Skycaddie SG4

[Dan Joseph]

I'm thinking about buying a skycaddie SG4, any comments or other suggestions?

I'm also wondering what people think about the use of range finders on the course.

[John Kavanaugh]

We just completed a local open tournament and the biggest complaint from the winner was how when paired with Skycaddettes he could not get them to quit announcing out loud their and his distances.  I say buy one if you must but keep the information to yourself.  

[Brent Hutto]

I have an SG3 which is the same form-factor as the SG4 except it runs on AA batteries instead of a built-in rechargable one. I prefer the SG3/SG4 screen because I can see it fine without reading glasses, the SG2 is very borderline for my eyes. That said, if you don't have presbyopia the SG2 is probably better because it's more convenient to carry and use.

Two complaints. First, you have to subscribe to their service on a yearly basis (around $40-$50) which I suspect will really rankle after a couple years. Second, under some conditions they can be slow to update when you're walking. It's a mystery to me but for some reason the Skycaddies can stay reasonably caught up for people riding in carts but somehow for walkers you can end up waiting 10-15 seconds for it to settle down after walking a 100+ yards.

Other than that, I like mine. For wedge shots it aids confidence to know the distance to the back of the green for a back hole location or front of the green for a front one. Plus it's nice when you have to carry a greenside bunker from an odd angle in the woods. The third common situation is to get exact layup yardages short of a water hazard rather than thinking "just leave it a little short of the 100-yard marker".

[John Kavanaugh]

Also, never use a skycaddie if you do not want the world to know wher you are or have been.  

[Dan Herrmann]

Brent,
They don't update as fast while walking because the antenna doesn't always get a lock on the birds.  If you're walking with the SkyCaddy in your hand, and the antenna up, it'll work fine.

I have mine (SG2) clipped to my bag which works very well - walking or riding.

[Pete_Pittock]

One of my friends has a Skycaddie (unknown model) and is having trouble getting accurate yardages in the "pro" mode, which gives front/middle/back yardages. It works fine in the mode which just gives yds to center of green. He said this is not an isolated incident.

[Mike Nuzzo]

Dan,
Try the ramainder of the season looking at the flag and trusting yourself.

I've never seen anyone waiting for a satellite to give them info.  Next time I do, I'll try to smile.

Cheers

[Padraig Dooley]

Skycaddie is great for blind shots and when you find yourself on the wrong fairway .

[Chris Cupit]

I offer for sale at my club the SkyCaddie SG4 (and other models) and the Bushnell 1500 (as well as other models) and the SkyCaddies are a pain in the a**!

We have to send about five of them back and they are a pain to deal with--backordered, slow responding to isuues, etc.

Just my 2 cents.  I carry the Bushnell.

[Tiger_Bernhardt]

I am a Bushnell man but have trouble using it and frankly would rather and 95% of the time just pace off my distances.

[Bill_McBride]

Hopefully Dr Childs won't see this    but my personal opinion is it is counter-productive to know the exact distance to any pin.  If you know it's 200 yards to the pin, but you should really hit the shot 170 because the green is firm, or 180 on a low trajectory because you want to skip the shot up onto a back tier, then having the 200 yard figure burned into your brain by the Skycaddy doesn't help.

[Michael Wharton-Palmer]

Bushnell all the way, and I have both...the sky caddie is not very reliable...I played in an event last year with a guy who also had the same sky caddie..and from the same spot our yardages could differ as much as 8 yards...the Bushnell is quicker to use and pick up distances.

Of course both are "cheating" if the cheater line non proponents are to be heard...but this is 21st century and the rules permit their usage.

Actually at the recent Travis Memorial, distance devices were not allowed.

[Brent Hutto]

If anyone who has ever paid a caddie to tote their bag gives me shit about using a yardage device I will laugh in his face. Same goes for anyone I see pacing off a distance from a sprinkler head.

If you literally eyeball everything, haul your own stuff and never consult a yardage book or pin sheet then you're a purist. Otherwise, we're just haggling over price.

[Michael Wharton-Palmer]

Brent
I agree...I am all for purity but not when it means giving the field a huge advantage.
Hell I wish we were still playing balatas and persimmon woods...but I left those days behind...at first reluctantly but now you just have to fight to keep up...age is killing me the young kids have all learned better mechanics...you bet I will use a yardage device

[Mike Hoak]

I am going to break down this weekend and buy an SG2.  I have resisted for over a year (this coming from an aknowledged tech junky).  I have played around with units owned by other members at my course over the last two months and have found the SG2 quite accurate and extremely helpful.  I chose it over the Bushnell (which we use in VA for course rating) because it's easier and quicker to use.  

And to echo Michael's point about giving the field an advantage, at my member-guest last weekend, four out of the five teams we played were using some type of distance measuring device.

[Rick Shefchik]

I am all for purity but not when it means giving the field a huge advantage.
Hell I wish we were still playing balatas and persimmon woods...but I left those days behind...at first reluctantly but now you just have to fight to keep up...age is killing me the young kids have all learned better mechanics...you bet I will use a yardage device

That's really the core issue for this discussion group, isn't it? Golf course architecture would not have changed much if we, the players, were not fighting to keep up with each other -- and if the equipment manufacturers had not unleashed their crack cocaine on us...

[Kevin_Reilly]

You guys actually paid for and use this crap?

PT Barnum was a Goddamn genius.

Do you instruct your caddies on the first tee to withhold all distance information for the duration of the round?  I'd like to be there at SFGC, CPC etc when you do.  

[Dan Herrmann]

You guys actually paid for and use this crap?

PT Barnum was a G**damn genius.

uh, yep...  

[Geoffrey Childs]

Hopefully Dr Childs won't see this    but my personal opinion is it is counter-productive to know the exact distance to any pin.  If you know it's 200 yards to the pin, but you should really hit the shot 170 because the green is firm, or 180 on a low trajectory because you want to skip the shot up onto a back tier, then having the 200 yard figure burned into your brain by the Skycaddy doesn't help.

Hey Bill -

Nice to see MANY others who take advantage of a device that can both help and speed play.

To answer your question, getting front, middle and rear distances as well as bunker and other hazard clear distances actually helps with choosing direction and distance to land a shot. THis has been very helpful at Yale where greens are huge and club selection can be very different depending on pin locations.

[Pete Lavallee]

Dr. Childs,

How exactly does Skycaddie know where the pin is set each day? I asked this question in the forum before and did not receive an answer.

Thanks in advance,
Pete L.

[Jerry Kluger]

My understanding is that Skycaddie does not give distance to the pin - it gives distance to front, middle and back - flag colors, pin sheets or other aides are used to determine yardage to the flag.

[Jordan Wall]

Whats it matter if your 150 out compared to 152 or 153...save the $350...

[Geoffrey Childs]

Dr. Childs,

How exactly does Skycaddie know where the pin is set each day? I asked this question in the forum before and did not receive an answer.

Thanks in advance,
Pete L.

Pete - The feature called Inteligreen provides the user with an outline of the green shape.  You start with distances to the front middle and back of the green at its central point.  The user needs to estimate where the pin is located (at Yale we have white, blue/white and blue flags for front center and back pins). The user then moves a cursor and an X on the screen that adjusts the X (middle distance) to a point on the shape of the green that you estimate the pin is located.  At the same time the front and back distances also change to adjust to the left/right position of the cursor on the green. Its very often not necessary to do this because as my friend Bill McBride mentioned, I often just use front, middle and rear distances to play to a spot on the green with contour or a shelf where the pin is located or where you want to land so the ball can release.

Jerry - you can try it at Ballyneal next month - the course is fully mapped (I'm sure with Tom Doak's and Adam C's Blessing   )

[Brent Hutto]

Whats it matter if your 150 out compared to 152 or 153...save the $350...

--How about if you're 150 from the center of the green and it's somewhere around 126-138 to clear the bunker between you and the hole?

--Or it's 150 to the center of the green but the flag is just five paces from the back of the green which you figure is "about" 170 "more or less"? And let's say there's a four-foot dropoff with deep rough back there.

--Or better yet it's a Par 3 where you can't see the bottom of the flag but there's a bunker in front and water over the green and all you know is the card says "#17 Par 3 164 Yards" but the tees seem to be awfully far forward today?

--Or finally, you "think" it is "about" 102 to carry the front bunker and you know you can hit your pitching wedge exactly 104 yards. Is that enough club or is that 102 really more like 107?

Of course serious players just wing it, right? You wouldn't see a good player worrying about the difference in 102 and 107. Heck, that's why they don't even play practice rounds on a new course...

[Jordan Wall]

Whats it matter if your 150 out compared to 152 or 153...save the $350...

--How about if you're 150 from the center of the green and it's somewhere around 126-138 to clear the bunker between you and the hole?

--Or it's 150 to the center of the green but the flag is just five paces from the back of the green which you figure is "about" 170 "more or less"? And let's say there's a four-foot dropoff with deep rough back there.

--Or better yet it's a Par 3 where you can't see the bottom of the flag but there's a bunker in front and water over the green and all you know is the card says "#17 Par 3 164 Yards" but the tees seem to be awfully far forward today?

--Or finally, you "think" it is "about" 102 to carry the front bunker and you know you can hit your pitching wedge exactly 104 yards. Is that enough club or is that 102 really more like 107?

Of course serious players just wing it, right? You wouldn't see a good player worrying about the difference in 102 and 107. Heck, that's why they don't even play practice rounds on a new course...

Right, for 99.99999999% of golfers, though, it doesn't matter if its 102 or 107 because the chances are their wedge isn't going to go exactly 104 every time.

As far as I know, for the first 350 plus years of existence, all until about 6 years ago, golf was fine without weird distance devices.