Bushnell Wingman Review: A Closer Look at the Best Golf GPS Speaker

While most golfers would never think that a Bluetooth speaker could help them on the golf course, the Bushnell Wingman GPS Speaker provides a high-quality speaker that provides audible GPS distances for every shot. It’s one of the best golf GPS handhelds to buy.

The first of its kind, the creation from Bushnell Golf provides excellent sound quality from the comfort of your cart.

Working with the Bushnell app, preloaded with 36,000 courses, the speaker offers pinpointed accurate readings that helps every golfer understand the distance to various locations on the green.

In our in-depth Bushnell Wingman review, we’ll take a look at the quality and ingenuity of one of the most unique Bluetooth speakers on the market today.

What’s the Bushnell Wingman?

The Bushnell Wingman GPS Speaker offers a delightful combination of high quality audio with a high-quality Bluetooth speaker that can receive and audibly communicate yardage to multiple areas on the green.

The speaker conveniently mounts to any bar on the golf cart with Bushnell’s proprietary BITE magnetic technology for maximum security while playing.

Audio quality with the Wingman offers seamless playing of your favorite music, only breaking to provide the yardage to the pin when you are ready to hit your shot.

A 10-hour rechargeable battery powers the speaker and offers exceptional compatibility with the Bushnell Golf App.

Bushnell Wingman GPS Speaker First Impressions

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Our In-Depth Bushnell Wingman Review

Setting Up

As we began testing the Wingman for our speaker review, we opened the box and took an inventory of the speaker. Our first advice is to open all of the items in the box and set them out in front of you on a table.

You’ll find a handy quick start guide to setting up your Bushnell speaker. While you are unboxing the speaker, you should take the time to download the Bushnell Golf App to your phone or tablet to save time and get a jump start on your prep work.

You’ll need to sign up for a free account with Bushnell, but this step is necessary to store your shot data as you play golf at any course.

Next, you’ll want to charge the Wingman and make sure that you have a full charge before using. With the 10-hour storage, you can get two rounds with a fully-charged unit.

After you download the application and pair with your tablet or smartphone, you must mount the speaker to your golf cart.

Using the cart’s metal frame, you can utilize the BITE magnet mount to clip the Wingman to the vehicle. Another way to secure the speaker is via the opening of your golf bag.

A fair warning, you might want to keep a backup rangefinder in your golf bag if the speaker fails to connect with the phone or runs out of energy during your round.

Also, the speaker weighs about four pounds, so if you want to keep it in your bag while you walk your round, you should know that you are adding considerable weight.

Performance

The Bushnell Wingman GPS Speaker offers a quick connection to your phone via Bluetooth. After connecting, you can stream music or fire up the Bushnell application to begin the process of reading yardages on the links.

In unison with the app, the speaker delivers top-tier accuracy from a variety of yardages. For golf shots inside 200 yards, the application works very well at presenting the length to each obstacle on the course to help you make the best decision.

The detachable remote from the top of the speaker triggers the audible GPS distances. From moderate distances the remote works extremely well in starting the distance readings.

At the mid-level volume setting, the sounds traveled with a crispness you would expect from a first-rate Bluetooth speaker.

During riding on the course, the sound quality stays strong even with the rumbling of the cart and the Wingman stays fastened in place for quick access if you need to grab the remote.

Bushnell touts that the Wingman offers 10 hours of storage, and we’re happy to report that the suggestion is quite accurate. That said, if you decide to recharge your phones or other electronic devices, expect a dramatic drop in longevity.

Overall, our speaker review of the Wingman offered a delightful experience, with pleasing sounds and accurate and convenient readings that reduced our preparation time before each shot.

Sound

On the front of Wingman, you will find four large buttons that control basic functions. Starting at the top you will find a button for increasing and decreasing volume, playing music, and powering the unit on and off.

Even if you feel that sounds from the Bushnell product are softer and need a volume boost, the speaker handles the transition capably with a push of the PLUS button, providing dynamic sounds while you play golf, without distortion.

One of the biggest problems with Bluetooth speakers is muffled sounds that dampens the crispness and hampers the ability to hear with clarity if you are standing far away from the speaker.

We’re pleased to report that the Wingman does not suffer from these issues when we tested the product during our speaker review.

From your smartphone device, you can stream music from apps like Spotify, Apple Music, or Amazon Music. The music comes through the Wingman with a clear sound that enhances instruments and boosts the vocals of each song.

While the main selling points of the Wingman is its small size, easy integration with apps, and lockdown magnetic connection, you’ll find that its sound remains quite strong throughout your time on the links.

Even though you can easily store the Wingman in your golf bag, you will want to make sure to take special care of the speaker to guarantee the speakers stay strong for many years.

Value

Priced with an MSRP of $129.99, the Bushnell Wingman GPS Speaker offers a moderate price point, much in line with other small Bluetooth speakers.

What sets the Wingman above an average speaker at this price is the integration with the Bushnell application that delivers the yard readings to each upcoming shot.

Since the Bushnell Wingman GPS Speaker is relatively unique, the comparisons we need to make with the product is how the GPS works against watches and handheld products that can read yardage on the course.

While GPS watches from companies as Garmin offer a bit more accuracy and simplicity, they do not play music or quickly provide an audible reading while you stand over the golf ball.

For the value, it remains difficult to beat the enjoyment that the Bushnell Wingman brings golf lovers as they play their weekly round.

With its ability to pair with your smartphone and use the Bushnell app’s preloaded 36,000 courses along with playing great music, the Bushnell Wingman delivers a complete experience that watches and handheld GPS products cannot touch.

Other Must-Have GPS Devices

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Pros

• Users improve by five strokes on average during first year
• Incredibly accurate data readings to help you improve
• Can use without phone with their Link device

Cons

• Sensors are distracting on end of the golf club

For golfers that want the help of a GPS device but with minimal interaction, the Arccos Caddie Smart Sensors connect to the grip of each golf club and automatically record every shot you take on the links.

You can follow each shot with the Arccos Caddie smartphone application and read the distance to the pin and various obstacles on each of the holes.

If you are interested in collecting data on each shot without having to worry about a watch or handheld device, the Arccos Caddie Smart Sensors are a dynamic piece of golf equipment.

Questions & Answers

Is the Bushnell Wingman worth it?

Yes, the Bushnell Wingman is worth its relatively low price due to its sound quality, integration with the Bushnell phone app on your phone, and clear distance readings at the touch of a remote button.

When looking at the quality of sound, music comes through the speaker clearly and with muscle. You can control the volume to make sure the sound does not disturb other playing groups, but offers enough reach for you to clearly hear accurate yard readings.

Also the Bushnell phone app offers an easy way to record your scores, see a 3D flyover of holes, allow you to quickly book tee times, and offers GPS distances read aloud through the Wingman device.

Also you don’t have to carry the device as it can quickly and securely clip onto the cart with its powerful magnet for safe riding that lasts over the entire round.

How does the Bushnell Wingman work?

At its heart, the Wingman offers a well-made Bluetooth speaker that delivers GPS distances along with storing data points such as scores, fairways hit, and greens hit in regulation.

In addition to the golf features of the speaker, the Wingman also offers the ability to stream high-quality audio to the speaker as you attack the golf course for entertainment that lasts for two rounds powered by a rechargeable battery that holds power for 10 hours of use.

Devices like the Wingman may seem like a luxury item, but its golf data collection to help you improve, along with its superb sound quality make it a dynamic device well worth a purchase.

Does Bushnell Wingman save scores?

While the Bushnell Wingman GPS Speaker does not save scores, the company’s phone app does provide a hub for data storage to help improve your game.

Along with saving scores, the app also records fairways hit, greens in regulation, and number of putts taken during your rounds.

The speaker’s primary job is to seamlessly play music with quick breaks to read out the distance of the current shot to the front and back of the green, along with the precise length to the hole.

There’s no speaker like the Wingman on the market, making it wholly unique and well worth its affordable price for frequent golfers.

Is Bushnell Wingman waterproof?

No. Unfortunately, the Wingman does not offer waterproof protection for the audible front center speaker.

This lack of security means that you cannot risk leaving the speaker out in the rain during your round, causing a potential blindspot in your game if you rely solely on the Wingman for your distance readings.

Without the waterproofing, the speaker does become vulnerable to damage if you leave it unprotected in the rain. Along with danger to the speaker, you have to also worry about keeping the built-in USB port dry, so you are able to power the battery or charge other devices.

An aspect of the speaker that you do not have to worry about in the rain is the magnetic technology that fixes the device to the cart for safe riding.

Our Verdict: Bushnell Wingman GPS Speaker Review

For golfers that want the ability to listen to music for ten hours and can provide detailed readings that offer outstanding accuracy to the hole, the Bushnell Wingman GPS Speaker offers an affordable, high-quality option.

Using your mobile phone, the speaker integrates well with the Bushnell Golf App to track stats on every hole you play on the golf course. Along with playing music from your phone, a remote provides the option of hearing the distance to the hole with the press of a button.

Highly recommended, the Wingman keeps you entertained on the golf course and gives you a quick answer to your distance questions.