Done with SkyCaddie

[TheCityGame]

[quote name='finalist' timestamp='1345823616' post='5527502']
Skycaddie annual fees are absolutely ridiculous.

The fees are used to pay for all those commercials on TV which cost a fortune. The more they market the more you have to realize the product has something to hide.
[/quote]Ridiculous?

Really?

Basically about $.50 per round (f you play 50-60 rounds) to have everything on the course marked by someone who went out and walked the course.

It's less than 1 round of golf. Less than I can spend at the range in a WEEK. Less than I spend on balls, hot dogs, or beer, or cigars over the course of a season. Less than I spend on grips each year. Less than I spend on gas driving to the course each year. You walk twice instead of taking a cart, and you just made it up.

I can find $30 in my sofa cushions. I make $30 a day walking back and forth to the coffee machine.

And, they have great stat-tracking at their website, that syncs when you plug your sky caddie, which is almost worth $30 a year alone.

And, that's from a guy with his name stamped on his clubs.

[Hacker#5252]

[quote name='moonshine' timestamp='1345809613' post='5526452']
Not about my buddy not knowing distances, downhill par 3 and his SC was off by about 5 yards...thanks anyway. Seems to me SC either needs more options, better software, or both. No 2 state option? C'mon, it's 2012! I can shoot any obstacle anywhere on any hole with a Bushnell and get a yardage.
[/quote]

If only that was true: you can only shoot obstacles you can see.

As for the other arguments, I don't have a smartphone because I don't need one and besides, it's illegal for handicap posting. I live in Canada, so I get the whole country for the price of the state package.
I paid $200 everything included (shipping and taxes). It's $34.95 annually. A laser costs $350 + tax. So what, I should get the laser because I'll recuperate the cost in 6 years ? THAT is ridiculous.
A watch ? I don't wear watches in my everyday life, why would I want to wear one when I play golf. Besides, it's more expensive and gives less info, is there something I'm missing ? Courses already mapped ? I don't play 16 000 courses in a year, if you do, then I envy you !

My home course, where I play 95% of the time, changed 3 holes this year. Skycaddie gave me, within weeks, an update with all the new holes, all the new obstacles.

So it's off by 3 yards sometimes ? Get over yourselves. For my part, everytime I've checked against a laser, my skycaddie was spot on. Yes, we all are spot on with our wedges and irons, so when we miss by 5 yards, it's not because of our technique, it HAS to be the equipment...What a joke.

[TM_HOYER]

[quote name='Rock Chalk Jayhawk' timestamp='1345825219' post='5527650']
[quote name='TM_HOYER' timestamp='1345824573' post='5527594']
[quote name='finalist' timestamp='1345823616' post='5527502']
Skycaddie annual fees are absolutely ridiculous.

The fees are used to pay for all those commercials on TV which cost a fortune. The more they market the more you have to realize the product has something to hide.
[/quote]

The membership fees pay for mappers to travel the country to map new courses, update changes made to courses since the last time they were mapped, and map the greens for intelligreen pro. It costs a lot more to have someone on the course doing the mapping getting the most accurate yardages and information than it costs to have someone in India doing the mapping using a satellite photo.
[/quote]

Do you have any verification that other companies outsource their map making to India, or are you simply pulling stuff out of your butt? I am guessing the latter.
[/quote]

Any specific knowledge it is outsourced to India? No. But you would be really surprised on what is outsourced to india (and other foreign countries) because it is cheaper than having it done in the US (and I am not talking about call centers). I was making a point that having a person map a course using photos has a very small cost and limits the information they provide. Living in North Georgia, there is information my Skycaddie gives me that cannot be done by photo. I get layup distances that will provide me a flat lie rather than a a downhill, uphill, or sidehill lie.

And since you are challenging my comment, have you ever owned a Skycaddie? You really are not in a position to say the membership fee is ridiculous unless you owned a Skycaddie and felt you were not getting what you paid for.

[Rock Chalk Jayhawk]

[quote name='TM_HOYER' timestamp='1345826975' post='5527800']
Any specific knowledge it is outsourced to India? No. But you would be really surprised on what is outsourced to india (and other foreign countries) because it is cheaper than having it done in the US (and I am not talking about call centers). I was making a point that having a person map a course using photos has a very small cost and limits the information they provide. Living in North Georgia, there is information my Skycaddie gives me that cannot be done by photo. I get layup distances that will provide me a flat lie rather than a a downhill, uphill, or sidehill lie.
[/quote]

Garmin's mapping is created entirely in the United States.

[dlygrisse]

I have not renewed mine this year, being that I live very close to a state line and play about 1/2 of my golf in 2 different states I have to get the North American membership, it would be nice if they offered the fee for a metro area instead. I play 99% of my golf with in 45 min. of my house, but my house is 15 min. from another state.

To me the SC was a convenience, but my scores did not improve because I had one, and my scores have not gotten worse because I don't have one. As far as accuracy I checked distances with a free app on my Iphone4S and they were exactly the same, 1 yard difference at most, however I don't even bother using the free app any longer unless I am playing a course I have never played before...then rarely.

I would consider a Garmin Neo if I can find a good deal on one, because all I really care about is front/middle/back to the green.

[TM_HOYER]

[quote name='Rock Chalk Jayhawk' timestamp='1345827829' post='5527876']
[quote name='TM_HOYER' timestamp='1345826975' post='5527800']
Any specific knowledge it is outsourced to India? No. But you would be really surprised on what is outsourced to india (and other foreign countries) because it is cheaper than having it done in the US (and I am not talking about call centers). I was making a point that having a person map a course using photos has a very small cost and limits the information they provide. Living in North Georgia, there is information my Skycaddie gives me that cannot be done by photo. I get layup distances that will provide me a flat lie rather than a a downhill, uphill, or sidehill lie.
[/quote]

Garmin's mapping is created entirely in the United States.
[/quote]

Having owned a Garmin Approach G5, it does not matter if they are created in the US or a foreign country, you are getting what you paid for with the free maps.

[golfortennis]

[quote name='Hacker#5252' timestamp='1345826087' post='5527724']
[quote name='moonshine' timestamp='1345809613' post='5526452']
Not about my buddy not knowing distances, downhill par 3 and his SC was off by about 5 yards...thanks anyway. Seems to me SC either needs more options, better software, or both. No 2 state option? C'mon, it's 2012! I can shoot any obstacle anywhere on any hole with a Bushnell and get a yardage.
[/quote]

If only that was true: you can only shoot obstacles you can see.

As for the other arguments, I don't have a smartphone because I don't need one and besides, it's illegal for handicap posting. I live in Canada, so I get the whole country for the price of the state package.
I paid $200 everything included (shipping and taxes). It's $34.95 annually. A laser costs $350 + tax. So what, I should get the laser because I'll recuperate the cost in 6 years ? THAT is ridiculous.
A watch ? I don't wear watches in my everyday life, why would I want to wear one when I play golf. Besides, it's more expensive and gives less info, is there something I'm missing ? Courses already mapped ? I don't play 16 000 courses in a year, if you do, then I envy you !

My home course, where I play 95% of the time, changed 3 holes this year. Skycaddie gave me, within weeks, an update with all the new holes, all the new obstacles.

So it's off by 3 yards sometimes ? Get over yourselves. For my part, everytime I've checked against a laser, my skycaddie was spot on. Yes, we all are spot on with our wedges and irons, so when we miss by 5 yards, it's not because of our technique, it HAS to be the equipment...What a joke.
[/quote]

Good thing I read this post a second time. It was quite difficult to surmise you liked Skycaddie with all the holier than thou attitude all over the post.

Might want to take your own advice about getting over yourself.

[Desert Golf]

[quote name='TheCityGame' timestamp='1345825387' post='5527674']
[quote name='finalist' timestamp='1345823616' post='5527502']
Skycaddie annual fees are absolutely ridiculous.

The fees are used to pay for all those commercials on TV which cost a fortune. The more they market the more you have to realize the product has something to hide.
[/quote]Ridiculous?

Really?

Basically about $.50 per round (f you play 50-60 rounds) to have everything on the course marked by someone who went out and walked the course.

It's less than 1 round of golf. Less than I can spend at the range in a WEEK. Less than I spend on balls, hot dogs, or beer, or cigars over the course of a season. Less than I spend on grips each year. Less than I spend on gas driving to the course each year. You walk twice instead of taking a cart, and you just made it up.

I can find $30 in my sofa cushions. I make $30 a day walking back and forth to the coffee machine.

And, they have great stat-tracking at their website, that syncs when you plug your sky caddie, which is almost worth $30 a year alone.

And, that's from a guy with his name stamped on his clubs.
[/quote]

I agree 100%. My Skycaddie has performed flawlessly for years and it is more accurate than other applications which haven't been mapped by someone who walked the course. The stat tracking features are great and it gives me a lot of information such as: lay up distances, yardage to hazards and yards to clear bunkers.

I'm a frugal guy, but $30 a year is works out to about 50 cents a round for me. If/when my Skycaddie gives up the ghost I will consider other GPS options or a Bushnell, but it is kind of silly to gripe over $30 per year.

[Medic]

[quote name='jwash112' timestamp='1345684134' post='5518926']
[quote name='Medic' timestamp='1345680880' post='5518608']
Too many other options out there and frankly the GolfBuddy is better. (clear image, incredible accuracy, and all of the courses already on it when you receive it)

No reason to settle for SkyCaddie. There are simply better alternatives now.
[/quote]

How is it better?
[/quote]

Better question - how is it not?

Do a little research. Look at the features. See one in person.

It comes down to personal preference just like about everything else. There are those who will swear by a certain brand. Others, like myself, seek the best deal for the money along with the features they like. Not saying SkyCaddie isn't good. Just saying that in my opinion there are better options out there.

[finalist]

Your $30 is spent more on marketing than having the guys walk around the courses. They out market the nearest competitor by more than double, yet the base unit costs are similar across competitors.
[list]
[*]Do we know for a fact that the "guy in India" is making a less quality product than SkyGolf?
[*]If personal mapping is the best why is SkyCaddie the only company promoting it?
[*]They spend HUGE amounts of marketing dollars promoting the idea that personally walking and mapping a course is better than personally mapping an image, why? Because it gives them a sales point to market.
[*]What other benefits does skycaddie offer that other companies don't offer. Stat tracking was mentioned by TheCItyGame... almost every golf GPS offers stat tracking for free or for a one time additional fee.
[/list]
The $30 seems like a needless cost... just add it in to the product or get rid of it.

BUT in the end it is not that much money annually and not really a big deal and apparently TheCItyGame makes $30 every 2 seconds, but It comes across as a marketing ploy rather than a need for higher quality. They are doing some classic marketing tricks with that 30 bucks... Setting the expectation, advertising more than the competition, ohhh and Natalie Gulbis enjoys the checks. She's got her name on her sticks too, City.

[Locked]

All I know is that Hank Haney told me if I'm not using one I"m leaving strokes and money out on the course.... sooooooo.... take that.

[cristphoto]

I had a SkyCaddy and now use a Bushnell laser. My experience with the Sky Caddy (about 4 years ago) was that I had to load courses I wanted to play into it. That's not to difficult in and of itself but I would also have to recharge it after the round - again not super difficult. However with my Bushnell I simply leave it in my bag and it's ready to go no matter where I play. I've had the same battery for 2 years now. Combine that with the better accuracy and it works fine for me. What I like is I can simply laser to a dogleg (or other point on the course) to figure club selection whereas the SkyCaddy might not have that info. I've also found using a laser "trains" my eye in that I'm actually looking at a target and reading a distance. After using the laser for 2 years I've now become very good at estimating yardages. Whenever I ride in a cart that has GPS I don't get the same learning experience. Finally whenever I meet someone that also has a laser I'll usually ask to compare readings once or twice during the round. Virtually always both read the same. I recall when I had my SkyCaddy a friend had the same model and we would compare yardages and were amazed at some of the discrepencies.

[Sean2]

I have a laser. I wanted a GPS but couldn't find one I liked. I don't want stats, scoring, or all those bells and whistles. I just want yardages (hazards, greens, etc).

[finalist]

[quote name='cristphoto' timestamp='1345861572' post='5530875']
I recall when I had my SkyCaddy a friend had the same model and we would compare yardages and were amazed at some of the discrepencies.
[/quote]

Interesting. I would have guessed all that mapping would have made a better product based on the TV ads of the guy walking around. Time to make more informed purchases and save that 50 cents per round.
Personally a much prefer a laser also.

[torbill]

I have had several GPS units. Now I have the Skycaddie SGX. I have had a number of problems with it, and have been very unhappy about the problems, but at the end of the day I like it a lot better than my other GPS units. Accuracy and confidence are my priority. Accuracy has been an issue with every GPS unit I have ever had that is based satellite mappings of golf courses. I trust the accuracy of the sky caddie. I have verified it, time and again, against laser readings. I am an engineer. Is there somebody out there who wants to explain to me how satellite mapped golf courses are as accurate as a back mounted transponder?

Fifty bucks a year is a small price for me to pay to finally have confidence in my yardages. I pay more than this, by a longshot, for golf balls. I pay more than this for a round of golf at some of the courses. It's an aggravation, yes, but I'll pay it and I won't go to some other device until I am convinced that the yardages are as reliable as the sky caddie.

[ultra45]

I have a skycaddie sgx... and paid for the 3yr membership... and ended up moving to an area where 90% of the courses are not mapped at this time... and after contacting skygolf and local reps it doesn't seem like they have any intentions of mapping anything in the near future either

In general i do like the information it gives... but it is basically useless to me right now

[Medic]

+ 1 on the laser being more accurate - I own both a Bushnell Laser and a Bushnell XGC+. I use both but have found that the scope is more accurate for me. So long as I take elevations, wind, etc into consideration I can approach a shot knowing that the distance I am about to hit is accurate.

My GPS has been as much as 5 yards off of my buddy's GolfBuddy and 3 yards off of another friend's downloaded (smartphone) ap. Might not sound like a lot but it can mean being too long or too short by a club and instead of a GIR you are working for an up and down.

[cardia10]

I have used both for the past 5 years, and I much prefer the sky caddie. I know that most guys on this board can hit it 167 opposed to the 165 the sky caddie may say, but the real value to me is when playing courses I have never been on. The laser never mentioned that bunker beyond the dog leg or the creek just out of view. The laser also never told me the exact layup distance to 100 yards either. It may not be as exact as a laser, but if we were really that exact, we wouldn't be talking about electronic devices on a message board, our off days would be filled with travel to the next real tournamnet.

[cristphoto]

[quote name='ultra45' timestamp='1345898452' post='5531999']
I have a skycaddie sgx... and paid for the 3yr membership... and ended up moving to an area where 90% of the courses are not mapped at this time... and after contacting skygolf and local reps it doesn't seem like they have any intentions of mapping anything in the near future either

In general i do like the information it gives... but it is basically useless to me right now
[/quote]

Herein lies the basic problem with the SkyCaddy method of walking the course. They are not providing good service if they don't visit every golf course. I worked at a golf course for three years and we had a major bunker project. We never saw Sky Caddy come to the course. I assume some of the golfers that use the SkyCaddy reported this course upgrade. I heard people that had the Callway GPS that we sold and the golfers simply made a call to Callaway and in about two weeks they got the new version of the course on their devices. The companies that shoot a course from satellites can probably shoot the course for little to no expense compared to SkyCaddy.

[TM_HOYER]

[quote name='cristphoto' timestamp='1346115642' post='5545944']
[quote name='ultra45' timestamp='1345898452' post='5531999']
I have a skycaddie sgx... and paid for the 3yr membership... and ended up moving to an area where 90% of the courses are not mapped at this time... and after contacting skygolf and local reps it doesn't seem like they have any intentions of mapping anything in the near future either

In general i do like the information it gives... but it is basically useless to me right now
[/quote]

Herein lies the basic problem with the SkyCaddy method of walking the course. They are not providing good service if they don't visit every golf course. I worked at a golf course for three years and we had a major bunker project. We never saw Sky Caddy come to the course. I assume some of the golfers that use the SkyCaddy reported this course upgrade. I heard people that had the Callway GPS that we sold and the golfers simply made a call to Callaway and in about two weeks they got the new version of the course on their devices. The companies that shoot a course from satellites can probably shoot the course for little to no expense compared to SkyCaddy.
[/quote]

For those of us that also follow the forums on Skycaddie, we know this is not necessarily a Skycaddie issue. Many times when people request courses, the problem lies with not with Skycaddie but the course owners. To map a course it requires a course to give permission and to shut down all or part of the course on the day it is being mapped. There are courses that say no to that. Also if the course wants to provide good service to the people that play the course, when they are planning to do a renovation of the course, they should call Skycaddie as part of the project planning process to schedule a remapping. If they do that the remapping can be done when the course is closed for the renovations.

When it comes to the satellite photos, I can say I like where Callaway is headed with the uPro MX+ but the photos of the North Georgia courses they use for the pro mode are of terrible quality. So use of photos is not necessarily a positive.

[prorobo]

Played a new course today and a guy in our group had a Bushnell rangefinder. We were within 1 yard of each other's readings for the entire round. That plus I was able to get yardages for blind shots, bunkers, dog legs, and greens. Think I'll be hanging onto my Skycaddie through next season.

[ultra45]

[quote name='TM_HOYER' timestamp='1346120813' post='5546532']
[quote name='cristphoto' timestamp='1346115642' post='5545944']
[quote name='ultra45' timestamp='1345898452' post='5531999']
I have a skycaddie sgx... and paid for the 3yr membership... and ended up moving to an area where 90% of the courses are not mapped at this time... and after contacting skygolf and local reps it doesn't seem like they have any intentions of mapping anything in the near future either

In general i do like the information it gives... but it is basically useless to me right now
[/quote]

Herein lies the basic problem with the SkyCaddy method of walking the course. [b]They are not providing good service if they don't visit every golf course.[/b] I worked at a golf course for three years and we had a major bunker project. We never saw Sky Caddy come to the course. I assume some of the golfers that use the SkyCaddy reported this course upgrade. I heard people that had the Callway GPS that we sold and the golfers simply made a call to Callaway and in about two weeks they got the new version of the course on their devices. The companies that shoot a course from satellites can probably shoot the course for little to no expense compared to SkyCaddy.
[/quote]

For those of us that also follow the forums on Skycaddie, we know this is not necessarily a Skycaddie issue. Many times when people request courses, the problem lies with not with Skycaddie but the course owners. [b]To map a course it requires a course to give permission and to shut down all or part of the course on the day it is being mapped.[/b] There are courses that say no to that. Also if the course wants to provide good service to the people that play the course, when they are planning to do a renovation of the course, they should call Skycaddie as part of the project planning process to schedule a remapping. If they do that the remapping can be done when the course is closed for the renovations.


[/quote]

I've worked a course that was mapped... and we did not have to shut anything down... I've contacted skycaddie a few times ... first i was told that if i logged in to the skycaddie sync program and requested courses that eventually they would be mapped... a VP of skycaddie at the time told me that... a month or 2 ago I contacted them again about mapping since no new courses in the area have changed well over 6 months later and the response i was given was "we do not contact golf courses sir". So that means they have zero interested in coming here. I also know for a fact that there are a couple courses relatively close who have been requesting mapping for the last several seasons and nothing has been done!

Honestly... if skycaddie was willing to compensate me to map the courses in the area that I am in... I would be more than willing to do it!

[Solutions Etcetera]

While I have only been affiliated with a couple of courses, Ultra45's experience has been the norm for them as well. This is why I see their business model as more of a liability than an asset.

[torbill]

[quote name='cristphoto' timestamp='1346115642' post='5545944']
[quote name='ultra45' timestamp='1345898452' post='5531999']
I have a skycaddie sgx... and paid for the 3yr membership... and ended up moving to an area where 90% of the courses are not mapped at this time... and after contacting skygolf and local reps it doesn't seem like they have any intentions of mapping anything in the near future either

In general i do like the information it gives... but it is basically useless to me right now
[/quote]

Herein lies the basic problem with the SkyCaddy method of walking the course. They are not providing good service if they don't visit every golf course. I worked at a golf course for three years and we had a major bunker project. We never saw Sky Caddy come to the course. I assume some of the golfers that use the SkyCaddy reported this course upgrade. I heard people that had the Callway GPS that we sold and the golfers simply made a call to Callaway and in about two weeks they got the new version of the course on their devices. The companies that shoot a course from satellites can probably shoot the course for little to no expense compared to SkyCaddy.
[/quote]


I can only cite my experience. I play golf at numerous courses in Minnesota and Arizona. Early on, the SGX did not have Holeview or Intelligreen mappings for a lot of the Minnesota courses. Now there is exactly one course that I have played that doesn't have mappings, and it isn't really worth playing.

I am going to play at StoneRidge in Stillwater Minnesota this coming week. This is one of the finest public play courses in the state. I have played it exactly twice. The course is loaded with bunkers and hidden problems. The first time I played it, knowing nothing about the hidden problems, I shot one over. I could never have done this without the Holeview feature, impossible. I still don't know the course well, but when I play it this week I will be confident that I understand where all the problems are, and what my distances to and beyond the problems are, with great accuracy. If other GPS's can do this, fine, but I have never found it to be true with any other GPS device I have ever owned.

I play in Arizona all the time with golfers who use lasers. I compare yardages with them. When I am off, it is always because I have had to make an assumption about the pin position, whereas they are actually looking at the pin position. When the pin is in the middle of the green there are almost never discrepancies of more than a yard or two, and my assumption is that this is the amount of inaccuracy of the sky caddie mappings and the device, combined; I always assume that the laser is right on.

My problem with the SGX has been reliability issues, which have been maddening. I had to pay for one replacement, and then shortly thereafter that one had a problem and had to be replaced, this time at no cost. However, I am so fed up with accuracy problems with other GPS units that I am willing to live with this kind of thing. I am not wedded to sky caddie. When something better comes along I'll buy it. But for right now this is the best I know of.