Critical Golf - review of Sonocaddie not so glowing

[pwrfade]

is their assessment accurate - or dated?

I am starting to look hard at the V500 Sonocaddie - but right when I think I have made a decision I come across the review from CriticalGolf.com - and they were pretty hard on Sonocaddie for accuracy of their mappings - now they were reviewing the V300 and not the V500 - and for all I know Sonocaddie has made improvements in the quality of their mappings since that review was done.

So I thought I would turn to users here that could give some real life more updated feedback on this specific "ding" in the review I read.

[Solutions Etcetera]

I just don't see the Sonocaddie being so compelling that it would attract me from more major players such as SkyCaddie, Garmin, and Callaway... especially the first two.

Without support... these things are bricks, and Sonocaddie has been promising Mac compatibility for [i][b]years[/b][/i] now. Clearly they do not have the resources to accomplish it... and that is a little scary.

[pwrfade]

[quote name='Solutions Etcetera' date='14 July 2010 - 11:17 AM' timestamp='1279120650' post='2575306']
I just don't see the Sonocaddie being so compelling that it would attract me from more major players such as SkyCaddie, Garmin, and Callaway... especially the first two.

Without support... these things are bricks, and Sonocaddie has been promising Mac compatibility for [i][b]years[/b][/i] now. Clearly they do not have the resources to accomplish it... and that is a little scary.
[/quote]

valid points - I ditched the Skycaddie because of the fees - had 3 different units over the years - all worked well (well other than I think it was the SG3) - but regardless, got tired of paying the fees - the Garmin G5 is also on my short list - I was just starting to lean towards the Sonocaddie because it "seems" they have a good range of functionality with touch screen, point to point, color graphics as well as satellite images coming online - that is what caught my attention. I like the uPro, but again with the pay per course thing - and the fact that the screen is just a little too small for my aging eyes - dont want to have to pull out my reading glasses to view the screen....

[dougsmithsr]

I own a skycaddie, uPro and Sonocaddie V300 and V500 and I will say that the Sonocaddie is as accurate as any of the others. I have used the new V500 exclusively for the last 4 weeks and played at least 6 rounds with it and I can honestly say it is accurate and an excellent unit. As for support, I have on two occasions asked for mapping and had the mapping on multiple courses done in less than a 3 day turn around time. Something that skycaddie could never do for me. I too got tired of paying the yearly fees so I let my skycaddie expire and went with units that required no yearly fees. I always hear how certain units are that much more accurate than others, but I just don't see that much of a difference in distance. Maybe a yard or two here or there but not so drastic that I can honestly say one is that much better than another. Its all in what you are looking for and support from the company. I can say out of my four units when I call Sonocaddie I always get a human voice first time everytime and usually get a good solid answer first time.

[Solutions Etcetera]

[quote name='pwrfade' date='14 July 2010 - 10:45 AM' timestamp='1279129501' post='2575665']valid points - I ditched the Skycaddie because of the fees - the Garmin G5 is also on my short list - I was just starting to lean towards the Sonocaddie… I like the uPro, but again with the pay per course thing - and the fact that the screen is just a little too small for my aging eyes[/quote]

The SkyCaddie fees are excessive IMHO, especially considering I would need the national plan just to play a handful of courses on either side of the Sierra Nevada. I thought the uPro just felt unsubstantial and I too felt it was hard to read.

I have a bit of a bug in my but as Sonocaddie told me emphatically the would be Mac compatible by the year's end (and that was a couple of years ago). Plus, they just seem like they're such a small shop they could disappear tomorrow. Their web site lists no business address (what's up with that?), and they use PayPal exclusively for their online payment system. It just all kind of screams this is a tiny little shop having the thing built in China.

Believe it or not I am still using the Garmin unit from GolfLogix. I love the hardware... rugged, waterproof, regular AA batteries. I have dropped it more times than I can remember and it still doesn't have a scratch. Don't know if the lens is glass or plastic but it is much more scratch resistant than the uPro. While it doesn't have all the new bells and whistles, I had a chance to swap it for the uPro and didn't find it as usable or readable.

If/when mine breaks it will be a no-brainer to go for the Garmin. I have had other Garmin units in the past and the support (map and software updates) was outstanding.

[Buddyjay]

Last year, I looked at all the units and ended up getting the Sonocaddie V300. I also own a Bushnell 1600 Laser and sometimes I use both on the course. The Sonocaddie's accuracy is dead-on. I have been really surprised when I will get a reading from the GPS and it will say the middle of the green is 150 yards and the laser says the pin is 155 yards. When I get to the green it is EXACTLY that.

Sonocaddies service has been excellent also. I requested a course and had it within the week. Their battery life is one of the best, usually about 4 rounds before re-charging and their video display in bright sunlight is very easy to read. I can't attest to the V500, but the V300 is excellent.

[chrisfx811]

I own a v300, having come from a Bushnell 1500te. I went with a sonocaddie v300 mainly because it was on clearance @ Dick's, and would be an inexpensive foray into GPSs.

What makes the unit for me is the ability to customize points to suit my game. Without this feature, I would not keep the unit, and to be honest it is sometimes frustrating when playing a new course that I may not return to.
The stock maps, imho, are lackluster. They don't generally have important things mapped from a golfer's point of view. For example:
I've stood on a par 3 with water right in front of the tee box, but not in play anywhere near the green and the gps will show that it's 17yds to the front of the water. I mean, seriously?!
I've experienced numerous examples of things like this, but I just chalk it up to the difference between having people with golf knowledge mapping courses, vs tech guys who have little knowledge of what to look for.

By contrast my friend's sg5 offers much more pertinent information, and the yardage has always been spot on, whereas my image mapped v300 stock maps have been off on occasion.

Being able to customize points, and having a decent graphical layout of the hole to view as the standard graphic is great though, and for courses that I have customized I am fully satisfied with the unit.

The Garmin g5 I checked out didn't appear to have great stock maps either, with many course features absent from the maps on courses I was familiar with.


I looked at the v500, and the first thing I noticed was the complete lack of courses with the new satellite image features. If they catch up quickly with that feature and the images they use are up to date, and not washed out, out of date images, they might have a great unit when combined with the ability to customize maps.