GolfLogix vs GolfShot vs Skycaddie

[mcharlton]

No, nether one has anything for putting distance

[golfortennis]

That actually kind of sucks then. I expected a better stats package from them based on the reviews here. Even just the first putt distance can tell you so much.

[URStillAway]

My Skycaddie quit working recently. (subsequently exchanged for a new one from Sky under the $99 program).

I had been using it for a few years on this particular course.

While waiting for my new one I tried Golflogix fora few rounds. Wow. The yardages were way off. I have played that course a lot of rounds and know that the course yardage markers are accurate. We have checked them with a laser and Skycaddies before.

From 100 and 150 yard markers the Golflogix was off 20 yards on some holes but then right on on others.

I could not see using Golflogix if the yardages were that variable.

[jons1]

[quote name='WCGC72BE9' timestamp='1347717270' post='5643335']
My Skycaddie quit working recently. (subsequently exchanged for a new one from Sky under the $99 program).
[/quote]

what is that?

[jww193]

I've been doing this dance lately also as I "lost" my SGX for a few months (of course it was in my golf bag).

I tried SkyDroid and like it a lot. It is full featured but only has satellite views which on my Droid Razr are impossible to see in full sun. After a few rounds of squinting and trying to shade the stooopid thing i started looking for something else.

So I downloaded GolfLogix, they have hole maps similar to the Skycaddie so I thought they would be easier to see in daylight. But I uninstalled the app after seeing all the negative comments on battery life in the latest version. My Razr barely can make it through a full round using SkyDroid, but just barely (they have SUCH small batteries these days).

I guess I'm going to renew my SGX, it's not perfect by any means but I've never had issues with actually being able to see it and the battery will last for almost 36 holes.

[frichissin]

I have [color="#282828"]Golflogix on my IPhone for the last year and a half and I'm about to stop using it. It's always off by 5 to 10 yards for me vs rangefinders. It stop working 3 times now in the middle of my round and lost each round.[/color]

[bunkeru2k]

Skycaddie and most of the other dedicated GPS devices are just superior to phone apps. You may love the phone apps because they are cheap or cost nothing, but the devices made specifically for golf are just going to be better. If you don't like the yardages on your Bushnell or Skycaddie, go walk the course yourself and save it. I have also seen the phone apps bounce all over the place before they settle down to an accurate number.....where my device had the correct numbers the entire time. that is not real confidence inspiring when you see numbers jumping up and down while you are standing still.

Skycaddie SGXw had no isssues for me on maneuvering the optical pad or anything else. If you have courses that have the advanced features, then it is hands down the best you can have. Yardages in an arc from whatever point you want, false fronts and dropoffs for greens, an accurate layout of hazards, etc. The phone apps simply cannot even TOUCH what that device covers.....and that is not even bringing into play the legality aspect.

[jons1]

I still think SkyCaddie is the best unit. I know the subscription cost is a bummer, but to me it's just the price for having a better product / service. Also, having talked to the reps at the show this year, they are planning on rolling out more features and options for members to further justify the membership cost. I have a laser and iPhone app, and they are just not as convenient as the SkyCaddie. Fortunately where I play golf they have golf cart gps, so I usually just use that.

[agray94]

I am looking at several options for range finders/gps. How do you think these aps/devices compare vs the visual range finders.

[MaxBuck]

It's hard to believe that people are still talking about the "accuracy of GolfLogix." Once again, it's not the application that affects accuracy, it's the device. I've checked my old Droid Charge GPS (using both SkyDroid and Golf Frontier apps) against SkyCaddie and uPro devices and against laser rangefinders; they've all been within a couple yards of one another. But some phones do not have very good GPS antennas, in which case the app won't work as well for their owners.

The single biggest advantage I see to the dedicated GPS units is that they are USGA approved. Technically I cannot use my smartphone app even for casual rounds if I want to post my score for HCP. (Yeah, right - like that one will fly with my club's handicap committee!) And certainly I can't use it for tournaments. But remember that even if you're only carrying almost any smartphone in your bag during a tournament, you should be DQed because of the phone's innate capabilities. Few tournament officials I am aware of will enforce that section of the USGA rules; even PGA pros typically carry smartphones (or their caddies do, which from a rules perspective is the same thing).

I like to carry both a laser and my smartphone with app when I play. If I were to play in a tourney where they cared to enforce the rule, I'd leave my phone in the bag (and no tourney I've heard of will DQ a player for simply carrying a phone for emergency calls). I'll use mostly the GPS, but will use the laser to shoot the edge of a hazard, or to shoot a flagstick when I'm not quite sure where it is on the green.

[jons1]

[quote name='MaxBuck' timestamp='1360083430' post='6367275']
The single biggest advantage I see to the dedicated GPS units is that they are USGA approved.
[/quote]

Plus batter life. Plus ability to read the screen easily in the sun. Plus no temptation to be distracted with phone calls, texts, various social app updates, etc. Phone gps were never meant to be accurate to feet either, so no matter how good the app, it's usually going to be off by a yard or two.

[MaxBuck]

[quote name='golfpros1' timestamp='1360116912' post='6370297']Phone gps were never meant to be accurate to feet either, so no matter how good the app, it's usually going to be off by a yard or two.
[/quote]Since the handheld GPS devices are single-receiver, they're not any more accurate; best you can get with a single receiver is typically +/- 3 meters, which is possible with the best phones. The additional augmentation available with cell phones ("AGPS") arguably can improve accuracy to +/- 1 or 2 meters, but no better. Don't kid yourself that SkyCaddie is going to be more accurate than a cell phone with good GPS capabilities.

More accuracy with GPS units requires multiple receivers; sub-centimeter accuracy is available with such equipment, but you wouldn't want to carry it on the golf course.

Additional reference information: [url="http://www.benmeadows.com/refinfo/techfacts/techpdf/GPS_Accuracy_WAAS_300.pdf"]http://www.benmeadow...cy_WAAS_300.pdf[/url]

[jinabnitt]

I have a Skycaddie SGX, and it is definitely more accurate (or more consistant I should say) than Golflogix on my Droid. Since I have the Droid Razr HD, the battery life isn't any worse than the Skycaddie. If anything, the Droid wins due to the fact I always charge my phone every night (which most people do) and I sometimes forget to take my Skycaddie out of my bag and charge it. The biggest problem I have with the Skycaddie is it's interface. It isn't touch screen, so everything is harder to do on it. With Golflogix, you can just touch a spot on the map and it will show you the distance. With Skycaddie, you have to move the damn little curser around with the joystick. I typically use my Skycaddie for most rounds and bust out my Golflogix whenever the Skycaddie has died, I've forgotten it at home (because I was charging it), or I'm playing a course I haven't downloaded into my Skycaddie. And don't get me started on lasers. They might be more accurate as far as getting pin distance, but that's about all they are good for. If you have a phone with a good battery and you are not a single digit handicap, then just stick with the Golflogix and save yourself $200.