GPS Golf Guru - Any thoughts on this?

[go-rebels]

I just bought a Guru and should see it in a day or so.

 

Two Questions:

 

1) Does the newest version of software now allow users to edit downloaded courses?

 

2) Has anyone hung a unit to the outside of a carry bag? I don't want to carry it in my pocket, nor place it within the bag out-of-site. I'm thinking of epoxying a metal towel hanger to the back side of the Guru, then hooking it to the bag where I currently hang my towel. I just don't want the epoxy bond to fail, then I lose the Guru!

[rcncgolf]

software version 1.12 allows editing download courses (adding add'l targets) :friends:

[GoToTheJoe]

I bought a belt clip for my Guru and have attached it to my Umbrella (through the loop at the handle) so it hangs off of there. I have a Clicgear cart so I have just started to attach the clip through the elastic scorecard holder. This works great since the unit is right in front of me at all times.

 

When this comes out in Nov, it looks like a great option

http://www.tgw.com/customer/category/produ...TEGORY_ID=11083

[rcncgolf]

Available now!

 

http://www.edwinwattsgolf.com/golf-equipme...te=slisystemsSC

[larryinharlem]

I just bought a Guru and should see it in a day or so.

 

Two Questions:

 

1) Does the newest version of software now allow users to edit downloaded courses?

 

2) Has anyone hung a unit to the outside of a carry bag? I don't want to carry it in my pocket, nor place it within the bag out-of-site. I'm thinking of epoxying a metal towel hanger to the back side of the Guru, then hooking it to the bag where I currently hang my towel. I just don't want the epoxy bond to fail, then I lose the Guru!

 

1. Yes.

 

2. The Guru fits perfect in a Palm Treo 600 case with clip. I removed the clear plastic face on the case and placed a face protector on the Guru (you can get the protectors from Walmart). With a carry bag, you can clip the Guru to the towel or umbrella ring. On a pull cart or powered cart, I attach my guru to the golf bag strap. The clip is sturdy and keeps the Guru secure. To and from the course the Guru is on my belt.

[GoToTheJoe]

Available now!

 

http://www.edwinwattsgolf.com/golf-equipme...te=slisystemsSC

 

Nice find! Thanks!!

[puckcoach3]

Here's a case that hooks great to a golf bag. I picked it up at the local Target for $10. Has a hook to attach to loop on bag as well as a belt clip. Guru fits perfectly and doesn't affect reception.

 

http://www.golfballs.com/PM2301/Callaway-G...Phone-Case.html

[larryinharlem]

Here's a case that hooks great to a golf bag. I picked it up at the local Target for $10. Has a hook to attach to loop on bag as well as a belt clip. Guru fits perfectly and doesn't affect reception.

 

http://www.golfballs.com/PM2301/Callaway-G...Phone-Case.html

 

 

I guess it is okay if you don't mind taking the Guru out of the case everytime you need a distance. I prefer a case that fits like a glove with clear/open face... like this: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000KNZ5MA

[go-rebels]

This is the case that Guru will be selling on their site for $25 (it is currently not showing on their web site):

 

http://store.shopalmostfree.com/Items/1113...%20Pouch%20Clip

 

I ordered one from the above vendor and will let y'all know how it fits on my Ping carry bag.

[dtbear]

I purchased this case at Bestbuy for $8.00

[Cuda Kota]

Just adding my 2 ceents.....

 

I e-mailed their support addy & received a response within MINUTES (76 to be exact)!! I love these guys - or gals in the case of Amanda. :)

 

To address the number of courses mapped, here's their response to my e-mail below that:

 

 

 

Mr. Loukota,

 

 

 

Hi! Thank you for noticing our product and for you kind words! Your answers are below.

 

 

 

1. We actually do not charge for any mapping requests! You may request whatever you feel needs to get mapped. If we do not have a course on our list yet that our customers want, we are more than happy to map it and get it added. Upon purchasing the Guru, customers can login to our website with a username and password and request course maps to be created. All map requests are free, and map downloads are free as well.

 

 

As long as our mapping teams have a scorecard, course layout, and clear satellite imagery, the course can be mapped! The scorecard and layout are obtained typically through the facility’s website, or by our mapping manager contacting them via phone and having them fax/email us the information.

 

 

Our new software release also allows you to edit pre-mapped downloaded courses to add targets, and measure in meters as well as yards.

 

 

 

 

• You can purchase the extended warranty through us if you order from eBay. What you see on eBay is actually our company posting a few up there each day. After the purchase, you have 60 days to still purchase the extended warranty.
  

 

 

 

Please let me know if you have any other questions. We are here to help!

 

 

 

Amanda

 

GPS Golf Guru Support

 

[email protected]

 

 

 

 

 

From: Joe Loukota [mailto:[email protected]]

Sent: Monday, June 02, 2008 12:41 PM

To: [email protected]

Subject: Additional mapped courses

 

 

I have been a SkyCaddie diehard for a couple of years now, and was looking into purchasing a GolfLogix, but reading about your product on www.golfwrx.com piqued my interest. There is nothing better than “word of mouth” advertising and I haven’t noticed any discouraging comments from users of your units. Also, you answered my question about “intelligreen” and how your unit rotates the F/C/B markers around the green to show distance from any point on the hole. Your response was almost immediate, so I just have a couple of more questions before pulling the trigger on this purchase:

 

 

· I play 3-4 courses (in Indiana) on a rotating basis quite regularly, plus travel to Florida and play a rotation of 6 courses. One of my courses in Indiana is already mapped (Greenfield CC) but the other 3 are not. I know that I can request 1 new course to be mapped – with a very quick turn-around – but are additional mapped courses not in your database charged a fee? I don’t mind paying a little extra, so don’t sweat it.

 

· I would like to purchase an extended warranty. If I purchase a new unit off eBay, can I register it through you & purchase the extended warranty, or is that option only available for purchases through your company?

 

 

Thanks for the great customer service!! Having unanswered e-mails & phone calls from other companies (SkyCaddie) became frustrating – it’s the best way to hold current customers & gain new ones.

 

 

 

 

I tell you what.....consider me a convert & a new customer!! :)

 

Cuda Kota

[puckcoach3]

Here's a case that hooks great to a golf bag. I picked it up at the local Target for $10. Has a hook to attach to loop on bag as well as a belt clip. Guru fits perfectly and doesn't affect reception.

 

http://www.golfballs.com/PM2301/Callaway-G...Phone-Case.html

 

 

I guess it is okay if you don't mind taking the Guru out of the case everytime you need a distance. I prefer a case that fits like a glove with clear/open face... like this: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000KNZ5MA

 

I agree that it's nice to be able to see the front of the unit but I don't see how the "amazon" case actually hooks to your bag ???

[puckcoach3]

Here's some G2 about the Guru you may not know. I ordered mine without the A/C charger (only the USB charger). Kinda a pain to have the Guru hanging off of my notebook. I noticed that the input for the Guru is the mini-USB port. I have a Garmin Nuvi 360 that came w/an A/C charger. It has the mini-USB for their charger. I emailed the vaunted customer support folks at Golf Guru twice to see if it was OK to use the Garmin charger (I supplied them with the specs of the charger). I was disappointed that I didn't get a response either time.

 

I needed to charge my Guru and said "screw it". If I fry it, I have a 90 day satisfaction guaranteed policy, I'll just send it back. Well, it charged up great. Yea !! Beats having another charger to keep track of !

[phil75070]

I have been using a USB-mini USB cable that came with my Motorola Blue tooth headset to charge the unit, no problem.

[puckcoach3]

I have been using a USB-mini USB cable that came with my Motorola Blue tooth headset to charge the unit, no problem. However, I continue to have problems with their upgraded software. It has destroyed two courses I self mapped, they have yet to convert the uploads I did of them so they can be downloaded, and I tried mapping my home course again this morning only to have the unit crash when I tried to save the course (after almost 2 1/2 hours of mapping!). I am about ready to sh!t can this thing! I think their customer service is so tired of hearing from me they no longer respond!

 

Dude,

 

If I were you, I'd stop self-mapping until I saw evidence that the software is no longer buggy. Why would you continue to waste your time debugging their software ?? I assume that your course is already mapped by them and if not, put in a request -- they were quite quick about mapping requested courses and for me, they do a great job with all of the obstacles I'm worried about. Outside of mapping the practice ranges, I can't see mapping anything else on any of the courses I play. Not sure what all of the fuss is about the self-mapping feature. Anyone else feel that this feature is all that important ?? It's certainly not going to make me want to sh!t can my Guru if they don't get it working any time soon.

 

Go play golf and stop worrying about esoteric features that aren't going to make you play any better ... Geesh :)

[phil75070]

I have been using a USB-mini USB cable that came with my Motorola Blue tooth headset to charge the unit, no problem. However, I continue to have problems with their upgraded software. It has destroyed two courses I self mapped, they have yet to convert the uploads I did of them so they can be downloaded, and I tried mapping my home course again this morning only to have the unit crash when I tried to save the course (after almost 2 1/2 hours of mapping!). I am about ready to sh!t can this thing! I think their customer service is so tired of hearing from me they no longer respond!

 

Dude,

 

If I were you, I'd stop self-mapping until I saw evidence that the software is no longer buggy. Why would you continue to waste your time debugging their software ?? I assume that your course is already mapped by them and if not, put in a request -- they were quite quick about mapping requested courses and for me, they do a great job with all of the obstacles I'm worried about. Outside of mapping the practice ranges, I can't see mapping anything else on any of the courses I play. Not sure what all of the fuss is about the self-mapping feature. Anyone else feel that this feature is all that important ?? It's certainly not going to make me want to sh!t can my Guru if they don't get it working any time soon.

 

Go play golf and stop worrying about esoteric features that aren't going to make you play any better ... Geesh :)

 

Yes, my home course is mapped by them. The problem is they use aerial photos and satellite images which are not up-to-date and don't capture how the greens currently are configured after a major renovation. (BTW, the people from SkyGolf were out recently to remap the course in person as they do.) Secondly, the green orientation to the fairway is all screwed up on several holes. Greens that run from bottom right to top left on the course are reversed on the unit. With the way the intermediate targets are marked, it is hard to tell what target they are referring to in some cases. When a feature, such as a cross bunker, runs on a slant, unless you mark it yourself there is no way to know exactly what point the person who mapped the course considers the "to" point and what they consider the "clear" point. Some targets only have one or the other when both measurements would be useful. There are major features and targets that their mapping left out.

 

What is wrong with trying to use the unit the way it is claimed to and advertised to work? With each software update they claim their previous problems are fixed. How can this be verified unless one attempts to use it?

 

Oh, and as for them mapping courses upon request. I did that for a sister course that has 27 holes and always played in a specific 0rder (1-18, 10-27, 19-9) and they screwed up one of the nines such that only six holes can be played on that nine. That means two of the three 18 hole courses are messed up and the unit cannot be used for the entire round (6 holes on one, 15 on the other).

[Gozz]

Like Phil I have had my problems with the recent software upgrade. While I am still very happy with my Guru they need to get the software issues straighten out ASAP. Right now when I try to load a course to play it loads the course that is listed 2 courses below the one I want. Therefore, it will not load the bottom 2 courses on my list. I also lost one self mapped course and one driving range that I mapped.

 

As far as self mapping vs. satellite map courses go this is my take. When you self map a course you know exactly where the carry points are marked. The sand traps at my home course have 5-8 feet of grass around them that is mounded back towards the sand. If you do not carry that mound your ball will round back into the sand. I use several trees on my course for reference points and none of them are marked on the Guru map. Golf Guru does a great job mapping a course but if you can customize it to your distances you can tell a difference and you can only do that if you have played a course and know what you need mapped.

 

In the words of Mel Gibson in the movie Ransom, GIVE ME BACK MY COURSES! :)

[phil75070]

Right now when I try to load a course to play it loads the course that is listed 2 courses below the one I want. Therefore, it will not load the bottom 2 courses on my list. I also lost one self mapped course and one driving range that I mapped.

 

I had a similar problem except that it loaded the next course, not two courses down. I went into file management and deleted the corrupted remnants of the course I had mapped myself and that problem went away.

[Gozz]

Right now when I try to load a course to play it loads the course that is listed 2 courses below the one I want. Therefore, it will not load the bottom 2 courses on my list. I also lost one self mapped course and one driving range that I mapped.

 

I had a similar problem except that it loaded the next course, not two courses down. I went into file management and deleted the corrupted remnants of the course I had mapped myself and that problem went away.

 

Thanks, I will give that a try.

 

Update: Your suggestion worked, thanks.

[GoToTheJoe]

Not sure what all of the fuss is about the self-mapping feature. Anyone else feel that this feature is all that important ??

 

I am not as worried about the self mapping feature at the present time but more about what it will mean down the line. I think I had read that the plan is to eventually allow self mapped courses to be downloaded by other players? This would be huge since it would expand the available courses dramatically. So from that perspective, I think it is a very important feature.

[puckcoach3]

Not sure what all of the fuss is about the self-mapping feature. Anyone else feel that this feature is all that important ??

 

I am not as worried about the self mapping feature at the present time but more about what it will mean down the line. I think I had read that the plan is to eventually allow self mapped courses to be downloaded by other players? This would be huge since it would expand the available courses dramatically. So from that perspective, I think it is a very important feature.

 

 

I'm kinda with you about the ability for users to upload courses but not really. If you can request a course be mapped and it will be done within a week, why on earth would you want to spend 3 hours walking around a course mapping it yourself ?? It's nice to have some extra obstacles (trees, lay up spots, etc) but in reality, the obstacles they map (traps, water, etc) are sufficient for 99% of your round. I actually still carry my bushnell and if I may pull it out once/round to measure distance to a tree or a pin that it's not quite clear of where it's location is. In the end, golf is a game and if you have all of the answers, it's just not as fun ...

[phil75070]

Not sure what all of the fuss is about the self-mapping feature. Anyone else feel that this feature is all that important ??

 

I am not as worried about the self mapping feature at the present time but more about what it will mean down the line. I think I had read that the plan is to eventually allow self mapped courses to be downloaded by other players? This would be huge since it would expand the available courses dramatically. So from that perspective, I think it is a very important feature.

 

 

I'm kinda with you about the ability for users to upload courses but not really. If you can request a course be mapped and it will be done within a week, why on earth would you want to spend 3 hours walking around a course mapping it yourself ?? It's nice to have some extra obstacles (trees, lay up spots, etc) but in reality, the obstacles they map (traps, water, etc) are sufficient for 99% of your round. I actually still carry my bushnell and if I may pull it out once/round to measure distance to a tree or a pin that it's not quite clear of where it's location is. In the end, golf is a game and if you have all of the answers, it's just not as fun ...

 

Like I said earlier, if you saw how poorly some of their "professionally mapped" courses turn out using outdated aerial photos or satellite imagery, you wouldn't wonder why self mapping is so important. I only do it for my home course where probably 90% of my rounds are played. When the greens are the wrong shape, wrong orientation, when you can't identify what "target" they are trying to refer to, it gets pretty useless to try playing using their "map".

[GoToTheJoe]

I'm kinda with you about the ability for users to upload courses but not really. If you can request a course be mapped and it will be done within a week, why on earth would you want to spend 3 hours walking around a course mapping it yourself ?? It's nice to have some extra obstacles (trees, lay up spots, etc) but in reality, the obstacles they map (traps, water, etc) are sufficient for 99% of your round. I actually still carry my bushnell and if I may pull it out once/round to measure distance to a tree or a pin that it's not quite clear of where it's location is. In the end, golf is a game and if you have all of the answers, it's just not as fun ...

 

Just speaking for me, a lot of my rounds are not planned over a week in advance. It's based on where I can get a good tee time which may happen just a couple of days before I play. The folks at Golf Guru have been great at getting courses to me within a few days but I don't feel right always saying that I need it within a week. There are a lot of people that have been waiting many weeks for a course and jumping in front of them isn't right unless absolutely necessary. Now with that being said, if regular users who liked to map courses were out there doing this and they could be used by everybody, then that takes the pressure off the mappers and makes it so I can just find what I need without having to make a request. The one good thing about a Sky Caddie is the amount of courses and the detail but you pay $50 a year for that. Allowing user generated courses to be downloaded might close that gap.

[puckcoach3]

I'm kinda with you about the ability for users to upload courses but not really. If you can request a course be mapped and it will be done within a week, why on earth would you want to spend 3 hours walking around a course mapping it yourself ?? It's nice to have some extra obstacles (trees, lay up spots, etc) but in reality, the obstacles they map (traps, water, etc) are sufficient for 99% of your round. I actually still carry my bushnell and if I may pull it out once/round to measure distance to a tree or a pin that it's not quite clear of where it's location is. In the end, golf is a game and if you have all of the answers, it's just not as fun ...

 

Just speaking for me, a lot of my rounds are not planned over a week in advance. It's based on where I can get a good tee time which may happen just a couple of days before I play. The folks at Golf Guru have been great at getting courses to me within a few days but I don't feel right always saying that I need it within a week. There are a lot of people that have been waiting many weeks for a course and jumping in front of them isn't right unless absolutely necessary. Now with that being said, if regular users who liked to map courses were out there doing this and they could be used by everybody, then that takes the pressure off the mappers and makes it so I can just find what I need without having to make a request. The one good thing about a Sky Caddie is the amount of courses and the detail but you pay $50 a year for that. Allowing user generated courses to be downloaded might close that gap.

 

You guys are funny. You make it sound like you can't play golf without your Guru. It's nice to have but by no means a necessity for every round. We all played plenty of golf simply "back in the day" using sprinkler heads and our eyes. Heck, I'm 46 and played plenty of golf without any markings on sprinkler heads. Remember the days with just a 150 marker (maybe even a rock or something benign looking) ?? I wish golf scores have dropped in proportion to the amount of technology available to us. Geeesh, with all of the Sky Caddies, range finders, etc out there, I wish round times would drop, even a little bit ...

 

:)

[phil75070]

Geeesh, with all of the Sky Caddies, range finders, etc out there, I wish round times would drop, even a little bit ...

 

:)

 

Three of us using GPS devices, one using a rangefinder, typically first off the tee on weekends, 3 hours 30 to 3 hours 50 minutes max. Depends on how much wind and how long the maintenance people leave the rough (often worse than US Open length just off the fairway, no exaggeration). Course "standard" target is 4 hours 20 minutes.

[phil75070]

Remember the days with just a 150 marker (maybe even a rock or something benign looking) ??

 

:)

I remember those days, too, but the course designs were nothing like todays "modern" courses. Distances weren't as critical as there were few forced carries over greenside bunkers, water, waste areas, etc. If there were greenside bunkers they were left or right of the green and you could run the ball up onto the green. The course I play today has forced carries over waste high fescue, creeks or waste areas off the tee on at least six holes, and water (ponds and lakes) comes into play on another 9 of them. Having distances "to" and to "clear" those hazards and waste areas is much more critical than on the courses I used to play "back in the day", with 150 and maybe 200 yard stakes or bushes on either side of the fairway. Oh, and this course is supposed to be a "links" style course with most greens having openings in front to allow you to run the ball up, but they put so much water on the course that it is darn near impossible to do so with the soft, almost muddy conditions around the greens. Hit short and the ball stops; you have to carry the ball to the green, and then some of them use false fronts.

[reeves_]

I'm looking forward to the self mapping feature, at this point I will take you guys for your word that it doesn't work because I haven't actually tried or needed to use it yet.

 

Satellite mapping isn't ideal but for me is an acceptable compromise for no membership fee and all the other advantages the golf guru offers. All the courses I have asked to be mapped have been great. Of the 20-30 courses within my area, I'm aware of only one that can't be mapped because its a new course and is not on satellite images yet. Luckily, its a course I may only play once or twice a year. Maybe when self mapping is working someone in my area will map it and load it up...

 

Did you guys upload your self mapped courses as the directions for the update said to do? If so, then does this mean that once they translate the files, then you will have your maps back?

 

Aside from the frustration that self mapping isn't quite here yet, knowing that they are working on it, what is the source of the continued frustration? Did something more recent happen that soured you on Golf Guru? I guess since I haven't needed self mapping yet I really don't mind the wait as much, considering I have been so happy with everything else about the unit and company.

[phil75070]

Aside from the frustration that self mapping isn't quite here yet, knowing that they are working on it, what is the source of the continued frustration? Did something more recent happen that soured you on Golf Guru? I guess since I haven't needed self mapping yet I really don't mind the wait as much, considering I have been so happy with everything else about the unit and company.

 

They were fairly quick (not within their promised "7 days", though) to map a course I requested but the map was flawed in that only six holes on one of the nines "worked". I notified them of this, two months have gone by and it has not been fixed. This is a course I play about once per month. The course I play regularly was already mapped, but the greens have been updated (SkyGolf sent out their crew to redo the mapping in person) and are not reflected on Golf Guru's map, the green's orientation relative to the fairway is "off" in a number of cases, targets are hit and miss (some notable feature not mapped, others with only a "to" or a "clear" yardage when both would be meaningful,) targets mis-identified as far as their location (left, center, right) making it difficult in some cases to identify the target they are referring to. This is why the ability to modify downloaded courses (except you can't redo the greens), and the self mapping features (number of targets per hole, mapping the outline of the green) are highly desirable and are what sold me on this unit in the first place.

 

Their course library is still sparse by comparison to other manufacturers and the course search feature is flawed on their website. A search by city name or zip code returns different results. Their "course information" address, yardage, etc. is flawed in cases. Both of these problems were brought to their attention and neither has been fixed and it has been almost three months.

 

They tend to be "responsive" to the problems in that they get back to you quickly with apologies, but they have utterly failed to provide me the functionality that they advertise on their website despite assurances that each software update has fixed the problem.

 

The only positives I have found are that it is quick to acquire a sufficient number of satellites to be functional, and if one waits a couple of minutes for it to utilize WAAS it is more accurate than the SkyCaddie I have used for the last 4-5 years.

 

If you go back and look at my posts for the last few months, I was extremely "high" on this device and the company and recommended it to everyone. Maybe not everyone cares about modifying or mapping a course and they won't experience the problems and frustrations I did, but they should care about the accuracy of the courses they download and my experience has shown even they are flawed. They admitted to me that they had "outsourced" the mapping functionality and have had to pull it back in house. I have yet to see evidence that doing so has made a difference as errors I have pointed out remain unfixed.

[go-rebels]

Where can on find on their website detailed directions (pdf files) on how to map / edit courses?

[billyclyde]

I have had the same experience and frustration as phil75070. In response to puckcoach3 - isn't this the forum to discuss products - both good and bad. What is the benefit of responsive equipment if the information that it is operating with is unreliable. I assume their plan is to let users map courses with usefull detail, hence they really need to fix the software issues.