Voice Caddie SC300 review

[phatcatkev]

Question for those who have it...

I am considering buying but want to know if you have to have it directly behind you and in line with your target?

Example - when hitting at the range and the 100 flag is in the left center and the 130 is in the right center, would I need to move the device each time?

[cfmgolf]

Yes I would recommend moving it inline. It might pick up small changes, but nothing major.

[pacman777]

Novice golfer looking to get back into golf and get more consistent. Did a lot of research and watched youtube review videos on various sub-$500 launch monitors. Decided on the Swing Caddie SC300 and have used it 4 days so far at the driving range hitting about 60 balls each for my various clubs: Driver, 3Hyb, 6i to SW. Here's my experience and issues and would welcome input from other experience golfers as well as people who have used these types of sub-$500 launch monitors.

Background for context: I'm currently NOT consistent with my swing and ball striking where I'll have about 25% of my shots that get shanked, topped, bladed, hooked, sliced (insert whatever term indicating a bad shot) to various degrees. But I have the fundamental down where I'll pure a perfect shot about 25% of the time as well. The other 50% are decent mediocre shots.

Easy to set-up and use but it seems every time I have started with it, it gives me an error reading for at least the first 5 swings after turning it on. Accuracy: seems 1 out of 8 shots are no where close in terms of Apex and Carry distances as those are relatively observable by the eye.I input my club lies and lofts via the online app but not sure why this even matters. I'm not sure why this is necessary. Do these input numbers go into some overall algorithm or calculation to determine carry, spin and apex? If it's using doppler, why would I need to input the lie and loft of each club manually??? I'm wondering if the unit is programmed to have a bias to make the average carry/apex for each club to be in step with other clubs. I noticed after hitting through all my clubs, the average gap between the clubs is about 10 yards (plus or minus a few yards) which seems conveniently too perfect despite my inconsistency on hits.Still haven't figured out what the optimal placement of the unit is from the ball. It seems if I place it too close (3 feet), I was getting way too overexagerated swing speed numbers. I saw reviews that optimal placement for better accuracy might depend on club but haven't played around with moving it too much to experiment since I'm not consistent with my shots to keep that variable consistent.I also noticed all the positive and great reviews on this unit has some type of referral link encouraging you to buy it. Obviously I don't mind supporting people for their reviews but there's always a bias to give better than actual reviews if there is financial motive involved... Interested in what others who bought this have to say.

 

[Hellstorm]

I've been using mine pretty regularly for a few months now. I'm not the most consistent hitter either, so I've learned to use my phone and delete the bad shots out as soon as I hit them. I dont pretend to know exactly how it all works, but I think it only dopplers the first couple of yards from the device. The iron lofts being accurate helps you get accurate launch angles and distances. I'm guessing most of the numbers are calculated so the more accurate the club data, the more accurate your shot data will be. That's also probably why some bad shots are calculated and are way off. If I blade a shot, it never reads that correctly. I did get a chance to compare the SC300 numbers to the Trackman and it was more accurate than I thought, especially on well struck shots. The spin numbers were all in the same ballpark as Trackman and with the driver, and the carry, launch angle and apex were close enough to mean something. The club head speed was almost exact.

If I had to guess, it is calculating everything based on ball speed, launch angle, and spin in the first few feet of flight. I do notice the apex goes up and down as I flight the ball higher and lower. The averages you see on the app should be stepped up and down for each club in a regular pattern....that is what you want. If I don't delete out the bad shots, my gaps get a little crazy. Today was a prime example.....I was hitting my PW with all kinds of shots, from half wedges to full, so I was well below on my average distance. I typically only hit odd or even clubs in a single range session.....so I had my 8 iron carry average at 161 and my PW at 132....which I know is not correct. I know from using it without those shots my PW average is like 139.

As far as placing it, I just put it 6 to 7 feet behind where I am hitting and as I move back behind the divots, I leave it sit. If I get too close, I will usually move where I am hitting.

At the end of the day, its not a $20,000 Trackman, but for the price, you can't beat it. I should probably use it more than I do, but on days my swing is not feeling it, i leave it in the box. I think the app could be better and I think i'd rather see the spin on the unit screen rather than swing speed. I think they will make improvements over time though.

[PunchOut]

I bought an SC300 in the spring, used it several times at a driving range and collected some stats.  (I have a recent Android and see Spin Rate.)  I consolidated the collected stats onto a cheat sheet that I carry with me when playing -- my yardage book, essentially.

Prior to this, I had been attending a pricey indoor range with fancy TrackMan equipment, from which I'd produce a similar cheat sheet, so I presumably had good info to compare to.  I have found that the SC300 compares pretty well, but has the advantage of collecting good wedge stats as the indoor/TrackMan range doesn't do so well with wedges because the ball tends to get hit above the screen.

My motivation for the Swing Caddie purchase was to cut down on my expenses, long-term, and the amount of travel time to/from the respective ranges.

Once my leagues got going, the SC300 sat idle in my bag all summer, but now I've got it out again.

I had the volume turned down while at the range during the spring so as to not disturb neighboring range people, but recently purchased Bluetooth earbuds (am I the last to do so?).  So these are great because I can now hear the yardage without disturbing anyone or having to look back at the SC300, but I also noticed yesterday that when when Carry distance for my driver exceeds 240 yards I hear a cheering crowd!  More of a crowd than current PGA events have...

[nitram]

@PunchOut

 

Great first post and welcome to wrx! 🍻

 

 I too use mine mostly for wedges and rarely anything more than an 8-iron. It's not a Trackman but once you get the feel for correctly setting it up you find it's decently accurate and a useful little tool.

[Abe21599]

On 10/5/2020 at 5:19 PM, nitram said:

@PunchOut

 

Great first post and welcome to wrx! 🍻

 

 I too use mine mostly for wedges and rarely anything more than an 8-iron. It's not a Trackman but once you get the feel for correctly setting it up you find it's decently accurate and a useful little tool.

why nothing above an 8i? 

[nitram]

I use the SC300 while hitting roughly 100 balls a day from 130 and in using 8-LW. Most of that is devoted to 40-120 using the PW-LW.

 

I've used the SC300 for all of my clubs and have found it to be pretty reliable to around  150 or so. Besides, I don't wanna go shagging balls past 150 either.

[Giboxx]

Hi, I have just purchased a second hand sc300 and after my first practice session I have synced the data to the app, problem is it has brought across all the data from the last user. Does anyone know of a way I can delete that data and start fresh? Factory reset? Cannot find any instructions on how to do this.

Thanks

Mike

[nitram]

Helluva good question and I'm sorry that I don't have the answer. Maybe reach out to Voice Caddie Tech Support?

[Yachtman]

I also have just purchased a used SC300 and am trying my best to figure it out and get the most out of it.  Am pretty tech savvy, so am probably pretty critical of it's shortfalls.  So... have a couple of questions.

 

• I have a few other hobbies and am an active member of a few forums as they are the BEST way of tapping off experienced users.  Is this the best forum for the SC300 and its associated smart phone app? 
•  
• What is the sense of labeling a club in "Club Settings" with a "Nick Name"?  How is Nick Name ever used?
• Is the "Lie Angle" used at all in any calculations?
• If I DELETE clubs out of the phone app, they don't seem to delete out of the SC300 club list.  Even though I see the list on the SC300 get updated when bluetooth is ON.  Any ideas there?
• Would love to download to Excel of some CSV file my club statistics from their website.  Anyone have that figured out?
•  

 

 

[YMark]

19 minutes ago, Yachtman said:

I also have just purchased a used SC300 and am trying my best to figure it out and get the most out of it.  Am pretty tech savvy, so am probably pretty critical of it's shortfalls.  So... have a couple of questions.

 

• I have a few other hobbies and am an active member of a few forums as they are the BEST way of tapping off experienced users.  Is this the best forum for the SC300 and its associated smart phone app? 
•  
• What is the sense of labeling a club in "Club Settings" with a "Nick Name"?  How is Nick Name ever used?
• Is the "Lie Angle" used at all in any calculations?
• If I DELETE clubs out of the phone app, they don't seem to delete out of the SC300 club list.  Even though I see the list on the SC300 get updated when bluetooth is ON.  Any ideas there?
• Would love to download to Excel of some CSV file my club statistics from their website.  Anyone have that figured out?
•  

 

 

Good questions @Yachtman and I'll be following for the answers. I have an additional one along the same lines of Nick Name. The SC300 remote has a button labeled "Hybrid", yet the app has no way to enter "Hybrid". The app has Ws (Woods), Us (Utility??), Is (irons) and wedges. I carry a 4H, but no way to link it to the Hybrid button on the remote.

[Jeff Ko]

I sometimes get readings showing a carry distance of 230 yes but swing speed of 88 mph.

Which one should I believe?

[Alan McGlaughlin]

My SC300 won't switch on. I've charged as per instructions. What can I do. Tx Alan in UK.

[Tedmartin]

Just purchased  sc300.

Only thing is the android  app. I can add clubs with  lie loft etc but can't delete  the generic ones   even though  there is the option it just fails.

Anybody else  having this issue  with new upgrade  on app?

[YMark]

3 hours ago, Tedmartin said:

Just purchased  sc300.

Only thing is the android  app. I can add clubs with  lie loft etc but can't delete  the generic ones   even though  there is the option it just fails.

Anybody else  having this issue  with new upgrade  on app?

 

The app sucks balls and with the latest upgrade about a week ago it went from bad to worse. Hopefully a fix will be out soon as the sync is all hosed up.

[Tedmartin]

On 3/3/2021 at 2:42 AM, YMark said:

 

The app sucks balls and with the latest upgrade about a week ago it went from bad to worse. Hopefully a fix will be out soon as the sync is all hosed up.

I emailed  them about the issues I was having . Mailed back promptly  they  will look at it and fix it.  App under maintenance  currently  so they  hopefully  are listening  to people  and their issues.  🤷

[nitram]

Looks like a new version of the app is up and running. I haven't tested it yet but it looks totally different.

[YMark]

11 hours ago, nitram said:

Looks like a new version of the app is up and running. I haven't tested it yet but it looks totally different.

 

It's still a POS, has issues syncing and wipes out data.  Post something to the developer in English and they reply in Chinese. Good luck with that. 

[Hellstorm]

On 1/21/2021 at 11:01 AM, Yachtman said:

I also have just purchased a used SC300 and am trying my best to figure it out and get the most out of it.  Am pretty tech savvy, so am probably pretty critical of it's shortfalls.  So... have a couple of questions.

 

• I have a few other hobbies and am an active member of a few forums as they are the BEST way of tapping off experienced users.  Is this the best forum for the SC300 and its associated smart phone app? 
•  
• What is the sense of labeling a club in "Club Settings" with a "Nick Name"?  How is Nick Name ever used?
• Is the "Lie Angle" used at all in any calculations?
• If I DELETE clubs out of the phone app, they don't seem to delete out of the SC300 club list.  Even though I see the list on the SC300 get updated when bluetooth is ON.  Any ideas there?
• Would love to download to Excel of some CSV file my club statistics from their website.  Anyone have that figured out?
•  

 

 

I use the nickname a little bit.....mostly for different shots with each club.  I have knock down PW and PW.  If I am practicing a knock down shot, it wont effect my full swing yardage data.  I also do the same with like half SW and half GW.  I also use nicknames for my daughter if she hits balls using it....so it would be her name and club.  It really doesn't change much on the screen, but when you look at the stats on your phone it will sort them all out.

 

I haven't really messed with putting anything in Excel from it.  I thought i heard something about that coming in the future but I haven't tried it yet.  

[PunchOut]

Frustrated with the lack of directional stats with this device (and another lesser device), I sprang for a SkyTrak last fall.  Due to all the overwhelming demand for golf supplies during the height of the pandemic, they forewarned a 10-12-week lead time.  While waiting, I ruptured my left distal bicep tendon doing something stupid, the SkyTrak arrived sooner than expected, and I ultimately recovered from the surgery.  I already owned a net and mats, situated in my 2-car garage.  Adding the SkyTrak was simple; I soon decided to add a low-price 32" TV to attach to my laptop to get a better view of the simulation.  Now I focus more on direction than distance, just 1 or 2 clubs per day, and only about 10 swings per club per day (given my rate of recovery).
It seemed like an extravagance when I made the purchase, but I'm getting such good feedback that I'm now glad I did it and can't go back.  I'm saving time and money by seldom going to a driving range now, opting instead to combine what I'm doing with the SkyTrak with short-game practice (@ no cost) at my member club.  And I doubt if I'll ever feel a need to go back to that pricey indoor TrackMan place I mentioned in a previous post on this thread (the pandemic helped to wean me from that place, though they did a nice job regripping my clubs while my arm was in a cast).
The injury has forced me to focus more on a slower swing with a greater arc/follow-through.  I've been helped by studying Paul Wilson's "The Body Swing" videos.
I guess time will tell whether this new approach will yield better scores; my leagues start this week.  With what few rounds I've played so far, my approach shots seem improved already.

[North Butte]

Does anyone know for certain what it actually measures?

 

Obviously ball speed but does it really measure spin or is that a computed estimate? Does it really measure launch angle or is that a computed estimate?

 

And how far downrange does it track the ball? Can it measure the height at peak and the actual distance? Or is it calculating that based on initial launch measurements?

[RisingGolfer]

I need advice…. My cell phone battery died during the firmware update of my SC300.  Now it won’t turn on.  Does anyone know how to get my SC300 started again?   Is there a combo of buttons to hit to reset it?  I have attempted to contact the company repeatedly.  Unfortunately, they do not support their product.  I have not received a return email or voice mail for over a month….  Super frustrating!   I would be grateful for any advice.  Thanks in advance.

[YMark]

5 hours ago, RisingGolfer said:

I need advice…. My cell phone battery died during the firmware update of my SC300.  Now it won’t turn on.  Does anyone know how to get my SC300 started again?   Is there a combo of buttons to hit to reset it?  I have attempted to contact the company repeatedly.  Unfortunately, they do not support their product.  I have not received a return email or voice mail for over a month….  Super frustrating!   I would be grateful for any advice.  Thanks in advance.

I'm sorry I don't have any help, but this is just another reason I returned my SC300.  A terrible app interface and ZERO customer support. I strongly advise anyone to not do business with this company. Absolutely worthless.

[bekgolf]

Some mixed reviews in this thread.

 

I noticed that Costco has these for $399. 

 

Has anyone who initially liked the SC300 changed their mind or vice versa?

[YMark]

4 hours ago, bekgolf said:

Some mixed reviews in this thread.

 

I noticed that Costco has these for $399. 

 

Has anyone who initially liked the SC300 changed their mind or vice versa?

 

I liked mine initially and the more I used it the more I hated it. The piece of hardware itself isn't terrible, but it's not without issues. Missing shots and coming up with some bizarre numbers. But the biggest problem is with the app. It is literally worthless. And without the app, the monitor doesn't have a whole lot of value as you can't review data. And lastly, there is ZERO support from the Chinese app developer or the hardware developer.

 

Side note: I got an email from these clowns today that said they're coming out with an updated model the SC300i. No idea what the update is as I'm not interested and told them so in a reply email. My suggestion is to avoid, but at least Costco has a great return policy.

[Deadpool_25]

I wish I'd seen this thread earlier.  I bought an SC300i today.  When I got home, fired up the app, then tried to update the firmware like it suggested, the app said "update failed' and now the SC300i is stuck on 54% and won't turn on so there's no way to continue or restart the update.  Wonderful.  I just sent a message to them. Hopefully I hear back soon.

 

On 8/4/2021 at 4:43 AM, RisingGolfer said:

I need advice…. My cell phone battery died during the firmware update of my SC300.  Now it won’t turn on.  Does anyone know how to get my SC300 started again?   Is there a combo of buttons to hit to reset it?  I have attempted to contact the company repeatedly.  Unfortunately, they do not support their product.  I have not received a return email or voice mail for over a month….  Super frustrating!   I would be grateful for any advice.  Thanks in advance.

 

Great question. If there's a button combination, I sure can't figure it out.