Wanted: Skycaddie Advice

[Slicer&Dicer]

Hi:

I know some folks out there have experience with the skycaddie and I might be looking to get one, although my budget is very limited.

1) I might just want to try an older SG2? Anyone here ever used it? Would it be just as accurate for Front/Center/Back of Green as an SG5?

2) I see on eBay that there is an SG4 Version 2.0, is this the latest SG4?

3) I believe you need a subscription for the fairway points of interest but do you need it for the front/middle/back of green?

4) The older units are probably slower than the newer units, but what does that really mean, when you walk up to your ball? I would have to wait up to 1 minute for the yardage? OR wait even more with the older units?

5) I thought I seen somewhere where someone had stated that there was a skycaddie update late last year that was throwing yardages off and Skycaddie didn't know why yet?

6) Is there any gotcha's, stays away from stuff, other helpful info, etc that I might want to consider.

Thanks in advance.

[The Saint]

I have the SG4. There is a yearly fee to use it. The cost depends on if it is just for Canada or US etc. It gives yardages to traps, end of fairway, front-middle-back of greens, etc. If you want to you can pay a little extra for downloads such as score stats..

I haven't heard of any glitches but then I don't download anything but the course maps that I play.

[Chambokl]

The first one I had was a SG4... I thought it was great... but then I got the SG5... I like it a lot better. Battery life is awesome. You could easily play 36 holes... and the battery charges in a couple of hours... probably the biggest difference for me. I also like the fact that you have the time on it... + all the extras...

If I would be you I would look around and try to find a SG5 for around $250 to $300... I really like mine and never play without it.

[golfnut_eh]

You might want to think about a Bushnell (formerly iGolf) Neo. They can be had for about $100 and you can easily map courses yourself. Great little unit.

[Slicer&Dicer]

Thanks for the info so far.

Is the skycaddie membership in US dollars?

For the Neo, I read here that the distances are only from the center of the fairway, somewhere I see little of, lol...A
Also, since one would download the iGolf files to their PC, can these GPS files be shared?

[golfnut_eh]

For the Neo, it holds front, middle and back of the green, plus several custom points per hole (eg. you could mark front and back of hazard). It will then tell you distances from where you are to any point. So, whether you are 30 yards off the fairway to the right or middle of the fairway it will tell you distance to the green.

In terms of courses, they can be shared. I have mapped a few courses myself, and shared the files with other Neo owners.

[triplets]

Hi:

I know some folks out there have experience with the skycaddie and I might be looking to get one, although my budget is very limited.

1) I might just want to try an older SG2? Anyone here ever used it? Would it be just as accurate for Front/Center/Back of Green as an SG5?

2) I see on eBay that there is an SG4 Version 2.0, is this the latest SG4?

3) I believe you need a subscription for the fairway points of interest but do you need it for the front/middle/back of green?

4) The older units are probably slower than the newer units, but what does that really mean, when you walk up to your ball? I would have to wait up to 1 minute for the yardage? OR wait even more with the older units?

5) I thought I seen somewhere where someone had stated that there was a skycaddie update late last year that was throwing yardages off and Skycaddie didn't know why yet?

6) Is there any gotcha's, stays away from stuff, other helpful info, etc that I might want to consider.

Thanks in advance.

I have the SG2, gives yardage front, centre back and hazards as well.
Haven't got this years fees but around30 i suspect. Great unit and only thing I would like is to be able to add players for scoring which the othe units now do I believe.
George.

[Slicer&Dicer]

Many thanks for the info so far.

I am realizing that the skycaddie has issues both with tech support and the various units, the SG4 has charging cable conector problems (screw and/or charging port apparently a bad design), the SG5 battery and other issues. If you read the Skycaddie forums, one gentleman even says that they told him his SG5 could not be repaired and they wanted $35 to get it back.

And yes, I know there are probably issues with every model and the service, etc and hopefully these are the exceptions rahter than the norm.

Hey Golfnut_eh: Did you have any issues with the Neo GPS, battery or cable/connector for charging OR does it simply charge through the USB port?

George, any issues with the SG2 ? Sounds like you are happy!

[golfnut_eh]

I have an iGolf Caddie which is about 3 or 4 years old and the Neo is my wife's and is about a year old. No issues on either. I am considering a Neo purchase to replace my Caddie, as the Neo is much smaller and has a lithium battery (the Caddie uses AAs).

No hesitation to recommend.

[triplets]

Many thanks for the info so far.

I am realizing that the skycaddie has issues both with tech support and the various units, the SG4 has charging cable conector problems (screw and/or charging port apparently a bad design), the SG5 battery and other issues. If you read the Skycaddie forums, one gentleman even says that they told him his SG5 could not be repaired and they wanted $35 to get it back.

And yes, I know there are probably issues with every model and the service, etc and hopefully these are the exceptions rahter than the norm.

Hey Golfnut_eh: Did you have any issues with the Neo GPS, battery or cable/connector for charging OR does it simply charge through the USB port?

George, any issues with the SG2 ? Sounds like you are happy!

My caddie use a lithium battery not the AA's as earlier reported. when I first got it had to return it and they sent me a new one no charge as it was under warranty, bought it new in orlando. Since then no problems. went on line and can obtain a new battery for about 25 dollars rather than go through sky caddie. Same battery and its about 4 yrs or more older. YOu can do the courses yourself if you want on this model of mine.
I like it and it does all what I want except the input of players.
George.

[nd2golf]

I picked up a SG5 off of another forum last year (only a few weeks old). I love it and I have had no issues with it at all and played on many different courses from Ontario, Michigan, New Brunswick. There is a yearly charge and since I golf in both Canada and the US I have to get the worldwide subscription which costs $60US. I don't think that is too outrageous as all courses are walked unlike a lot of the other ones that are mapped via google earth. I have golfed with several other people who have had other brands and there has been upwards of 12 yards different between units. Mine has always been within a yard of the sprinkler heads and yardage markers.

As far as mapping your own course, I haven't had to do that as all of the courses that I have played have been available for download besides mapping your own is good if you are going to be playing it quite often.

There have been updates for the firmware on the SG5 and any other Sky Caddie that runs firmware version 3 at least and has introduced new views and features of each hole.

Also, with the introduction of a lot of apps for smartphones and the latest version of the sky caddie SGX you are seeing a lot of the older versions for sale.

[OutOfTheRough]

+1 for the sky caddie.
I've got the SG4 and aside from poor battery lenght in cold weather ( which is expected ) I've had no issues. Tech support when calling them was actually pretty good. Again no issues on my side of things. As for updates they keep making it better. I took the Caddie to Myrtle Beach and played Crow Creek, and it was great to see the actual undulations of the greens...

No complaints here

Tim

[nd2golf]

I do believe that since SG is charging subscriptions for this service and as there are numerous others out there that don't that SG will continue to make it better. If they don't keep the enhancements coming and they let the owners of their units down then there is going to be a loss of market share. Once a person buys a upro or Neo where there is no additional charges then there is going to be no reason that the company do anything extra or new. They will simply build new models which then gets additional money out of the consumer.

[Shreen]

You may also consider the SG 2.5. Similar features as the SG 5.0, but smaller with a smaller screen and thus a smaller cost. Got one last year and I love it. Had the NEO previously. The SG 2.5 is larger but not a whole lot. Biggest advantage of SG over NEO is the intelligreen system. If the course is supported you can move the flag on the screen to get a better reading to the flag. (great for multitiered greens). Also the Skycaddie gives F,M,B yardages regardless of orientation. So if you hit it 100 yards right of a green you will still get 90,100,110 but with a NEO it goes to specific points so you will probably get something like 101,100,101. For those of use who are VERY wayward on occasion, its is a nice feature.

[Slicer&Dicer]

Anyone know what nearby Quebec courses are included (if any) with the basic (ON) Birdie plan.

I believe the Birdie plan is supposed to be your own province (ON for me)

such as :

Le Soricer
Chateau Cartier
Champlain
Buckingham
Les Vieux
Montebello

etc.

Or do you need the next higher plan, i.e. the Eagle (or country plan) ?

I am suspecting that when you get the basic plan they just let you have it for your own province? which is what I would want first of course.

Thanks.

[spackler]

Birdie gets you all of Canada I believe. I have a Birdie plan for my skycaddie and all the mapped local courses (QC and ON) are included.

[Slicer&Dicer]

I ended up buying an older SG2.

I just signed up for the birdie plan (i.e. the lowest) and it seems to give you all of Canada as previously stated above by spackler.

Thanks to all for your help.