First of all this is sweet finding a Golf fourm populated by cigar smokers. The course is one of my favorite places to share and enjoy a good cigar.

Just got a SkyCaddie personal GPS with the courses loaded. SWEET, only I found with the distance feature that my 260 yard drives were only 230 yards.

I did not think it would help on my home course but it is amazing how often it convinces me to take a longer club. I hit more greens now that I am using it.

I am a 15 but I know many scratch golfers that swear by theirs.

Many are finding the iGolf unit a better value - it doesn't require a subscription for the courses, AND they now have a version for Windows Mobile PDAs and phones thats really inexpensive (but most likely requires an external GPS receiver - I have a bluetooth one that works great).

The advantage SkyCaddie still has is the Intelligreen feature - but only on select courses.

What happened to just looking at the flag and saying: "It's about a 8 iron from here"


Just kidding

People love them... when they are working...

I guess all my golfing buddies are cheap. I've never seen one used before.

I just thought I would top this thread because my wife is asking what I want for father's day, and I thought about possibly asking for a GPS. Anyone out there get one yet? What do you think? What is the difference between models? Can you download courses from the internet? Do they have most courses available?

I don't have one, although I have seen them in my foursome. Here is what I have seen...
They seem to be unreliable as far as attaining the satellite for the GPS location. If it can't get the sat, then you have an expensive piece of black plastic with you. Battery life seems to be a problem.

When it works, you may save a few minutes by not having to pace off yardage as much. It can be handy to get the true distance on a par three when the markers have been shifted away from standard placement.

I'll let you research differences between models, etc.

I have never seen a serious player carry one. I have seen "players" carry the laser yardage gizmos that you aim at a target and it gives you a reading. No subscriptions, more convenient, no sateliite signals, more reliable and apparently, just as effective.

I would look into a good laser device in the $300 range - IMHO

I think all these pesky gadgets are useless. Just look at the pin and measure the distance in your head and take the shot.

I was thinking about the laser device too. It seems like it accomplishes the same goal, only much more efficiently. The caddies at the club use these, so they must be good. Of course none of these gadgets take into account things like uphill/downhill, wind direction, etc, but if I have an accurate distance, I can adjust for these factors.

I have a SG5 and I like it a lot. I have not had any problems as far as getting a the satellite and found it to be very accurate (at least as far as how much is left into a green--which is all I really use it for). For what it's worth, I have only used at a handfull of courses and mostly at my home club. Granted, it is expensive, but I find it to be very, very useful.

I've seen these used and I don't think I could bring myself to use it. I'm a consistent scratch golfer and would rather rely on my eye, listed distances, and course markers (sprinkler caps or actual markers). That's part of the fun of the game to me, being able to determine where you are and how much club you need. If anything, I think I would just use the GPS or laser as something to blame for playing bad.

The game is more fun when it's played with you, your clubs, the ball, and the pin (and a cigar of course) IMO.

quote:

Originally posted by carllieb:
only I found with the distance feature that my 260 yard drives were only 230 yards.

Most golfers experience that...they think they hit the ball further than they actually do.

I was working in the golf business when these things came out. We had a SkyCaddy rep come to our club and "map" our course so our members would be able to utilize the full capabilites of their units.

I don't think anyone had any problems getting a signal or with batteries, but these were all newer units. The ones I "tested", as compared to the laser range finders, were very accurate, plus with the terrain of our course you could always get an exact yardage measurement that you couldn't always get with the "line of sight" type range finders.

Having said that and having played in several groups that have used the SkyCaddie, they did not decrease playing time any as compared to not having them. When in the fairway, they weren't any more useful than finding the yardage on a nearby sprinkler head. However, on shots not in the fairway, or mishits that happen to find another hole (happens a lot with the guys I play with...LOL), the SkyCaddy would instantly give an accurate distance to the hole.

As for me, even though I love the technological advances that have been made in golf, I still rely on walking off my own yardage to make my club selection.

MOST golfers overestimate how far they hit the ball by a fairly substantial amount. Sort of like knowledge...the more you know, the more you realize how much you don't know. If you're a serious player, you know the true limitations of your play...but if you're a 15 or higher, or if you are just a casual golfer, those 270 - 300 yard drives you think you're hitting are really only about 230.

Lucky...you need all the help you can get!! Once you learn how to hit the ball straight, and you're hitting at least 40% of the greens in regulation (i.e., on in 2 for a par 4, on in 3 for a par 5...), then you are in a position to start learning about judging distance. Otherwise, yeah...just get it close and scramble for bogie. Work on the wedge and bump/run game. Distance really doesn't matter unless you're hitting your clubs consistently to such a distance.

The old Sahara course in Las Vegas used to have carts with information screens that measured distance from the cart to the green...nice touch!

quote:

Originally posted by ryj7x47:
MOST golfers overestimate how far they hit the ball by a fairly substantial amount.

That would mean that MOST golfers come up short of the green on most holes. I dont think this is the case. You would think after coming up short once or twice that they would club down on the next try. I think most golfers have more of an issue with hitting the ball well, and hitting it straight than they do with distance approximation. The angle of the swing, closing of the club face in the follow through, and simple things like positioning, stance, and grip. Of course, distance will be altered by mis-hits, slices, etc...significantly in many cases.

Not sure I trust them. Used one built into the golf cart and on one drive it said I hit it 280.

Now way it was 280. I like the laser things better.

quote:

Originally posted by martin mick:
Not sure I trust them. Used one built into the golf cart and on one drive it said I hit it 280.

Now way it was 280. I like the laser things better.

Try using the laser when you have a blind shot...or the wind is blowing 20-30 mph and you can't stand steady enough to hit your target with the laser...

quote:

That would mean that MOST golfers come up short of the green on most holes.

They (we) do. That is, if they (we) even can get it close enough to get an accurate gauge of distance. Otherwise, the approach is usually a slice here, a hook there, a worm-burner skulled shot...and in those instances, distance is a function of luck.

If you do get the sort of distance you state, and you still aren't scoring for beans, then there's something seriously wrong with the equation, and there's absolutely no way to tell how far you hit the ball with any particular club. PERHAPS...MAYBE...you get lucky and you smack that 1 shot that goes where and how far you want it to go...once in a while... But you can really only talk about distance if you CONSISTENTLY hit a ball a particular distance repeatedly and intentionally.

Don't resist...LEARN...be open to suggestion. Because it's pretty clear that your methods aren't working. That leaves only a couple of options if you're trying to improve: listen to sound advice and improve, or insist on your own righteousness and stay the same, while investing thousands on gimmicks and quick-fix remedies that don't work.

Do you recommend that laypersons perform surgery on themselves? No. They need professional help, and they need to follow the professional advice. So do you with your golf game.

quote:

distance will be altered by mis-hits, slices, etc...significantly in many cases.

Which is really my point. If you're not hitting the ball clean consistently, how can ANYONE possibly say that they hit a "x" club "y" yards? It doesn't make sense.

I'm an OK golfer and had played to a 7 for a while, but not any more, and I knew that, with calm wind conditions, I hit my 8-iron 148 - 155 yards, my 7-iron about 160 - 165, my 6-iron 170 - 178, my 5-iron 180 - 195 (depending on how hard I wanted to hit it), my 4-iron 200 - 205, my 3-iron 210. I hit them consistently that far and the key was minimizing the breadth of direction right to left. But I'd never say, yeah, I hit my 3-iron 240 yard...once...and then conclude that such was the distance for that iron. NO WAY! Even if I DID manage to hit the club that far on one occasion. That would NOT be my 'distance' for that iron.

Distance is how far you CONSISTENTLY hit a club in the intended direction.

Agree with RyJ,
Most golfers are short of the green by one means or another. If anyone keeps track of his/her missed greens, he/she will find the ratio of short to long will be 16:2 maybe higher.

With this being said, many of us can benefit from taking more club. Try it.