Callaway Golf last week introduced its upro mx+ rangefinder, a new and improved version of the upro mx, emphasis on improved.

"When we launched the mx last year, it was not our biggest success," Callaway's Scott Goryl said. "People encountered some frustrating software bugs with it. First and foremost, all those problems have been solved."

Aerial imagery remains the principal point of differentiation from other rangefinders. "The feedback on that particular element has been really good," Goryl said, "especially if you're playing a course you're not familiar with, so you can see what's around the bend before you hit the ball over there."

The aerial imagery (unlimited courses provided at no additional charge), available when the device is set in Pro Mode, is downloaded from callawayuxplore.com. Pro Mode also provides AnyPoint Technology, allowing the user to identify yardage to any point on any hole using the touch screen.

"The software itself is a lot easier to navigate," Goryl said, "everything from the menu screens and the touch surface. It didn't work all that great before, but it's a lot more responsive now. Navigating is a lot smoother."

Another feature offered by Callaway, one that doesn't require the purchase of the upro mx+, is that the satellite imagery and video flyovers are available at callwayuxplore.com. "People can go and check out holes before they play a course," Goryl said.

The Callaway upro mx+ retails for $250 and will be available on May 30.

-- John Strege

The competitive rangefinder category continues to expand, making it increasingly more difficult for a company to differentiate itself.

GolfBuddy has done so with its latest offering, the GolfBuddy Voice, that with the push of a button audibly provides yardage to the middle of the green (or front or back). It might not be for everyone; the sound of a ringing cell phone is a nuisance on the golf course, so presumably -- for somet -- will be a talking rangefinder. But it does come with volume control.

It is a clever little device (it weighs an ounce and measures 1.7 inches wide). It is multilingual (eight languages), is pre-loaded with more than 35,000 courses internationally, and has automatic course and hole recognition. Its cost is $179.

And for those who would prefer a rangefinder that doesn't speak, GolfBuddy has six other GPS devices from which to choose, including the new full feature GolfBuddy Platinum.

-- John Strege

A growing category in rangefinders is the GPS device resembling a wristwatch. The latest to join the fray is Bushnell, a leading player in the rangefinder market, both GPS and laser (and even a hybrid). Bushnell has introduced the Neo+ Golf GPS Watch.

It comes pre-loaded with 25,000 courses and provides yardages to the front, center and back of greens. It automatically recognizes the course and the hole on which the consumer is playing. It includes a watch and an odometer and has a battery life in GPS mode of more than 14 hours.

The price is $200.

Garmin and Expresso Satellite Navigation also have introduced GPS devices worn on the wrist.

-- John Strege

Expresso Satellite Navigation has taken its GPS expertise and applied it to a rangefinder that provides yardages at your fingertips, or near them at least. It has introduced the WR62, a watch-like device worn on your wrist.

It isn't the first to do so. Garmin has its Approach S1. But the ESN WR62 advances the technology to include distances to hazards and bunkers in addition to yardages to the front, center and back of greens, and includes a function that will measure shot distance, too.

It comes pre-loaded with U.S. courses that the device automatically recognizes, and there is no fee beyond the purchase price of $179.99.

It is more than a rangefinder, however. It also has an odometer app to track running or walking distances, as well as a stopwatch, an alarm and a clock.

ESN is "the world's first maker of portable GPS Navigation devices created specifically for the 'active lifestyle' consumer,'" the company says.

-- John Strege

Bushnell Golf is the laser rangefinder of choice for PGA Tour players, who rely on the precision of lasers to determine how far each club hits the ball.

"We have about 92 percent of PGA Tour players usuing our product," Bushnell spokesman Derek Schuman said. "We've been working it for a long time. We started making these things in '95 and since that time we've made sure we got them in the hands of the pros. Crazy as it seems, pros still buy them from us. And as we continue to innovate they've continued to stay wilth us."

Bushnell's latest offering is the Pro 1M. The 1M stands for one mile, the outer limit of its range. "It's ranging capability is incredible," Schuman said. "It can hit a reflective object out to one mile and hit a flag at 550-plus yards." That ought to cover the distance the modern technologically-equipped PGA Tour hits his driver. For now.

The Pro 1M has what Bushnell calls Vivid Display Technology, a vibrant red readout replacing the traditional black. "It gives you improved light transmission, better resolution, a crisper, more legible readout," Schuman said. "If it's cloudy out you can turn up the brightness level setting."

The Pro 1M has a twin, the Pro 1M Slope, the latter equipped with the ability to provide distances that compensate for elevation changes. The Pro 1M sells for $499, the Pro 1M Slope for $599.

-- John Strege

There is no resting on laurels in the competitive age of technology, which is why SkyCaddie has made improvements to the rangefinder that earned gold in Golf Digest's 2011 Hot List for GPS devices.

The SGXw has added wifi capability (hence the w) to its device, thus simplifying the process of downloading courses (and accommodating course updates), either in your home, at your business, at the golf course, or, when applicable, even utilizing a smart phone to gain Internet access.

RangeVue is another new feature, using pre-set yardage arcs (shown in the image), instantly providing yardage to various points on the course. In this regard, SkyCaddie claims an advantage over even laser rangefinders, providing "more information, faster and more reliably...without aiming or requiring line of sight."

Another relatively new feature offered by SkyCaddie is a trade-in program. Trade in any SkyCaddie or Bushnell laser rangefinder or even golf clubs to secure a discount on a new SkyCaddie.

-- John Strege

There are GPS rangefinders and GPS vehicle navigation devices, but there is only one that conveniently combines the two: the new Expresso AG50s from Expresso Satellite Navigation, Inc.

"It's perfect for the snowbirds," company president Mike Aroney said. Or any other traveling golfer, for matter, providing them the means to find the golf course and to navigate their way around it once they've arrived.

"It comes pre-loaded with 26,000 courses," Aroney said. "We license the software from iGolf, so we use its database. It's perfect for a golf cart. It unfolds and fits into the cupholder. It's got a 3.75-inch bright screen with large callouts. It's got an incredible battery life, well over eight hours."

On the vehicle navigation side, it is pre-loaded with U.S. and Canadian maps provided by Map Tech, which is used as well by Garmin. It features text-to-speech, multiple destination route planning and more than six million points of interest.

The successor to the Expresso AG1, the AG50s cost is $199.

-- John Strege

Rangefinders continue to evolve, as technologies always do, getting smaller and operationally easier. One such device is the Garmin Approach G6, which is being introduced today at the Consumer Electronic Show in Las Vegas and again in two weeks at the PGA Merchandise Show in Orlando.

Garmin is billing it as taking golf "to a whole new level." The Approach G6 is preloaded with more than 25,000 courses internationally and requires no subscription or other fees. Course updates and new courses will be update throughout the year, available free to the user. It features a rechargeable battery that accommodates a weekend's worth of golf on a single charge, up to 15 hours, the company said. And it weighs slightly over three ounces and is said to be small enough to fit in a shirt pocket.

Rather than simply providing yardages to the front, middle and back of greens, it has a touch screen that allows the user to adjust the pin placement on the screen to get more accurate yardages to the flag. It has at-a-glance layup yardages in arcs to 100, 150, 200 and 250 yards to accommodate layup decisions. The user can also use the touch screen and simply touch the area on the map to which they wish to lay up and get a precise yardage. It features a zoom function for a better look at landing areas.

The Approach G6 also has a feature that allows the user to keep statistics on his round, including fairways hit, greens in regulation and putts per round.

The Approach G6 is expected to go on sale on Feb. 12 and has a suggested retail price of $299.99.

-- John Strege

Three years ago, Izzo Golf introduced a GPS rangefinder called the Swami 1500 that had access to 20,000 courses in the U.S. and Canada, though only 10 at a time and at that for an annual subscription fee of $10.

"You had to do it through a computer terminal," Izzo president Travis Worth said. "It was very successful. We sold over 50,000 units. But you're dealing with consumers who may or not be computer savvy people. Despite whatever instructions you gave them, they'd figure out a way to do things wrong."

The solution? The new Swami 3000, which features all 20,000 courses built into the unit, with no annual fee.

"It has front, center and back measurements (to greens) and that's all it gives you," Worth said. "There's no distance to a sand trap, hazard or dogleg. It's a basic unit and you can learn to use it in two minutes and speed up play."

The Swami 3000 sells for $99.99 and comes with a wall charger. Also available are a cart mount, a belt clip and a car charger.

-- John Strege

The acclaimed Garmin Approach S1, a rangefinder in wristwatch form, has been introduced in white, the company announced.

"As fashion continues to be in the forefront of our lives, we see golfers personalizing their attire and bringing new style to the course every day," Bryan Yalowitz, director outdoor sales and marketing for Garmin, said in a news release, explaining the new color offering.

The Garmin Approach S1, previously available only in black, earned a silver in Golf Digest's rangefinder Hot List recently. Ashley Mayo of Golf Digest wrote this about it: "The watch is surprisingly unobtrusive, and being able to glance at your wrist to know how far you are from the hole is beyond convenient."

It was also featured in this blog in January, beneath the headline, "A wristwatch that provides yardages, too." The Garmin Approach S1 does indeed tell time, as well as providing yardages to the front, center and back of greens at nearly 17,000 North American courses that are pre-loaded in the device.

-- John Strege