For some, the hi-tech world of GPS distance measuring devices can seem a bit at odds with that innocent desire to just get out there, smack a ball, and perhaps keep count of your shots.
This is why the true strength of the GolfBuddy unit, recently launched in Europe, lies in its simplicity.
For a start there are only two devices, the Pro and the Tour; and the only difference between them is that the Tour has a colour screen and costs £50 more - £349.95 to £299.95.
Courses are pre-loaded on to the unit in their thousands, meaning that all golfers have to do between unpacking their GolfBuddy and using it is charge up the battery. In fact, you don't even have to do that; the unit's long-life rechargeable lithium polymer battery is interchangeable with AAA size. Once at the course, the GPS automatically recognises where golfers are, so there's no need to punch in a course location.
Even better, though, is the fact that once golfers have bought a GolfBuddy, they don't have to whack any extra costs onto their credit card any more. One of its strongest selling points is that GolfBuddy is the only handheld GPS golf device not to ask for course download or annual subscription fees.
"The unit will arrive with every available mapped course in Europe already on it, and use of them all is free," confirms GolfBuddy's European general manager John Ennis. "If your home club isn't among them, simply put in a phone request or email via our website. We aim to have it on the system within the month.
"Downloading extra courses is simple too. The device comes with a USB connection that will let you install GolfBuddy Manager, your website information link. Once you connect, the software tells you how many new courses there are to load. You can do ‘all' or tick the ones you want. It'll take three minutes. This is also how you download updates of courses that have been altered."
Ennis reports that GolfBuddy has currently mapped around 4,000 of Europe's 6,000 courses, and is on target to do the lot by the end of the year. "We have a team of assistant pros and top amateurs in place doing the mapping, and they send information through to a software team in Korea, who can turn the information around very quickly."
Straightforward it may be, but the unit is not without its gadgetry. One function is the ability to mark your own preferred playing points on a course - favourite lay-ups or driving areas - and get distances to and from them. The system allows up to 11 per hole. Elsewhere you can store your scoring from up to 1,000 rounds.
GolfBuddy may lack the photo presentation of a CaddyAid or the green reliefs of a SkyCaddie, but where it eclipses all is in its extraordinary memory. The unit can cope with information on a stunning 20,000 courses; SkyCaddie allows 10-12.
"The technology is there to do it," explains Ennis, "but I guess it's just a question of business models. When GolfBuddy entered the market, brands were using a business model that encouraged repeat buying. GolfBuddy had to do something dramatic to take market share off them, so we've gone down the route of selling on a one-hit purchase with no follow-up fees.
"It is working for us, because I think it's what people expect. If new roads are built, your car sat-nav system doesn't ask you for extra cash. Also, in a recession it's critical people don't have to face extra charges when they aren't completely necessary."
GolfBuddy has applied that principle to their trade dealings too, by taking the price of the freight out of a profit margin that can exceed 30%.
GolfBuddy hails from Korea and first appeared around 2004, when inventor Harry Jung started marketing the device. His units quickly found acceptance and within a year GolfBuddy was market leader - no mean achievement in Korea's ultra-technological society.
Jung then set out to conquer the world. In 2006 he set up SkyHawk technology in California, and set about challenging SkyCaddie's dominance in the US GPS market. By 2007 GolfBuddy had made serious inroads into the American share, reaching number two.
With the brand established in the States, Jung turned his attention to Europe.
"When I first met Harry in October 2007, he was deciding what to do in Europe," Ennis recalls. "Eventually he decided to form a subsidiary in Europe and tackle the market directly, as opposed to through a distributor.
He's looking for a total Europe market share, and I think that if you tried to conquer Europe through distributors alone the proposition becomes a little bit draining in terms of its passion and long-term sustainability."
The decision represents a commitment to Europe that is backed up in other ways. The unit is programmed to use French and German wording as well as English, selected via a dropdown menu, with Spanish and Italian to come.
Customer service phone lines have been set up in Madrid, Milan, Paris, Dortmund, London, Stockholm, Amsterdam and Dublin. Units can, of course, flit between metres and yards. GolfBuddy's European subsidiary was formed in December last year, and is based in Dublin.
"It's early days, but we are now operational," says Ennis. "We are selling units, with retail teams in place around Europe, call centre lines are active, warehouses are operating and product is on the shelves."
To have someone of Ennis's experience at the helm - he has worked in Europe's golf markets for 25 years - is a boost for the brand. In taking on his role with GolfBuddy, there is quite a contrast between this post and Ennis' previous job running MacGregor's European operations.
The MacGregor brand, troubled though it may be, has a 112-year heritage in golf hardware, whereas GolfBuddy has served for five years in the nascent hi-tech market.
"It's certainly very different being with a brand name that is not yet established around the world," he says.
"But what is interesting is the technology and the support behind the brand. There is a solid business plan for how we can attain the status we require, which is to be number one in the GPS golf market.
"Plus the team at GolfBuddy is very interesting and passionate; it was exciting to move to that from a more traditional company relying maybe too much on its past, and maybe not having the aspirations this brand has. There is the enthusiasm and the technology to progress here, and as future models roll out we'll see a lot more advancements.
"I see it as moving from a stable if somewhat stale market, especially during a recession, to a market that is showing an enormous potential to grow, all around Europe."
Ennis's confidence in the GPS market is based on his belief in emerging consumer interest and acceptance. "Just think back five years to how many people had GPS in their cars, and how many have it now. Even in a recession new products and technologies are interesting to people, and in the modern world I believe they feel psychologically pushed to try them out.
Acceptance is there because of the navigation in cars, and when the PGA and R&A relaxed the rules (in January 2006), and allowed the devices to be used in competitions, it opened up the market.
"But fundamentally, my confidence is based on the value and simplicity of the product. One of our catchphrases is ‘Just turn it on and play'.
None of our rivals can boast that."
Contacting GolfBuddy:
UK Tel: +44 203 318 1768
Ireland: +353 1 484 5651
Germany: +49 231 1397 4647
Holland: +31 20 808 0960
France: +33 1 7997 5051
Spain: +34 91 187 6421
Italy: +39 02 4070 8343
Sweden: +46 8 5250 0172
