick and easy reach. You can adjust the phone holder to fit any modern smartphone (with up to a 7-inch screen) and most of the popular phone cases available today. Desert Fox offers the holder in several colors. Customization options are also available. A microfiber bag is included for storage.
The Desert Fox Golf Phone Caddy is fully adjustable, fitting any phone with a width between 2.6 to 3.7 inches and a depth between 0.16 to 0.67 inches.
Best electric golf cart: Batcaddy X8R Electric Golf Cart
Benefits
— Solid construction
— Easy to carry and store
— Good battery life
Drawbacks
— Pricey
— Struggles going sideways on steeper hills
If you’re a golfer who likes to get their steps in but isn’t keen on toting or wheeling your golf bag around the course, the Batcaddy X8R Golf Cart is a remote-controlled electric golf cart you might want to check out. It features dual 200-watt motors and nine speeds for forward and reverse motion. Its remote is fully directional, and you can also set it to cruise control.
The Batcaddy X8R is designed with downhill speed control and an oversized dual anti-tip wheel to ensure balance and prevent falls. Should you decide to do some of the work yourself, Batcaddy added a free-wheel mode that frees the cart for manual control.
Reviewers called out the X8R’s durable construction and ability to stay upright on uneven terrain. The X8R comes with a basic accessory package, including an umbrella, scorecard, and drink holders. The electric golf cart is also compatible with a caddy seat.
Get your desired gadget
Choosing the right gadget boils down to your personal tastes, budget, and needs as a golfer. Some golfers want gadgets that make them more competitive, in which case a product like Callaway Chip-Shot Golf Chipping Net may be a worthwhile investment. Other golfers are shopping for gadgets that offer convenience on the course, meaning they should definitely take a look at the Desert Fox Golf Phone Caddy.
How to pick the right golf gadgets for you
As our list shows, the game of golf has no shortage of gadgets for players of all ages and skill levels. But how do you pick the best one for you? Consider these factors to bucket the gadgets that catch your eye.
Comfort
This category is all about gadgets that maximize fun and relaxation or minimize discomfort. What does your ideal day on the golf course look like? If you prefer to walk but want to spare your knees and back from lugging your golf bag around, then the Batcaddy X8R is a gadget worth considering. If you enjoy listening to feel-good music on the range with your golfing buddies, consider the Bushnell Golf Wingman Speaker.
Style
This category holds all the gadgets that help you take pride in how you look and project confidence on the course. Many gadgets you might list here could also fit in the skill category. Case in point, the Tag Heuer Connected Calibre E4 Golf Watch does a great job of providing functionality in a stylish, envy-inducing package. Yet it also has performance-tracking features that can elevate your game.
Skill
From warmup sticks to launch monitors and groove sharpeners to swing analyzers, the skill category is for all the gadgets designed to improve your game through off-field practice or on-field assistance. Even golf tees like the Zero Friction Victory 5-Prong Tees fall into this category because they maximize your swing and ball contact.
Once you’ve created a gadget wishlist and sorted the items across these three categories, it’s time to decide whether comfort, style, or skill is the most important to you. Arranging the categories from most to least important will determine where you should spend your budget.
FAQ
What gadgets do golfers need the most?
No two lists of “essential” gadgets will be identical. Some golfers might consider a rangefinder an absolute must, while others consider it something helpful to have but unnecessary. The gadgets you need the most are the ones that best complement your game and playing preferences.
What’s the best golf advice?
The best golf advice is simple: practice. No gadget in the world will ever be as impactful on your game as practice. Gadgets can help you become a better golfer, but they can’t compensate for the discipline it takes to hit countless balls at the range.
What golf tools do I need?
While many gadgets might fall into the “nice-to-have” category, depending on the golfer and the device, there are definitely common tools you’ll find in any golfer’s bag at all times. These are the items that are absolutely essential to the game of golf and include:
— Golf balls, clubs, and tees (obvious, we know)
— Ball marker
— Golf towel
— Golf glove
— Divot tool
Other items depend on your personal preferences, the course, and the weather conditions. For example, having easy access to sunscreen and a rain jacket might be a good idea, just in case you run into sunny or rainy weather. And while some items aren’t necessary, they’re generally a good idea to bring along, such as a water bottle and a little spending cash.
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