Golf Product Review

The SkyCaddie is a small handheld device that gives you your exact position based on modern satellite technology called GPS or global positioning system. For a Golfer this means that this device can tell you exactly how many yards you have to the front, center and back of the green - from any spot on the fairway. You just pick your club for this particular distance and hit it, that's it - more on this below.
  
The SkyCaddie comes with on online database of over 11,000 courses (and rising daily), most of which are in the continental USA. All you need to do is register your new gadget online (costs $29.95 per year), search for your course and download it onto the device. You're ready to go.
  
What if my course is not on the list?
 
I live in a location outside North America, so I figured this may be a problem. Only one course I normally play is listed, but all others I play were not. We tested the SkyCaddie SG2, so fortunately this is not an issue as I can easily add new course info myself: first I need to give the new course entry a name (otherwise it's just 'MYCOURSE 1' for my first entry). Then, while playing the course, I just have to stand still for 5 sec at the front, back and center of each green and press a button, that's it. I do that for all 18 greens and, tadaaa, I have a new course programmed, ready for my next game. In addition it is also possible to add info about hazards like bunkers as well.
  
You could do easily the same in case your course is not one of the over 11,000+ already available. If you want to be a nice person you can upload the data into the main SkyCaddie database, so other players can use it, too. I've been doing this, so my buddies don't have to input the info manually (I'm such a nice guy...). By the way, if you share your info by uploading it you can easily recover your courses in case you loose your SkyCaddie - another bonus for sharing your info.
  
So, is it useful or not?
 
In my eyes the main advantage of using the SkyCaddie comes when playing within 150 yards or so from the pin. Most courses just show markers for 100 yards and 50 yards, and it takes some guesswork to pick the right club and swing tempo. It causes quite some uncertainty if you don't know whether your are 95 or 80 yards from the hole, especially on a broad fairway. The SkyCaddie give you the required info down to the yard, so you can pick the correct iron or wedge and get the ball close to the pin. This has helped me to shave at least a few strokes of my game, and it gets better every round as I get to know my irons more precisely.
  
There is also no delay in the game, you just walk to your ball, look at the SkyCaddie display and hit the ball. No more time wasting by guessing the distance and which club to use. There is also no line of sight required as compared to 'old fashioned' laser range finders.
  
Choices, choices - which one should I get?
 
Which model to choose: there are four models, namely SG1 to SG4. SG1 was the first (I'm sure you guessed that) but was soon superseded because of some power consumption problems. The SkyCaddie SG2 model remains to be well sought after, and it's price just got reduced from about $350 to about $280. This is a very user friendly and compact model and has everything you could possibly want, so that's the model we went for in our test. There is also the SG3 at $300 as well as the SG4 for about $350 which we found overpriced. We think the extra features are not worth the additional money, so our recommendations are with the SG2 or SG3, depending which design you like more. The SG2 has the antenna sticking out but is overall smaller than the SG3. I personally like the smaller size of the SkyCaddie SG2, but that's just me. I've put some pictures below for you to compare.
  
Likes: The SkyCaddie is easy to use and a reliable source of info for a better game. The SkyCaddie can be used on any course in the world, all you need to do is add the data yourself - an easy process as outlined above. It also conforms to the new USGA rulings.
  
Dislikes: The earlier versions were battery hungry, but the current ones are better, so no dislikes any more.

Some additional info on the individual models
 
Please click the pictures for more details:
 
SkyCaddie SG1 : The SG1 is ideal for the Occasional Golfer who prefers the simplicity of having the distance to the green from anywhere on the hole.It’s based on the same advanced SG2 technology and thus enjoys the same accuracy and reliability of the SG2, but without some of its more advanced features.
 

 

 

 

 
SkyCaddie SG2 : The SkyCaddie SG2, powered by SkyGolf's advanced SG2 technology, gives you the same information that a Pro would receive from a top PGA TOUR Caddie all in the palm of your hand. The SkyCaddie was chosen by the PGA Learning Center and is the FIRST electronic measuring device approved for use during the Adams Golf Tight Lies Tour! With the SkyCaddie s powerful GPS auto-targeting, you'll get the absolute best course and distance information at your fingertips in seconds, anytime and anywhere on the golf course. And you don't need a clear line of sight or reflective targets the SkyCaddie measures over hills and around obstacles. It calculates yardages up to 40 targets per hole in less than a second, automatically! No aiming, no missing.
 

 
SkyCaddie SG3 : The SkyCaddie SG3 is the ideal product for Traveling Golfers, thanks to its durable shell and two AA batteries which eliminate the need for carrying chargers and cables while traveling. The SG3 is fully-featured and has a large, grayscale screen which displays distances to the green from anywhere on the course, as well as all targets and hazards on each fairway in large numbers. The SG3 includes the same advanced features of the SG2, including SkyGolf s patented IntelliGreen technology enabling golfers to measure the full depth of the green from any angle of approach, both on or off the fairway.
  

 

 
SkyCaddie SG4 : The SkyCaddie SG4 is for Avid Golfers who require a SkyCaddie with advanced features, a larger display and a long-lasting rechargeable battery. The SG4 includes SkyGolf s patented IntelliGreen technology enabling golfers to measure the full depth of the green from any angle of approach and shows distances for all targets and hazards on any of SkyGolf s 11,000 professionally mapped courses.
  

 

 

 
SkyCaddie SG5 : The SG5 is for golfers who want a SkyCaddie with advanced features, a large color display and a long-lasting rechargeable battery. SkyGolf's advanced GPS technology is integrated with the very best Swiss engineering to provide unmatched reliability. The SG5 includes SkyGolf's patented IntelliGreen technology, enabling golfers to measure the full depth and shape of the green from any angle of approach and shows distances for all targets and hazards on any of SkyGolf's many thousands of professionally mapped courses. Its vibrant color display features automatic backlighting to ensure easy readability indoors and outdoors.
  

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Frank,
I agree that the SG4 is a bit pricy, but since I've got mine I don't know how I ever could play without it. I love it and it has cut at least 8 strokes per round off my game, sometimes even more. This is not a toy, it's a performance enhancer!
Brad (email on file)

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.
Tim (email on file)

I purchased the SkyCaddie SG4 and i love it. It has helped me determine the best club to use. A couple of times it has taken a while to get the signal but I found out that, like the instructions suggest, i needed to turn it on 10 minutes before starting to golf. If it doesn't find and aquire a signal during my warm-ups, I found that staying in one area for that 10 minutes does the trick. I love my SkyCaddie.
tim d (email on file)

Just purchased the 2.5 model, it had every thing that suited my needs. Initialy could not register, had to call sky caddie tech support(they where excellent) Unit up and running works like a charm. Definetly helps with all yardage situations.
doug weland (email on file)

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