Welcome to I Tried It, a GOLF.com series about golf items — apparel, gear, accessories and more — that we’ve recently taken out for a spin. We’re here to give our honest, no-frills takes on the latest and greatest golf or golf-adjacent items. So, scroll down to read about what we love about golf’s newest (or new to us) products.
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I have to admit that the first time I saw The Caddie from Pinned Golf I got some major FOMO. And then the hits kept coming. Lots of my creator friends got their hands on the device and I was getting pretty jealous. So when the time came to raise my hand to test out the new device, mine shot up faster than any others. I’ve already had a few chances to use it while playing a brand new course with no cart GPS, and it really is a lifesaver.
First and foremost, the idea is really cool — so cool that it won Best New Product for its category at the PGA Show this year. The Caddie is a self contained device with its own data signal that allows you to essentially take a cart GPS screen with you wherever you go. Whether you are a walker or somebody riding in a cart with no GPS screen, the Pinned Golf Caddie travels with you. And the best part is… NO SUBSCRIPTIONS. One payment for the device means it’s fully unlocked for use with no additional fees – plus it’s currently on sale for $50 off. Bravo on that, Pinned.
Inside the box you’ll get the Caddie touchscreen tablet, a charging cable, and a hard case for the device, which is super handy to have so you can throw the Caddie in your golf bag and not worry about any potential damage. Logging into the device for the first time is really easy and can be done on any WiFi signal. It just takes a couple of minutes to get it properly loaded up and then you’re able to explore the interface for yourself. It’s a very easy-to-use experience, and there’s zero learning curve to get to know the software. They’ve designed it to be a seamless experience that feels familiar to using a cart GPS screen or other GPS apps that have been available for years.
PINNED GOLF CADDIE
There’s very little the Caddie can’t do as far as GPS functions are concerned. Since it’s a self-contained device, you can download your course onto the tablet before your round, or you can find it when you arrive at the club. They’ve got over 45,000 courses and counting loaded up to play. The tablet is very efficient on power, lasting me about three rounds before I even got concerned about it dying on me. The screen is bright enough to see in sunlight and the magnets are STRONG — way stronger than any rangefinder or other golf accessory I have. It’s also IPX7 waterproof, so even if you get caught in a storm you’re still going to know how far away you are from the dry relief of the clubhouse.
When you pull up to a new hole there’s a couple of different viewpoints to check out, including a drone-style flyover of the hole, 2D and 3D views that you can maneuver around, as well as the ability to get a close-up of the hole so you can check for hazards or tighter landing spots. No matter where you are, you’ll also get live updates on front, middle, and back distances for the hole you’re playing and you of course have the ability to use the touch screen to find distances to specific areas of the hole, which is great for finding out if your 7-iron can carry that bunker in front of the green. The Caddie does everything that a normal in-cart GPS can do, but that’s just where its functionality starts.
On top of being a reliable GPS device, you can also keep your score, track your stats, and even keep track of games between you and your golf buddies. Pretty hard to argue about handing over $5 when the Caddie is keeping tabs on the game.
Now, I can’t write this article without addressing the most obvious and common question that all of my buddies asked me: Can’t I just use my phone?
I’m not going to lie, I thought this too. But then I realized the benefits of using the Caddie over my phone. The first of which may be a niche issue but my GPS app of choice on the phone doesn’t allow me to play music at the same time for some reason. So that’s a big deal when we’re trying to keep vibes high. I can put the Caddie and my Bluetooth speaker up on the cart and have zero issues throwing on my Spotify playlist and not touching my phone while I play. You don’t actually realize how nice it is not to have to interact with your phone at all when you play until you play a full round without touching it. I don’t want to see those notifications that I “missed a meeting,” I’m playing golf at noon on a Tuesday.
Lastly, there’s just a cool factor to the product. I throw this up on the cart at my home club, which again has no GPS screen, and everyone is jealous. They’ve all asked me where I got it and how to get one. Our pro has even talked to me about getting a handful of them to use as a rental during rounds, which is awesome for guests, tournament players, or anyone else who wants the benefits that a GPS device gets you. Not to mention the score and game tracking would probably stop a few fights during the daily men’s game.
The Pinned Caddie is on sale now for $50 off, so if you’re looking to step up your GPS game or you want to buy a jealousy-inducing gift for someone you love, now’s the best time to pick one up for yourself!
