Sky Caddie .... WOW

I've played on courses that had front/back yardages on the sprinklers....courses that had only the center measurement....courses that had plaques in the fairways....and courses that were not marked at all.

But I played my first round last week with one of the new SkyGolf SG-5 units, and it is almost like cheating. Not to mention the fact that it made the game quicker because I had my yardages right there in my hand.

Are there a bunch of these units being used and have they proven pretty reliable over time? I think I'm going to make this thing part of my everyday equipment.

Another GPS Thread? Got to be fuking kidding.

Well.....excuse me all the way to Hell and back.

Did you have anything of importance to add to my topic?

Yeah, learn to use the search function and check out the other 30+ threads on Sky Caddy and GPS Units.

I'm sorry. Please except my apology. I didn't realize you had been appointed "Forum Police" for this place. But I DID notice your total of 27 posts. Sorry there...old timer. I guess you'll have to go ahead and ban me now, huh? Did my post take up the space that you had set aside to post something else?

When a thread you post gets 90 intelligent responses and 2500+ views, let me know.

Forget the noob... He doesn't matter anyway. Back on topic... I haven't seen the SG5, but I've used my GolfLogix for the last couple of months and it's useful, if not perfect. I still prefer my Bushnell Tour V2 laser (been using it for nearly a year now) when I really want to be precise. Also, there are some new GPS models coming out in the next couple of months that look like they could be even better than the best currently available. Only time will tell. Lasers and GPS both have benefits and shortcomings... you just have to balance your needs against the features and prices of the unit you get.

The back button is just a click away.

Any way, I don't use a GPS while I play but today I played at a course with GPS enabled carts. It was pretty neat and did make my round a lot faster. I enjoyed it but I still probably won't buy a GPS thing.

Coles Notes Version on GPS/Rangefinder gathered from the thousands of other posts already on here. Hope this saves you the time of using the search feature.

1. GPS are for Choppers. Great for blind distances when these hackers are stuck in the bush 30 yards deep.
2. Rangefinders are for "Players" seeking pins. (See my other thread to see if you are a player or a chopper)
3. Handheld GPS slow play down. All your hacker friends will want to know their yardages (as if it matters)
4. GPS are never dead on yardages.
5. GPS are non reliable on overcast days and reading are never imediate.
6. Rangefinders are better value. No subsciptions or downloads
7. Rangefinders find distances to hazards/bunkers not programed into the GPS unit.

Pretty sure that covers it.

THREAD CLOSED

Yes, in that it shows that you're an ass all in one place as opposed to us having to run around and try to verify. Thanks.

Opinion played off as fact. Oops. Fail.

Again, opinion played off as fact. Oops again! Fail again!

Third time's the charm? No. Still opinion being played off as fact.

Covers what? Some things that might be facts but, because of the rest of your thinly veiled opinions no one will believe/take seriously because you don't provide any sources? Good for you...

You know. Screw this technology shit. If you use a rangefinder you're obviously a chopper because otherwise you'd be using a hand-made, personally-paced-off yardage book. I mean, if you can't take the time to walk the course and meticulously plan out your round, you clearly lack the dedication required to be considered a real golfer, you damn chopper. /sarcasm

Umm... Right. I'm pretty sure it's not. Again, your opinion is wrong. Oops.

It does sound a bit strange using a GPS on the golf course, but if you are consistent with the yardages, I can surely understand that this is an extremely useful tool. I'm not that precise, so the markings on the course works well enough. Maybe I'll try one some day when I'm a better player.

Or when you're in the middle of the fairway and want to know the distance to the front of the green, or when you want to know a carry distance, or when you want to lay up on a par 5 to 100 yards.

GPS's are +/- 3 yards. Lasers are +/- 1 yard. Will two yards make a difference to the majority of golfers on this forum? No.

I think GPS's take the same amount of time as rangefinders or walking off your yardage (regardless of a pin sheet). I caddy. I've used all three methods of finding yardage. The time you wait for the GPS takes maybe 15 seconds at most. Rangefinders take the same amount of time. You hit your target and then check again to make sure. Let's say it takes 10-15 seconds to get it out of your pocket, rangefind, and then put it back. Walking off yardages takes the same time as well...maybe shorter. It all evens out IMO.

Very true. +/- 3 yards is pretty good though. It would work for me and I'm sure it would work for just about (not every) golfer on this forum. GPS's are also improving. I am willing to bet that they will have almost the same accuracy as a laser (+/- 1.5 yards let's say) in a few years.

Read the time section. If it evens out, who cares? The overcast is a problem for sure, but it's getting better. It's still a problem though.

There are also GPS's that have the same characteristics. GolfBuddy I think has all courses pre-loaded and has no subsciption.

Many GPS's allow you to add x number of targets yourself. If it's the first time you are playing a course, yes it could be an issue. But, the next time you should be set.

If by "that covers it" you mean you addressed your opinions and have failed to cite

any advantages of GPS's or disadvantes of rangefinders, then yeah it's covered. It's impossible to say that one is better than the other. Some people like laser rangefinders, just as others like GPS's, just as others like walking off the yardages. It's fine...just stop making it seem like GPS's have nothing to offer or that rangefinders have zero downfalls. It's simply not true. I almost forgot about the OP. Try a rangefinder as well before you decide to add a GPS. You may like them better than a GPS. It sounds, though, that you're really liking it. Also, I'd try out some different models/brands of GPS before purchasing (if you haven't already).

I think it means that he closed the thread.....didn't you see that part?

I've used the rangefinders also. I prefer the GPS. The only one I have tried is the SG-5. If there are any that have more features and work better I'd LOVE to see them. This thing is amazing.

Thanks for the info.

Just wondering... Why do you prefer the GPS over the rangefinder?

Rangefinders give more more precise distance. With a GPS, do you know exactly were the person mapping out the course took the measurement from?

A 6-9 foot difference is a difference between a par and a birdie. What would you rather have?

PLUS, how many times have you gotten up to the flag that said it was in the middle but was closer to the back or front?

I was specifically referring to when one person in a group has a distance device, everyone else wants yardages too. I've been behind groups like this many times.

What about the first and only time you play a course on vacation/travel? Not sure why anyone would really need any device on their own goat track. I know ever distance and bounce (like I'm sure many do).

really ok use your rangefinder and ill use my gps and well see who wins..

GPS: Actually it won't really get any more accurate than that. That's about as close as a GPS receiver can position itself, even with WAAS correction. If you figure that the GPS used for the mapping was at best +/- 2 yards and the one you're using on course is +/- 3 yards, then the possible error is +/- 5 yards. That's 10 yards at the max displacement, a full club for most iron play. You are also limited in not knowing exactly where the hole is cut on the green, so even with those units which allow you to move the cursor on the green, you are still estimating. That error can be significant on a course with large greens. Other downsides are the subscription cost and dependency on another party for programming the courses on most GPS units. Also the cost of batteries on some, and the frequency of required charging on others is bit of a pain. The positives for a GPS are the ability to quickly get a good measurement even on a blind shot. If the green or landing area is over a hill or around a dogleg, you can still get a reasonable idea of how far you need to hit a shot. Most are fairly simple to use. My GolfLogix you just turn it on, hit the scroll button one time and you never have to press another button for 18 holes. Laser: Negatives for a laser... you can't shoot around visually obscured dogleg corners or through hills. While you can take a sighting on a bunker lip or the face of a mound, it's hard to be precise if those surfaces aren't close to vertical. It takes slightly more time to take a measurement with a laser than it does with a GPS... although still only a few seconds. Positives: Accuracy. Anything that you can bounce the beam off of can be measured within +/- 1 yard. I can take a measurement to almost any feature on any golf course in the world, regardless of whether some programmer thought it might be needed or not. No subscription, no dependency on a third party programmer to include the points or the courses YOU actually need. Batteries last eons longer.... I can use my laser for an entire season on one battery. And for me the confidence that the reading is not dependent on being able to see at least 4 satellites through tree and cloud cover. I use both much of the time now, not to slow play, but I just use the one that's most appropriate for the shot at hand. I still find myself depending more on the laser than I do on the GPS when distance accuracy is the most important aspect of the shot.

To be honest, SkyCaddie is the only brand I've personally used. I have seen the iGolf Neo used. However, I'm not sure how it compares to the SkyCaddie. The SG-5 has color and that's a huge plus in my book. It's just so much cooler. Check out Golf Buddy, uPro, other S.C. models, and Sonocaddie. Those are the major players in the golf GPS industry (that I've heard of). Golf Buddy does not have subscriptions or downloads. uPro has no subscriptions, but does have upload fees. There are pros and cons to each model/brand, so do a little research, read some reviews, and don't be shy to ask questions to us or salesmen.

Thanks for the cameo appearance, but what's with all the name calling? It's a forum about golf. If we are going to have a sensible discussion/argument, then none of us can name call. It does not add anything to the discussion.

Only a hand-full of times actually. The courses that I play, I know very well. I know the greens very well and can usually tell almost exactly where the pins are. (I've compared my guesses to pinsheets and I'm pretty close...Usually +/- 2 yards.) That's just me though. Some people will have problems with that sort of thing.

Couldn't they do that with a rangefinder too?

Either way, it doesn't matter to me. I prefer to walk my own distances off. It's the way I was taught and I feel much more comfortable doing that. And, how many spots would I need to find the distance to that wouldn't already be plugged into the GPS automatically? Hazards, end of fairways, bunkers, and most other land marks are already in the GPS.

And that's fine. Just don't state your (and others') opinions and try to play it off as fact. Like I said, there is no single answer for the problem of finding distance.