GPS Golf Guru - Any thoughts on this?

[Matt Tam]

Just placed an order for the original guru, can't wait!

[Greg77]

Received the below Email from Golf Guru. Looks like a nice improvement to their website functionality. Looks like they still have some issues with USHandicap.com however.

 

"Guru Notice Date: June 23, 2009

Subject: Website Enhancements and Guru 4 Release Reminder

 

GPS Golf Guru has recently made changes to the member area of the website to present more of the scoring and statistical information which all Guru owners can input to their Guru while playing a round of golf. While the scores have been posted for some time, you can now see your stats information too. For those of you that use the scorecard and stats features while playing golf, this information can now be uploaded to your member account anytime you perform a sync operation utilizing the Golf Guru utility software.

 

In addition to uploading your scores and stats to your member account, you can just as easily download this information back to your PC. By using the “CSV” icon in the top right of your “My Rounds” page view, you can download each scorecard into a Microsoft Excel, CSV format. This will allow you to build your own spreadsheets with raw data, and arrange it so that you may perform your own statistical analysis. Members may notice that additional stats have been added to the view under My Rounds. These stats are being added to the new Guru 4 Touch Screen model.

 

For those of you that have been inquiring about the ushandicap.com website, we can only say that we have tried every possible way to communicate the current problems we are experiencing with their website. Our servers attempt to upload scores and stats to their website on an regular and ongoing basis. Since May 23rd, we have not been able to transfer scores over to their website. Our frequent calls and emails have gone without any response. We cannot offer an explanation as to what is going on with the ushandicap.com website and their business, as we just don’t have any information at this time. We do not know if, or when our integration with the ushandicap.com website will resume. If we learn of any news, we will update our Guru members.

 

Our website will be evolving rapidly over the next few weeks to enable the integration necessary to handle the release of the Guru 4 and the new AerVu maps. The Guru 4 should start shipping sometime between June 25th, and June 29th. If you missed the announcement of our latest GPS for golf handheld, you should check it out on the website at www.gpsgolfguru.com.

 

Judging by the pre-release sales, and upgrade orders, we think we have a real winner on our hands with this new multi-functional device. We’ve been busy testing and playing with the Guru 4, and between the great golfing capabilities, the road navigation, music, movies, and picture viewing, (which work very well) we are extremely busy getting ready for what we believe will be a revolutionary step forward in the GPS for golf industry. "

[Howie]

Now that Upro has a $100 rebate, makes this an interesting horserace. Golg Guru aerial view maps seem a little pricey, compared to Upro. One map costs $9.50?? That's $5 more than what Upro charges. Gues GG is pretty proud of their graphics.

 

Still considering which to buy...

 

This does give one pause- especially those (like me) who bought their GG recently, but just outside the 30-day window. I'm a bit miffed as had I been advised the GG4 was weeks away from being unveiled, I would have simply waited. Instead, my money was taken and my upgrade path is now a very costly one. While I appreciate the upgrade program, it is more designed for those who have owned their GGs for many months- not just a couple.

 

So I am now in a position to strongly consider the uPro whereby that would not have been the case had the full credit opportunity associated with the upgrade program been expanded to a more realistic timeframe- say, 90 days. Seems the designation of such a restrictive time window is a little shortsighted as there is a bunch of revenue which will go unrealized from those who would have purchased the add-on courses for the GG4- if the company were more amenable to keeping recent GG owners in the fold.

[BlackDiamondPar5]

Now that Upro has a $100 rebate, makes this an interesting horserace. Golg Guru aerial view maps seem a little pricey, compared to Upro. One map costs $9.50?? That's $5 more than what Upro charges. Gues GG is pretty proud of their graphics.

 

Still considering which to buy...

 

This does give one pause- especially those (like me) who bought their GG recently, but just outside the 30-day window. I'm a bit miffed as had I been advised the GG4 was weeks away from being unveiled, I would have simply waited. Instead, my money was taken and my upgrade path is now a very costly one. While I appreciate the upgrade program, it is more designed for those who have owned their GGs for many months- not just a couple.

 

So I am now in a position to strongly consider the uPro whereby that would not have been the case had the full credit opportunity associated with the upgrade program been expanded to a more realistic timeframe- say, 90 days. Seems the designation of such a restrictive time window is a little shortsighted as there is a bunch of revenue which will go unrealized from those who would have purchased the add-on courses for the GG4- if the company were more amenable to keeping recent GG owners in the fold.

 

 

Golf Guru is known for their great customer service. If you are "just outside the 30 day trial" period as you say, why don't you give them a call and see if they will work with you?

 

The other option is to enjoy your GG for the season and see how the dust settles on the GG4 as well as other devices in this rapidly evolving market.

 

Look at the bright side, you still got a great GPS that you should be able to enjoy.

[Howie]

Now that Upro has a $100 rebate, makes this an interesting horserace. Golg Guru aerial view maps seem a little pricey, compared to Upro. One map costs $9.50?? That's $5 more than what Upro charges. Gues GG is pretty proud of their graphics.

 

Still considering which to buy...

 

This does give one pause- especially those (like me) who bought their GG recently, but just outside the 30-day window. I'm a bit miffed as had I been advised the GG4 was weeks away from being unveiled, I would have simply waited. Instead, my money was taken and my upgrade path is now a very costly one. While I appreciate the upgrade program, it is more designed for those who have owned their GGs for many months- not just a couple.

 

So I am now in a position to strongly consider the uPro whereby that would not have been the case had the full credit opportunity associated with the upgrade program been expanded to a more realistic timeframe- say, 90 days. Seems the designation of such a restrictive time window is a little shortsighted as there is a bunch of revenue which will go unrealized from those who would have purchased the add-on courses for the GG4- if the company were more amenable to keeping recent GG owners in the fold.

 

 

Golf Guru is known for their great customer service. If you are "just outside the 30 day trial" period as you say, why don't you give them a call and see if they will work with you?

 

The other option is to enjoy your GG for the season and see how the dust settles on the GG4 as well as other devices in this rapidly evolving market.

 

Look at the bright side, you still got a great GPS that you should be able to enjoy.

 

I did contact them and was denied. Until then, I would agree, my experience with them had been excellent as they previously turned around requests for a couple of missing courses rather swiftly. Now I feel a bit alienated as a result of their stance specific to my request. As alluded to earlier, I was expecting to purchase a number of the course downloads and I have to think the variable cost for them on those downloads is nearly zero.

 

All that said, your final point is quite valid... thanks for your thoughts.

[kschein]

I just purchased the grayscale unit and have no clue how to map targets on a hole on a downloaded course. The manual is very brief on this subject and I just can't figure it out. Anyone able to give me a hand with this? Have used the unit several times and it has worked flawlessly. I tried to map a target on a hole last night and couldn't figure it out. I got to the screen and tried to map the distances to and clear of a target. I can get it to read yardages when I get to the target, but what do you do to save the to and then move to the clear and then save it? I'm sure it's something simple I'm missing, any advice would be appreciated.

[kschein]

Nevermind responding to my previous post, I went to Golf Guru's website and was going to call and noticed that they are open Mom-Fri. So I sent them a message describing my problem. Did not expect any response until Monday. Within 15 minnutes I get a call from an area code I did not recognize. It just happened to be a technical support person from Golf Guru. The gentleman talked me through the steps to walk me through mapping targets on my home course. How cool is that! Went to my course earlier than my normal tee time and started mapping targets on holes. The man called from his home phone! I am sold on Golf Guru. What great customer support and a fantastic product to go with it.

[phil75070]

True story. Played the first round of the Senior Club Championship yesterday. One of the guys I played with had an iGolf and the other the SkyCaddie SG2. Both had problems acquiring satellites. The iGolf finally started working after several holes. The guy with the SG2 never got his to synch with the satellites at all. He had left it on and I happened to glance at it on the 11th hole where it said he had 3199 yards to the middle ofthe green. LOL My Golf Guru synched up within just a couple of minutes just like always and never lost signal.

[PlaneMaker]

A friend of mine want to sell his Guru Grayscale to another in our group and buy the Guru 4. So, can he just call the company and transfer ownership to the person who buys it? Or, does the person who buys it just register it when he gets it?

[gilljm01]

there is no membership so he really does not have to switch over anything

[masterli]

A friend of mine want to sell his Guru Grayscale to another in our group and buy the Guru 4. So, can he just call the company and transfer ownership to the person who buys it? Or, does the person who buys it just register it when he gets it?

 

 

there is no membership so he really does not have to switch over anything

 

well, not completely true. each guru has an id and is associated w/ an account on the website. you have to use that account on the website to pick your courses. i would just call them before you buy to find out the best way to do it. maybe they can make the switch directly in the database. otherwise they'll have to swap the info manually (ie go to the profile page and change the email address and password). the guy getting the new one might be able to add his Guru 4 id to his account then remove his old one. this way the guy w/ the Grayscale might be able to register from scratch and add the grayscale. some combination of that will have to be done to get your courses.

[GoToTheJoe]

It's funny...I was just thinking this same question before I read this forum and sent an email this morning to customer service...here is the reply

 

"Brian,

 

When you are ready to switch your Guru over to your friend, go ahead and

send us an email notifying us so that we can deactivate it from your

account. After that, your friend just needs to follow the instructions

under the "Getting Started" section of our website in order to register

the Guru over to him. Unfortunately, all the information on the Guru

will be wiped when it is transferred over to his account, so he will

have to resync all of the courses that he wants to play.

 

GolfGuru Support Staff

866-654-4878"

[colonel]

Golf Guru has officially pushed back shipping the Guru4 at least one week. No big deal, right? Well, they were telling prospective customers as recently as the 26th, "We will be shipping on the 29th".

 

For guy who purchased a golf guru due to the "excellent" customer service advertised on this forum, this isn't exactly what I expected.

[phil75070]

Manufacturing delays and "customer service" are apples and oranges. "Poor" customer service would have been to not say anything about the delay in a public way, but just respond to specific inquiries or complaints. Manufacturing delays are most times caused by vendors who have either provided bad information in regards to the status of an order or, perhaps, have shipped parts that are not 100% to spec.

[colonel]

I beg to differ. Poor customer service is telling your prospective customer on Friday, "Yes, we are ready to ship on Monday." then, once you have the customer's money, telling them that "No, we won't be shipping for at least one more week."

 

I guess technically I wasn't a customer until AFTER I placed my order, but I still don't like to be mislead over a key piece of information. Especially after asking on three separate occasions, "Will you be shipping on the 29th?"

 

Like I said, maybe this piece of equipment will be worth the extra wait. If it isn't, I guess I'll find out just how "guarenteed" their money back guarentee is.

[colonel]

Guarantee... Sorry.

[BlackDiamondPar5]

I beg to differ. Poor customer service is telling your prospective customer on Friday, "Yes, we are ready to ship on Monday." then, once you have the customer's money, telling them that "No, we won't be shipping for at least one more week."

 

I guess technically I wasn't a customer until AFTER I placed my order, but I still don't like to be mislead over a key piece of information. Especially after asking on three separate occasions, "Will you be shipping on the 29th?"

 

Like I said, maybe this piece of equipment will be worth the extra wait. If it isn't, I guess I'll find out just how "guarenteed" their money back guarentee is.

 

Colonel, It's frustrating having to wait, but I have to side with Phil on this. Bad customer service would be letting the date come and go and not providing communication on this delay, or perhaps they ship something that isn't ready or perhaps they provide poor post sale support. None of this is the case. You're approaching this from the context as if you were their only customer and GG was willfully misleading just to get your money (as you put it). I hardly doubt that was the case, they would simply have no motive for this. I'm sure the folks in GG customer service were telling you in good faith all the info they had at that time. It is very likely they were running on a very thin time margin (pretty common these days) and something happened last minute, and upon your final call, the folks in customer service didn't have the info yet.

 

As for GG product quality and customer support, I've owned my G002 since March. The product peforms flawlessly. It works better than the cart mounted GPS's that I've used side by side in terms of faster yardage updates and less yardage fluctuation when standing still. I've requested several maps for courses that weren't yet mapped and they were done in 2-3 days. I requested several maps be updated with more detail and they were done in 2 or 3 days. When I've had a question about a particular function, I've gotten right through to a knowledgable friendly person that was able to answer my every question.

 

Hopefully your experience will be as good as mine and of course you can return it if you aren't happy. I have no intention of upgrading my G002 because it works so well for my needs, but I'm very curious to hear about the GG4 once users get them in their hands.

[phil75070]

I beg to differ. Poor customer service is telling your prospective customer on Friday, "Yes, we are ready to ship on Monday." then, once you have the customer's money, telling them that "No, we won't be shipping for at least one more week."

 

Information provided to a customer is only as good as the information that comes down the line. I have worked for a high tech, electronic components company for many years. We have been in situations where we have failed to get information from the factory until after a scheduled shipment failed to show up, having told the customer over and over everything was on schedule. At other times we had product ship that was "on time" but then got held up by US customs as most electronic components come from off-shore. This would happen to us even though we were the largest importer through the Port of Los Angeles and were self certified for customs clearance, a status that less than 1% of all importers are given. even then, ramdom checks do occur. A few times air cargo flights that the product was on got delayed or canceled due to problems with the aircraft, delaying shipment. Overseas flight don't operate multiple times per day; at best, one flight per day then someone in the air freight company prioritizes, correctly or incorrectly, what gets loaded on the next flight when it is already full. I once was shipping product to Europe by ship that delayed sailing by weeks!

 

There could be any number of reasons shipment has been delayed and the specific reason may not be able to be provided due to contractual arrangements. For example, if we were shipping parts to a subcontractor and that subcontractor was late paying their invoices and were put on credit hold, we could not ship anything to them until that was cleared up. In the meantime, we have had them tell their end custoemr that we were not shipping without revealing the real reason. We could not tell theri end customer when they called us that their subcontractor was on credit hold as that information was confidential.

 

Who knows why! Besides, it is only about a week delay for a new product; happens all the time with new products, new software. I read where uPro shipments are delayed because they are out of stock and that is an established product!

[colonel]

:rolleyes: Thanks to you gentlemen for putting me in my place. :rolleyes:

[phil75070]

Poor customer service is telling your prospective customer on Friday, "Yes, we are ready to ship on Monday." then, once you have the customer's money, telling them that "No, we won't be shipping for at least one more week."

 

Question. Are you "sure" they already "have the customer's money"? When I got my Guru's my recollection is that they did not charge my credit card until they shipped. Perhaps they are handling the transactions differently now?

 

No one is trying to "put you in your place". You have a right to be disappointed with the delayed shipment and you have a right to your opinion about what constitutes "good" or "bad" customer service. It just happens that I and perhaps others differ as to that interpretation for a company that has historically provided what many see as the best customer service of any in the golf GPS business. I suggest if the delay of a week or so is critical for you that you cancel your order with Golf Guru and go to a retail outlet and purchase one of the other devices out there. No wait at all that way, not even for shipping. :)

[gilljm01]

yeah I would rather them get the product right before they send it then get the product and have to send it back in for service

[Rickochet]

Question. Are you "sure" they already "have the customer's money"? When I got my Guru's my recollection is that they did not charge my credit card until they shipped. Perhaps they are handling the transactions differently now?

 

I ordered my Guru 4 on June 9 and they charged my credit card on the 11th. I was a bit cheesed but I went back to their website and looked in the "Terms of Purchase" it was there in bold print.

[Rickochet]

I got a replay email from GG this afternoon and here is the current status of pre-ordered Guru 4's.

 

"We are running a little behind schedule due to manufacturer delays, but we will be receiving the Guru4 this week. Due to the unbelievable response to the introductory offer we have a large backlog of orders. We should have the vast majority of the pre-sale orders shipped out by the end of next week. You will receive an email with a USPS tracking number the day your order ships.

 

Thank you for your order and thank you for your patience!

 

--

GolfGuru Support Staff"

[phil75070]

Question. Are you "sure" they already "have the customer's money"? When I got my Guru's my recollection is that they did not charge my credit card until they shipped. Perhaps they are handling the transactions differently now?

 

I ordered my Guru 4 on June 9 and they charged my credit card on the 11th. I was a bit cheesed but I went back to their website and looked in the "Terms of Purchase" it was there in bold print.

 

Maybe this was different for the new "4" because they did advertise it as a "pre order"?

[serpman]

I wonder if Golf Guru is planning to roll out fees for standard courses in the near future? Has anyone read this EULA? I just bought a Guru, so I'd be covered by their "no charge for existing customers" clause. The customer service and not having to pay for courses was significant in influencing me to purchase a Guru in the first place. Would be an interesting move if the Golf Guru company goes in that direction.

 

http://www.gpsgolfguru.com/images/stories/ggg/pdf/ggeula.pdf

[hacker1]

Well, i've been researching the guru 4 and guru support is telling me that the aervu maps will be put out within the first two weeks, and I quote "IF they have the necessary imagery"! They tell me that most courses should be available, and others will be addressed on a user request basis. They could not even tell me if my courses in my area would be available. And they are NOT taking preorder requests for aervu maps either! I'm sorry, but i'll wait to see if guru 4 pans out before I trust what's going on here. It sounds to me like they let the buggy get in front of the horse on this one. Has anyone who has pre ordered this heard anything else on the shipping date besides "the week of July 6th"? :beee:

[Rickochet]

I wonder if Golf Guru is planning to roll out fees for standard courses in the near future? Has anyone read this EULA? I just bought a Guru, so I'd be covered by their "no charge for existing customers" clause. The customer service and not having to pay for courses was significant in influencing me to purchase a Guru in the first place. Would be an interesting move if the Golf Guru company goes in that direction.

 

http://www.gpsgolfguru.com/images/stories/ggg/pdf/ggeula.pdf

 

I have a Guru 4 on order and I think GG is being very upfront with their info. If they are forced to charge for stuff in the future I am sure that they will make that very apparent. I see nothing deceptive in their current practices and actually find it a bit refreshing.

[hacker1]

I wonder if Golf Guru is planning to roll out fees for standard courses in the near future? Has anyone read this EULA? I just bought a Guru, so I'd be covered by their "no charge for existing customers" clause. The customer service and not having to pay for courses was significant in influencing me to purchase a Guru in the first place. Would be an interesting move if the Golf Guru company goes in that direction.

 

http://www.gpsgolfguru.com/images/stories/ggg/pdf/ggeula.pdf

 

 

I wonder if Golf Guru is planning to roll out fees for standard courses in the near future? Has anyone read this EULA? I just bought a Guru, so I'd be covered by their "no charge for existing customers" clause. The customer service and not having to pay for courses was significant in influencing me to purchase a Guru in the first place. Would be an interesting move if the Golf Guru company goes in that direction.

 

http://www.gpsgolfguru.com/images/stories/ggg/pdf/ggeula.pdf

 

I have a Guru 4 on order and I think GG is being very upfront with their info. If they are forced to charge for stuff in the future I am sure that they will make that very apparent. I see nothing deceptive in their current practices and actually find it a bit refreshing.

I've read somewhere that the date is somewhere in 2011 that a subscription charge, if any would be added to new purchases and if you already own one at that time, that you would be "grandfathered", so to speak, and no charge would be added.

[serpman]

Regarding the Guru 4, just wanted to let everyone know that I posted some photos, a video, and some comments on my blog: http://www.serpbomb.com/2009/07/17/gps-gol...rt-1-the-setup/

 

I'm trying the Guru 4 tomorrow, so I'll be sure to share my experiences.

[Rickochet]

Regarding the Guru 4, just wanted to let everyone know that I posted some photos, a video, and some comments on my blog: http://www.serpbomb.com/2009/07/17/gps-gol...rt-1-the-setup/

 

I'm trying the Guru 4 tomorrow, so I'll be sure to share my experiences.

 

Be sure to check out the Guru 4 thread. People are having some concerns about battery capacity and screen brightness.