Sky Caddie

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By George S

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  • 15 Replies
  1. George S

    George S
    Edmundston Canada, NB

    Does anybody feel with all the new sky caddy gadgets. It makes us play it different from the past and making it less of a challenge. Now we play the Caddy tells us to play. Their are so many times we will play and try to pick the yardage and club on our own and then the sky caddy and 50% of the time we did not get the yardage right. Then you use the sky caddy and tells you what to use. I would like to know what golfers think about it.
  2. Carl T

    Carl T
    Little Rock, AR

    My Sky Caddie is the 2.5 and it gives yardage to hazzards, lay up distance for next shot that you choose, e.g., 100, 90,80 etc., distance to front,middle and back of green and the ability to move pin around on the green. Also tells you how far you drove the ball. This last one is a reality check. I would say 90% of golfers way over estimate how far they drive their ball. What my Sky caddie does not do is calculate ball flight for up or down hill shots, temperature, wind speed or course conditions, e.g., dry, wet, hard or soft fairways, etc. Taking the information that the sky caddie offers and then factoring in the conditions for the shot from experience, I think it is a great tool that gives confidence in club selection for the situation warranted. What I don't like about the sky caddie is the yearly fee to use the sky caddie. I also have a laser range finder that I use when I get into wedge range for the pin. The laser is hard to use for distances over 150 yards without a steady hold and you can't use it for targets that are out of sight.
  3. Fred Closs

    Fred Closs
    Denton, TX

    The GPS devices are great for helping you to see the layout of courses you haven't played before, but all they tell you is a distance, just like a yardage book. YOU still have to hit the shot.

  4. Tom M

    Tom M
    Olmsted Falls, OH

    Tour Pros have professional caddies to help them with their yardage, why shouldn't we have the same information? I love my Sky Caddie & never play without it.
  5. Caseman P

    Caseman P
    Highlands Ranch, CO

    Nah, a lot of it still comes down to feel. You've got your yardage, but then there might be wind, you might be going down hill or uphill, you may want to play to the back of the green and avoid a bunker, come in high with no roll or come in low with lots of release, etc.etc. etc.

    But remeber the days when you'd read a sprinkler head yardage and you knew it wasn't even close? It's nice not having that problem anymore. Or the courses that had no yardages marked at all and you couldn't tell if you were 160 out or 185 (maybe that's just me). That was less of a challenge and more of a frustration for me.

    I like that a skycaddie or a range finder can put me in the ball park with a yardage and then I can go with my gut on where and how to hopefully get it there.

  6. Mark C

    Mark C

    I think it make us play different from the past in that we now have more accurate yardage.  It definitely helps me to know the carry distance and lay up yardage for hazards.  Combine that with knowledge of the front, centre, and back and I feel more confident in my club choices.  I think it helps improve your scoring to be honest.

    The other key thing is that it allows you to play faster, you instantly have the yardages you need and it makes for quicker club selection and in turn quicker play.

  7. Quintin H

    Quintin H
    Morehead, KY

    Don't use them. We have GPS on the carts and it has never convinced me to change clubs.

    I just look at the 100,150,200,250 yard markers and guess which club.

    But it would come in handy on an unfamiliar course, standing there at the 150 and looking like it is 110 is a hard feeling to get over.

  8. greg p

    greg p
    Chicago 'burbs, IL

    I've had my Sky Caddie for 2 years now.  Love it.  It is huge at helping to identify distances to/over hazards and helping with the depth of greens.  There is no guesswork particularly on unfamiliar courses.  I also like being able to gauge distances to landing areas for layup shots.

    Lasers are useless on blind shots.

  9. James B

    James B
    San Antonio, TX

    I have the SG5 , it's GREAT :-)
  10. Brent W

    Brent W
    St George, UT

    I agree with the post above that it allows you to play faster. Other than that there is more that goes into a golf shot besides distance.

  11. Mike L

    Mike L
    Bossier City, LA

    I play with the sky caddy SG5.  I do not play enough for my depth perception to be that good.

    The device is to speed up play.  My group is less than professional and nothing is worse than being behind a group

    or with a group that is constantly looking for yardage markers or plumb bobbing on the green when none of us can break a egg

    much less make a living at the game.

  12. Michael R

    Michael R
    Amityville, NY

    Maybe it's just me but I feel that when I look at any GPS, Im not confident enough in the yardages it puts out to change my mind on clubs. I play alot of tournament golf and last July ordered a Bushnell Laser Rangefinder Tourney Edition and it made all the difference. It is said to be accurate within +/- 1 yard. I love the fact I can "shoot" whatever I want with the laser (a tree, Guys in the group in front of me, cart signs, bunkers, etc). Also, I have stood next to guys using separate GPS units and have seen them get different yardages by as many as 10-15 yards. I Don't Know, maybe its just the fact that there are too many technologies that come into play when using a GPS that I feel the coverage can see me at the wrong distance way too easily. 10 yards can be a big difference in yardage The down side to laser is when you arrive at a blind shot. You must walk ahead in between your bag and the pin, shoot the pin, then your bag to get the distance. Also, sometimes you can "shoot" a tree behind the pin instead of the pin and get a yardage way off. Bushnell did great fixing this problem with the Pinseeker option. A symbol will come up when hit your target to ensure proper distance. To conclude, I just feel alot more confident in the yardages I get with my Laser Rangefinder. Furthermore, if you dont play tournament golf, look at the regular versions of Rangefinder. They include a slope measurement, which is illegal in tournament play, that will use slope and the yardage to come up with the amount of yards you should add/drop to your shot. Example, you shoot a pin at 150 yards. The rangefinder determines the angle uphill and will put out a reading that says Pin is 150 yards add 14 yards for slope. Just letting everyone know my experience with both GPS and Laser Rangefinders. Good luck to everyone and I hope everyone shoots their lowest rounds ever in 2012! Play within your own Game and most importantly Enjoy Yourself!
  13. Carl T

    Carl T
    Little Rock, AR

    I use both the sky caddie and the laser. Use the sky caddie for range to lay up with 100 yds, range to hazzards, to greens and pin location for 130 yard shots and longer and the laser for 130 and closer. I carry 4 wedges and use the one that works best for the given range.
  14. Pete D

    Pete D
    Plaistow, NH / Ft. Myers, FL

    I've been using the SG5 for 4 years. It gives me all I need and helps speed of play. I also paid $20 extra for the stats collection features, which allows me to analyze my game and see where I need to improve. Can't wait for spring!
  15. Caseman P

    Caseman P
    Highlands Ranch, CO

    I work for an engineering company using GPS equipment for mapping. When using GPS without a base station your accuracy could be off as much as 10 meters. Most of the time, in ideal conditions (sky full of satellites, no obstructions like trees interfering with your signal), your accuracy can be 0.5 meter. Most of the time, 3 meters is about normal. A device used for hiking, like a Garmen, will get you good elevations, but your position is going to be off by 10 meters. Nerd stuff, but that’s why I like using a laser range finder. I can shoot the flag, guys on the greens, lip of a bunker, and I know that I’ll usually be 3 yards more precise than a guy in my group with a sky caddie. But then when I have to hit the shot, all of that precision goes out the window anyway and I'm still left with a 30 yard up and down.

  16. Chris92009

    Chris92009
    Ohio

    I have been using the Skycaddie SGX with lots of success and comparing it constantly with my Bushnell 1300 Tour Slop Laser Range Finder and seeing similar numbers so I have total confidence in it.  IMHO

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