Whenever a new product category is invented, it will inevitably take a few iterations before things get truly dialed in.
When Bushnell released the Wingman in 2020 an entirely new product niche was invented: the golf speaker.
Essentially a golf speaker is similar to any other Bluetooth speaker, except there are some specific features it has to cater to golfers:
- A magnet to easily attach it to a golf cart (or hook to attach smaller models to a golf bag)
- App compatibility for GPS yardages
- Audio or visual distances to easily get these yardages.
The idea of a golf GPS speaker is an interesting one, but up until recently no one ever really nailed it.
The whole idea of audible GPS distances is fine, but the Bluetooth app connectivity adds an extra layer of tech to your golf round, and I personally never found the experience to be worth the hassle.
To this end, my favorite golf speaker was the Blue Tees Player speaker, which didn’t have any GPS data at all. But it was the loudest speaker I’d used, had a strong magnet, and great Bluetooth range.
But each year, speakers are getting better.
The Bushnell Wingman View added an extremely convenient screen with GPS distances to go along with the audio yardages.
The Precision Pro Duo took the same concept and made it smaller so that people who carry their bags have a good speaker option.
But it wasn’t until the Blue Tees Player+ that I’ve been truly impressed with a GPS golf speaker.
To be clear, it’s not perfect. But out of the 7 or 8 golf speakers I’ve tested over the last few years, the Player+ is hands down my favorite.
So if you’re in the market for a golf GPS speaker, then here’s my Blue Tees Player+ speaker review.
First Impressions of the Blue Tees Player+ Golf Speaker
The packaging on the Blue Tees Player+ speaker is very well done, and feels representative of the $199 price point for the speaker.
It’s a very similar size to the outgoing Player speaker, with the obvious addition of the built-in screen on the newer model – which makes it just a little bit bulkier.
In the box, you’ll find the speaker, a USB-C charging cable, microfiber towel, quick start guide, Blue Tees sticker, and a QR code for the Premium Membership.
One update I was excited by was the fact they finally got the speaker orientation right on this one.
A weird quirk of the original speaker was that the manufacturing fine print and carabiner clip were both directly on the front of the device, which always felt backward to me.
Now the design is much cleaner. The screen and power button are on the front, and the charging ports are on the back – exactly how it should be.
But the biggest and most important thing you notice when first turning on the speaker is the screen. It. Looks. GOOD.
It’s the best screen on any GPS golf speaker to date, and it’s not even close.
The display is big and bright, and the amount of data it displays is far better than anything else on the market – more on that in a minute.
The Player+ also feels very well constructed. I was surprised to see it’s IPX7 rated – which means it’s fully waterproof. The Wingman View is only IPX6. And while either of these are likely to be totally fine on the golf course, more waterproof is always better.
All that to say, at first glance this thing is great.
But the real question is how does it do on the course? How does it sound? How well does the app and GPS data work?
Let’s find out.
Setting Up the Player+ Speaker
Setting up the Blue Tees Player+ speaker is a pretty smooth process.
You’ll download the Blue Tees app, and from there it walks you through how to setup your account and pair the speaker to your phone.
There are two separate Bluetooth connections for the speaker audio and GPS, so if you’re struggling to get one or the other to work – make sure they’re both connected.
When you’re ready to golf, you can fire up your round just as you would using any other GPS golf app. Select your course, tees, starting hole – and away you go.
How Does the Blue Tees Player+ Work for Golf?
One of the things I’ve found across all of the GPS golf speakers I’ve tested is accuracy is never really an issue. The courses have all been professionally mapped, so when it comes to accurate yardages to the front, center, and back of the green – whether it’s Bushnell, Precision Pro, or now Blue Tees – they’re all accurate.
The thing to remember though, is that yardages are being measured from the speaker – not necessarily where you’re standing.
As I mentioned above, I’ve never really cared for the audio distances – having them on a screen, however, is a game changer.
The Player+ screen looks great. It will show your yardages in a big clear display that’s very easy to see across all lighting conditions.
The Wingman View added a screen, and it’s fine. It’s better than nothing. But it’s not backlit, it’s not a touch screen, and aside from the primary green yardages – any other info (like song data) isn’t displayed in an overly elegant way.
The Player+ on the other hand is fantastic in this regard. A simple swipe up or down on the screen will take you to a new menu. You’ve got green yardages, song data, volume, and if you have a Blue Tees Membership (insert groan now), you’ll get hazard distances, drive distances, and more.
We’ll get back to that membership in a minute.
The screen is super intuitive and it makes it very easy to access all of the data you could want.
It honestly acts like a better version of a GPS device like the Bushnell Phantom II with the added benefit of a high-quality speaker (granted, it is significantly bigger than a unit like the Phantom).
Battery life is rated for 10+ hours, and that’s been consistent with my experience. I’ve gone two rounds with music playing the whole time and GPS on – and it’s still had some juice.
Can You Walk with the Player+?
This speaker is definitely one that’s designed for cart use. It’s fairly large and with the built-in screen and magnet, this is a golf cart speaker through and through.
That said, I’ve now carried multiple rounds with it as well. I put it in the water bottle pocket of my Vessel Player IV and it’s worked really well. It kind of negates the use of the screen, but if you’re just looking for a solid speaker – it works well.
If you’re a walking golfer, I’d consider a speaker more geared towards that like the Precision Pro Duo, Wingman View Mini, or JBL Clip.
One drawback to this speaker that will be an issue for some is that it doesn’t include a built-in remote like the Wingman does.
So if you’re playing cart path only, and you’re standing in the middle of the fairway and want a distance? You can’t easily push a button and get yardages read aloud to you.
Blue Tees original Player Speaker has been my favorite golf speaker since 2022. Now, with the updates in the Player+, it's even better.
How Does the Player+ Sound?
Overall the Player+ sounds great. It’s still a Bluetooth speaker, so temper your expectations.
But when compared to other speakers on the market, I’ve found it to be both louder and clearer than anything else I’ve reviewed.
And I mean it when I say loud. It gets louder than you should ever need it to be on a golf course.
It also has a cool feature where you can pair multiple units together so that you can get multiple speakers going at once.
One big disappointment is that you need to have two Player+ units for this to work. I have the older Player speaker, I’d hoped to use in this capacity – but you’re not able to.
Overall, the sound is about as good as you’re going to find in a Bluetooth golf speaker.
Blue Tees App and Membership
I was a little skeptical as to how the Blue Tees app was going to perform considering it’s their first foray into this type of product.
But I’ve found it to be feature-heavy and fairly intuitive.
Data is displayed in a clear and easy-to-read way, and you even have the option for 3 different color schemes depending on your preferences for “light” or “dark” modes.
When using the app for GPS distances, it’s super easy to tap the screen and get a distance to any point on the course.
One critique could be that the in-round menus are a little busy, so it might take a round or two to familiarize yourself with where everything is – but overall, it’s as good as any other similar GPS golf apps.
But of course, nothing is perfect, and the major disappointment with the Player+ is the fact you’ll need to pony up for a Blue Tees Membership if you want to unlock all of the capabilities of the speaker.
At $49/year or $99 for 3 years, it’s not quite as wallet-shattering as some subscriptions. But the idea of paying annually for a Bluetooth speaker of all things just seems a little ridiculous.
On the positive side, you do get a free year of membership when you buy a Player+, so you’ll have plenty of time to decide if it’s worth the money. Just keep in mind that to get the free trial you’ll have to enter your credit card data – so after a year, it will bill automatically.
What does the Premium Membership actually get you?
With it, you’ll get:
- Approach Assist
- Score Keeping
- Green View
- Connect Your Devices
- Driving Distance
- Shot Tracking
- Advanced Round Analytics
- GPS Course Maps & Distances
- Unlimited Round Storage
- Club Suggestion
- Exclusive Offers
A lot of this is app-based stuff, but the most noticeable addition is 3 unique screens on the speaker itself with hazard distances, driving distance, and score.
The fact you have to pay extra to see your score on your speaker seems a little ridiculous, but here we are.
Final Thoughts on the Blue Tees Player+ Speaker
Overall, I’m a huge fan of this speaker.
Take all of the extra stuff out of it, just as a speaker – it’s great. It’s loud, clear, and the Bluetooth connectivity distance is strong.
Throw in a genuinely useful screen with yardage data, and it elevates it beyond anything else on the market.
Add in all of the additional data you get with the Premium Package and there’s nothing else out there like it.
Then subtract a few karma points for the subscription fee ha.
But here’s the deal. Even without the bonus features from the Premium Membership, this is the best golf speaker on the market. Period.
And if you invest in Blue Tees as your chosen GPS app of choice, then $33-$49/year is reasonable for what you get.
I know I’ll be playing a lot of rounds with the Player+ in the coming year, and that’s why I have zero hesitation in recommending it as my best overall Bluetooth golf speaker on the market.
The MSRP on this is $249, but I’ve only ever seen it at $199. Even better, if you use the code “BREAKINGEIGHTY10” it’ll knock another 10% off – bringing the price down to $179 – which is a great deal for what you get.
Blue Tees original Player Speaker has been my favorite golf speaker since 2022. Now, with the updates in the Player+, it's even better.
Recent Updates
September 10th, 2024: Added new video review. Updated review score to add a category for “Features”.
The Very Best Golf Cart Speaker Available
Despite the fact we don't love the subscription fee, the Blue Tees Player+ is hands down the best Bluetooth GPS golf speaker on the market. It's loud, reliable, and the screen is best in class. Highly recommended.
The Good
- Beautiful Screen
- Very loud, good sound
- Tons of features
The Bad
- Subscription is a bummer
- No remote included
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Presentation
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Performance
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Features
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Price
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Personal Affinity
