GPS distance measurer

I don't know if this has been posted before, if so I couldn't find it. My question is, has anyone tried using a Garmin Etrex GPS system to measure driving distances? I have one and am going to try it tomorrow. All I need to do is set the start point i.e. where your hitting from, then simply walk to your ball and the device will give the distance walked (within about 20-30 feet anyway). My Garmin cost me £68 whereas the 'proper' one cost up to £250 or more. I suppose the 'proper' one would be more user friendly and purpose built but if you only need to measure how far the ball has travelled then the Garmin (or any other make for that matter) would do.

Cheers me dears

Brian  

30 feet is 10 yards Brian.  That's a club difference.  The 'proper' ones are accurate to a couple of feet. 

I use Freecaddie on my phone (registered version for $20 or so)  and it allows you to measure shots in the way you describe, accurate to a couple of yards. It's worth checking out Brian.

Sorry, schoolboy error.  I meant yards

Brian, interesting post.  I too have wondered how the expensive models can be more accurate than say something you stick on your phone/PDA which in theory will just use the same GPS satellites.  Obviously if you are doing distance to a particular point and you have relied on google maps etc to plot the lat/lon points before hand then this will be less accurate than say marking the point by standing in the exact location with a GPS device.

On the same note can phone systems be more accurate if they used not only GPS but also the phone masts for location pinpointing ?

Regards, Darren.

I use freecaddie on my Iphone, great bit of kit and free if you dont want to know distances to hazards etc.

Very accurate, measured my first 300 yarder the other day!!