SkyCaddie or PinSeeker?

[jb1982]

is it hard to use the sky caddie for mapping? i would assume it calculates the elevations.

It does not calculate elevation. But it gives you an accurate yardage to the green even though you can't see the flag.

It's pretty easy to map. You just stand at the front of the green, push the button, center, back etc. I actually didn't do front center back. I did the ridges in the greens. Like hole 4 on my course has three levels. I mapped the center of the three levels intstead of the front center and back.

[Lemay427]

hmmm. i would like to try sky caddie.

[Fourputt]

hmmm. i would like to try sky caddie.

Have you read the reviews on it in the review section of the main site here? I'd do that before I shelled out for one. There have been a lot of problems with accuracy reported by users. Things like 2 identical units side by side giving as much as 10 - 13 yards different readings. I'd do some more research if I was you. I did a lot of checking, on golf forums, review websites, manufacturer sites, etc., and after looking at all the pros and cons, I ended up with a rangefinder instead of a GPS even though I was leaning toward the GPS initally.

[iacas]

is it hard to use the sky caddie for mapping? i would assume it calculates the elevations.

It measures distances from point to point in three dimensions. A plane flying over a guy in a ship 500 feet below don't get the same GPS readings.

But pointing a laser range finder at a flag calculates distance the same way - a straight line point to point, with whatever 3D orientation you need to point the thing at the flag. If that includes an elevation change, so be it. You have to be aware of this when you're playing. Imagine a 200-yard par 3 (measured horizontally) with a 200-foot drop from tee to green. The SkyCaddie and range finder will both tell you it's 211 yards to the pin when, due to the downhill drop, it's probably playing more like 180. Uphill, it'd also say 211 but would play more like 235.

It would be interesting to see how the SkyCaddie would handle elevation.

As above.

1) I know that the Pinseeker /w slope are not legal for tourney play or for handicap calculations. So if the SkyCaddie did account for elevation change is it legal?

It does nothing different than laser range finders, so no. The Bushnell w/Slope actually told you the degree inclination/declination.

2) How does the SkyCaddie know up vs down? If the green is above me by say 20 yrds how is that any different in distance if it was below me by 20 yrds? In reality if your destination is 20 yrds above you, the shot would result in a lesser distance where as it would be the oposite if the destination was below you.

It doesn't. Again, see above.

[Lemay427]

i think ill just keep using the bushnell. i can normally get pretty close when figuring elevations using the bushnell.

[jb1982]

It measures distances from point to point in three dimensions. A plane flying over a guy in a ship 500 feet below don't get the same GPS readings.

That's very true. My course has back to back 195 yard par 3s. To the sky caddie they're the same. But one goes straight up the hill and the second back down. It's the difference between a 5 iron and a 9 iron for me. Uphill plays more like 220 and downhill like 150. But the sky caddie looks at them the same. If it did figure the difference I wouldn't be able to use it in tournaments though.

Still the reason I like it over a laser range finder is that you don't HAVE to be able to see the green. If you are hitting over trees or up a hill you still know the yardage straight to the green.

[Guest]

I don't think it is fair to say which you prefer unless you have tried both devices. I had a Nikon range finder for a long time. It disappeared after a trip to Hawaii so i decided to do some research on which i should purchase. After talking to some pro's at my local club i purchased the Skycaddie SG4 through Dick's Sporting Goods after going through Coupon Cabin (%15 discount). After using it for a couple of days I LOVE IT!! I don't think your going to find too many unhappy owners. I think a lot of the bad SG2s have been replaced and the bugs were probably taken out with the newest models. i didn't care to keep buying batteries so i opted for the SG4 over the SG3. SG4 has a memory card slot under the battery which can't be used for extra storage yet, but i contacted the company and they said when the next software upgrade comes out it will be functional. I haven't had the week signal or any of the other problems that people claim they have. Also it sits in the cup holder on the cart so i'm not drawing attention to myself. A lot of times i didn't bother with the rangefinder because it was annoying to always take it out and aim and so on. After owning both i think my next range finder will stay in my hunting back pack. They work great for some but i like my Skycaddie alot more than my old range finder. Hope that helps.

[gompers]

I don't have a sky caddie, but I do use intelligolf on my palm, coupled with a bluetooth GPS. I also have a pinseeker w/slope and the course I play most often has the fancy GPS in the cart that points out yardage to different hazards, as well as the pin, depending on if they have updated it accurately in the clubhouse that day.

Having used all three of those (at the same time), I find myself using the pinseeker for the vast majority of my ranging needs. I can routinely hit a limp flag from 300+ yards. I can usually hit my ball with it from 270 or so in (if I can see where it went), and it is the only thing of any use on the range. I still love intelligolf for scorekeeping, and keeping track of stats, but I seldom use the GPS feature. It does sometimes (rarely) come in handy, but being able to measure the distance to random, useful things (like the group in front of you .. though at the course with the GPS, it shows how far all the other carts are from yours, which is a really awesome feature, so long as everyone is riding) is something that GPS just can't match. Not to mention that most courses that I play don't have accurate GPS maps in either sky caddie or intelligolf. Sure I can make my own, but they still don't provide the same level of flexibility and (potentially) detail that the pinseeker does. The cart GPS is awesome for the most part, but I find myself barely ever looking at it when I've got the pinseeker out.

As far as accuracy, the GPS on the cart and my bluetooth one are usually within a yard of each other in terms of distance to landmarks and the front/back/middle of the green, once they settle down. The rangefinder is always within a yard or two of those as well. I have noticed that the pin location can be a good 5 yards different on the rangefinder than it is on the GPS, and the rangefinder is always more accurate.

Now I'm not good enough for most of this to make any difference at all to me, but until I started using a rangefinder, I only had very vague ideas of how far I hit my clubs. I'm now within a few yards on solid strikes (though I have far too many non-solid ones still).

To be honest, I think that either system is a great aid to golf, but I personally find the rangefinder more useful overall, and in the long run, probably the better value.

[hammer84]

I have both and I use the skycaddie 99% of the time on the course. I find myself using the laser for driving ranges that are not mapped.

Here are some thig I like about the sky caddie:

1)with the intelli green feature you can move the cross hair to a spot on the green and get a very acurate distance. I can also get a good reading if I miss the green wide or long and I'm way below the hole and cannot see the flag

2) at a glance I can see 4 different points and their distance

3) ease of use. I can hand it to my buddie as he tromps off after his ball and he can just read the to the green/flag reading. I don't how many times they try and use the laser and have an issue. It is not the laser's fault, just not as intuitive as big number on a screen.


You can't go wrong with either, IMHO, it is a personal preference.

[P3R3]

I love my Bushnell, it takes practice but it works well.

[mapa94]

The Sky Caddie SG2 was given to my as a Father's Day gift yesterday.
After charging it, registering online, I downloaded 9 of the courses in my area.
All of this was very simple and intuitive.

I have a range pass at a local golf course and went there yesterday to "mark" the range flags.
To my surprise, the range flag yardages were already in the Sky Caddie (I had downloaded the course). The yardage markers at the range are wrong (always a point of frustration) but the Sky Caddie was dead on.

I played Escena (Palm Springs) today with my sky caddie. I shot 5 strokes below my norm and my round took 30 minutes less than it usually does. I know how far I hit my clubs and the sky caddie gave me a lot of confidence. I knew exactly where I was and my course management was much better. The twosome I played with enjoyed having a Sky Caddie in the group too.

Its a pain to look around for a marked sprinkler and then walk off the distance. I'm sure Rangefinders are great too but the Sky Caddie did all of the work automatically (no pointing and shooting). For you scratch golfers who need to know exactly how far is is to the pin and not the center of the green, the rangefinder may be better. I did lose a signal once (I believe it was because I was near the radar at the Palm Springs airport). Other than that, it performed flawlessly.

Best Father's Day gift I ever received.

[lamebums]

I may have to get one of those SkyCaddies, then-- can't tell you how many times I've taken a blind shot at a green, not knowing where the pin is - and leaving myself an 80 foot putt.

[withdrew]

Just got my SG4 today. I will let you know how it goes, probably will take it out for a run this Saturday or on Monday!

[MGP]

I may have to get one of those SkyCaddies, then-- can't tell you how many times I've taken a blind shot at a green, not knowing where the pin is - and leaving myself an 80 foot putt.

You'll also know how far you

really hit those "300 yd. bombs"...

[hurley9192]

Just saw this thread...here are my thoughts:

I was all set to buy the SG4 SkyCaddie and then I played with a buddy that had the Bushnell Pinseeker 1500. I bought the Bushnell Pinseeker. Here's why...

1. My home course doesn't have blind shots, so every shot, I can get the yardages to multiple yardages.

2. You can get a yardage to the front of a bunker, the back, to the pin, a tree, I even will shoot players on the green to get a feel for where they are putting from, etc.

3. No subscription fees and long life

4. The new bushnell has a function that it can find the flag.

5. I can laser to balls that I've hit and find out the distance it flew as well.

6. It was cheaper than the SG4 and no subscription.

7. It works everywhere and you don't have to download anything or buy anything else.

If I played a course that had a bunch of blind shots, I'd probably go with the SkyCaddie. However, it's severly limited if you are standing in the fairway and want to see how far a tree is away, etc. The Slope edition is even better, but I got the Tourney edition because it's legal for tournament play. The Slope edition gives you the degree up or down your target is and the effective yardage.

[Jake2007]

I was wondering with the skycaddie do they have yardages for ranges if you download the course or would you have to walk out and map the greens on the range cause I don't really want to get hit with golf balls. I really need to figure out the distances to the flags at my course, which would probably be best with the pinseeker but I like the map and different yardages on the display of the skycaddie. Just wondering if anyone knew about skycaddies for dirving ranges.

[mapa94]

I was wondering with the skycaddie do they have yardages for ranges if you download the course or would you have to walk out and map the greens on the range cause I don't really want to get hit with golf balls. I really need to figure out the distances to the flags at my course, which would probably be best with the pinseeker but I like the map and different yardages on the display of the skycaddie. Just wondering if anyone knew about skycaddies for dirving ranges.

When you download a course with a Skycaddie, it does include the driving range information (i.e. distances to the flags). I thought I was going to have to "map" the driving range but the info was already there.

Hope this helps

[pitmet]

I purchased an sg4 about 4 months ago and have only been able to use it successfully a few times - it simply would not hold a satellite fix. After numerous email to the company I finally got an RMA and sent the unit back for repairs. I just recieved it back the other day and haven't had a chance to try it out yet so I cannot comment on the quality of the unit or the fix - I'm just hoping for the best. What I can comment on is the companies lack of customer support or seeming concern. They may be a good tech company and have some very talented people working for them but they have some very serious customer relations issues. I have no idea what was wrong with my unit or even if it has been corrected. They just sent it back with no info on what was done, what was wrong or squat. So as I said I just hope it works. I tested it outside my house which is about 10 miles from the course I regularly play and of course it gave me the 999 yds to the first flag - but at least I got a reading. Now I just have to wait for a warm day to take it to the course. But if it's not right I fear I'm in for some pain to get it corrected. It is great when it works though. I have both this and the Bushnell and prefer this when it works..