New 2012 Callaway UPRO MX+

[joekelli]

I sometimes wonder who the heck does their research at Callaway!!!!! The shot tracking where you track the distance of each club was clunky and I never used it. But I do use the "mark" feature to measure a lot of my drives. I don't let the unit track it but just as a measurement device. That is what people are looking for is just a way to measure a shot, not to track it, duh!!!!!!!

[pasipple]

I'd agree...this is a gps device...it's a very simple calculation to determine the length of a line between two coordinates...and should be included with any gps golf device.

Golf is all about distances. Distances for each club, to bunkers/hazards, front/center/back of greens. The PGA tracks driving distance, distance from pin, etc....

Measuring the distance of a shot...uPro "mark" feature...is a must...and should have never been removed from the software. I too question who at Callaway is making these decisions?

[chas521]

What are the settings you use for optimal performance and viewing? Thanks.

[chas521]

[quote name='chas521' timestamp='1338904864' post='5033790']
What are the settings you use for optimal performance and viewing? Thanks.
[/quote]

No replies?

[dcmidnight]

Optimal for what? Its almost an impossible question to answer. As you can tell in this thread, everyone that uses the device wants different things out of their power usage, font size, screen brightness etc.

[chas521]

Understood. So what are your settings on your mx+ device that make it work well for you. That was my question.

[fred9]

Just a +1 for Upro Tech support.

I have a 2011 MX and I could not get the 3.0 software update to work. I called tech support and after a wait on hold of less than 5 minutes, April answered and took over my pc and efficiently successfully got 3.0 onto my MX!

She did confirm that now my 2011 MX is the same SOFTWARE as on the MX+ that's being rolled out now.

[Elite_Digger]

So I ran out and bought a UproMX+ last night on a whim. I currently use a Skycaddie 2.5 which I like, have had no problems with, but was interested in trying something newer, in color with hole vues, etc. Played 18 this morning and here's what I found about the MX+ over my 2.5:
Pros:
Small. Just a tiny bit smaller than my 2.5, but the screen is twice as big.
Fast at aquiring satellites. My 2.5 would take awhile to aquire sometimes.
Color screen
No yearly fee
Cons:
A bit clunkier to use...even though I just bought it, it is a little more cumbersome.
Screen shuts off between shots. So used to having my Skycaddie on and telling distance instantly at a glance. Even though it "wakes up" quickly, I hate having to hit the power button for every shot.
Had one hole that has a huge drop off in back. If you go over, it goes down the hill and you're probably 25 yards from the green. I was fine until I got almost to my ball and then it was reading 546 yards to the green...almost like it didn't know I was still on the same hole and was starting over or something...strange. Yeah, I know, I don't need a GPS that close, but it shouldn't read incorrectly that way.
Pictures in the Pro Mode weren't as nice as the advertising shows and ran into about 7 courses that don't have ProMode.

Really had high hopes for this...I think I'm going to take this one back to the store and see if they'll give me store credit for it. If they don't, there will be a nearly-new MX+ for sale in the swap shop soon. Kind of disappointing. Overall I feel the couple things it upgraded over my 2.5 were outweighed by the fact I can get an SGX and get pretty much the same features without all the drawbacks (except for membership fees).

[Elite_Digger]

[quote name='Elite_Digger' timestamp='1339367642' post='5063064']
So I ran out and bought a UproMX+ last night on a whim. I currently use a Skycaddie 2.5 which I like, have had no problems with, but was interested in trying something newer, in color with hole vues, etc. Played 18 this morning and here's what I found about the MX+ over my 2.5:
Pros:
Small. Just a tiny bit smaller than my 2.5, but the screen is twice as big.
Fast at aquiring satellites. My 2.5 would take awhile to aquire sometimes.
Color screen
No yearly fee
Cons:
A bit clunkier to use...even though I just bought it, it is a little more cumbersome.
Screen shuts off between shots. This is my biggest pet peeve. So used to having my Skycaddie on and telling distance instantly at a glance. Even though it "wakes up" quickly, I hate having to hit the power button for every shot.
Had one hole that has a huge drop off in back. If you go over, it goes down the hill and you're probably 25 yards from the green. I was fine until I got almost to my ball and then it was reading 546 yards to the green...almost like it didn't know I was still on the same hole and was starting over or something...strange. Yeah, I know, I don't need a GPS that close, but it shouldn't read incorrectly that way. That was one of the cool things about my Skycaddie...even if you inadvertantly hit into the fairway the next hole over, it always knew which hole you were playing.
Miss the hole rotation that my skycaddie has....yeah, I can turn the unit to get the correct angle but that's not the point.
Pictures in the Pro Mode weren't as nice as the advertising shows and ran into about 7 courses that don't have ProMode.

Really had high hopes for this...I think I'm going to take this one back to the store and see if they'll give me store credit for it. If they don't, there will be a nearly-new MX+ for sale in the swap shop soon. Kind of disappointing. Overall I feel the couple things it upgraded over my 2.5 were outweighed by the fact I can get an SGX and get pretty much the same features without all the drawbacks (except for membership fees).

[/quote]
Made an edit to my post but for some reason the save changes button wont' work....

[mched]

[quote name='Elite_Digger' timestamp='1339367642' post='5063064']
So I ran out and bought a UproMX+ last night on a whim. I currently use a Skycaddie 2.5 which I like, have had no problems with, but was interested in trying something newer, in color with hole vues, etc. Played 18 this morning and here's what I found about the MX+ over my 2.5:
Pros:
Small. Just a tiny bit smaller than my 2.5, but the screen is twice as big.
Fast at aquiring satellites. My 2.5 would take awhile to aquire sometimes.
Color screen
No yearly fee
Cons:
A bit clunkier to use...even though I just bought it, it is a little more cumbersome.
Screen shuts off between shots. So used to having my Skycaddie on and telling distance instantly at a glance. Even though it "wakes up" quickly, I hate having to hit the power button for every shot.
Had one hole that has a huge drop off in back. If you go over, it goes down the hill and you're probably 25 yards from the green. I was fine until I got almost to my ball and then it was reading 546 yards to the green...almost like it didn't know I was still on the same hole and was starting over or something...strange. Yeah, I know, I don't need a GPS that close, but it shouldn't read incorrectly that way.
Pictures in the Pro Mode weren't as nice as the advertising shows and ran into about 7 courses that don't have ProMode.

Really had high hopes for this...I think I'm going to take this one back to the store and see if they'll give me store credit for it. If they don't, there will be a nearly-new MX+ for sale in the swap shop soon. Kind of disappointing. Overall I feel the couple things it upgraded over my 2.5 were outweighed by the fact I can get an SGX and get pretty much the same features without all the drawbacks (except for membership fees).
[/quote]
Sorry that you did not like it.
I have one and enjoy using it. I love the size and the sleep mode does not bother me, when I wake it up there is no delay in it knowing where I am.
Not sure what you mean by it being "clunkier" and "cumbersome"?
I feel that the new software version is considerably easier to use than the previous one.
There is no perfect GPS out there, but maybe you should give it more than 1 round and get used to using it before you take it back.

[chas521]

Have you looked at this [url]https://getsatisfaction.com/callawayuxplore[/url]

[Elite_Digger]

[quote name='mched' timestamp='1339370197' post='5063282']
[quote name='Elite_Digger' timestamp='1339367642' post='5063064']
So I ran out and bought a UproMX+ last night on a whim. I currently use a Skycaddie 2.5 which I like, have had no problems with, but was interested in trying something newer, in color with hole vues, etc. Played 18 this morning and here's what I found about the MX+ over my 2.5:
Pros:
Small. Just a tiny bit smaller than my 2.5, but the screen is twice as big.
Fast at aquiring satellites. My 2.5 would take awhile to aquire sometimes.
Color screen
No yearly fee
Cons:
A bit clunkier to use...even though I just bought it, it is a little more cumbersome.
Screen shuts off between shots. So used to having my Skycaddie on and telling distance instantly at a glance. Even though it "wakes up" quickly, I hate having to hit the power button for every shot.
Had one hole that has a huge drop off in back. If you go over, it goes down the hill and you're probably 25 yards from the green. I was fine until I got almost to my ball and then it was reading 546 yards to the green...almost like it didn't know I was still on the same hole and was starting over or something...strange. Yeah, I know, I don't need a GPS that close, but it shouldn't read incorrectly that way.
Pictures in the Pro Mode weren't as nice as the advertising shows and ran into about 7 courses that don't have ProMode.

Really had high hopes for this...I think I'm going to take this one back to the store and see if they'll give me store credit for it. If they don't, there will be a nearly-new MX+ for sale in the swap shop soon. Kind of disappointing. Overall I feel the couple things it upgraded over my 2.5 were outweighed by the fact I can get an SGX and get pretty much the same features without all the drawbacks (except for membership fees).
[/quote]
Sorry that you did not like it.
I have one and enjoy using it. I love the size and the sleep mode does not bother me, when I wake it up there is no delay in it knowing where I am.
Not sure what you mean by it being "clunkier" and "cumbersome"?
I feel that the new software version is considerably easier to use than the previous one.
There is no perfect GPS out there, but maybe you should give it more than 1 round and get used to using it before you take it back.
[/quote]
Well, I was going to give it another round until last Sunday night when I went to sync. I plugged it in and started syncing. Checked it 15 minutes later and it was still syncing. So I went and watched a movie with my wife (Contraband...not great but not bad btw). Came back after the movie and it was still syncing in the same spot. Unplugged it, shut it down, restarted my computer, restarted the GPS, started it syncing again and waited 20 minutes without it moving and said screw it. Add this on top of the two times I had to uninstall and reinstall the syncing software to begin with and it was too much.Took it back to the store on Monday night and got a different GPS which I got to use today and really like. I'm a big fan of Callaway equipment but this one just wasn't for me. Shows promise with some fixes though.

[mched]

Well, there are times when electronic devices don't work out. At least you gave it a shot and now you have something you like.

[Elite_Digger]

[quote name='mched' timestamp='1339907364' post='5111642']
Well, there are times when electronic devices don't work out. At least you gave it a shot and now you have something you like.
[/quote]
Yeah, even the new one that I bought had problems too lol. They sure don't make stuff like they used to...

[pasipple]

[quote name='Elite_Digger' timestamp='1339907703' post='5111674']
[quote name='mched' timestamp='1339907364' post='5111642']
Well, there are times when electronic devices don't work out. At least you gave it a shot and now you have something you like.
[/quote]
Yeah, even the new one that I bought had problems too lol. They sure don't make stuff like they used to...
[/quote]

So what did you end up buying?

[chas521]

My 2 cents. I find that my Garmin Approach G5 works great. Much better than my Callaway mx+. I like the bigger Garmin screen better. The overall size is the same except that the Garmin is a little thicker since it uses AA batteries instead of the rechargeable socket.

[dcmidnight]

I would be interested to know for the folks that had issues if you called Callaway Customer Service and if so were they able to help you fix what was wrong/sent you a new unit etc.

[WishICouldPlayMoreOften]

[quote name='dcmidnight' timestamp='1340029667' post='5120566']
I would be interested to know for the folks that had issues if you called Callaway Customer Service and if so were they able to help you fix what was wrong/sent you a new unit etc.
[/quote]

I have spoken to their CS about login issues, and they resolved the problem quickly and politely. I can't remember the young lady's name, but she tried to explain why she thought I and many others were having problems with the new login, but I couldn't follow her that well even though I'm fairly technically competent. In all, I'd give them high praise for speed, concern, and acknowledgement of the problem. I don't think I should have had to call for a password reset just because the website tool wasn't working. BTW - she said the PW reset function hasn't worked for quite some time so people think they've been resetting when they haven't been.

I'm still rocking the OG uPro. She said people with those seem to have very few issues once they get past login. That's been my experience.

I don't like the fact that their CS line isn't open on weekends when people use their GPS most.

[ramsey_steve]

I received an Mx+ in exchange for an original uPro that I sent back to them after it developed a fatal problem.

I was a very happy user of the original uPro, and I view the MX+ as a mix of good and bad, with the "bad" having me on the fence as to whether or not I'll keep it. I've had four conversations and a currently open ticket with CS.

The "Good":
1) As a Mac user I'm thrilled by the new sync software. It really works flawlessly!

2)Having 25k basic-mode courses pre loaded is tremendous, and a major improvement over the original uPro.

3) My home course has several holes that are closely adjacent to the following hole. the original uPro used to get confused and ask to switch to the next hole prematurely. The MX+ software seems to deal with this issue much better.

4) Battery life seems good (although the indicator is useless). When I recharge after 18 holes I usually discover I've got about 35% left.

The "Bad":
1) It has a persistent habit of under reading, almost always by 5-6 yards. It wouldn't be so bad if it was consistent, but it sometimes it flat out under reads, other times it under reads initially by 5-6 yards but after 1-2 minutes gets to, or close to an accurate number. Stranger still, at other times it goes haywire when woken up - yesterday it initially was off by 15-20 yards when woken up, and sometimes took over a minute to get within the ballpark of a correct number. Callaway CS insists that it maintains satellite 'lock' when it sleeps, but it's behavior suggests otherwise. At my home course the most critical distances are to the green's back edge, as that's where the most trouble is. Obviously if I'm standing near a course marker and I therefore know that the number to the middle is under reading by 6 or 7 yards then I can do a quick sum in my head and add that amount to the distance displayed to the back edge, but in truth I don't play much golf from the center of the fairways. With the readings bouncing around as they do, it's just much quicker to get a distance from someone else in the group if they have a GPS. My old uPro never did anything like this, and my friend's Garmin didn't do it yesterday either.

2) It definitely sleeps more than my original uPro, but in fairness the Callaway CS today informed me that using the setting "Longer Use" lengthens the duration of time that it remains awake. I had wrongly assumed that the "Longer Use" setting would put the MX+ into sleep mode more quickly so that the battery would last longer, i.e. provide "longer use". She also had me lower the backlight to around 30%. These changes are why the CS ticket remains open, as I'll be trying the new settings this weekend to see if keeping it awake more helps it remain locked on better..

3) The software is a major improvement from 2.0 I hear, but from my perspective still has a long way to go. Shot tracking needs to come back (it's still in the manual, but good luck finding it on the device). But of greater importance is the need to improve the screen responsiveness, and sort out the silly stuff, for example the any-point measuring function, where to move the distance marker around you have to put your finger right on top of the actual circle thereby blocking your view of the map so you have no clue where you're moving it to. Every other golf GPS app with a similar function gets this right by allowing you to move the aiming point around with your finger to the side of it - It's not rocket science. Also sometimes the any-point function only displays the distance to the selected point, but not the distance from that point to the green's center (maybe this a feature, not a bug?). Also zooming in and out is very hit and miss affair, largely due to the screen's sluggish responses.

The software issues aren't a deal breaker for me, as I'm assuming Callaway will eventually address them. As for the erratic distances, I'm persevering with it through one more weekend's golf in the hope the new settings fix that problem. If not then it's back to the drawing board.

[prestiege]

just playing around with the device, havent taken it to the course yet, one you touch one of the anypoint markers to activate it you can use the center button to move the cursor, just slide your finger around on the button, dont push it in. other than that i dont have an opinion yet as i havent taken it to the course yet. i already miss screen size of the sgx but but we shall see if the mx+ is worth it vs the yearly fee for skycaddie. im still upset that skycaddie hasnt made an android version of their scoring app

[ramsey_steve]

[quote name='prestiege' timestamp='1340159534' post='5132758']just playing around with the device, havent taken it to the course yet, one you touch one of the anypoint markers to activate it you can use the center button to move the cursor, just slide your finger around on the button, dont push it in. other than that i dont have an opinion yet as i havent taken it to the course yet. i already miss screen size of the sgx but but we shall see if the mx+ is worth it vs the yearly fee for skycaddie. im still upset that skycaddie hasnt made an android version of their scoring app
[/quote]

Thanks, you're right of course, the center button can be used as an alternative to the touch screen, but on the course I find the center button to be as sluggish responding as the touch screen initially and then extremely sensitive to your finger movement once it does respond .. All in all very awkward to use, and not a satisfactory solution either, IMHO.

Another excellent function on the original uPro that's "disappeared" on the MX+ was the double button push giving you an instant distance to the 100yds lay up, another button push gave you the distance to the 150. This could be added to the Any Point function very easily, and hopefully Callaway will do just that. To be frank I just don't get the thinking over there that motivates them to omit such useful tools.

At this stage I'm sceptical of the benefits of a touch screen in a device this small, and wonder if they'd have done better either sticking with a "version 2" of the original uPro, or at least offering more non-touch screen system navigation options. But 'IF' they get the tactile responsiveness issues solved, get a handle on the battery life issues (in time people are going to lose patience with hitting the power button before every shot), and get the software ready for prime time, then it could return to being one of the best units out there. Right now the desktop software is the only part of the new platform that really outperforms the original uPro.

[JoeShark]

Not sure if it's posted somewhere previous but Amazon has this on sale right now for $207 including free shipping.

[chas521]

FWIW, I find that the sleep issue is a major pain to me. I do NOT like the device going to sleep and having to push the power button every time to wake it up. And then watching the cursor spin as the device re-establishes a satellite lock. Plus the screen size is too small. It could be made larger without sacrificing dimensions.

[Elite_Digger]

[quote name='pasipple' timestamp='1339908037' post='5111702']
[quote name='Elite_Digger' timestamp='1339907703' post='5111674']
[quote name='mched' timestamp='1339907364' post='5111642']
Well, there are times when electronic devices don't work out. At least you gave it a shot and now you have something you like.
[/quote]
Yeah, even the new one that I bought had problems too lol. They sure don't make stuff like they used to...
[/quote]

So what did you end up buying?
[/quote]
I ended up going back to SkyCaddie. Received a promotional e-mail from TGW for an SGXw for $299 and the local store price matched it.

[wundej]

[quote name='chas521' timestamp='1340193806' post='5134270']
FWIW, I find that the sleep issue is a major pain to me. I do NOT like the device going to sleep and having to push the power button every time to wake it up. And then watching the cursor spin as the device re-establishes a satellite lock. Plus the screen size is too small. It could be made larger without sacrificing dimensions.
[/quote]
Pretty sure that if you change the battery/performance settings that it will adjust the amount of time it takes to sleep. I could be wrong, I haven't touched it since the first time I used it after updating to 3.0.

[chas521]

[quote name='wundej' timestamp='1340424806' post='5153024']
[quote name='chas521' timestamp='1340193806' post='5134270']
FWIW, I find that the sleep issue is a major pain to me. I do NOT like the device going to sleep and having to push the power button every time to wake it up. And then watching the cursor spin as the device re-establishes a satellite lock. Plus the screen size is too small. It could be made larger without sacrificing dimensions.
[/quote]
Pretty sure that if you change the battery/performance settings that it will adjust the amount of time it takes to sleep. I could be wrong, I haven't touched it since the first time I used it after updating to 3.0.
[/quote]

Thanks for the reply. But it's not an issue of the time it gets to sleep, it's just the fact that it goes to sleep at all that becomes the problem. I fully understand why it goes to sleep [battery] but it does get old very fast. Other GPS' stay awake all the time and the battery[ies] work fine. Surely there must be a solution. I'm not the only one saying this BTW.

[crazygolfnut]

I contacted the factory when it first came out and there is no way to keep it awake all the time. I ride a cart most of the time so I have a gps bracket. The one that fits into a cup holder. As I drive towards the ball, I hit the wake up button about ten yards before I stop. By the time I get there it has a number for me. I dont like it but you do get use to it.

[prestiege]

My battery is horrid so far. Haven't been able to make it through an entire round. The first round was 6 hours at local muni, even at 6 hours this thing should last the entire round especially since it sleeps so much. Today was 4.5 hours and it died on the 17 hole. The cart had gps so I only used it on the tee box to do a quick fly over and check bunker distances as it was a course we never played before but once we left the tee box it wasn't used the rest of each hole. Wasn't using the score card either. I'm gonna give it one more go since the battery fully discharged today, maybe it needs a good empty to full charge to get it going. If that don't work I may go back to the sgx, I got 2 18's and 1 9 out of one charge on the sky caddie

[marrigo]

[quote name='chas521' timestamp='1340193806' post='5134270']
FWIW, I find that the sleep issue is a major pain to me. I do NOT like the device going to sleep and having to push the power button every time to wake it up. And then watching the cursor spin as the device re-establishes a satellite lock. Plus the screen size is too small. It could be made larger without sacrificing dimensions.
[/quote]

Hmmmm, mine maintains satellite lock while the screen is asleep. Distances are updated immediately when it wakes up.

[ramsey_steve]

The MX+ is definitely supposed to maintain satellite lock while asleep, but I too was experiencing very erratic readings after waking it up, with at times over a minute before it 'settled' on a reading. Callaway CS suggested I switch the power setting to Longer Use, which apparently keeps it awake for the longest time (I had mistakenly thought the opposite, that "Longer use" was a setting to preserve the battery life for overall longer use, i.e. would send the unit to sleep more frequently). I'm happy to report that the Longer Use setting has greatly improved it's performance, and after waking the unit the yardages bounce around much less than they did before. And while no two rounds are identical in terms of how much the MX+ gets used, going to "Longer Use" doesn't appear to have affected battery life very much at all.

Perhaps Prestiege's unit has a bad battery or isn't charging properly. My last two rounds at my home course were around 4hrs, 20 mins and I've ended the rounds with about 40% battery life remaining.

I continue to think that the auto-sleep function is a pain, but at least the readings are usable now.

More testing tomorrow..