SkyCaddie Review
Posted May 6th, 2005 by Erik J. Barzeski
This GPS unit can tell you the exact distances to greens and trouble. Just don't use it in competition or you may find yourself in trouble.
We all know the routine. It's fairly well ingrained in every decent golfer, and it goes a little something like this:
- Arrive at your drive and set down your bag.
- Wander around looking for a sprinkler head.
- Pace forward or backward to get a better yardage.
- Estimate how much the angle of your approach affects the yardage.
- Estimate how deep the green is and where the pin is placed, and add those calculations to the mix.
- Perform complex math in your head, give up, and then just guess at the correct yardage.
- Choose a club and hit the ball.
Imagine cutting three steps from that ordeal:
- Arrive at your drive and set down your bag.
- Look at the location of the flag on the green.
- Unclip a device from your belt and read a number or two from it to get the precise yardage.
- Choose a club and hit the ball.
The SkyCaddie - formerly known as the "SkyGolf GPS" or the "SG2" - can make the abbreviated process a reality. Though use of a yardage-measuring device is currently illegal for tournament play, the SkyCaddie can be used in handicap rounds and casual play.
The Basics
The SkyCaddie uses freely and widely available GPS (global positioning system) signals to calculate to within one yard your precise location on the planet Earth. If you've also programmed in other points of interest - such as the location of the middle of the green - the SkyCaddie can tell you exactly how far you've got to the middle of the green.
The SkyCaddie unit is a bit larger than your average flip cell phone. It's black, it has a short, stubby antenna that's not going to snap off, and it's solidly built. The buttons are easy to press and the display is easy to read. It clips nicely onto your belt or, as I prefer, to a golf bag strap. Laser-based range finders are bulky, and compared to them the SkyCaddie is rather svelte.
How's It Work?
When you first receive your SkyCaddie, you must register at SkyGolfGPS.com to activate the device. You do so by plugging in your SkyCaddie via a serial port (if you have USB ports only, you'll have to buy your own serial-to-USB converter, as one is not provided) and downloading some software. The process takes a matter of minutes.
Next, you'll probably jump into the course search with "over 5000 courses." Once you find your courses you upload them to your SkyCaddie and head out for a round of golf.
If you live near a red dot, congratulations: you won't be programming your own SkyCaddie.
Unfortunately, at the time of this review, only one of the 35 courses within 45 minutes of me is even listed as having GPS information, and it's user-supplied front/center/back of green information. Any course can have one of four levels:
| Level | What This Means |
|---|---|
| 4 | "SkyPro" course with IntelliGreen |
| 3 | "SkyPro" course without IntelliGreen |
| 2 | "SkyPlayer" course with tee/layup/green targets |
| 1 | "SkyPlayer" course with front/center/back of green targets |
If your course is a SkyPro course, congratulations. You'll have access to the full range of information - layup yardages, hazard distances, and more. You may even have IntelliGreen - an option that will "intelligently" rotate the image of the green depending on the angle of approach. If your course is a SkyPlayer course, well, you're gonna have to eye some things up. And if your course isn't listed, well, you're not out of luck at all. You just have to add it yourself.
Though the SkyCaddie can be used without one of the "SkyPlayer" memberships, some users may opt for some of the membership options available at a yearly cost. I tend to play very few courses and I certainly don't need to store them in an online "SkyVault," so I don't plan to renew my trial membership. However, if you play a lot of golf at different courses - and have a lot of "SkyPro" courses, a membership may make sense to you as you'll have access to all of the SkyCourses, the IntelliGreen graphics, and a SkyVault for storage. Several plans are available:
| Level | Number of Allotted Courses | Number of SkyFolders | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Par | 5 courses in user's state or province | 1 | $19.95/yr. |
| Birdie | Unlimited courses in user's state or province | 3 | $29.95/yr. |
| Eagle | Unlimited courses in user's country | 5 | $49.95/yr. |
| Double Eagle | Unlimited courses worldwide | 10 | $59.95/yr. |
My Testing
My home course, Lake View Country Club, is not listed at SkyGolfGPS.com. When it may be, I don't know. Instead, I took the opportunity to enter data into the SkyCaddie myself.
It's a relatively simple process. As you play a round of golf, pause at the center, front, and back of each green. press the "record" button, confirm your location, and wait five seconds. The precise location is stored and you can move on to the next hole. I recorded all 18 of my course's greens while playing with a threesome. I didn't hold up play and my playing partners only teased me the first seven holes! <grin>
It's in subsequent rounds, the SkyCaddie truly shines. I turn the SkyCaddie on when I step onto the first tee and it gathers information from the GPS satellites. By the time I'm ready to hit my first approach shot, the display tells me three yardages: distance to the center, back, and front of the green. I adjust the yardage based on pin location, wind, and elevation in my mind, choose a club, and play. I no longer care about sprinkler heads, how accurate their yardages may be, or how much playing from a different angle than "dead center of the fairway" might affect my distance.
The SkyCaddie is actually most useful near the green. Very few courses even bother to mark yardages inside of 100 yards, and as a student of the Pelz method for short-game scoring (you know: three wedges, four swings, twelve distances), getting precise yardages inside 100 yards is critical. I've worked hard to dial in my wedges to within a yard or two, so knowing that I'm facing a 55-yard shot and not a 65-yard shot is of critical importance.
The first few times I played with the SkyCaddie, I ran through the normal "sprinkler head" routine and came up with a yardage to compare it to the SkyCaddie's. In each case, the SkyCaddie was surprisingly more accurate. If I hit the club I would have hit with my number, I often failed to get pin high. With the SkyCaddie's number, my shots were pin high all day long.
It's tough to attribute a "stroke-saving" number to an accessory like the SkyCaddie, but based on my unscientific testing (nobody's golf game is exactly the same day to day), I am comfortable suggesting that the SkyCaddie - even with only front/back/center green measurements - has shaved two to three strokes from my game.
In fact, I'd go so far as to say that I hope never to play without the SkyCaddie (or some more feature-packed successor) again. I've used GPS units in carts - they're expensive to install and slow down play. The SkyCaddie is accurate and fast. Walk to your ball, look at the LCD, hit the ball. It couldn't be better.
Except that it does. I only tested the most basic aspects of the SkyCaddie. "Enabled" courses - particularly those with IntelliGreen - promise to offer up a great bit more information. Perhaps a course near me will be "enabled" soon, but I'm not holding my breath. In the meantime, I'm happy to use my numbers on my home course.
The SkyCaddie is easy to use, but not waterproof. I'm hopeful that this design oversight is fixed in later versions.
Frustrations
As with any bit of technology, there are some frustrations. First, the SkyCaddie is not Mac compatible. Though this may not matter to 90% of the world, a small - and vocal - portion of the computer users out there will certainly want to take note. Furthermore, on the PC, the SkyCaddie requires Internet Explorer 6.0 or later. You'll have a helluva time getting the SkyCaddie to work if you've set Firefox or any other browser as your default.
Much of the work you do to set up your SkyCaddie is done at SkyGolfGPS.com in Internet Explorer or via the "SG2 Browser" application. The SkyGolfGPS site allows you to maintain your profile and edit the contents of your SkyCaddie. You can add courses to folders and synchronize the data to your SkyCaddie. If you're planning a trip to Arizona, you could load your SkyCaddie with the courses you'll be playing.
In theory, that's great. In practice, it took multiple synchronizations to get the data to the SkyCaddie. I'm not a novice computer user - I'm a software developer and an IT consultant - but the SkyGolfGPS.com experience is one I'd rather do without.
Overall
The SkyCaddie costs $349.95. You get a serial cable, a wall-charger (a three-hour charge lasts 10 to 12 hours on the course), and a belt clip. The SkyCaddie is smaller than a laser-based range finder and doesn't require a line of site to the target.
My only gripes are the lack of "enabled" courses in my area and the frustrations of being forced to use a PC with Internet Explorer.
The SkyCaddie is easy to use and deadly accurate. It's shaved strokes off my game and may pay for itself in bets won before the season is through. You can use the SkyCaddie on any course in the world so long as you're willing to put in the center/back/front data yourself.
Despite the minimal frustrations, I recommend the SkyCaddie. If it's good enough for the Tight Lies Tour, well, it's good enough for any ol' duffer, eh?
Feedback
We'd love to hear from you! Comment below or join the forum.
Expressed opinions are not necessarily the opinions shared by others on The Sand Trap or The Sand Trap itself.
Posted 31 May 2005 at 5:49pm #
I have used the SkyCaddie at 3 different SkyPro courses with the Intelligreen feature and it is woefully inaccurate. At Torrey Pines South the yardage to the center is marked on the sprinkler heads. The Pro's Lucas Yardage Books for Torrey Pines South used in the Buick 2005 were based upon the location and measurements on these sprinkler heads so we KNOW they are accurate! When the Sky Caddie was held directly over the marked sprinkler heads, it was off an average of 5 yards, and as much as 10 yards, on distances that were as little as 60 yards to the center of the green. Further, on at least two rounds with moderate fog on the horizon or cloud cover directly overhead, the unit had no reception on the first hole, even though it had a 15 minute warm up at the course before arriving at the 1st tee. It also lost reception completely on the 17th and 18th holes. It took literally an hour for the unit to pick up any reception at Mission Bay Golf Course by which time I was on the 6th hole! It repeatedly lost reception at Tecolote Canyon Golf Course as well.
Hoping it was just a bad unit, I replaced it with a second brand new unit, and had virtually the same experience: intermittent reception and warm up times of an hour or more to pick up a signal when the device already had signal in the area at another local course the day before, and GPS readings that averaged being off by 5 yards on every target.
According to Garmin and Magellan, GPS with WAAS enhancement (the very technology upon which the SkyCaddie is based) has an accuracy of 3 yards 95% of the time and can be off as much as 8 yards the other 5% of the time. GPS without WAAS has an accuracy of 15 yards 95% of the time and can be off as much as 40 yards the other 5% of the time. There are TWO GPS measurements necessary whenever you set up your own course, and whenever a Sky Player Course is used, one for the original marking of the targets during course setup, and another for marking the position of your ball during play from which you want the distance to the target computed. Under the BEST CASE SCENARIO, assuming WAAS for both locations, and assuming reception (a very big IF!) EACH of those measurements will have a 3 yard variance 95% of the time, creating a 6 yard variance 95% of the time!
You CANNOT use any GPS based device for accurate yardage under 100 yards because the variance of 6 yards on average and sometimes up to 10 or more yards guarantees inaccurate measurements that will cause you to select the wrong club based upon the yardage displayed. Even if you hit your selected club perfectly, you will never know it, because your target will be 18 feet away from where you thought it was on average. I don't know about you, but I don't make too many 18 foot putts! Also, using the device to determine how far you hit your clubs (another of its selling features) will always be off by 6 yards on average: 3 yards off for marking where you hit the ball from, PLUS another 3 more yards off for marking the ball where you hit it to.
If you really want accurate yardages to the pin from 100 yards and in, buy a Rangefinder, as it is accurate to 1 yard up to 400 yards away and doesn't depend upon the weather, or someone else's GPS measurements, or the sprinklerheads being available, and at that distance, seeing the flag is never an obstacle!
Further confirmation of the unit's inaccurate readings can be seen by standing on the front of the green and seeing that in the Pro view of the green, the SkyCaddie reads that you are still 3-6 yards away from the front of the green. Try it again while standing on the back of the green. It will again tell you you are 3-6 yards away from the back of the green. So much for being "accurate"!
The device CANNOT be any more accurate than the technology upon which it is based. It also CANNOT tell you where the pin is, as it doesn't know where the pin is on the green, since no one has ever "marked" its location. It only knows approximately where the front, middle, and back of the green are, based upon someone's marking of those locations with GPS. Any attempt to modify the pin location on an Intelligreen enabled course is only a rough visual approximation on a tiny screen, and is not based upon anything more accurate. On a par 3, you might as well take your measurement to the center of the green from the measured marks for your tee box, (or on a par 4 or 5 from a nearby sprinkler head) and simply add or subtract 5 yards for a back or front pin based upon flag color on a 30 yard deep green! It will likely be more accurate and less frustrating, as that method can't lose all signal and provide NO information at all! Save your money and buy a Rangefinder instead if you really need accurate pin distances.
Posted 20 Jun 2005 at 12:11pm #
The Bushnell PinSeeker 1500 is a $449 range finder that measures yardage and slope. How much would you pay to have an exact yardage to every pin?
Posted 01 Aug 2005 at 1:28pm #
The "range finder rule," Rule 14-3b, may soon be going the way of the dodo. Hallelujah!
Posted 24 Nov 2005 at 10:39pm #
I purchased my SG2 in July 2005 and won't leave home without it! I too expienced techical difficulties that were quickly resolved by SkyHawke Technologies technical support personnel. I have Cleveland CG-10 wedges and Callaway Fusion irons and using the SG2 I've dialed in my accuracy. Sure the unit is only as good as the technology behind it and there will be problems with any gadget on the market today. But I return to my home course 3-4 times a week and the yardages I've programmed for the course are pretty dead on with what I've first recorded and come with in a yard or so of and the course markers. In less your a pro tour player, I can live with that. All I can say is over the past 6-months, I've made more birdies than I ever have before due to my short game confidence provided by using my SG2
Posted 01 Dec 2005 at 11:22pm #
I used the sky caddy for about 2 years and it does save quite a bit of time looking for markers and pacing off your distance. I was happy with it until it started acting up. It seems that when it was exposed to the sun the unit reflected grossly incorrect yardages such as 2499 yards when we were 150 yards to the green. I have sent the unit back to customer service twice; the first time they had it for about 6 weeks and returned it without an explanation. As soon as I started using it again it did the same thing. I emailed their customer service department and their manager there said he would personally take care of the repair and gave me another RMA number. It's been about 4 weeks, I received a letter back from their customer service department saying that the unit is out of warranty and cannot be repaired and offered me to purchase demo units for $249 or some others for $199.
For this reason alone, I informed them to keep the unit and use it as a "lemon". I will never use one again....and neither will my friends and their friends.
Caddyless in San Diego
Posted 27 May 2006 at 5:24pm #
I bought the SkyCaddie at my pro shop and brought it home after a frustrating round. Excited to set it up for use at my home course, which is on the four star list of courses, I found out the CD will not work on a Mac. I am now putting the device back into its box with directions, accessories, etc. and will return it in the morning. Any company not willing to spend the money to make their software compatable with Mac and blow off millions of potential owners to save a few bucks is not worth supporting with a $350 device fee and from 19.95 to 49.95 membership fees. I will purchase a competing lazer device and happily use that techology for my yardages. Gordon Chibroski, The Woodlands Club, Falmouth, Maine.
Posted 19 Jun 2006 at 2:42am #
I bought this about 1 and 1/2 months ago, had some tech issues also, but worked them out. I am a 12 handicap, or should say I used to be a 12 handicap. Now I'm playing to a 6 handicap. I've shot more rounds in the 70's in the last month than I have in my intire life. I attribut it to this unit. I always had a hard time with yardage, and now make a more confident swing by trusting the yardage information. to the front or middle of the green.
For me this works, for others it might not.
Dewayne
Posted 26 Jun 2006 at 11:18am #
I bought on these units a few months ago and have used it both with a pro mapped course and one that I programmed myself.
I also have a Sureshotgps and a Bushnell Pinseeker 1500.
I also experienced on two ocassions, a reading of 9999 to the green, but I also had the Sureshot on at the same time - might be coincidence but it didn't work next to the competition ! - no problems since.
It is more accurate if you let it 'settle' once you reach your ball for about 20 seconds
and then take the reading.
With regards accuracy, I found it to be extremly accurate , especially if you have a strong signal. I compared the distance with the range finder and they were only 1 or 2 yards different - closer than my control over my iron distances !
The big plus is how robust and easy the whole process is. I have it in a clear Ortlieb small waterproof case on the side of my bag and it is simply a case of put down the bag, choose the club , practice swing , then have a final check on the yardage and hit.
By comparison, I found the Sureshot GPS more fiddly to set up your own course and the list of UK courses they have is extermely small compared to Skycaddie.
I would say once you have confidence in it, it speeds up play, sprinklers / yardage books can be a pain , especially if you are off line.
Posted 31 Aug 2006 at 3:09pm #
With Skycaddie and other devices like these, where does the mapping database/info come from? Does somebody source that information?
Posted 21 Nov 2006 at 6:25pm #
The current most popular GPS-based rangefinder is growing into a full-fledged product line to give golfers more choices in price, capability, and size.
Posted 21 Nov 2006 at 6:58pm #
Distance measuring devices are now legal if all they do is measure yardage. So what are some options?
Posted 26 Jan 2007 at 11:45am #
I have been using the IGOLF GPS CADDIE for almost a year now and have to say that this GPS unit has it all over the sky caddie...the one unit I would not recommend to anyone because of their poor service and intermittent units in the field. I have not had one problem with the IGOLF GPS CADDIE since I purchased it, much less that the sky caddie, and it will hold as many as 40 courses in memory while the sky caddie only holds 10 courses. The courses can be downloaded to your computer and stored for future use and membership is a fraction of sky caddie's membership plan.
Their customer service team is responsive and much "friendlier" than sky caddie's team (if there is one). I would definitely give a firm recommendation for the IGOLF GPS CADDIE. I've mapped courses for credits, mapped sand traps and bunkers; and have compared the yardages to cart GPS units and it always is within 2 or 3 yards. I never have erroneous yardages displayed and can always rely on the distance displayed. The IGOLF GPS CADDIE is the one companion you must have when you play a round of golf.
Posted 29 Jan 2007 at 6:09pm #
I looked into buying a SkyCaddie but decided against it because of the fact that you don't know how far you are from the pin, only the front, middle or back of the greens. In my experience there are so may times, even with pin sheets and/or color coded flags that pin positions can easily be a whole club off. I did get a Bushnell rangefinder and absolutely love it. I bought the smallest and least expensive model and it never fails to give me exact yardages to the pins, as well as yardages for layups, tee shots on unfamiliar courses, etc. What's the point of GPS if you don't know the distance to the flag?
Posted 21 Feb 2007 at 10:00am #
I Have a Bushnell rangefinder and am considering a SkyCaddie because I can not seem to be able to hold the rangefinder steady enough on the target flag to get an accurate distance.
Does anyone else have that problem with the rangefinder and better yet is there a way to overcome it?
Posted 23 Feb 2007 at 3:39pm #
Chuck – I too just demo’d the Bushnell 1500 at a local shop and quickly found out that my hands were shaking when trying to locate anything! Even though I looked at my hands to see if they were in deed shaking (whithout holding the unit), I could not really see them moving at all. I could probably get used to it after a while, but I am still trying to decide on either the igolf,sureshot, or a rangefinder.
I have read good things (and some bad) about all of them. I am not considering the skycaddy due to the fact that once you pay for a year’s subscription, and download courses, they are not yours unless you continue to pay the yearly fees. This is not tru with the igolf and sureshot, since they are on your computer, not skycaddys’. Of course the bushnell doesn’t work this way.
I am (as of today), leaning more towards the igolf or sureshot. It would also be nice if the bushnell was smaller to I could clip it to my belt. Bushnell has just come out with a new unit (which is a bit smaller) that has the same technology as the 1500 but only (I think) goes to about 200 yards insead of the longer yardage capability of the 1500. It is said to sell for about $299. I saw it on a television show (the golf channel 2007 golf show in Florida).
Anyway, if some of you who use either the iGolf or the Shureshot could comment on their experiences–that would help me greatly in my decision.
If the Bushnell was the same size, I would probably get it though! I would’nt like having to stop my cart, walk to my ball (courses with 90 degree walk-ins that is) take a measurement, then walk back to get a club and walk back, etc)
Posted 26 Feb 2007 at 7:46am #
I use the SureShot GPS system, I think their site is http://www.sureshotgps.com
The color screen looks a lot better then any of the other GPS models.
This is by far the easiest to use and keeps all your stats like score, Greena nd fairways hit.
A very good buy.
Posted 26 Feb 2007 at 10:06pm #
Hello,
I am really anxious to buy a sky caddie for the upcoming season. I am just not sure as whether to buy the sg3 or the sg4. I'm just trying to decide if a rechargable battery is better than replacing AA's?
Thanks for any info.
Posted 05 Mar 2007 at 9:10pm #
I used the SkyCaddie SG2 model for over a year and find that it was accurate only about 20% of the time. For what I paid plus the course subscription, it deserves to be in the trash. The customer service folk, when I could finally get a live person, were worthless. I recently bought the new Garmin GolfLogix GPS for less money than the SkyCaddie and it works right out of the box. The numbers match the sprinkler heads within 2 yards and it is easy to use and read. I play with a fellow who uses a sureshot and he is very pleased with both the color and the accuracy. SkyCaddie is all hype and promotion. They should have put their money into the product.
Posted 29 Mar 2007 at 11:40pm #
Buyer beware of SkyGolf!!! Last year on their web site I bought one of their SkyGolf GPS units for use with a PDA. In less than 6 months, without warning, they removed access for course downloads and stopped all support for my unit. When I contacted someone in customer service they told me that the units had been discontinued almost 3 years ago and they had no intention of supporting the unit that I bought from them just 5 months earlier. This company could care less about customer support and has no problem unloading their old shelf stock on you and then pulling the plug on support! How long do you think they will support the next model?
I wouldn't buy another unit from them even if it was accurate to an inch!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Posted 07 Apr 2007 at 10:24am #
I don't understand why so many of you think you need "to the pin" measurements. I mean are you tour pros? Go with the skycaddie.
Posted 07 Apr 2007 at 8:53pm #
Jeff said on April 7, 2007:
Because you don't have to be a Tour pro to be good enough to know the difference between 143 and 148.
Posted 13 Apr 2007 at 1:12am #
** Disclosure: I work for SkyGolf **
Any time I hear of yardages are off by 7 or 10 yards, it's almost always that the SkyCaddie is displaying the distance in meters instead of yards.
Mac support is a problem. We're Mac fans and would love to support it but we can't get drivers for some of the internal chips we use. We've had many customers sucessfully use windows emulators on Intel Macs without any problems. This is the best bet if you have a Mac.
When we map a course, we put a golf professional on the ground with a very acurate backpack GPS setup. We map courses all over the world every day so in the unlikely event your course isn't currently in our database, chances are it will be soon.
We don't map the pin location because the location of the pin changes frequently.
As for the PDA product, I can't speak to the exact amount of time from the last unit sold to when we discontinued it was but I know it was more than 5 months. We turned off the PDA service on Nov. 17th 2006 and I know for sure we hadn't sold one after March 2006 for sure. I'm sure it's possible someone got hold of one from some other channel closer to the cut off date, but not directly from us.
As for why we discontinued it's use; The product is dependent on the Palm V PDA. This unit has been unsupported by Palm for more than three years. This is what the service rep was referring to, not that we had discontinued it three years ago. Most Palm V devices are five years old or more and starting to fail. It's also getting very hard to find parts when they break.
For all these reasons and the fact that it required an entire seperate server system to keep the PDA system going, we discontinued it. The final straw was that more SG2 SkyCaddies connected to our site in one hour than PDAs did in a year.
Posted 15 Apr 2007 at 5:15pm #
Dear Sand Trap,
THANKS SO MUCH for a forum for actual customers to review these range-finding products! I am currently considering getting one for the 07 season, and the feedback on this site was in a word:
PRICELESS!
Posted 17 Apr 2007 at 3:16pm #
Another GPS measuring product you may want to look into if you are shopping for GPS devices/software is StarCaddy GPS. It is useful for people that already have a PDA and a GPS device (ie Handspring with GPS attachment or PDA with blue tooth GPS). I already had a PDA and I got a blue tooth off Ebay cheap so all I needed was the GPS software. This may be a cheaper alternative than buying a whole unit combined subscription fees (Skygolf and or sure shot) . Only drawback with Starcaddy is that you buy each course. Good thing is that when you buy it, it's yours to keep. The accuracy is as accurate as any of the other GPS devices as they all use the same satellites and similar protocols (NMEA or Sirf).
Starcaddy has a good library of courses and if there is a course not listed just e-mail them and they will map it for you.
I find that GPS most useful from off the fairway where yardage markers cannot be found and poorly marked par 3s where the tee boxes are often moved week to week.
There are drawbacks to any GPS system especially for premapped courses offered by the vendors: If the date that the course has been mapped is very old and the course has since made changes to green locations etc. Then the readings will be inaccurate no matter what GPS you are using. The only remedy is if your GPS system has the option of self mapping where you can re-record the the coordinates yourself or have the vendor remap the course (StarCaddy did do this for me on one of the courses I purchased that was outdated).
In the end the GPS has helped but I wouldn't say it's a huge game changer especially if you play on courses that are already well marked yardage wise. Sometimes it's easy to get caught up with fiddling with the device which can be distracting from the preshot routine and rhythm of the game and can be more detrimental than having precise yardage measurements from the GPS.
my 2 cents.
Posted 17 Apr 2007 at 11:11pm #
I have recently purchase an SG4. In two instances on the same day, I compared to a friend using an SG2 and his reading was 7 yards different than mine. Later with a friend who also recently bought an SG4, on one hole I was 7 yards longer than my friend's reading and on the very next hole, I was 6 yards shorter than my friends' reading. There was plenty of time for the units to settle in.
To me, this is a very serious accuracy issue as the difference is 1/2 to a full club.
Not completely satisfied with this device...may go back to my Busnell.
Here's the response I received from SkyCaddie:
"This is a common misunderstanding; I hope I can make this as clear as possible to help you understand "GPS Rounding effect". Each SkyCaddie is communicating with different sets of satellites in space. These SATs are calculating your location using different information. If you and your partner stand in the same location for a few more seconds you will find that the yardages will slowly round down to within just a few yards each other. The SATs are calculating your LAT and LONG as well as your velocity. This occurs quite often when two users are in the same cart or in different carts traveling on different paths on the same hole. Please notice that the yardages will round down to 1-2 yards within a few moments."
My experience differs from the response I received.
Posted 21 Apr 2007 at 12:39am #
While I found this site interesting, it did nothing to convince me one way or another what range aid to purchase. It seems that they all have their limitations. I'm not surprised to see more complaints about SkyCaddie as they far out number other devices. I guess I'll just keep doing it the old fashion way for the time being.
Posted 25 Apr 2007 at 2:42pm #
I Love My SG4! But I need someone to go to Real Del Mar in Mexico (Before Rosarito) and Map the course for me! Come one someone. Upload it to the SkyGolf web site! please!
All I want is the center of the green! Do it! I'll gave you 2 months....ready...GO!
Posted 26 Apr 2007 at 1:38pm #
First, does it work? The qualified answer is yes. It does give adequate info to the green and if the course has been mapped it MAY give you info to hazards, etc. On mapped courses with 4 stars, some do not include the hazards, sand traps, etc. Of course to get this you must pay $29.95 per year. Also if you want the SG2 to work when you start play it is a good idea to turn it on at least 1/2 hour prior to tee time. Which brings up the next problem - battery life. When my unit was new, a fully charged battery would give about 6 hours of use. After having the SG2 9 months though, I was lucky to get 4 1/2 to 5 hours out of the battery. However it usualy did last a full round. Now after 14 months, a FULLY CHARGED battery last about 1 HOUR. Contacted SkyCaddie and was informed by their customer service that “THE BATTERY LIFE IS NORMALLY 9-12 MONTHS†(their words). The fix is to buy a new battery from them for $49.95. This makes the annual cost for owning an SG2 $80. I haven’t even mentioned their rediculous web site or no Macintosh support, etc. My suggestion - don’t waste your money. Buy the Bushnell.
Posted 27 Apr 2007 at 11:39pm #
As the author of this discussion has mentioned, he is a software developer and IT consultant, I too am of the same profession and I have never had such a terrible time with any other software, as when I try to download my playlists to my device. It is extremely frustrating to have to attempt several times to download my play list. I have attempted to communicate suggested changes to the process to the company and I get a simple email response...gee we are sorry, the developers are working on...well obviously the developers are not testing or using their own software. Let's hope they get it correct some day soon.
Thanks for the forum.
Posted 28 Apr 2007 at 9:45am #
Just thought I'd vent my frustrations as well. It took me over an hour to renew my subscription, update the SkyCaddie browser and download a couple of courses. Granted I'm using Virtual PC on a Mac, but sheesh... their web interface is the worst I've ever dealt with.
Posted 28 Apr 2007 at 10:39am #
I have used skycaddie for about 1 year....works as advertised except...I am now on 4th unit (which they exchanged rapidly) always the same problen ...the lock or mark distance button stops functioning...they admit poor design..I asked if they would trade my unit in for their best unit and they declined..going to purchase a golflogix unit !!!
Posted 28 Apr 2007 at 11:48pm #
Thanks everyone for the valuable information, i too am trying to decide between bushnell and skycaddie. From the looks of this forum, i am definately not going with the skycaddie. I didn't read one positive post about the skycaddie. I guess Skygolf has a long way to come. My biggest concern when purchasing a Bushnell is the accuaracy of the reading.
I am a 2 handicap and i could definately benfit from the bushnell as long as it is accurate.
Hey you......experienced bushnell users
Give me your unbiased opinion on the accuracy of the read out
If your shooting a laser at a flagstick, whats to say you are actually hitting the flagstick and not the green or whatever it may be 7 yards behind the flag
thanks everyone
Posted 29 Apr 2007 at 8:04am #
Jason in Myrtle said on April 28, 2007:
That doesn't happen. For one, aim it at the flag. Two, the aiming circle is quite small. You can point it at the lip of a bunker accurately. I've even pointed it at a ball 150 yards away in the fairway and gotten a good reading.
Posted 29 Apr 2007 at 4:02pm #
I love my SkyCaddie that attaches to a Palm PDA. I find it accurate and it has improved my game. However, your facts are not right regarding your comments below. I bought it in June 2006 from the Skygolf website. Without warning, the PDA course site became unavailable in November. I would have appreciated notification of a week to go on and purchase any additional courses before it shut down. That was a lousy deal. I may eventually buy another SG unit but please don't justify poor customer service with the fact that the volume was small. If you want to correct the matter, make the server available for 1 week for PDA users to purchase courses (at $10 a pop!!!)
Posted 30 Apr 2007 at 10:04am #
I should expand on my comments regarding the website and downloading. Once I finally do get the course information downloaded, after a frustrating time, the data displayed and the views displayed are quite satisfying and useful. Most of the guys in my foursomes have used the info to speed play and eliminate the 'professional' step off the distance golfer who ends up slowing down the pace of play for everyone in the group and those behind.
Although the GPS systems may be off by a yard or two...we have day jobs and are not on the Pro Tour and it is good enough to help us. Especially, on lay up shots, determining how far is to carry the water, or to lay up to water. Just fix the website and the downloading process. Gee, if Itunes can do it for music, you certainly can make it easier to download golf course info.
Posted 02 May 2007 at 5:57pm #
I have had a Bushnell rangefinder for years - model "Bushnell Yardage Pro Tour Laser Rangefinder." I recommend it highly.
Process: Walk up to my ball (I normally walk). Pull rangefinder out of pocket in my bag. Aim at flag or other object (bunker, front of green, tree). Press the button and then get read the distance. I can move the rangefinder around and it will give me a continuous reading of distance. Put the rangefinder back in golf bag pocket.
Advantages:
It is small - will fit in a small pocket on the side of my bag
I can use it with one or two hands. Two hands are better if your hands are unsteady.
Gives me distances from plus 250 down to 30 yards
Quick - aim, press the button, and read the distance.
I can aim at the flag, and once it is ranging, I then can then move to the front of the green to figure out how much space I have between the flag and front of green or flag and bunker.
No need to find sprinklers. This is especially good for me, as I am in the rough a bit.
Disadvantages:
If I am more than 200 yards away, and the flag is not flapping, sometimes hard to get a reading. But I then read a bunker or the green surface itself, which for me is good enough from 200 plus yards.
If I am behind an object or can’t see the flag – I can’t get a reading.
I would highly recommend the Bushnell products. Also you can get one on an auction site for well under $300.
Posted 03 May 2007 at 1:05pm #
Dang. I'm quite shocked. Either everyone who works at Bushnell entered in their comments against the SkyCaddie, or people are just not happy with it. I wish they say what Model of the SkyCaddie they are using (SG1, SG2, SG3, SG4).
I'm not a great golfer. I have fun out there. but with my Sky Caddie SG4; I have finally broken 100 twice in a row (95) on two different courses. clap clap clap.
Golf is fun again! I can glance at the screen, and hit the ball. no more looking around all over the place. And it's a must for "lay up" and water holes.
All I have to say is to try each model yourself I guess. How's that's for a friendly suggestion?
Posted 03 May 2007 at 2:16pm #
Sorry... just bought an SG4 yesterday.. I was VERY disappointed at the way the whole membership thing was presented. I mean, even if I map the course myself (and I think all I can do is map front, middle, and back of green.. no other info) I can't save it anywhere except SkyGolf's site. If I terminate my membership, I am left with up to five courses on my unit... and if the unit fails, I have to start all over again. Not being able to 'purchase' a course and save it on your own computer equipment is a real shortcoming. The fact is that they are locking you in for your golfing life. If you play only a couple of courses, you pay year after year after year for the same info.... not sure that's right. Am I alone here?? or does anyone share the same feelings. I mean the SkyCaddie has a lots of glitz (nice glitz I might add) but only if you continue to pay that annual membership.
Posted 04 May 2007 at 6:16pm #
After trying to "request a course", they confirmed my request by showing all of the fields I had just completed as empty, and showed someone else's email address instead of my own. What do they do with my information,, give it to some else?
When I asked how to get a replacement rubber cover for the USB port, they directed me to the accessories page, which sells cases, mounts, etc. There was no mention of "sorry it broke after using twice.......we'll send you a replacement."
This seems to be a company of semi-skilled people, working 9-5, monday to friday, and don't bother them with minor details.
Golf Buddy, or any other system is starting to look pretty good, in spite of what the paid pro's are saying.
Posted 06 May 2007 at 12:52pm #
When I play other courses that haven't been loaded, my score goes up at least 5 strokes. I don't want to leave home without it! I highly recommend the Sky Caddie.
Posted 12 May 2007 at 7:23pm #
Has anyone used Parallels to connect an iMac to SkyGolf? Windows (via Parallels) won't recognize my unit. Any suggestions would be helpful. Parallels has tried - but today's message from them said some USB's just won't talk to Windows. Too bad SkyGolf doesn't believe Mac is a viable platform!
New Mexico SkyCaddie courses seem to be pretty accurate when compared to sprinkler heads.
Posted 13 May 2007 at 9:08pm #
I am a complete technical novice. Am I correct that with a rangefinder such as Bushnell you can aim at any object and you will get the exact distance to that object? And, if you use a GPS system, you don't get the exact distance to the pin? If these statements are correct, why would one want a GPS system?
Posted 13 May 2007 at 9:46pm #
DMSB:
You are correct in that you aim the laser and it gives you a very exact distance - most times within half a yard. I cannot speak with exactitude to a GPS, but the reason I am not getting one, is that the courses I play are not in the database, beyond front and back of the green.. Since a green can be quite large, I need to know the distance to the front and back, AND to the pin. Since the GPS can't measure to the pin (hole positions are changed often), I do not want it. Also you have to pay a subscription to use the GPS features.
Now the ultimate device would be a GPS, with distance to all hazards and the front and back of the green, combined with a laser to give me the exact distance to the pin.
Posted 14 May 2007 at 10:10am #
Anonymous said on April 13, 2007:
unfortunately, this is not a viable solution for a company that has cornered the market. to say that you can't get drivers from your hardware supplier tells me you should start looking for new supplier. i can't believe with the market skygolf has that they are not able to get their hardware suppliers to support the mac. this is 2007 & i think skygolf should be more forward thinking in their product development if they plan on growing/retaining their market leadership.
people are very intolerant to these typical excuses that some companies still advocate. it would be understandable 5-10 yrs ago, but the mac market is one of the fastest secondary platform markets out there & there will be a day when mac support will be a requirement to stay viable in future markets.
was really looking forward to buying the sg3 (replaceable battery one) as my friend who owns the sg2 assured me they should support the mac. oh well, some companies still don't get it.
Posted 17 May 2007 at 5:46pm #
Just wanted to provide some input on the SG3 model.
I have had mine for about 2 months and I have played a half dozen different courses using it. I have not had any issues with the accuracy of the readings, and can happily state that being confident about a distance really increases my likelihood of hitting the shot! I don't take or rely on readings under 90 yards, FYI.
The unit itself has been dependable, though it occassionally (it's happened twice so far) stops receiving coordinates and displaces distances as blank. The simple remedy was to power down and then turn it on again ... after a few minutes, it was receiving coordinates again.
Though it is a pain to always carry fresh AA batteries, it seems a better solution that the built-in rechargeable battery in the SG4 for two reasons -- you gotta remember to recharge it (my history with a cell phone suggests I am not capable of this), and rechargeable batteries eventually loose their capacity and have to be (expensively) replaced.
My main gripe with the SkyCaddie is with an incredibly hard to use web site! The user interface for searching for golf courses is just awful. There is no search per so, you have to drill down via region, then state, then city, to locate the course. I usually have to locate and add a course more than once before it ends up ready to be downloaded to the unit.
Bottom line -- I like the product a lot and it has really helped my game. But it could and should be better!
Posted 18 May 2007 at 8:00am #
I owned the bushnell yardage pro tour for two years and just upgraded the Pinseeker 1500 (it has automatic 'pin locator' technology that lets you know if it has acquired a small target vs the backround the pro tour did not). I travel a lot and play a lot of courses I have never seen. You can't imagine how valuable it is to just point and get a distance. Occasionally you struggle to find a target that will give you a good distance but there is always something adjacent to your target to give you an approximate distance.
After owning the pro tour for a year, I got rather sloppy with handling it. I even got into the habit of dropping it on the ground after I get a yardage. It still works great!
I too am a software developer and the range finder doesn't require pre-existing course maps, subscriptions, web use, downloads; just point and click and read your yardage. If the battery is working, you have yardages. No need to worry about satelite acquisition, rebooting, etc. I have enough to struggle with on the golf course without dealing with technical hassles.
I am a single digit handicap and I think the 'stroke' saving benefits of these units are way overstated. I think it might be more a matter of confidence. I wish I could save 3 to 5 strokes by using one of these things.
Hit 'em well
Posted 20 May 2007 at 9:37am #
Also, I downloaded the Vista capable desktop, and after some troubleshooting, actually managed to get it working with my SG2.
Things are looking better now. I think I'll keep my SG2!
Posted 03 Jun 2007 at 10:31pm #
I've been using a very crude range finder with the yardage marks etched into a telescope type device. It is not very high tech but in itself it helped my game with club selection. I was trying to decide on whether to get a GPS unit or a laser range finder such as a Bushnell. I want to thank everyone for their valuable input into this forum for I have decided on buying a laser range finder. I now realize that the range finder is much more versatile and there is no subscription needed to a website.
Posted 06 Jun 2007 at 6:17am #
My husband bought me the Skycaddie SG2 in July 2006 for my birthday, and I love it. He hates gadgets--or did until he bought me the SG2. My golf game has improved and his golf game is improved. Now he will not play without it. He has found some sprinkler heads to be incorrect. And it is so nice not to have to look for a sprinkler head.
There have been one or two instances I have found that the Skycaddie is incorrect, but I think someone mapped the course incorrectly.
Posted 08 Jun 2007 at 10:38pm #
I regulary use Parallels (running Win XP sp2) on my MacBook Pro to access the Sky Caddie web site and to download courses to my SG3. I wish Sky Caddie was Mac native - but I have no problem accessing with Parallels. I am running the most recent version of Parallels - version 3.0 - but it also worked for me under version 2.5. You might try updating your parrales to the most recent version.
Posted 13 Jun 2007 at 3:01pm #
I just purchased the SG4. Haven't got to try it out yet, but I did want to comment on the website/membership signup usability "issues" some people have expressed. I had zero trouble downloading the software, signing up for my membership, finding 99.9% of the courses I normally play, and downloading the courses to my device. Smooth sailing!
I also work in the IT field and work "helpdesk" type issues for some pretty novice users. I'm not trying to be crude, but you have to ask some users if their computers are turned on, if you know what I mean. ;-}
And how can you complain about having to click on your region/state/city to find a golf course??? Give me a break! Do you want the website to read your friggin' mind? LOL!
I'll report back after I get a chance to test drive the SG4, but so far a big THUMBS UP for all aspects of my SkyCaddie experience to date. Keep it in the short stuff!
Posted 25 Jun 2007 at 10:35am #
I've researched the SkyGolf products for about a year now, finally jumped off the fence last Friday. Brought the unit home set up my account and downloaded 6 local Sky courses within a half hour.
I do have a very technical background, so it was a breeze. I didn't get an opportunity to field test my new SG4 until the next day.
There is an adjustment period, with so much information it is difficult to focus on playing golf.
I did however find the unit to be very accurate, I'm a long player and that sometimes means that I'm not always in the fairway. Being able to determine the distance to carry hazards as well as determining the depth of a green from a weird angle was invaluable.
The day I played I battled a 2 - 3 club wind the entire day, so I didn't notice a huge difference in my score, but I did notice all my distances were right on point.
You do have to retrain yourself to trust the GPS unit, but other than that, so far so good.
The only negative I can mention is 2 years ago I played with a guy from DC who had the SG2, and I can swear that his unit was able to depict a grid of the green showing subtle breaks from different angles.
Did I imagine this or has the functionality changed on the newer models?
Posted 28 Jun 2007 at 4:50am #
Okay not understanding some of you guys. You say the annual feel you pay with Sky Caddie is unfair or ridiculous. Well, I think it's worth every penny. My game has improved 6-8 strokes since I started using the SG4. I pay 29 bucks a year for service. That's less than I spent at the last movie the wife and I went to! Not to mention who wants to sit and put a set of binoculars up to their eyes for every shot??? Not me. FOr the guys who say they "need exact yardage to the pin" well, all I can say is if you can't figure it out if the pin is in the front, middle or back of the green you probably are playing the wrong sport already. Also the SG4 is the only unit I'd recommend also because of the Li-Ion rechargeable battery. I bet the guys using the Bushnell's spend more a year in battery's than the Sky Caddie service costs anyway. And what a pain in the butt to carry around AA batteries. Spend the cash, get the real deal. One more note: if you got 350 to blow on this and don't got 29 bucks for the service you've got some serious issues....
Posted 28 Jun 2007 at 9:50pm #
I've owned an SG2 for 9 months and I'm very satisfied. Most of the courses in my area (SC) have the detailed maps.
I had a Nikon rangefinder until I lost it. I agree it is better at getting an accurate distance to the pin (if you could shoot the flag). I had trouble finding the flag with a steady enough hand. I also didn't like the size and never established where/how to carry it. The SG2 fits nicely on your belt.
I have XP and haven't had any problens downloading courses or managing Skyvault. I am disappointed that it is another $20 per year to download courses outside my state, particularly since I've only played 4 courses outside my state this year.
I like that it tell's you the end of fairways at doglegs, hazards, etc. You can also do that with a rangefinder of course. You can't do that with the SG1 so I don't know why they even came out with that unit.
I've been golfing for less than 3 years so I also appreciate that it can tell you how far you're hitting each club.
I haven't had a problem with battery life and usually play 2 rounds between charges.
I think the SG2 is handier than the rangefinder but either is a great helper.
Posted 28 Jun 2007 at 9:56pm #
one more comment:
I was having a problem getting a signal on startup. I would turn it on and hang it on my belt. Now I hook it on the bag and by the time I get ready on the first tee it is ready to go. Then I put it on my belt. No more signal problems.
Posted 18 Jul 2007 at 1:11am #
I'm deciding a between a bushnell or a skycaddie
Alot of negative comments are flying around about skycaddie.
Not many comments about bushnell.
Which one should I buy?
Posted 18 Jul 2007 at 2:55pm #
Iggy said on July 18, 2007:
I personally prefer the Bushnell because it works anywhere, the batteries last longer, and I don't have to worry about subscription fees or making sure I've loaded the proper course on before I go play it. It's also more accurate.
Posted 18 Jul 2007 at 3:46pm #
Again, I have to ask "who wants to sit and aim" that damn Bushnell for 20 seconds before every shot?? The Skycaddie is more than enough for probably 90% of us. Unless your a pro, the front, middle or back of the green reading should be more than enough info for you....
Posted 18 Jul 2007 at 4:04pm #
MG said on July 18, 2007:
Nobody. But I can take the thing out of my bag, get a yardage, put it back, pull a club, and still have five seconds to spare in your offered 20 seconds. Cut the B.S.
If you're a single-digit handicapper, the front/middle/back isn't always enough, and again, you can't get yardage to random objects (like the lip of a bunker or some tree at the corner of a dogleg or whatever) with the SkyCaddie.
Further comments, MG, are unnecessary. You've made your point, and it's telling that you cannot do so without exaggerating.
Posted 18 Jul 2007 at 10:16pm #
I just played with a guy that had the SG4 today. That thing was spot on all day. He said he usually plays 3 rounds per charge. He had it on his belt all day and it always had the yardage correct. I am going to have to get me one now. He said the best part was the distances to bunkers and for lay-ups and carries. I am not sure where in BFE all these people live that do not have local courses but I just looked and every course I would consider a real golf course around here is online as the full mapped course. They even have some local driving ranges mapped!!!!!
Posted 19 Jul 2007 at 1:01pm #
It surprises me how vested people get in their own decisions; why else would MG preface his bushnell remark with 'damn'?
The pro shop at my club pushes Sky Caddie. They use it to post yardages to the various flags on the range. Shortly after becoming a member, an assistant pro was trying to determine range yardages after moving the tee markers on the range. He was quitely cursing under his breath. I inquired as to what was wrong: his Sky Caddie just wouldn't work. I went in to the club house and returned about 5 minutes later. The assistant was still trying to coax yardages from his Sky Caddie
I retrieved my bushnell and relayed the yardages to each flag as fast as he could post them.
I have never used a Sky Caddie so my bias is obvious. I travel a lot and I am a computer professional. The thought of having to use a computer to determine if a new course I am about to play has been mapped and then have to acquire the map through Sky Caddie via internet is an idea I don't relish (even thought I have a wireless card in my laptop that enables me to access the internet virtually anywhere). I also find the idea of paying recurrent fees distasteful.
The bushnell is very simple and I can use it wherever I play. I can also get a yardage to any/everything I believe is relevant without having to rely on someone else's course experience.
Front/Middle/Back is indeed adequate in most cases, but what if the green is particularly long? (I played a course yesterday where one green was 50 yards long. The course had pin positions on the card, but we found about two of the first 4 were in position '3' while the other two were in position '2').
I wonder why you would bother with a range device if you believe front/middle/back is adequate. Most courses have yardage markers indicating distance to the center of the green. Greens average 30 yards in depth. Use the yardage on the marker, subtract 15 and add 15 yards and you have front/middle/back.
Posted 19 Jul 2007 at 4:22pm #
Just to get a little more familiar with Sky Caddie, I went to their web site to check on course availability. Can you search for a course by name? All I could see was a search by state. I looked for a course I played yesterday and no luck.
The course is not in a metropolitan area so I had to search the web for their address first. This seems a little convoluted to me.
Posted 20 Jul 2007 at 12:12am #
I can honestly say I have never personally played a round with either type device. My only experience is with the guy I played with.
Can the rangefinder really use anything to get a distance? Can I point it at a spot on the ground get the distance that spot? Does the target have any requirements? I assume if the flag works then most anything will work.
Posted 20 Jul 2007 at 2:38pm #
Posted 23 Jul 2007 at 9:32am #
I purchased an SG2 last week and Friday I hooked it up to my PC to activate it. Everything seemed to work fine until I tried to download some courses. It stopped transmitting and said their was an error, but gave no error code. After a few more attempts, I uninstalled and reinstalled the software.
Now, when I start the SkyCaddie desktop or click on DirectConnect on their website, the software says it cannot find the SkyCaddie even though I can click on F2 to search for it and it does find it on COM4.
I called tech support on Saturday and actually got hold of a person who told me my router was blocking the communication to the SkyCaddie because it sees the unit as a modem. That didn't make sense to me, but I tried hooking my PC directly to my cable modem, attached the SkyCaddie and got the same problem, so it's not the router.
I turned off the firewall software, downloaded the latest drivers from Silicon Laboratories for the USB to UART Bridge software, but nothing has worked.
I emailed the guy at SkyCaddie screen shots and the error log in hopes they can figure this out.
Anyone here have a similar problem and find a solution?
Thanks,
C
Posted 24 Jul 2007 at 1:13pm #
I just purchased a Skycaddie. Received it yesterday and tried the same thing as C McKenzie. We installed and reinstalled the software and turned off our firewall. My computer recognized the Skycaddie but the DirectConnect on the website cannot find my Skycaddie. We do have a router but I am at work right now and cannot get to my home computer to go through the problem I am having with someone at Skycaddie tech support. Will retry tonight. I called tech support and they told me to do all the things I am already doing. If I can't get it to download any courses, I am returning it. Their server is VERY slow and timed out several times during my account set up process.
Posted 24 Jul 2007 at 3:21pm #
Sorry to hear J Champ is having the same problem, but I'm glad to know I'm not the only one. I talked to a guy who has the SG3 and he has not experienced any problems.
I emailed the error log to SkyCaddie tech support that, in my opinion, verifies it is a problem with their website/software and not anything on my computers or to do with my router.
My suspicion is the software didn't load correctly initially but I can't find a way to reset the SkyCaddie. As we have found, uninstalling and reinstalling the SkyCaddie Desktop software doesn't solve the problem.
I too have received two "automated" responses about checking Device Manager and re-installing the drivers. I told them in my last email if it's not working before I leave on vacation Saturday, I'm disputing the charges on my credit card.
I'll post if I get a solution and would appreciate anyone else doing so as well.
Thanks,
C McKenzie
Posted 24 Jul 2007 at 3:54pm #
SkyHawke Technologies
Technical Support Supervisor
Hope this help you.
But I still have not received my sg2 back yet. Suppose to get it today.
Posted 24 Jul 2007 at 4:00pm #
Thanks for the info. I'll give Jimmy a try and let everyone know how that goes.
Posted 24 Jul 2007 at 4:02pm #
I purchased an SG3 last week and could not be happier. Initially I had some trouble getting the unit to sync with my laptop but I called customer service for help.
A live person answered on the 2nd ring and walked me right through the whole process of installing new drivers. All the courses I play regularly are already mapped and the unit works like a charm.
I don't mind the $30 subscription fee. Sure I 'd rather have it for free but let's be honest, at $2.50 a month it's less than I tip the guys who cleans my clubs after each round.
The debate between GPS and range finders will continue. Just get the one that makes you happy and enjoy the fact that you get to play golf.
Posted 24 Jul 2007 at 10:24pm #
McKenzie, we had some of the same trouble with the SG2. I did the following, some of which you may have tried. First, set Windows XP firewall to accept the program (start, control panel, security center, windows firewall at bottom of page, exceptions, add program, SkyCaddiedesktop.exe, ok). Second, I had to disable my virus program. 3rd, I uninstalled SkyCaddie and reinstalled from their web site. 4th (& most important) when you execute the downloaded exec program, let it run. It will put a desktop icon on your desktop, but do not access Skycaddie initially through the desktop icon. The exec program will access their website and bring up an internet window and run you through a registration and installation program. It is only through this process that I could register my SG2. If you try to register it initially through the desktop icon, it won't recognize the unit or properly bring you through the registation process. Hope this may help.
Posted 28 Jul 2007 at 6:35pm #
I emailed Jimmy who had Jason email me. Bottom line, I had to download this file: http://www.skygolf.com/software/SkyCaddieSystemReset.exe
and follow these instructions:
First you must go into the “Help†section located at the top of the skycaddie desktop window. Scroll down and select “display skycaddie folderâ€. Once this window appears, right click on the “system data†file and choose delete. Then go to your Recycle bin and empty your trash can.
The next step would be to run the file listed above and let the file run while skycaddie unit is attached. Once finished, disconnect and power unit off, and then back on.
The final step would be to Direct Connect again.
This worked for me. A note: it did not work when I tried running the file from IE, so I downloaded it and then ran it and it worked.
Good luck!
Posted 29 Jul 2007 at 1:27pm #
What did the system reset file fix? Anyone here have an out of warranty repair they had to pay for? If so, how much????
My SG2 is less that 1 1/2 years old and worked perfectly until my last round. I could not get the yardage to display. No matter what I've done (reset GPS, left on for hours), I can't get it to display any yardage.
Seems like this is a constant issue with these units.
I've heard of repair costs as high as 300.00
Any comments would be appreciated.
Posted 30 Jul 2007 at 8:08am #
Yes. I paid $50.00 and when I got my invoice it did not say what they fixed. I just got my back and I have played 4 rounds and each time I have to turn it on and off like 4 time to search for the GPS signal and it use to come right up. But I am not going to send it back in it might coat $200-300 or they will keep it for another 2 months. The Golf Channel do not tell that part. Bad investment. to many issues for me
Posted 01 Aug 2007 at 11:18pm #
the sky caddie is awful , tech support is inept, and the company will not do anything for you once they have your money
Posted 02 Aug 2007 at 6:15pm #
I bought an SG1 less than two months ago and am highly satisfied. I play five days a week on several courses and have found the yardage to be highly accurate. I don't attribute my better play entirely to the device, but during the time I have had it my handicap has gone from 4.9 to 2.8. I get three full rounds from a charge and don't think I would use the features on the more costly models. I do not have a single regret on this purchase.
Posted 03 Aug 2007 at 7:33am #
Wait till you had it 4 more months. I was very happy to, till 2 months ago
Posted 08 Aug 2007 at 1:15pm #
Update on my experience. The SkyCaddie works with my Dell Dimension desktop but not with my Dell Lattitude notebook. The desktop runs XP Home, the latptop XP Pro - no other differences.
I finally got a call from a senior engineer at SkyCaddie telling me they have a known issue with Dell Lattitude "not pushing enough power through the USB" and he has sent the error logs I provided to their development department.
I can't imagine the only problem is with Dell brand laptops, can you? And you would think that should be posted somewhere on their website, like before you even buy the SG2? Or at the very least, inform their tech support group?
Anyone else experience this problem? Anyone get an SG3 to work on a Dell laptop? I may push for an exchange to an SG3 if it will work with my laptop.
Unfortunately, even though I've downloaded some local courses, I haven't had the opportunity to use it yet. I'll report back on that experience later.
C
Posted 12 Aug 2007 at 5:26am #
SG4 Crap units. I have gone through two with cart mounts in Arizona these units never maintain signal lock and just jump to at green only. I would not recomend to anyone and they should just look for yardage marks. Oh I also tried sending the units in for repair and recieved the same pieces of junk back and was told to stay away from trees. DUH there are so many of these here where I live. I wish I would have thought of that. Don't waste your money.
Posted 13 Aug 2007 at 4:14am #
Gosh you guys have changed my mind once again! I am in the UK and have been put off by the subscription since I will play only 2 courses. Over here, the cheapest subscription is $60! I was thinking of offsetting this cost by purchasing an SG3 in the US - unfortunately I am informed that means the UK 'branch' will have nothing to do with me if something goes wrong. I would not have been too concerned because technologies like this are generally very stable - but the reports here seem to suggest otherwise.
With respect to the bushnell 1500 - could you locate balls you hit on the practice ground? Say at 150 yards? The major sway the skycaddie had was that it would allow me to measure easily the distances I hit the ball! How about at driver range? Obviously it does not need to be 0.5 yard accurate, but it would be nice to measure within 5 yards.
Posted 23 Aug 2007 at 1:19pm #
Update to my question on July 29....
I have really loved my SkyCaddie SG2. It has worked accurately and consistently until one day in July it just would not register yardage.
2 things about the sky caddie support.
1. I emailed tech support about my problem on the weekend. 2.I called the support department on Monday after the problem surfaced.
1. - The girl I talked to was a joke. She was pre-occupied with someone in the background....half laughing to them while trying to talk to me. Without any diagnosis, she said "oh, you have to send that back" and gave me an RMA number. I asked her if there was a way to diagnose the issue before sending...or if there was any software patches...and she said NO.
2. a day later, I got a call from a tech at Sky Golf. This person was very professional. I explained the problem and she said she thought she could fix the problem over the phone. She checked the version of my GPS software. It was not the most current. She emailed me directions and and GPS software upgrade. This was not an overall firmware upgrade. She said I had the latest firmware but not the latest GPS software version. She gave me her direct number and told me to call her back immediately if the download didn't work.
I followed her directions and eureka, my sky caddie has been working flawlessly since. And, it seems a tad more responsive.
I think they have a separate company doing their call in support. Email the support department about your issues. They were much better and solved my problem without returning the unit. I remain a happy Sky Caddie customer.
Posted 23 Aug 2007 at 1:58pm #
C Mackenzie
I use a dell lattitude D610 and had a D600 that worked with no problems.
Posted 24 Aug 2007 at 11:57am #
Bill,
Can you share more information on the GPS update, i.e., is there a link or a file the rest of us could use?
Interesting that you have gotten your SG2 to work with a Dell Latitude D610. Is it running Windows XP Home or Windows XP Pro? I wish I could get mine to work.
Thanks for the post.
Posted 24 Aug 2007 at 1:04pm #
My PC is running XP Pro.
I could share the file and instructions but I don't know if it is wise to just download the file to your unit unless your unit is not working properly.
Posted 30 Aug 2007 at 2:10am #
My wife just bought me the SkyCaddie SG4 as a late father's day present. Setup was easy BUT it's now been 2 consecutive days (2 different courses/cities) where it has NOT worked. It takes forever (30-60 min) to lock onto any satellites and after doing so it shows the courses are 1000mi away. It did work a couple of times for 1 hole each however, after moving to the next hole it wouldn't give me any yardage and only showed - - . Has anyone had the same problem or have any thoughts? I did call tech support and they had me reset GPS 3 times. I'm going to give it one more shot but if it doesn't work this time then I'll go back to using the good ole yardage markers.
Posted 30 Aug 2007 at 10:18am #
Jeremy,
The sky caddies are really worthwhile units. Like everything out there, some can have issues.
Get them to send you a new one.
Posted 30 Aug 2007 at 10:31am #
I've emailed the last person who contacted me once per week for the last three weeks without getting a response. This morning I emailed Customer Service (rather than Tech Support) to complain about the lack of response and to say if they can't figure out why my SG2 won't work with my Dell Latitude, I want to send them my unit for a replacement or refund.
I've had the opportunity to use my SG2 only on three city courses that an individual has mapped so I haven't had the "full experience" yet but will in two weeks.
It has worked fine on the above mentioned courses although distances compared to sprinkler head yardages sometimes vary by 5 yards.
Posted 30 Aug 2007 at 5:50pm #
Scott said on February 26, 2007:
Hello, dont know if you have bought your sky caddie yet or not but if not buy one that takes aa batteries, i have a sg2 and in just over a year my battery is dead. It is going to cost me £30 for a new one.
Dean from Essex England
Posted 07 Sep 2007 at 10:27am #
I have had the same problems with my SG2 as many others have. I started by not picking up a signal and then the signal got weaker and weaker. Finally no signal, sent it in for repair and when I got it back still no signal. Tech support had me check version, it was wrong! Downloaded new version still won't work. Sent it in again and they still have it.
Tech support is usless, won't call back as promised and neither will their managers. I sent an email to A Don Moncure who is supposed to be a tech support supervisor about the problem and he has not had the courtesy to respond. I know he got my email because I had it marked to let me know he received it. Typical of this company, get your money and blow you off.
Posted 10 Sep 2007 at 7:06am #
Posted 10 Sep 2007 at 8:35pm #
Wow - very different experiences than mine - I bought a SG3 and have used it on a number of courses it is incredible. I can't imagine playing golf without it and I've probably sold another dozen by showing the guys playing with me what it does. I've shaved 10 strokes off my game (granted, I was in the 90's) but it is great. It downloaded instantly and I've never had an issue.
I went for the battery one as I hate to have yet another charger in my life and have to sweat it running out of juice on the course. I have a very extra AA batteries in the bottom of the bag and I'm good to go.
Great product.
Posted 11 Sep 2007 at 1:36pm #
Although I have previously and negatively commented on the website and downloading of playlists...I must update my comments to indicate that the site seems to be working better now....recently my computer crashed and burned...and I had to start over on a new pc...I installed the software, went to the website, updated my playlists and downloaded the new info for my playlists, without any hitch! Everything worked first time.
The device itself works wonderfully and quite well not only for me, but everytime I play, every other member of my foursome wants to peek and see the distance. I do wish the battery lasted longer and the charging cable was not as clumsy to travel with. It would be nice to have a smaller cable for traveling and recharging, especially on those long 5 day golf trips.
TB-Michigan
Posted 12 Sep 2007 at 12:13am #
I am a scratch golfer and a computer professional. I purchased the SG4 about a month ago. I can summarize this entire message list based on my experience.
If you are a chop (errr, I mean high handicap) buy this piece of crap. You will not know the difference when it gives you yardages that are +/- 15 yards. You likely never hit the same club +/- 15 yards on consecutive swings any way. Hell, it may even give you some false sense of confidence and you may lower your scores from hackerville to chopsville like some of the posts here.
If you are a low handicapper, buy the laser based unit. I made the wrong decision and now will pay to correct it.
All the complaints here are true. The unit often displays yardages that are not even close to correct. I played in a tournament where another competitor had the same SG4. Many times we compared yardages. Never were they closer than 4 yards to matching. Most cases showed differences of 8-12 yards. I see posts about the laser based units taking too long to use. What about needing to wait for at least 60 seconds before the SG4 finally settles on a distance. I have seen mine switch between yardages 30 yards apart from the time I stop walking, look at it, hit a shot way short or long, and look back to see a completely different yardage.
The web site was not difficult for me to navigate based on my experience, but this does not mean that it is even acceptable. It is probably the worst developed web site and SkyGolf should be embarrassed by it and the frustration it causes its non-technical customers.
Which brings me to customer support. Or should I say lack of. Absolutely the worst customer support I have ever tried to contact. I sent an email regarding the issues mentioned above. I received an email several days later with one canned response that didn't even directly address any of my issues. The other issues were, and have continued be, totally ignored.
This is a bad company with a worse product. I do not work for a competitive company, but I would highly suggest any of the other products mentioned in the above messages over a SkyGolf product. If you are convinced you want a GPS product, do not choose this one. You will be sorry, like I am.
Sorry for the long post. I only hope I can save others from the same mistake I made.
Scott
Posted 15 Sep 2007 at 3:27pm #
I have read most of these and have a new twist on things.
I have owned two skycaddies. I am a 13 handicap. I was the first to have a skycaddie at my club and actually mapped out the original corse and uploaded it to skycaddie for otheres to use....for which I received a sleeve of balls....I think.
Skycaddie remapped my home course earlier this year to include hazards, etc. At that time I decided to upgrade to the SG4 and gave my original sg1 to my wife. Of course that meant that I had to have TWO separate subscriptions (one for each unit).
So here is my experience.....
1. I question the durability of skycaddie. I'm not saying they are fragile, just not nearly as durable as, say, a cell phone (which they claim to be comparable to...durabilitywise). So....keep this in mind.
2. Accuracy is questionable at times. Look...for the most part, I'm just looking to hit my ball on the green....as are most of us (be honest) so it's not a big deal if its a few yards off, but if you want to know exactly what the distance is, I would not bank on the skycaddie's accuracy. I've had both of mine on at the same time and seldom do they read the same distance.
3. Battery life is not great, but then what battery life would be? When the battery is good, you don't walk around bragging about it....but when it's bad and you have to shell out $40 for about $6 worth of batteries....well....it makes it easy to bitch about.
4. Ok, here is my real gripe.....As stated by others the website is not very user freindly....and it is more than just a little misleading. It says:
"Theft Deterrent
Registering the SkyCaddie’s Electronic Serial Number (ESN) deters theft by protecting your investment from unauthorized use."
Ok....so maybe I'm not the smartest person on the planet, but this seems to me to imply that the "ESN" provides some way to track where the unit is....That, combined with the fact that IT USES GPS TO KNOW WHERE IT IS!
So when mine was taken from the locker room at my club....I figured a call to Skycaddie would not only result in me getting my SG4 back, but would also allow me to break my foot off in ass of a thief. NOT!....I was informed that the divice could not be tracked ...but I could disable it so that it could not be used....oh yeah....and if I wanted to buy a new one, they would be happy to help me out by transferring me to "sales".
GREAT!
So.....Here is the deal. The initial cost is about the same as a new driver....and will likely shave off more strokes. Keeping it charged (but not overcharged which shortens battery life) can be a hassle. And lastly, Skycaddie seems to nickle and dime you for everything...(don't forget to buy the battery back that allows the unit to be used with a belt clip.....Additional $15 or so).
All in all I think it's about a wash. I am not sure if I will buy a replacement from Skycaddie or maybe checkout A laser range finder or a GPS unit from Golflogix....It's too bad....I could have been a Skycaddie lifer.
Posted 17 Sep 2007 at 11:36am #
So I just got an SG3 for my Birthday. I was excited to use it until I finished reading all of these comments. Anyway, I'm still excited about it. All I need is the front, center and back of green distances anyway. When you play without the aid of a laser or a GPS unit that's all you get with the markers on the course. So it will be fine for me. Setup was easy, so I'm optimistic. Found all of the courses I play except one, of course it's the course I play the most. But I will just map it on my own. Also I like the feature that tells you how far you hit a shot. So when all of my friends think they pounded a 300 yard drive, I can prove them wrong instead of having them try to measure the distance wrong. It's pricy and the membership is pricy. But if it works I'm ok with it. I will let you know how it goes for me.
Tod
Posted 29 Sep 2007 at 5:33pm #
Scott thanks for your post. You must be the arragant $%# that's on the course that no one likes.
"If you are a chop (errr, I mean high handicap) buy this piece of crap. You will not know the difference when it gives you yardages that are +/- 15 yards. "
BTW your comments were of no help in deciding on a unit.
Posted 30 Sep 2007 at 9:05pm #
I purchased an SG4 in May, 2007. I have played about 10 - 12 times since then and I'm lucky if it has worked in half of those rounds. It continually goes from 'Searching' mode to 'Acquiring' mode and then back again. I'm lucky if it can ever find a signal. And when it does it rarely keeps the signal. It's been a very frustrating experience. It's great when it works, but that is a rare event. I live in southern California and typically play on clear days so I don't know why it can't get a signal.
I purchased an extended warranty and just sent an email to Sky Caddie's customer service. So we'll see what they say. I hope I get better service than what some of these other posts have said.
Posted 01 Oct 2007 at 8:54am #
It has been several weeks since I first posted here. Thought I would give an update. I have used the SG2 on several occasions. I have used it on courses SkyHawke mapped and downloaded member mapped-courses. Will not use yardages mapped by other golfers anymore. On the "professionally" mapped courses, I have found one course where the SG2 yardages matched sprinkler-head yardages exactly and on another course, there was a difference of up to 5 yards almost every time.
For a 9 handicap like me, that's not a huge difference, still the same club probably, but it does bring doubt into my mind and that is never a good thing on the course.
Customer no-service has never addressed my issue re: SG2 not working with my laptop so I have given up on them.
In hindsight, I would not buy this unit again. For what you get, I think it is overpriced and there is virtually no service.
Posted 05 Oct 2007 at 7:33pm #
The last 3-times I used my sky caddie S4, the yardage
didnot show on the screen for any of the holes.
Is this a possible problem with the unit or signal problem. I have owned my sky caddie since Dec. 2006
with no problems up to now.
Please respond,
Thank You,
TY HOWARD (gripper)
Posted 06 Oct 2007 at 4:02pm #
Ok Iam now convinced SkyCaddy is a bad buy.
I have a Bushnell rangefinder already but can't hold it steady enough to get reading on flag so have to settle for something larger.
Are there other satelite options beside SkyCaddy?
Posted 11 Oct 2007 at 12:12pm #
Ty,
I had a similar problem with my SG4. Skygolf sent me the following information on how to reset your SkyCaddy to pick up signals again:
GPS RESET INSTRUCTIONS: (SG3 and SG4)
The issue: No Satellite Acquisition
Please make sure that you are in a wide open area free of tall buildings and trees. (A Driving range is the ideal area) The antenna must have an unobstructed view of the horizons.
In order to access the GPS Signal menu screen please follow the steps below:
1. Turn on the SkyCaddie and open any course from the "SkyCourse List" for play.
2. Press the Menu button on the lower left hand side to place the unit in Menu options. (SkyCourse List is the first option)
3. Using the direction button scroll through the Menu options to the Advanced Menu option.
4. Press "Select" to use the Advanced Menu options.
5. Now the unit is in the Advanced Menu mode.
6. Using the directional button scroll through the Advanced Menu options to "GPS" and press "Select".
7. Under the "GPS" menu option select the "Reset" menu option.
The layout of the screen is intuitive; from this screen you can monitor the strength of GPS/SBAS satellite signal using the screen layout. When selected, the screen will show the status of the satellite signal acquisition. This screen is used to determine your SkyCaddie's ability to receive signal. The screen shows the number of satellites being tracked and used. If any satellite details are shown in the list the unit is working properly.
I hope this works for you.
Tim
Posted 24 Oct 2007 at 3:11pm #
I have had an SG2 since December 2005. I am presently working on my third unit. The first two, at varying amounts of time eventually could not pick up a sat. signal so were returned and replacement units were sent to me. I have to admit that on one occasion I had trouble getting an RMA number. Tech support is problematic at best. Anyway my third unit has been working fine except for an incident a couple of months ago where the sat signal was very weak. I got an email from tech support, followed their instructions to reset and now works fine.
Where I have had problems with this unit is when I attempt to download courses. Sometimes the pc fails to see the SG2 and other times it works fine. Can't quite figure that one out. Yesterday it took me about 8-9 tries to download courses.
I have not seen any glaring problems with distances, either using a marker on the course for verification or another playing partner using a skycaddie also.
However, yesterday I purchased a golflogix gps but have not used it yet. However, what I do like is that for $29 you can download any courses in the world, not state specific. I couldn't believe the number of courses they have. I live in a retirement community with 9 full size course and 20 exec. courses and even the exec. courses were in their database. I just wonder how they do the mapping. Obviously it can't be from someone on the ground, must be by satellite.
In any case, that's my story.
John
Posted 31 Oct 2007 at 3:03pm #
Im just days away from getting a laser rangerfinder or GPS unit and getting excited to try this out. Based on this entire page of comments, it sounds like 85% are mostly for lasers. The most common drawback seems to be 'holding your hands steady' with Bushnell. Everyone mentions Bushnell, but how about these new Callaway/Nikon units? LR 800 and LR1200. I tried one in the golfstore and it seemed great, however that was in a store. Any reviews on the new Callaways vs Bushnell??? Maybe easier to keep steady or hit a target from 350yrds. Hey.....thats what the back of the box says, lol.
After weeks of internal debating, I think im leaing towards a laser over GPS. The whole customer service issue, yearly fee, downloading, signal strength, not waterproof and has no use at the driving range - is throwing me off. Plus I travel alot for business, so playing on strange courses is visual issue. With laser, dont need to pay for out of state courses and download etc. I can bringa laser anywhere and just point and click.
Posted 06 Nov 2007 at 6:24pm #
I saw the Sky Caddie used by a friend in Northern Virginia and thought it was great so I had my wife get me one for my birthday. She bought it new on E-bay. Then we took my friends to the Maryland/Delaware beaches and his Sky Caddie would never get a signal. I have had mine three months now and never been able to get it to download courses onto my computers (a desktop and a laptop). There is something about my Internet Explorer settings (using Windows XP) that always blocks the downloads. Yesterday I finally got through to Sky Caddie customer service and they went online to try and unblock it for me. The result was it still doesn't work but my computer was really screwed up. So I am done with Sky Caddie, it is going in the drawer and never coming out. I may try one of the other brands but I would not recommend Sky Caddie to anyone.
Posted 13 Nov 2007 at 11:29am #
Has anyone fractured or cracked their LCD display on their device and had it replaced by SkyGolf or other vendor? If so, what did it cost and how long did it take to repair? Also, is there a secondary vendor that sells replacement LCD screens for these devices. I have an SG4 model.
Thanks for any information you can share!
Posted 15 Nov 2007 at 2:16pm #
Posted 23 Nov 2007 at 12:39am #
Wow:
I have been thinking about a GPS unit for Christmas, but thanks to the many posters I have been saved a lot of aggravation. I was leaning towards the SkyCaddie SG4 or SG5, because of their large readable display. But lack of Mac support, no customer service, apparent erratic quality of units, lack of storage on home computer and website difficulties are way too much to overlook. Makes you wonder who is running this company.
Posted 23 Nov 2007 at 1:21am #
Hello Skycaddie Frustrated Users,
Thank you for your succinct comments. I was going to buy a range finder for my wife who is a good golfer. But I will postphone that until a reliable product is available.
This may be the reason that you have popsted so many horror stories:
A friend owns a domestic circuit board manufacturing company.
His products have to work the first time and everytime. His circuit boards operate in some instances,
multimillion dollar machinery. His circuit boards sell for 1/3 to 1/2 more than those imported from China.
Here's the issue: Chinese circuit boards have a failure rate of 33 to 40 percent. You can substitute Mexico for China and get the same result.
The next time you speak to a techie at SkyCaddie, you may want ask where their circuit boards come from. If he says USA,
ask him the name of the manufacturer.
Good luck,
Bill H
Posted 24 Nov 2007 at 8:18am #
SG-4 Unit: I have used the Skycaddie SG-4 for about six months now and generally find it to be accurate with the following caveat: It's sometimes slow to settle on the correct yardage, so you'll need to be patient, particularly when the tee box or hole has a lot of trees around it.
Customer Service: Appallingly bad. After the unit lost and could not re-acquire the GPS signal I wrote to them three separate times asking for help to resolve the problem and never got any response.
The company and unit have potential, but they really need to look at the lack of service and support they fail to provide.
Mitch
Handicap 6
Posted 24 Nov 2007 at 4:27pm #
Well, I bought laser rangefinder, and I can't tell you how much I love this thing. One of the best things I ever bought for myself. I bought the LR1200 Nikon/Callaway unit. Its unreal. I went with this over GPS for a few reasons.
-simple, click and shoot.
-can take to range or when travelling
-no computers, dowloading, screen freezes, rebooting etc
-Big reason is, i feel the laser is like having a caddy with you and doesnt take mystery out of the game. Whereas the GPS tells you about things you can see, like a creek or bunker. I dont like that at all. If im not supposed to see, i dont wanna know. I just feel the GPS is over the line and takes away from the game.
-Also, its a computer and tells you a bunch of things. I dont wanna be hooked on it and always looking at it. The laser is so dam simple and eassy. Bam....aim, click, then shoot. You can also
point to the lip of a trap and see how far to carry and how much is between the trap and flag.
I dont how you all feel, but i made a perfect purchase and one I feel doesnt ruin the mystery of the game. I have never had more birdie putts in my life than the past 3 weeks. Not hitting all the putts, lol, but I have a better chance now.
Posted 26 Nov 2007 at 11:09pm #
Danny said on November 6, 2007:
If you have a proxy set up, it will block the skycaddie desktop from working. Go into Tools>internet options>connections>lan settings and make sure you are on a direct connection. This was happening to me since I use a proxy/vpn connection for work.
I have used the software of over a dozen computers and it works fine. I know over 20 people that have skycaddies and I am the only one that had a temporary problem. It is probably something in your set up on your pc
Posted 27 Nov 2007 at 8:39am #
I have been following this forum for months. I am on my second bushnell rangefinder (I lost my first) The pro from my club is now a store manager at Golf Galaxy. As the store manager, he told me to avoid the Sky Caddie at all costs. His experience with the units has been awful.
Posted 27 Nov 2007 at 4:30pm #
I received an SG-4 for Christmas 2006. It was useless for the next eight rounds I played because the folks at Sky Golf were unable to get it to program through the computer. They also messed up my Windows Defenders to the point that I have not gotten it to work again. Over the next few months, I had the SG-4 replaced (I think 5 times) because the GPS would stop working. I had plenty of rounds where my caddie vanished at the tenth tee (poor work ethic, just like their pr people).
After probably thirty cumulative hours on the phone, several hours of reading and writing emails and rounds that were spoiled by the frustration of a failed $400 device, I again called Sky Caddie. They said I could send the unit back for repair, but indicated that I was evidently the problem since I had had so many units fail. I then called Golfsmith from whom I had made the purchase and got a full refund with no problems after describing the situation.
I explained to the Sky Caddie folks several times that I had spent more time tinkering with this cursed gadget than it would have taken me to walk off all my yardages. I could write a book about Sky Caddie problems, but I hate to spoil the experience for anyone foolish enough to purchase one.
Posted 30 Nov 2007 at 10:16am #
I almost bought a Sky Caddy. Glad I found the "Sand Trap" first. I'm about a 30 handicap, and sometimes find myself in the wrong fairway LOL. I figure a GPS unit would help a lot for that, but after reading all the comments here I may just go with a range finder. Sky Caddy is out, but now I need to check out Sureshot, IGOLF,and Garman Golf Logix. Any more info on those would be appreciated.
Thanks,
Wayne
Posted 30 Nov 2007 at 10:56pm #
Thanks for all the comments on the Skycaddie. I was going to buy my husband the SG5 for Christmas but now I won't. I'd like advice on whether others like the Garmin GolfLogix. I'm also considering buying a Bushnell Rangefinder but would like advice on which model is the best. Thanks.
Posted 02 Dec 2007 at 9:41pm #
Jill,
Just make sure you get a range finder with 'Pin Seeking' technology. This technology was not available when I bought first rangefinder. If your range finder doesn't have 'pin seeking' ability, picking up the yardage to the pin can be quite a challenge.
Maybe Jerry can comment on picking up small targets with the Nikon. The Bushnell have this ability in their higher end models.
Good Luck.
Posted 04 Dec 2007 at 11:12pm #
All of these comments and reviews are very helpful. Since the bulk of them are negative about the product and/or company, I'll pass on SkyCaddie for now.
Would like to note that Kenny's derisive comments about "chops" are not only not helpful, they show a surprising ignorance of the game and people who work at it.
Posted 05 Dec 2007 at 3:25pm #
Who's the idiot that keeps saying gps systems "take away the purity of the game". Give me a friggin' break!!!! "It gives me "TOO MUCH INFORMATION". I don't like to knock people's opinions, buy you define the word IDIOT!!! If you don't think a tour caddy lets his player know EXACTLY where all of the trouble spots are when they're out playing, you've sadly mistaken. Both systems have their pros and cons of course, and many people love one and hate the other. BUT, your justification for dismissing any GPS system is foolish (to put it mildly...). I've been using the SkyCaddie GS4 for about six months now and LOVE it! I'll admit you do have to be smarter than your pc keyboard to download courses and maybe reset the system every now and then, but technology does take some patience, a learning curve in some cases, and half a brain. Why not play golf with a blindfold on?! That'd be REALLY PURE!!!
Keep It In the Short Sh*t!
BatMan Joe
Posted 10 Dec 2007 at 8:14am #
I own a Sureshot and have been very happy with the unit. It seems accurate enough, I don't have to play the "where are the sprinkers" game, and its easy to use/download. I only had a single problem with it once, and once I reset the device, it worked great. I mapped a course myself and uploaded it to the website..it was not too painful but slows a round of golf considerable. I wish they had more courses mapped.
Posted 20 Dec 2007 at 12:20pm #
I recently purchase the sg4 and had to send it back for repairs since it wouldn't hold a satellite fix. I really wish I had found this site before I made the purchase though. Everything that has been said abou the companies customer support is correct. The unit came back without any information as to what was wrong or if they did anything. The only time they would even communicat with me was when I would send two or three emails inquiring about the status of the unit while they still had it - which was about two weeks. I still have no idea what was wrong or if anything was repaired and since it's now too cold to play I will have to wait a couple of months to see if it works. If I knew for sure the unit was fixed I would put it on ebay as I do not have a warm cozy feeling about the company and don't even want to think about having to send it back for anything else. I agree with some else who commented that they should have spent less on advertising/sponserships on more on product and support developemnet. Questionable procuct and abysmal company.
Posted 20 Dec 2007 at 2:25pm #
Posted 20 Dec 2007 at 9:00pm #
Wayne said on November 30, 2007:
Wayne: Just a quick update for all of you who are thinking about the IGolf GPS.
History: I purchased a new one about 6 months ago with the intension of using it mainly on one course. This course would be the one that is in a active retirement community that I was moving to. I have used it a few times on courses that were mapped by iGolf and it was very helpful, especially when using the feature that told me how far I just hit a drive, etc. It seemed to perform very well for me and I couldn't wait to use it on my retirement course (3-5 times a week).
UPDATE: After moving to this community, I found that the course was not yet on their website for downloading. Not-a-probem (since it came with one course credit for mapping). I contacted iGolf to let them know that I would like my course mapped for me.
IGOLF's E-mail response: "This couse can not be mapped at this time". They wanted me to map the course myself for extra credits!!! CRAP!!! This is a course that you cannot walk!! You have to take a cart (which many in the community own their own).
I e-mailed them back to ask "what are the reasons that this course can not be mapped at this time" and when could I expect it to be mapped?------NO ANSWER!!
I called and spoke with customer support. Their answer was they have people out in the field and do not know when or if it will be mapped.
LONG STORY SHORT--- I will now search for a range finder!!
Kevin
Posted 21 Dec 2007 at 3:38pm #
I was given a sg2 by my wife 2 years ago. The first I had to return because it couldn't see the satellites. This was after around 1 month. I was sent a replacement and this worked for about 2 months before it had the same problem. I was sent another replacement and that one worked until I sold it about 2 months ago. I had additional problems trying to download courses online as sometimes (maybe half the time) it couldn't connect with my skycaddie. It was a pain in the neck. I saw the garmin golf logix in a golf store and decided to purchase it and sell my sg2. Handling downloading of courses is now a snap. The courses that you want are sent to your pc so you don't have to connect to their website. I just hook the golflogix to my pc and load courses into the unit. It's a snap. One caveat however is that the courses that you download from their website stays on your pc. However, that is not a problem for me. Also for $29 per year you have access to courses worldwide. They have many more courses than skygolf in their database. As an example, where I used to live and work in NJ skygolf had about 3 courses that I played mapped. Golflogix has all of them. The reason they have more courses is that they use satellite mapping technology to map courses. I have found that for the most part the distances are accurate. They also update courses annually. I have been in contact with them regarding an error on a course where I live and they immediately corrected it. Customer service is AI.
I don't work for Garmin and just wanted to share my experiences. I am also not claiming that Golflogix is the best gps.
John
Posted 21 Dec 2007 at 9:52pm #
Well, it's been a year since I got my SG2 and I must say it was interesting. There must have been a lot of golfers that got one last year because I have a very difficult time registering it due to server overload or something.
I must admit that I was close to returning the thing out of frustration due to the lack of response from the Skycaddie tech support.
Eventually they resolved my issues and I had an enjoyable golf season in 2007. As a subscriber to the Sandtrap I have watched the comments of others who are probably as equally frustrated.
A quick count shows about 120 or so, with some good and some not-so-good comments.
However, in the grand scheme of things there are probably several thousand other Skycaddie owners who are perfectly satisfied with their purchase, but are reluctant to make comments on this site.
Skycaddie boasts 14000 courses worldwide and with 1 device for each course, the 120 complaints are probably less than average.
It seems that the PGA is also embracing the technology so it isn't going away.
I notice that Skyhawk Technology is a member of the BBB in Mississippi and you don't get to keep that with a hoard of complaints, or maybe the http://www.bbbonline.org/ just hasn't been receiving them.
There doesn't seem to be any financial information available for free, but the company seems to be prospering in spite of the problems mentioned on this site.
I guess they believe that you just can't please all the people all the time!
Posted 22 Dec 2007 at 9:04am #
Ya know, I posted earlier in this thread when I had a problem with my SkyCaddie. THe overall experience with their repair service was mixed but....satisfactory.
The person I talked to on the phone was an idiot. However, I had emailed skygolf as well and I got a call from them on Monday after emailing on Sat. The person that called me was very experienced and told me I needed to upgrade my GPS software. She sent me the download with specific instructions and her direct number in case something went wrong. I followed her instructions and everything was back to normal.
I have had my sg2 almost 2 years. I have almost a dozen friends that have ordered after playing with me. I have dropped my SG2 many times and just last week, it popped out of a moving golf card and hit the cart path, almost being run over by the cart. I thought to myself "this thing has to be dead now" and you know what....it still keeps on ticking and is very accurate.
I am still satisfied with my SG2 and may consider an sg5. In this forum, you are mostly going to hear from the folks with a problem looking for answers on the net and finding a place, like this, to vent.
Ask the people you see at the courses you play. I have yet to find one person there that was not happy with their unit and what it does for them. No one is harder on their SC than I and I think they are a great value.
Posted 22 Dec 2007 at 9:53pm #
Whew! There sure is a lot of negativity on this thread!! I purchased a SG5 about 2 months ago. The course I planned on playing the most was not offered prior to my getting it. I notified SkyCaddie and requested them to map if for me. They personally called me and asked questions about the course and seemed very concerned with getting the course done promptly. It took them about 13 days to get it done. I also had the opportunity to meet the "enabler" at the course and asked him if I could go with him out on the course and watch how he does the mapping. I'm telling you it's slick as all get out how they do it, all the markers, traps, ponds, average drive distances from the tees, they are very thorough. He mapped all 27 holes, what a great job to have!
Like all fancy gadgets there are times they fail or work poorly. While mapping the course, we got to a hole and his mapping device suddenly lost the satellite signal, and he was "pulling" off 6 -7 satellites at the time. Now I'm not saying that all the negative comments in the posts prior are just whining inexperienced users, but sometimes the weather conditions dictate some problems. When he lost the signal, there was thick cloud cover and a fog bank that suddenly occurred. After about 15 minutes, the weather cleared up some and his unit picked up the signal again and he was able to finish mapping the rest of the course(s)....crap happens! My own experience with my SG5 so far has been very pleasureable, NO PROBLEMS!...knock, knock!
Golfing with a GPS definately improves your golf game. You don't have to be a pro to utilize having the exact yardages. I hope this post helps give someone a different slant that all SkyCaddies are NOT worthless, after all they do cost a lot of money (as do the others) and we all expect the "bang for the buck".
Posted 23 Dec 2007 at 9:06pm #
Tedd
Can you direct me to a site on range finders with a similar volume of detractors? I don't really follow your logic, but you seem to think this site is un fairly biased against the sky caddie. I haven't really had this experience on the internet. Just go research TV's. Your right, someone is always complaining. Most of the complaints seem service related. The majority of feed back seems to indicate a good or a bad product not an overall bias toward complainers
Posted 24 Dec 2007 at 1:46pm #
Since so many comments about the SkyCaddie have been negative, I felt I should add my two cents to create some perspective.
I have had my SG4 for over a year and have had little to complain about. Sometimes it takes a while (more than 10 minutes) to pick up a signal and sometimes it looses the signal a some point during the round, only to regain it a few minutes later. None of these has been a problem which makes me regret the purchase.
Having the unit with me has helped speed up play -- no more hunting for sprinkler heads or trying to guess based on a sign or cart path mark. It has also given me some confidence, because I no longer have thoughts such as "boy it doesn't look like 100 yards" running thru my head and distracting me.
FYI, I am a 20 handicapper, female, technically savvy. I hope this info doesn't cause anyone to want to take pot shots at me! (It is always very startling to see someone get insulted on this site just for sharing their opinion or not being a scratch golfer.)
Posted 26 Dec 2007 at 1:01pm #
I have been torn on buying Skycaddie for a year now. I read bad, good, and great reviews. Some people get lemons, some have delt with Skycaddie (the Co.) doing away with a service they need. I have also read of poor website navigation and operation.
I have been using Intelligolf for a year now. I bought it strictly to score my rounds with my friends. I can score for 4 (or 5) people, including putts, distances, clubs used, general area where it landed, etc...
I never used the GPS portion of the software until about 2 months ago... WOW, it's super sweet and it will probably keep me from buying any other Pinseeker or GPS device...at least for now. It seems fairly accurate, but I don't really have much of a way to test it...outside of the markers on the course. It's shaved strokes off my game, and really helped me become a better golfer. I started playing 1 year ago and I follow 95% (the rest, I'm still learning) of the rules and when I don't know a rule, I take the negative advantage. So my scores were always high (125 - 155). Even after almost a year, I was still shooting 120 - 135...but after using this for just a few weeks, my scores started to drop...now I'm shooting 105 - 120.
Anyway, my point is these GPS systems are awesome and really help with confidence which is key when you are swinging a club at a small ball.
I wish Skycaddie would get their act together and really provide a super duper system... I still don't know why they don't allow scoring.
Bottom line, I'm sticking with my Intelligolf on my Palm 650 until something better comes out. It tracks my shots, gives me yardages at a glance, I can survey the coarse myself, and it scores for everyone in the round...not to mention it comes with PC software so you can do some analysis on your stats.
But Intelligolf needs to improve in some areas too... Like, I'm going to buy a Iphone, and at this point they don't support any Mac stuff. I would also like to have the ability to plug in the course maps ...meaning, what each hole looks like, and have yardages show up at key locations.
Posted 26 Dec 2007 at 5:49pm #
A quick thank you to all of the previous posts in helping me decide on whether to go with a gps unit or a laser rangefinder. After careful consideration between the two, I believe it comes down to two important points: 1. Your knowledge on the item in which you will invest 2. What works best for you and your game on the course.
I am and will continue to be, an avid gps user...my garmin unit has been invaluable when hiking, driving, and mountain biking. But when on the course, it just was not what I was looking for. I have to say that Mike Mixer's first post on this link really hits the nail on the head in terms of the technical side. If you have some knowledge about gps and how it works, you understand that the WAAS capability which powers the gps tracking devices(garmin, skycaddie, etc.) is limited to +/- 3 yards for each measured location. With two locations for each measurement (A. where you are hitting from and B. where you are hitting to), that is a +/- of 6 yards...BEST case scenario. Also remember, depending on other factors (weather, location reception, initial marking reliability, etc.) it can be more than that. While the error of 6, 10, or possibly 15 yards might not make a huge difference while I'm driving or hiking...I believe it COULD on the course. When hitting to a green with hazards in front or behind (as most do), the difference between 6 or 10 yards will affect my club selection almost assuredly...especially if I'm in between clubs.
To me, the laserfinder just seemed a more accurate method of distance management...I don't think anyone can argue that. But, gps is no doubt the wave of the future and that "margin of error" that we see in WAAS capability should only decrease as the tech. gets better. If you take the present variances into consideration, and you don't think it will affect your game, gps could and should work great for you.
Lastly, I bought a Callaway 1200 rangefinder and I am very happy with it. There have been some posts concerning the "shake-ability" of the lasers when trying to pinpoint a flag. As someone noted before, it helps a lot to shoot the flag rather than the stick...but the unit also has a female acceptor on the bottom for a tripod. Who will lug around a tripod on a golf course, I'm not sure. But, I did find that my telescoping hiking stick (Leki), which has a screw on top for a camera...works perfectly. I do not find the need for it as shaking isn't a problem, but it's nice to know that it would easily fit into my bag if I need it in the future.
Posted 27 Dec 2007 at 9:12am #
It has been a while since I posted to this site after experiencing the problems I did with my SG2 so let me update a couple of things.
First, for those that have posted complaining about the "negativity" on this site, I agree a few comments have tended toward the unrealistic expectations and I didn't like it when a few posters started taking personal shots at each other, but by and large I think the posts have been fair.
Most of the negative comments have had to do with the company's poor customer service, poor website design, and poor course downloading software. If this was just a handful of incidents it could be chalked up to an inexperienced customer service rep., but obviously it goes beyond that. In my opinion, this company does not place a high priority on customer service or product quality/reliability.
A) I requested four courses in my city be mapped (not necessarily all four at the same time, just any one of them) and have never heard anything from them.
B) The issue a service rep. told me months ago was a known problem by them, i.e., a problem with a specific Dell laptop has never been corrected nor have I ever received another message.
Secondly, my experience using the SG2 on courses has been mostly positive. Being off by 3 yards or less is not a big deal for me (I am a 9 handicap). Temporarily losing a signal is not a big deal if it reacquires it in a few minutes. It has been a useful tool - somewhat like an experienced caddy on your bag, especially when playing a new course or a course I play infrequently. It gives me the information I need and not a lot of distracting information (like the TV screens in some carts).
So bottom line, for me, I like the unit and based solely on that would buy it again, but based on my experience with "customer no service" I would not recommend it to a friend.
Posted 27 Dec 2007 at 7:11pm #
As I stated in my previous post, I notified Skycaddie to please come out and map a course for me. I did not mention that I had to request the course 3 times in about a week.
The 3rd time I requested, I actually asked if they had received the previous 2 requests, because I didn't get any acknowledgement, confirmation, reply, anything! I think we all expect some response when we write someone???
After the 3rd request, they did respond with an email stating that it may take up to 12 weeks to get a course mapped. It was nice finally getting some feedback that they did get all of my requests and gave a reasonable timetable to get the job done with the golf season here coming to an end, I figured I'd be good to go come spring time.
It was about a day or two after the email that they called me and told me they were coming to map the course.
Just to give you an example, I live in Michigan and they told me that they "had" 4 guys the did the whole state, and as of the day they did my course they were down to 3.
So, all in all, I guess you have to prod them a little. I hope this helps someone!
PS I am also the owner of a laser range finder (6 years) but got tired of the "shakes", and thought I'd give a GPS a try.
Posted 27 Dec 2007 at 9:59pm #
There seems to be some politics or maybe it's just money that determines which courses get mapped.
In Oakville, ON there are 2 public courses, one clublink course, and a 9 hole/18 tee private course, and also 1 remaining 9 hole public course.
I have asked, on the skycaddie website, to have the 2 public 18 hole courses mapped since I first got my SG2 last year. They did respond that it would take a few months, but it's now 12 months, and still nothing.
However, a new course opened this spring (2007) in the adjacent town, and within 2 months it was mapped!
It seems to me that the course owners must be willing and pay for the priviledge of having their course mapped, or maybe it's just a coincidence!!!
If Skygolf offers to map our courses when we buy their product, then they should follow through. Otherwise they are misrepresenting their product.
Posted 29 Dec 2007 at 4:04pm #
SkyCaddie was in the area and had stopped by my course in the spring of '07 and talked to the owner. I don't think the owner really knew who/what SkyCaddie was.
After I requested (3 times) to get the course done, they again notified the golf course, talking to the gal that ran the counter...well, enough said there! I called the course and talked to one of the owners that Skycaddie was coming out, and the first thing she was concerned about was the cost to map the place.
SkyCaddie informed me and the course (later) that there was "no charge" to have the course mapped. Right away the owner said "Oh fine, lets get it done then"!
You may be right about the political end of it...I don't know, don't want to know!
Also was one of the things I mentioned in my 3rd request with them was that I expected better service from them for the price that I paid for their unit...maybe that's why I got such quick attention.
After talking to the "enabler" that maps the courses, he said that like in any business there are people that take pride in their work and some that don't give a darn. Lets hope that there's more that do care and can improve customer relations.
Posted 29 Dec 2007 at 8:47pm #
Hey, thought i would give my 2 cents worth. I got my SG 5 on Friday and used it today(my club is a 4 star). I read all the negative comments and still elected to go with it, its not like its that unaffordable. I was thinking it was going to be way off(by the posts). I got my buddy to check out the first sprinkler and we sat still for a second, he had the Skycaddie in hand and I told him the yardage, the exact same as on the head. We were amazed to say the least, could have just been coincidence we thought. We had a few holes down in valleys that were off by 3-5 yards (considering the heads were right). We got to the 16th and while approaching beside a sprinkler head with the yardage, they trusted the SG5 instead.. I just threw some money out there because of Christmas for myself but I think it was a good buy... We will see, I have a tournament on New Years Eve...Lets see if it helps..
Recommend(after one use)..
Posted 29 Dec 2007 at 9:33pm #
should have said something about the setup... If you can install a program on a computer(click yes 3 times), you can use this unit. If you cannot, stick to the laser... It takes very little computer knowledge to get the desktop/course upload to work.
Posted 21 Jan 2008 at 12:41am #
I have had a sky caddy for more than two years at first the other three players in my sat group were skeptical about its accruacy. But now they are always asking for distances especially when your off the fairway , with my group thats most of the time , but we find the skycaddy to be very accruate and helpful.
Posted 26 Jan 2008 at 6:46pm #
I am having major issues with skygolf! I have owned a sg2 for 2+ years now and up to December 23rd ,2007 has worked very well and has been my companion on many courses in the USA. On December 23Rd As i was playing on my home course my sg2 had a notification on the screen that my subscription needed to be renewed by Jan 10,2008. That very evening I sat at my computer and decided to renew my subscription but, when I got on the skygolf direct connect it stated that my sg2 needed to be updated with the current sattilites, so after a few moments the system flashed that the download failed and It would not let me renew . Well I waited to the 26th and I called the tech support line and after some time the fellow stated I would have to send my unit back to be updated. He then comnnected me with a lady that after a few moments said she knew what the problem was and renewed my membership over the phone and said my sg2 should be just fine . Well on Sunday the 30th of December again at my home course it did not work , could not get a signal. Now keep in mind the unit worked fine untill I was prompted to renew my subscription. Well I again called tech line on the 31st and the fellow walked me through some manuvers on the sg2 and then declared it should be just fine , well it wasn't and I again had to call the tech line and that gave me a address to send the unit(at my expense). Well about a week later I received an e mail from them that the unit was not repairable and to call them . Well I did and was told that for 180.00 they would send me a reconditioned sg2 back. Ok, I again explained that the unit was working fine before I was prompted to renew the subscription and they "updated" the sattilites and asked to speak to a manager or supervisor or whoever. He called me back a day later and said he would have to check into the matter. I have since called three times and no return calls as of yet. I finally reached a lady and asked that They at least send my old unit back and was told "Why it doesn't work" please this company has the worst customer service I have ever seen. "DO NOT BUY ONE OF THEIR UNITS" I plan on doing every thing I can to let people know what a rip off they are trying .
Posted 29 Jan 2008 at 8:08pm #
I've had my SG2 Skycaddie for a little over 2 years. At the time there weren't many 4* courses in my area. The day after I got it, I went straight to my course and set it up manually and used it that way for about 4 months.
The few of us that had the skycaddies asked Skygolf about getting our course professionally setup. They told us to tell our pro to give them a call and they would help get it setup. They told the pro it would take about 4 months due to a backlog of requests.
Sure enough, about 4 months passed and it was setup as they said. Most of the courses in my area are setup now.
If your particular course isn't setup professionally, I'll just suggest you to talk to your club pro and get him involved in getting it setup. I don't even think the course has to pay for it.
Since then, the pro shop has been selling the skycaddies and making extra money. I know of at least a dozen players at my course that has the skycaddie, most of them the SG2, and have never heard any complaints from any of them.
I also live near Myrtle Beach, SC and most of the courses there are listed for downloading. The skycaddie is the best thing in the world when you're playing a course for the first time. Using the intelligreen function really improves dialing in to the pin placement. Definitely using this is far superior to reading sprinklerheads.
Buy it, set it up, and trust the yardages. It'll make you a better golfer.
Posted 21 Feb 2008 at 11:00am #
Excellent information - I was going to buy a Sky Caddie SG5 and thought I'd check what other golfers had to say about Sky Caddie. I'm surprised they're still in business. I'm going to buy a laser rangefinder - going to look up info on bushnell.
Thanks for the great info - saved me a lot of future grief -I'm too old to put up with Sky Caddie incompetence.
Posted 02 Mar 2008 at 11:20pm #
I have had an SG2 SkyCaddie for two years and have been pleased until recently. I tried to download a new course and was told I needed a new software update. It has reacted horribly ever since. First it wilped out all my courses and then I downloaded new ones. Yesterday I showed up at a course I am not familiar with expecating the SkyCaddie to help. It had the name, but blank yardages. Tonight I tried four times to download a new course, only to be told after a long wait anad error had occured. FOUR TIMES? Maybe since it is not a current model this may sell later models, I dont think so.
Posted 03 Mar 2008 at 9:56pm #
Posted 09 Apr 2008 at 4:36pm #
Be carefull,
I had a unit for the past 2 years with no issues the device was operational, until I was instructed though their web to download the newest satellite signals. The unit faild and I sent it for a diagnostic evaluation.
After I had to initiate contact I was told that the unit was beyond repairs. They could not offer me a replacement unit and when I requested a discount for a newer one I was declined.
The ustomer service is horrible. I feel like I just donated $350 plus membership fees to SkyCadie. I will advice to anyone to stay away from their products and services.
Posted 10 Apr 2008 at 9:59am #
Good luck j fulton my sg2 losses a signal all the time and now the button on the side that you click to see how far you hit the ball stop working. I feel like I donated 350.00 all so. At my home course I have told everyone not to buy this unit. That’s all you can do
Posted 10 Apr 2008 at 2:55pm #
After reading various comments about SkyCaddie, both positive and negative, I am still leaning towards such a purchase. I am very interested in comments from those who use Mac computers if they experienced difficulty in loading software, courses,etc. I have a fairly new Mac with OS X 10.3.9 Panther software. Also, if anyone has purchased the Garmin GolLogix, again have you had reasonable success with loading software, courses, etc? I appreciate any feedback to help make a decision about such a purchase.
Posted 10 Apr 2008 at 4:11pm #
After reading some of the comments about upgrading and renewing I was getting concerned, but finally jumped in and did both on the weekend.
The GPS upgrade went well, and the unit works OK.
The membership renewal went well also, but I note they raised the price from $29 to $34 Cdn.
My vista laptop communicates properly with the SG2 so I'm good to go for another season.
Now if they would only make good on their promise to map my 2 local courses I could be happy.
Posted 10 Apr 2008 at 9:42pm #
I have a golflogix and prior to my purchase had 3 skycaddies, 2 of which were returned to skygolf and the 3rd I sold. Mainly had problems with my pc being able to communicate with the skycaddie. I have had a golflogix for about 4 months now and recently purchased the new version which features shot distance. The subscription fee is $29 for one year which includes all states plus Canada. The courses are downloaded onto your pc from golflogix and remain on your computer. One problem is that you can erase courses from your pc assuming you want to. Customer support is excellent. I have contacted them a few times to either correct a specific course or add new courses. Response has been very quick as they map using aerial photos and sat. images. They added another 9 holes at an 18 hole course here, I contacted them and 2 days later the course was available for download. Each year courses are updated. If an update is available for a course I have on my pc I get notification that the course is updated and it's done automatically.
The skycaddie has a few features that I like but I'm real happy with the golflogix and am glad I switched.
I am not an employee of golflogix nor do I have any financial interests in the company.
John
Posted 10 Apr 2008 at 10:39pm #
Update on My issue with Skygolf. I sent them a nice letter spelling out exactly what happened and what it would take to satisfy me. I had already completed some extensive due dilligence as to my rights and was prepared to take them to Mississippi Small claims. I gave them 30 days for a 100% refund of cost of unit or a replacement unit at there expense. I felt I had enough documented facts that I could possibly sue for small claims limit of 2500.00. Well they didnt even wait the 30 days as I recieved a call from a young lady telling me they were shiping me a new sg2 . I got it and much to my suprise was already preloaded with my courses and registered to me . I also was glad to see they gave me a one year Eagle membership at no charge.
I am happy that my issue was solved to my satisfaction but sad that I had to take actions I did. They do have a great product (when it works) and I had been a good customer. Will I keep the unit ? Maybe . Will I sell it? maybe. Bottom line is this company with a good product needs to understand that no matter how good a product they offer, without a reasonable level of customer service they are going to fail. Good luck to all!
Posted 14 Apr 2008 at 9:32pm #
BUSHNELL OWNERS !!
I was in the market to buy a skycaddie but am second guessing my purschase due to the comments on this site. Is there any way to determine the lenghts of your shots with the Bushnell? With the skycaddie you can mark where you hit from then mark when you get to your ball.
Posted 18 Apr 2008 at 10:50pm #
Matt,
At least for your drives you could just turn around and take a reading from the tee markers behind you.
Then you could use that number to figure out your other yardages. For example on a par five you could figure your drive's yardage and then hit your second shot then from there get your yardage to the pin and that minus your drive would give you your second shot.
I realize it's kind of messy but it might not be that bad if you got used to it.
good times
Posted 20 Apr 2008 at 10:12pm #
Had nothing but problems with my Sky Caddie 3.
After downloading new software and resetting numerous times I returned the defective unit to Sky Golf for replacement.
Sky Golf sent me an email saying that they replaced the screen and I must send them $50 to get my unit back.
This was a gift and my wife has already replaced it with GolfLogix's GPS range finder.
Don't look to Sky Golf for anything resembling customer service.
Posted 21 Apr 2008 at 8:15am #
Mike how do you like your GolfLogix's GPS range finder. I have been thinking about getting one
Posted 21 Apr 2008 at 9:22am #
My experience with the GolfLogix unit has been good. The unit holds 20 courses (you have to pay a yearly fee for more than 1 course at a time.) The distances are very accurate. The unit updates itself much more frequently than the SkyCaddie (when it worked.) You just get distances (no graphics) but graphics are worthless if the distances are bad or not available.
Posted 23 Apr 2008 at 3:54pm #
Guys:
In view of all other GPS products now out, only a fool will buy a Sky Caddie. Better check out GolfBuddy+ which can store 1000 courses with
out annual fee or uPro which gives pictorial views of courses.
Posted 24 Apr 2008 at 5:45pm #
i was pushing sureshot gps over skycaddy because of only $20 annual fee, unlimited courses.
but now i'm leaning towards a good lazer device because it is going impossible for GPS products to keep up with course changes & a lazer is the only way to know the actual distance to hole location anyway. i started out with StarCaddy, then SureShot GPS & now i think i'll just do a combo of SureShot (already have one & $20 a year no brainer) & lazer device until i'm comfortable with 100% lazers.
so my vote is for simplicity & accuracy over overcharging & under-performing. any lazer device recommends for me would be appreciated by emailing me using my name with cox.net
~later
Posted 25 Apr 2008 at 12:27pm #
I carry both a GPS and laser rangefinder. I use the Bushnell Yardage Pro Tour Laser Rangefinder on courses that aren't mapped. This one goes for around $200 'though you may find a lower price with some shopping.
Posted 28 Apr 2008 at 4:44pm #
I am a 2 HDCP and hit over 2K shots a week practicing at the range. So I pretty much can tell you how far I can hit every club in my bag. I just bought the SG2.5 and used it in 4 rounds of golf at different courses in NJ; I have never hit so many shots close to the pins as I've done during those 4 rounds. The SG2.5 is extremely accurate from any distance. I find it very simple to use, it does take a few minutes to acquire the signal, but other than that, it is a great device....I went below in 3 of the 4 rounds, withouth the SG2.5 I don't think it would have happened....
Posted 26 May 2008 at 8:15am #
Sky Caddy has horrible customer service. I used mine 4 times. I connected to the website to download another course, and it prompted me to download new software, which shut down my unit so it will not turn on. The Sky Caddy was a gift for my birthday at the end of golf season. I called customer service and they were more concerned with reminding me, THE UNIT IS WARRANTIED FOR 90 DAYS ONLY (at this point it is 6 months). They want me to ship the unit to them with an open credit to them on my credit card for service. I went to my local Golfsmith, and the store manager stated the company has the worst customer service of any product he has ever seen, golf or otherwise. I am warning others not to buy this product, and I will continue to warn every golfer I meet about seeking an alternative to Sky Caddy.
Good idea, poor execution.
Posted 26 May 2008 at 6:17pm #
Can't understand all the negative comments about the sky caddie. Have had an sg2 for over a year now and it works perfectly.
No problem with the software or customer support. The mount on the back did break, but considering that I play 100+ rounds a year and I mount it on my bag, the thing take quite a bit of jarring.
will see how they handle the replacement of the mount. One bit of advice, don't mount it on the bag like I did. I was fortunate enough that the group behind me found mine when it fell off the bag. Put it in the cup holder of clip it inside the basket behide the seat.
Posted 27 May 2008 at 11:11am #
I agree with Henry Lewis. I have had my for 2+ yrs. sometime it work and sometime it do not. I went out to play just yesterday charged it up the night before got to the course it would not even come on.
Posted 27 May 2008 at 12:13pm #
I am
ed that Sky Golf would delay a customer's service request until the warranty expired. But then... I own multiple Brooklyn Bridge Toll Booth concession shares.
From my research into Sky Golf's products it appears that they marketed a large number of defective Sky Caddie 3's. The positive comments and experiences I have recorded are all from Sky Caddie 2 owners. Have seen a mixed set of comments from Sky Caddie 4 owners. Sky Caddie 3 owners appear to have bought lemons.
Posted 02 Jun 2008 at 4:25pm #
Has anyone tried to link their computer up with a Skycaddie 2 using Windows Vista?
Posted 02 Jun 2008 at 6:13pm #
Follow-up on my comment regarding SG@ mount.
Sky caddie sent me a replacement, no charge. Unit is out of warranty.
Did have to wait about 20 minutes to get through, but I did call at a high volume time.
Posted 02 Jun 2008 at 7:01pm #
Anyone have any good/bad experiences with the SG5? I was really thinking of getting one this week, but after reading some of these reviews I'm starting to second guess myself.
Posted 03 Jun 2008 at 11:21am #
Doug said on June 2, 2008:
I have a Vista laptop and an SG2. They both work perfectly.
Posted 03 Jun 2008 at 11:54am #
Gald to hear that Sky Golf has replaced other customers' SkyCaddies. If you have a SkyCaddie 3+ that is eating up batteries or shows any screen glitch, send it back for replacement immediately.
Posted 10 Jun 2008 at 9:01pm #
There seems to be a lack of communication here....Skycaddie says I can upload my own courses to be shared with others but after several months,.....nothing.
If it is possible to upload courses, do it... if it is not possible....then don't lead us to believe that it is.
I've had this SG2 for a year and still haven't got my local courses uploaded.......what gives?????
Posted 11 Jun 2008 at 10:00pm #
It has been more than 2 weeks since I sent my Sky Caddy back with an open credit card to fix it, after I used it 4 times and the 3 month warranty expired. No solution from the company. I am a golfer (not as frequently as I would like), a doctor, I got it at the end of the season as a gift.
This product is a lemon for customer service and warranty.
Buyer beware
Posted 25 Jun 2008 at 3:11pm #
I purchased a G2 a couple of years ago and whenever I had issues with the unit or their program, the Company was right on top of things. I purchased a G4 earlier this year. It malfunctioned and I sent it for repair. In the meantime, I used my G2, but dropped it, so that went for repair, also. Two weeks later I contact the Company and am told the G2 won't be sent back until I pay the $75 it cost to fix it; however, no one had contacted me for payment, and the return authorization e-mail I had gotten from them did not ask for payment info. I guess I'm just supposed to finally get tired of waiting to receive it back and then go through the hassle of calling them and getting placed on hold for 45 minutes? I'm also told they are sending a new G4, but I can't get an answer on "when?"
I will not purchase another SkyCaddie.
Posted 05 Jul 2008 at 9:54pm #
I am TERRIBLY disappointed in my SkyCaddie (SG4). It's going back to the store first thing tomorrow.
It continuously losses the satelite signal or "locks up". That's right, locks up like a computer crashes. The unit stops working all together. I can tell by looking at the satelite icon in the top left corner of the screen. If it stops moving, then unit stops working. How else can I tell? I'm standing on the tee, and the distance to the green is 350 yards. After I hit my tee shot and start walking down the fairway the distance on my very expensive SkyCaddie SG4 doesn't change. It is still 350 yards, even though I'm standing on the sprinkler head with the 125.
The only method to "re-boot" it is remove the battery, re-install the battery, re-start the unit, wait, and wait, and wait for it to "search" and "acquire" satelites, then it's "ready." I'm doing this while I'm trying to play golf.
I attempted to contact Tech Support, but my email was never answered and the tech support recorded message stated that the average wait time for tech support is "43 minutes." 43 minutes! I guess a lot of people are having trouble with their Sky Caddie and need tech support as well.
I know the Sky Caddie people monitor this and other chat rooms for insight. How's this for insight, your product sucks.
Posted 20 Jul 2008 at 5:38pm #
Sounds like the lousy customer service continues. So far the only SkyCaddie model that seems to work well is version 2.
My version 3 (along with others) exhibit the same dropped signal and remove batteries to reboot symptoms as the last commentor's model 4.
I have seen one version 5 hot off the shelves and its owner is happy so far ... two rounds of golf.
Posted 27 Jul 2008 at 11:07am #
I have never been impressed with Magellan products and this one is no different. $350.00 and a 90 day warrenty they know their product well!
Posted 28 Jul 2008 at 4:36pm #
We have an SG4. After downloading, the unit wouldn't turn on. We sent it back with a letter of complaint. Received a new unit. Went to download courses and it didn't recognize the unit so was unable to download. Called. They advised us to buy a new cable. Cable was $25 and shipping was $15. We wrote a letter to the CEO. A rep called back and said it might be the cable so they sent us a new one free of charge. Tried to download. Unsuccessful.
Went to the club pro. He said lots of members have been having similar problems. He'll take it up with the sales rep.
Wrote the CEO again...today. In the meantime, we have trips planned, no way to load new courses. And they are telling us it's time to renew. No way.
Terrible customer service. A terrible product.
Posted 30 Jul 2008 at 11:58pm #
You people do not need the distance to the PIN. All you need is to get on the green. Just be happy with that. It's not like it's going in the hole anyways. And I have called customer service several times, and they have the best customer support I have ever dealt with. I definitely recommend SkyCaddie to everyone.
If you have had a problem previously with your SkyCaddie, it is most likely because you don't know what you're doing. It's a very simple device to operate, and it's hard to screw it up.
Posted 31 Jul 2008 at 3:35pm #
Apparently James would rather attack others than read their complaints for content.
There appears to be serious problems with SG3s and SG4s. (Verdict is out on the SG5.) They are power hungry and subject to dropped signals.
There are also major issues with the lack of customer service and Sky Golf's habit of holding people's defective units for ransom.
Do you work for Sky Golf, James?
Posted 31 Jul 2008 at 6:41pm #
I do think that James may have been a bit hard, but I do agree with some of his points.
The front middle and back feature, combined with the ability to move the pin position side to side or front to back is quite adequate (also, there is no way the Sky Caddie can know where the hole is located since they change it several times a week). Also many people who have problems downloading courses or setting up the Sky Caddie etc. probably aren’t that skilled with computers. (no offense intended).
If you have problems with getting a signal, you have to remember that this is a GPS device and satellite signals can be effected by various conditions. On the whole I have had very few instances where signals were a problem.
I too have had no trouble with customer service. They replaced two external items that broke and did so at not charge even though the warranty had expired. The wait time to speak to a rep was a bit long.
Also, you have to realize that these forums tend to attract mostly negative comments from frustrated users.
Posted 31 Jul 2008 at 7:42pm #
I purchased the SG5 model about 8 weeks ago. So far, it works perfectly. I had no issues downloading coarses. I had no problems finding a signal at all of the golf courses I've played, to date. I've played with it 8 times so far - Haggin Oaks in Sacramento, Castle Oaks in the foothills (Amador County) and most recently in South Lake Tahoe. The unit hasn't failed to tell me the yardage even once (so far). The battery power lasts for at least 3 rounds on a single charge (so far). I've found th yardage to be very accurate on each course I've played - both on flat courses with very few trees all the way to the mountain courses where pine trees are aplenty! No issues - no problems. Very satisfied customer! I hope I don't have any of the issues I've read about on this site (fingers crossed). I'll report back in a few months to follow up on my experience.
Posted 31 Jul 2008 at 9:46pm #
Apparently forums don't attract just negative comments from frustrated users.
From a marketing standpoint allowing frustrated users (read "customers") to florish is recipe for disaster. Holding defective units for ransom repair fees is a real stupid way to increase your corporate revenues.
The signal problems with Sky Caddies are way beyond a few glitches now and then. Blaming these problems on GPS glitches is a weak commendation.
This is not the only location where negative comments are found. Apparently, it is a location where Sky Golf is trying to offset its lousy customer service with forum commentary.
Posted 03 Aug 2008 at 9:06pm #
Since receiving my SG5 last November, I've been playing on average 18 to 27 holes 5 days a week, sometimes 6, since early April. I've been deleting courses and adding new ones on occasion.
I've never had a problem with my SG5. I even got the so-called upgrade that was sent to me from SkyCaddie...with no problem.
I've had plenty of battery power left even after playing 27 holes.
Knock on wood....I hope this helps someone out there that's on the fence trying to decide whether to buy a SkyCaddie or not.
Also, another thing, since I bought mine in Nov. '07, SkyCaddie came out with the SG2.5. Had I known they were coming out with the 2.5, I would have bought it, instead of the SG5, the only reason being is that for the so-called "Color" that cost $200.00 more than the SG2.5 that does the same.
Trust me you don't need the color!
Posted 06 Aug 2008 at 10:14pm #
I have used my SG 3 for almost 2 seasons now and I must say it is quite accurate and easier to us than you would think. The left soft key on my Sky Caddie became very spotty, sometimes working, but more often not. I reluctantly got the mandatory RMA and sent it 2 day priority mail to their offices. They never communicated with me, acknowledged receipt or informed me of progress or should I say lack of progress. I called them 3 times to inquire, and never received a satisfactory response. The first 2 times they said, yes, we received it but have no information regarding the progress (?) of the repair. They took much too long to return my sky caddie and sent it back by the cheapest, slowest method available. It took 7 days to get it back, and that was from the day they sent it back to me...it does NOT count the time in repair, and all this during the height of the golf season. Their customer service (?) is abysmal, virtually non communicative and almost indifferent to their customers. So, beware...a really nice product spoiled by exceptionally poor customer service and repair time.
Posted 19 Aug 2008 at 10:30pm #
I purchased a skycaddie SG3 and when it works it is the greatest. That is when it works. Skygolf has to have one of the worst customer support I have ever dealt with. The software is full of bugs and now they claim that it will not work if your computer uses an aircard, explorer7 or you have an upgraded version of vista on your computer.
In fact after the first support session they will even quit communicating with you. If you purchased their warranty. Well it is just as worthless.
My advice based upon personal experience. Do not purchase a skycaddie.
Posted 28 Aug 2008 at 12:29pm #
Posted 28 Aug 2008 at 3:54pm #
I have to concur that Sky Golf has one of the worst customer service departments that I have ever dealt with. They act as if you owe them. This product is full of bugs and I would recommend that no one purchase one of their products until they get all the bugs worked out. I too have a SG4 and as of July I can no longer connect with my skycaddie. They keep giving me reasons yet blame everything on my computer, or on the way I do it. They have taken over my computer with some program and they cannot figure out the problem so they think it must be me. Why did my sky caddie work up until July.
Now I have a worthless membership and cannot down load new courses to my SG4.
I concur do not buy a skycaddie. Also do not do business with Skygolf until they learn how to treat their customers.
Posted 05 Sep 2008 at 11:09am #
I recently purchased a skycaddie sg3 (used) from a pro shop. After I got home I found a problem with the screen, this of course was after I registered it and purchased the membership. The pro shop was kind enough to exchange the unit for a brand new one at no additional charge.
I e-mailed skycaddie customer service and did not receive a response e-mail. I then called them and after 30 min. never got through to a real person. During my hold time I did use their instant messenger icon for customer service. It was great, I was able to connect with a minute to someone and they did transfer the service I had purchased over to my new unit. If anyone has to contact them I would recommend this method.
Posted 08 Sep 2008 at 2:25pm #
Have owned a SG3 for less than 1 year. The first one crapped out and couldn't retain a signal. Was replaced under an extended warranty. The replacement one still loses signal during the middle of rounds under clear blue skys. All I get from customer non-service is to reset the GPS. Who has time for this while playing. The skycaddie is good WHEN it wants to work. Customer service is the pits. Fortunately I still have a Bushnell range finder as backup. Skycaddie - great concept - piss poor execution. Save your money and frustation - simply get a range finder.
Posted 04 Oct 2008 at 4:14am #
After having a very reliable and accurate (usually within 1 yard of our laser measured yardage markers) SkyCaddie SG2 for about 3 years, I upgraded to an SG4 just before the SG5's came out. Big mistake! I would stand in one spot and in less than a minute, it would go from 132 yards up to as much as 145 yards, then it might reverse and drop to 125 yards. It would rarely stay on 1 number or even close for any length of time. After sending it back to them twice and being without it for approximately 4 1/2 months, they finally replaced it and I immediately sold the new one on Ebay. It's just my personal opinion, but I didn't like anything about the SG4. Having to screw in the charger cable was the pits. I also don't think the internal antenna is as good as the external one on the SG2, SG2.5 and the SG5. After selling it, I went back to using my old SG2 until I started having so much trouble gaining Satellite access. It might fire right up, but more often than not, it generally took at least 5 to 8 holes to get a signal. Sometimes never. Whenever it started working, it worked great, just not often enough for me. I finally upgraded to the SG5 recently and it seems to be pretty accurate so far, but I still don't trust it like I did my old SG2. But to be honest, I have only used it for about 5 rounds so I am still reserving judgement.
As far as customer service, I have to concur with every opinion that I've read so far. The absolute worst. In fact, I can't honestly tell you why I bought another one after swearing that I would never deal with those people again. One of my major complaints about the company is not being able to transfer membership to another unit when you upgrade. Whether you upgrade by choice or out of necessity, you paid for a year and that's what you should get, period. Long story short, when they work properly they are great. I just hope you get a good one.
Thanks for letting me vent, Fred
Posted 12 Oct 2008 at 9:36pm #
Tedd said on June 10, 2008:
It has now been over a month since Skygolf replied to this post and as they requested, I phone to help resolve the issue.
As I predicted, they have not resolved it. I have tried many times to upload my own course, and yet it has never been added.
The website clearly states:
"If you’ve searched our network for SkyCourses, you may have noticed that other golfers have uploaded their self-created courses for others to use. You can do the same with your course. Your owner’s manual provides complete instructions on how to conduct the mapping. Once you have used your SkyCaddie to map a course, return to this site to upload it to our network."
I'm hoping a hungry lawyer sees this and decides to help prosecute them for false advertising!
Posted 13 Oct 2008 at 11:02pm #
I am dismayed at how many have experienced the same poor customer and tech support as I for what I had considered to be a great product. I have owned an SG4 since June 2007. The first problems I experienced had to do with the poor Skycaddie desktop utility and its tendency to become unresponsive on 2 different Windows XP machines. The SG4 also stopped working in the spring of this year prior to the expiration of my Eagle membership. However, when I did finally get around to hooking it back up to the pc(I hate the screw in connector) I experienced the same connection failure, followed by update failure, then a locked up device that had to be returned. This was a slow process, but I eventually got it back and I recently was preparing to use it, but decided (since the web site showed my home course to now be 4 star) to update/add the new course. Same failure of connection /cannot locate the device (note this is not a failure of the pc, as I can easily locate and recognize the device details, however Skycaddie Desktop could not) After quite some time and numerous attempts, I got Skycaddie desktop to "see" the device and it said it required an update first (yes, even though I've just received it back from the manufacturer this summer) and it promptly locked up again. I'm done with Skygolf. They've taken money at purchase, 2 Eagle memberships, another fee at the last service (obviously not a repair) and for what?
Oh, and qualifications to "click a few times to install" their software. I set up my own home network with 2 PCs, 3 Laptops, 2 different networked game consoles and maintain same for regular use for our family of five. If I can reach frustration with such a "helpful, time-saving device", I'll gladly start searching for alternatives.
Posted 28 Oct 2008 at 9:41pm #
Tedd said on October 12, 2008:
It is now Oct. 28,2008 and I posted my first course request on May 4, 2007. I have spoken with Skygolf several times and they keep assuring me to be patient for a few weeks while they add my uploaded course to share with others.
After more than 17 months, you would think they could find time to honor my request and add my own course. (and no, I don't want to spend another 30 minutes on the phone waiting for someone at Skygolf to tell me that my course will be added in a few weeks, so please don't ask)
Posted 29 Oct 2008 at 8:55am #
It has been several months since I posted here about my experience with the SG2 and poor customer service of Skyhawk. I finally gave up and bought a Golflogix8 unit two weeks ago. What a difference!
The software loaded with no problem, I connected to the website and downloaded 19 courses with no problem and it costs only $29.year.
The Golflogix does not show the green as does the SkyCaddie but that's inconsequential to me compared to the unit working well and doing what the company claims it will do.
While I haven't yet requested a course to be mapped (pleasantly over 30 courses within an hour drive of me already are and two have been updated in since I bought the unit) I've heard from other owners who say their request was honored within a week.
I hope the guy who bought my SG2 on eBay enjoys it and has a better experience than I did, but so far, I'm very pleased with my $254 purchase of the Golflogix8.
Posted 03 Nov 2008 at 3:15pm #
I've had my Skycaddie SG2 for a year and a half and love it when it is working. It definately speeds up my pace of play and gives me confidence in club selection...no more walking off sprinkler heads and estimating distances.
As much as I like the information the Sky Caddie provides I will never buy another unit from them. The workmanship is HORRIBLE. I had to send the unit in for twice for repairs (under the warranty) and customer was slow, incompetent and indifferent.
The unit I have now (it's been replaced twice) is less than a year old. It still reads yardages but the button for marking distances doesn't work and the screw that holds the belt clip in keeps falling out. My warranty is now over and when it stops working I will chuck it into a garbage can and purchase a GPS unit which hopefully has competent customer service and quality construction.
Posted 30 Nov 2008 at 1:28am #
I read a number of bad reviews about the Sky Caddie customer service and fell compelled to write that my experience with them was very positive. My S2.5 unit had a minor problem and was replaced immediately without any hassle.
I found their on-line chat very responsive and they called me back at the precise time we had agreed upon the next day after they had completed their research into my problem.
The unit is light, easy to read and performs all of the advanced functions as advertised. It is especially useful on courses we play only occasionally. Every course we play is in their library and they are quite easy to download.
I would recommend it to anyone, although I am not sure it has helped my game at all.
Posted 12 Dec 2008 at 1:11am #
Well, all of this comes as no surprise to me. Since the SkyCaddy's innards are made by Magellan, and they have the worst customer service reputation in the GPS industry, I wouldn't own one for $50, much less $350.
I ordered a GolfLogix GPS8 by Garmin this week through the pro shop at my course (I work there part time so I get a nice discount). The course had never done business with them before, so the buyer told me to expect it to take at least a couple of weeks for the credit verification to be processed. To my surprise, she called me 2 hours later to say that the GPS8 had not only been ordered, it was due to ship that afternoon! GolfLogix was not only shipping the one I ordered, but sending along another one at no charge for the course to use as demo unit.
Now that's what I call service!!! 
I'll be back after I have a chance to use it (it's winter here in Colorado, so playing opportunities are limited) and pass on my experiences.
Posted 15 Dec 2008 at 2:30pm #
My SG4 is a value to use when it works. But in the 24 months I have had it, it has worked for about 18. I am awaiting its second repair ($35 to $100) for faulty satellite tracking. Just locks up on the course or will not acquire the satellite.
I can not recommend a Skycaddie.
Posted 22 Dec 2008 at 8:21pm #
I just noticed the Sonocaddie products on the web. They have 6 golf facilities mapped for my Town, but Skycaddie won't even list the 2 that I have tried to upload over a year ago.
I guess the time has come to sell my SG2 and get rid of the frustrations of waiting for them to upload my courses and just buy a V300.
The SG2 has worked well but it's not much good if I can't even share my own mapped courses with my friends. I need a full featured GPS and Sonocaddie claims they have it.
Posted 09 Jan 2009 at 8:41am #
Just spent an hour reading this message board trying to decide about purchasing a sky caddie. I will stick with my Nikon range finder. It is easy to pick up a greenside tree, bunker, mound, etc. I think that maybe $350 worth of lessons would be a better value. Sky Caddie has lost a sell. Customer service is much more important than they realize.
Doug
5 handicap
Posted 14 Jan 2009 at 1:15am #
I've used my SG2 for about 2 1/2 years and have been completely satisfied with it's operation. So easy to use and really accurate as far as I'm concerned. Only problem. I recently got a Mac and I'm disappointed my SG2 isn't supported but I usually play the same 10 courses anyway so it's not a big deal. Neither is the $29.00 yearly fee. It's worth it.
My problem: A few days ago it stopped recharging. (Both in the house and in my car). I replaced the battery and it still won't charge. I contacted Sky Golf and they want me to send it in for analysis, for a fee of $35-$100.00. CS has been pretty good so far but I'm concerned they will just charge me a high fee to fix it or say it's damaged and still want me to buy a new one as other posts have said. I'd appreciate any info from somebody with similar problems.
Thanks,
Zap
Posted 25 Jan 2009 at 4:32pm #
In Short:
I hope that those looking to by a SkyCaddie will take time to read my full review; I believe it will save you $$ and wasted time. Do not buy a SkyCaddie - compare price, function, and ongoing costs (membership fees) with uPro and Golf Buddy.
IMO, uPro is the best device as far as accuracy and function and Golf Buddy is the best as far as flexibility. SkyCaddie is, IMO, average in the category.
More Importantly I have had opportunities to work with Customer Service from all 3 organizations and can tell you that, IMO, uPro is average/adequate; Golf buddy slightly above average and SkyGolf is perhaps the worst I have ever experienced.
In Detail:
I have to admit that I haven't read every comment above, but I have read many of them. The one thing that I did not find, and is consistent with my experience, is anything positive about SkyGolf customer service.
I did see a response by a skygolf employee who replied with an attitude consistent with my experience - the attitude was "the customers are all wrong and SkyGolf is all right." If you look at the reply in this thread the person says 1- you are probably using meters instead of yards (you are wrong and stupid). 2- SkyGolf methodology of mapping (outdated and less accurate than other methods IMO) puts people on the ground. Somehow we are supposed to accept this as superior when, in fact, it is a reflection of SkyGolf's outdated architecture and methodology (I guess a good marketing shot at turning a weakness into a strength). 3- We were happy to sell and take money for a product and then discontinue support because there weren't enough of them. Of course this completely ignores the important part which is SKY GOLF TOOK MONEY FOR SOMETHING THAT DID NOT PROVIDE THE VALUE THE CUSTOMER HAD REASON TO EXPECT.
My experience is very similar. I bought the SG4 a little more than 1.5 years ago. I based my decision on the fact that the SG4 had an expansion slot that was advertised (I have several advertisements saved on my computer) to allow you to store more courses.
I bought an SD card on the way home from buying the SkyCaddie and tried to use it. I couldn't get the device to access the memory card. I called support, and the first thing that I was told was that it should work fine and I was probably doing something wrong. I said I didn't doubt it and asked what I was doing wrong - they didn't know and never called back after several promised, and missed, callback times. Finally, during one of my calls to SkyCaddie, I was told that the SG4 didn't actually support the use of the SD card yet. I said I would like to return the device then, but because SkyGolf had missed so many call backs that they had promised the 30 day return time had passed. No matter it was their fault, they were still not going to budge going so far as to tell me that I could sue them, but that was the only way that I would get a penny out of them.
I have been posting information about my experience on various web sites for about the last 6-7 months about how I felt SkyGolf had misrepresented their product.
David Minc from SkyGolf sent me the following ". . . All SkyCaddie products are manufactured to the highest standards using quality materials and workmanship. Often times perceived problems are cases of user error. Of course, like any piece of electronic equipment, there are occasional malfunctions. The majority of people that post reviews are generally those that have had a negative experience and want to vent; rarely do you hear from the thousands of satisfied SkyCaddie users that are extremely pleased with the performance and service that they have received. . . "
Note the similarities with the response from SkyGolf above. 1- SkyGolf is right 2- The problem must be that you are mis-using the product. 3- You are the one that is wrong because there are so many that are using the product (compare to the arrogant response about not supporting Palm above). Of course, in both cases, it didn't prevent SkyGolf from taking money for a product that didn't provide the value that the was advertised.
I am going through web sites again and intend post until SkyGolf refunds my $350.00. I hope to 1- warn everyone about SkyGolfs products which are, in my opinion inferior and dated. 2- save people from wasting their money on inferior products which are not backed up by SkyGolf and 3- Get SkyGolf to provide quality customer service.
I currently use a uPro for courses I play often (best on the market IMO with infinite and accurate location information) and a Golf Buddy when I travel because it has thousands of courses. I also uses an iGolf (which I won) and it was OK and reliable, but nothing special.
SkyGolf - read all of the messages from those that hate your attitude and customer service. I have personally convinced between 10 and 20 people who were considering SkyCaddies to purchase either uPros (most) or Golf Buddies when they needed more than 50 courses available. Until I have reason to believe skygolf's attitude and service has changed (which starts with me getting my $350 back) I will continue to do so.
Posted 06 Feb 2009 at 1:49pm #
I purchased the SG5 a year ago. I don't like rangefinders because it's one more thing to think about - I too have a hard time keeping a steady hand - they give me a headache. Do I like having a GPS system? ABsolutely. Is the SG5 worth it? Not really.
I have one and I use it all the time. But you will have problems with the device. The reception is not great. It takes way too long to detect your location compared to other devices I've seen used by others. The website is simply retarded. It's as if a highschool kid designed it - hard to download and very hard to navigate. The accuracy is OK for my game - it beats running around looking for markers and such. My buddies are always hovering around me asking for the yardage.
In short I think a GPS device is very helpful. The information is always right in front of you and you don't have to look for markers or look thru a range finder. It also has the advantage of giving you lay up disctances off the T and locations for hazards which I find very useful in managing my game. However, I think there are better devices out there than the skycaddie. I saw someone using a U-Pro which I thought was better than my skycaddie.
hope this helps.
Posted 07 Feb 2009 at 10:35pm #
Right on Doug Coombs! I could not agree more. The Sky Caddie is a second rate has been whose time has passed. Its gps system is VERY slow to respond and takes much too long to acquire a signal. It also randomly loses the signal multiple times during a round (no, Sky Caddie people, I'm not under a tree or otherwise blocked) and takes much too long to regain it. The field is now full with much better choices, which is what I tell everyone who asks.
Posted 26 Feb 2009 at 11:40am #
I recently purchased a SkyCaddie SG2.5. I've not had any problems with their customer service. I really like the online chat with the customer service department feature. I used a friends SG3 before making my purchase. The SG2.5 is very accurate (I've compared it to the markers on my course). The new CaddieSync software makes downloading courses to my SG2.5 trouble free. I only hope that they might drop the yearly fee with the new golf gps units now on the market.
Posted 10 Mar 2009 at 5:02pm #
Tedd said on October 28, 2008:
It is now March 10, 2009 and I am still trying to get my local course uploaded. The SG2 manual states:
-------------------------------------------------------
• Share Courses with Other Users. Members can submit courses they have created
with the SkyCaddie to us to share with other members. The more members
share, the more courses everyone will have access to.
---------------------------
Now SkyGolf Tech support say that although I have uploaded the course, they need to check it, and send their people to verify the course details, and ....get this.....get the course owner's approval!!!!!!!
Why don't they just admit they made a mistake in offering to let their customers upload their own courses!
Posted 10 Mar 2009 at 8:03pm #
Since posting a negative reviewof Sky Caddie products some time ago my experience with my Golf Logix unit against Sky Caddie units only underscores Sky Caddie's inaccuracy.
In the past year numerous competitors have popped up to compete with Sky Caddie and Golf Logix. My GolfLogix unit consistently beats others both for accuracy and speed of measurment.
Sky Caddie users stand around waiting for the signal to settle in while I have completed my shot to the green -- tight to the pin. In my experience, Sky Caddie units are 3-5 yards off from my Golf Logix reading while my Golf Logix is spot on the monument distances.
As far as lousy customer service, the messages here speak for themselves. Sky Golf seems to think that arrogance is a substitute for customer satisfaction.
Posted 12 Mar 2009 at 12:15am #
I too had purchased the sg4 about a year ago. Once skygolf pushed their new caddiesync software my sg4 was unable to connect for that past three months. Their customer services rep said that I did not download the software correctly -- ya right. After three months of fighting with them, they sent me a new unit. Now the battery is not working after three hole, frist time use.
I agree with "doug coombs" do not purchase a gps from skygolf because, their product does not work and their customer service is really bad!
(ps: if you are going to call them at 1-866-759-4653 be ready to wait for no less the 67 minutes --- try it)
Posted 15 Mar 2009 at 1:27am #
IT FRIED MY COMPUTER!!!!! I have been using the SG4 for close to 2 years. I had initially downloaded all the courses that I needed and only went back online to renew my unit. This time they had Caddie Sync that you had to download so I did that. I used the same USB port for my Magellan GPS, Olympus camera and Flight simulator all of which just prior to my incident had worked fine. I plugged my SG4 into the USB port to update my unit and renew my membership when I smelled my computer burning. I immediately disconnected the USB connection and my SG4 from the connector. It had fried my computer and when I opened it up, the memory controller hub chip had a large burn hole in it and the computer had died. I don't know at this point what else it fried, but I knew that I was better off in the long run just to buy another computer. I was not about to plug it into the new one so I called Sky Golf customer service. I kind of felt like it was like buying a new car and having defective brakes and wrecking your vehicle and the company comes back and tells you that they would replace your brakes.....I called the customer service department and which like most other comments on this site, it did take a substantial amount of time for them to answer. I had talked to the manager at Pro Golf and he told me that they had problems with the chips on the SG3 and SG4. I have had problems on occasion with accuracy and keeping lock even though I an unobstructed view to all satellites. He told me that Sky Golf had a very good customer service department and that given all that I had gone through he thought that they might upgrade me to a SG5 free of charge. My Sg4 still works. The rep let me know real quick that this was not ever going to happen. The customer service rep didn't even really want to know what happened and said when I shipped it to them for repair that they wouldn't even look at anything I wrote. This made me angry and so I demanded to talk to his supervisor and I wanted the name and address of the CEO so that I could at least get him to read what had happened to me. I am not the first one that this has happened to. When I talked to the supervisor he told me that the only thing he could do was to send me a new one and to return the old one. He was very cordial. Like I said, I was not going to take any chances with mine or anyone else's computer. I rarely ever return anything and I am not trying to scam anyone. I am just prematurely out $600 for a computer. I like the unit a lot and it is in the same condition it was when I got it out of the box and the charging chord is like new and has only been used 3 or 4 times. I still plan on sending pictures and have already written a letter and will send it to thier CEO as soon as I get his name and address. If you know anyone else that has this problem I would really like to know so that I could add credibility to my claim. Thanks.....
Posted 15 Mar 2009 at 12:26pm #
Not that it will help, but this is the corporate office contact info for SkyGolf
SkyGolf
Ridgeland Technology Center
274 Commerce Park Drive, Suite M
Ridgeland, Mississippi 39157
Tel: 866-759-4653
Fax: 601-605-9225
The CEO is Richard Edmonson.
My letters to him did get my unit shipped back with no charges once it was pointed out that they had no signed agreement from me agreeing to any repair charges and that holding my unit was equivalent to theft by conversion.
Posted 16 Mar 2009 at 1:33pm #
Thanks Mike!!!!!
Posted 17 Mar 2009 at 3:51pm #
Either I'm blessed or you guys are in the miniority.
I've had my SG2 for over 2 years now and the only problems I've had are:
1. The clip holder broke off. I d