GolfBuddy BB5 Wristband

Golf Monthly's GolfBuddy BB5 review, a stylish wristband-style GPS that provides accurate distances in a lightweight device

Key technology The world’s first golf GPS band is slimmer and lighter than a watch and displays its front, middle and back yardages via a tickertape-style LED dot display. Using the BB5, golfers can also measure their shot distances, record the number of steps they take and tell the time.

GM Review The BB5 weighs just one-and-a-quarter ounces, is water- resistant and has a rechargeable battery giving up to 13 hours in golf mode. There’s no doubting the style and sophistication of the BB5 as soon as you put it on.

It’s compact, lightweight and comfortable and the choice of two different-sized straps means you’ll get the perfect fit. Once clued up on the functions and how to access them via the four buttons, it’s a relatively easy device to operate after a few holes of use. Accuracy when measured against lasers was spot on and the distances were easily readable, even in bright sunlight.

It would be going too far to describe the BB5 as a gimmick, for while it’s arguably the most stylish and on-trend of the wearable DMDs, there’s plenty of substance behind the aesthetics. A detailed read of the instructions is essential to work out how to navigate the different features, and the usability could be improved. But its accuracy and appeal can’t be faulted.