Sky Caddie SG5 vs Golf Guru Color

[PlaneMaker]

Witnessed the SG5 in action yesterday on the course and I have to admit in bright sunlight this thing is very easy to view. In fact the quality of the display is quiet impressive.

 

I have not seen the Guru in the color version yet so I cannot compare.

 

I was hoping that someone who has seen both side by side might be able to chime in.

 

The guys I play with were quite impressed with the fact that Sky Golf actually maps each course by walking them. So, how does the quality in course maps between Sky Golf and Guru compare?

[phil75070]

I have not seen the two side-by-side, but you can adjust the brightness on the Golf Guru. I don't know if the SG5 is adjustable. I do know I have no problem viewing the color GG in bright sunlight.

 

As far as maps, I have played the same course with both and found no appreciable difference. The GG uses aerial / satellite photos like just about everybody else and it will depend on how good those photos are, perhaps what time of year they were taken (end of one feature and beginning of another can be difficult to discern), etc. Therefore, I would give the nod to SkyGolf for initial map accuracy. That said, however, you are stuck with what they choose to map. With the Golf Guru you can hide targets you don't need thereby reducing screen clutter, or easily and quickly add additional targets that better suit your game. You can even remap the green(s) immediately if there have been any changes such as green renovation / replacement. This is something our course did over a three year period and it was about a year after all 18 had been completed before SkyGolf was out to remap the greens. Unless the newer units have changed, with SkyGolf any self mapping would be to map fixed front, center and back of greens for an entire course. There is no ability to modify a downloaded course.

 

"Marking" is limited to showing the distance for that shot with the SG5. With the Golf Guru you can also save the "location" (tee, fairway, rough, etc.) and club you hit for review later, after the round. With the Golf Guru you can also keep your own score and basic stats. Given that the Golf Guru is less expensive to start with and has no annual fee and it was an easy decision for me to switch to the Golf Gurur after 4-5 seasons using the SG2.

[Colorado Redhawk]

I recently "upgraded" from an Skycaddie SG4 to a Color Golf Guru. At the same time my golfing buddy went from the SG4 to the SG5. Off we went on a golf trip and played 5 different courses - comparing everything you can imagine. While the Golf Guru wins the sizzle factor, when it comes to what matters - the distance to your target - the SG5 won the day. Of the 5 courses we played, the Golf Guru was only accurate on one - but it was absolutely perfect. On the other courses, the Golf Guru: 1) didn't map the back nine on one, 2) Had completely inaccurate distances on every hole (as measured to course markings and the SG5 which was in perfect agreement, 3) must have had the holes confused - distances showed but were things like 450 to the center of a 160 yd par three, 4) had par wrong. Customer Service advised me that there must be a mapping problem - which I believe to be the problem. The problem for me is that I need the GPS most when playing a new or unfamiliar course and the Color Golf Guru was worthless - worse that worthless because I spent time while playing trying to figure out if I could fix things. I sent it back yesterday for a refund.

 

My buddy is thrilled with his SG5 - no loss of signal problems or re-setting the GPS like the SG4. It locked on to the signal quickly as well.

 

While I loved the Golf Guru features and form factor - you have to ask yourself why you're buying the unit. For me it's accurate distances. If you can't rely on the course mappings then it is a waste to own it. I have no doubt that mapping via aerial/satellite can be great (proven on the one course I played), it must depend heavily on factors that cannot be easily controlled. Perhaps it's human error or just sloppy work in general as they try to quickly add courses to their library. For this reason I'm going back to SkyCaddie with the SG5 or a new unit (if they come out with one soon). Their customer service sucks and the company will never admit they have a problem, but for me their feet on the gound mapping courses that I can rely on wins...

[bradbuff]

You have chosen wisely.

[phil75070]

To get started with a number of courses, Golf Guru bought a course database from somebody and also were outsourcing their mapping of courses to start with. The quality of the courses they bought and the quality of the mapping were unsatisfactory. Maybe they can go back and indentify which courses they were and purge them from theoir system and redo them.