Sky Caddie SGX

Let me start with a confession. I am a big fan of golf DMD's (distance measuring devices). I want to make that clear as the subject regular appears on many golf forums and always divides opinion between those that think they are the antithesis of the spirit of the game and those that think they are a godsend and an essential part of their golfing kit.

I have used Sky Caddie for many years and had their SC5 model which offered a colour screen which I wanted compared to the more basic models on offer at the time. I got my device soon after they came out in the UK and it has been a fine and faithful servant over hundreds of rounds and given me the vital information I needed on many courses, a lot of which I'd never set foot on before. However, as with many things in life, myself included, it has got old and the battery no longer retains its charge, it loses the signal or fails to change from hole to hole. I was in the market for a new device.

Perhaps the biggest selling point of any Sky Caddie is that they go to each course and measure it by foot on the ground to arguably give the most accurate information for any device on the market. There are a number of devices new for 2013 including the SGXw which is a wireless model. However having had issues with my I-pad and connectivity and being a bit of a technological Luddite I opted for the next model down in the range, the SGX.

This is what Sky Caddie say about it and the features contained in the unit

For the ultimate in convenience and reliability, the SkyCaddie SGX can store up to 30,000 pre-loaded, ground-verified course maps making it ready-to-play out of the box with Basic Green information. The SGX boasts a durable, sleek design with a large 3-inch, easy-to-read, transflective TFT-LCD screen that provides brilliant colour images even in the brightest sunlight.

The SGX uses an innovative dual navigation option to provide golfer friendly, one-handed operation and enhanced precision positioning without blocking critical screen information with fingers and smudges. With its new, intuitive user interface, the SkyCaddie SGX offers everything found in competitive rangefinders plus higher quality, better reliability and several proprietary stroke-saving essentials that have kept SkyCaddie the #1 Rangefinder in Golf for the entire decade.
SkyCaddie SGX Golf GPS Rangefinder Features:

New Design With Brilliant Colour Display

• Durable, sleek design with a large 3-inch, high-resolution, transflective TFT-LCD screen for brilliant images in the brightest sunlight.

Dual Navigation

• Golfer friendly, one-handed operation provides more precise positioning and better accuracy without obscuring screen information with fingers and smudges.

TruePoint GPS™ Precision Positioning Technology

• High performance GPS engine for ultra-fast satellite acquisition and unmatched accuracy and reliability. You can’t trust your club if you can’t trust your caddie.

Omni-Directional, High Performance GPS Antenna

• Locks quickly to more satellites and stays locked to optimise performance and accuracy in all terrains, even under tree foliage.

High Precision Ground-Verified Course Maps

• Only SkyCaddie walks every course to make sure you have information you can trust. No Tour Player uses yardage books derived from satellite images or flyovers. Neither should you. Get unlimited access to the most complete, most reliable, ground-verified course maps in the game with a simple annual plan with no hidden fees or variable charges.

Preloaded Courses

• Up to 30,000 course maps are preloaded and ready-to-play out of the box with Basic Green information. Plus store up to 50 full-featured courses through a SkyCaddie Membership Plan.*

Hazards, Carries and Layups

• SkyCaddie records thousands of points on each golf course with sub-meter precision. Distances to hazards, carries and layups are displayed automatically as you move down the course. Knowing these critical distances lets you to manage your game and eliminate those 6, 7, and 8’s from your scorecard.

Interactive HoleVue™ With Zoom

• SkyCaddie is creating, at a rate of hundreds per month, the only high-precision graphics library of every golf hole, based on ground-corrected data. With HoleVue, you’ll know the distance to any point on a hole in order to play that hole with the fewest strokes. Need a close-up view to strategize your next shot? HoleVue includes a patented zoom function to dial into the exact area you need to see.

IntelliGreen®

• With SkyCaddie’s patented IntelliGreen® technology, the exact shape of the green automatically rotates to match your angle of approach to provide all of the distances you need to hit more greens and avoid 3-putts. This proprietary feature gives you a chance to turn every shot into a scoring opportunity by providing front carry and back distances, depth of green, and distances to any other point on the green — simultaneously.

IntelliGreen® Pro™*

• Built on proven IntelliGreen technology, IntelliGreen Pro is another proprietary feature that adds distances to major green contours, false fronts, front carry and back distances — plus any other point on the green from your angle of attack. This kind of crucial scoring information is only possible by precision-mapping a golf course from the ground with sub-meter accuracy…and it’s only available with SkyCaddie.

Measure Any Shot

• Discover exactly how far you hit every club in your bag. Knowing your club distances gives you another way to manage your game better.

Digital Scorecard and Stat Tracking

• Track your score for every round with the SkyCaddie’s Digital Scorecard, plus see key stats like GIR, fairways hit and total putts with ease. Sync with ClubSG™ for the most comprehensive round analysis in the game.

The Sky Caddie SGX

So you've read what Sky Caddie says but how does it live up to the hype. Let me start with a negative. I have never liked the fact that you have to pay an annual subscription and that if you don't renew, the machine gets locked so you can't even access courses you have already downloaded. I am not a fan of this annual fee and again on many forums it is a familiar gripe. However I do think Sky Caddie have done a good thing offering the first year for free although I accept that there will be a hit next year.

As I've already said, I am a bit of a Luddite but the quick start guide eases you into registering the unit and downloading courses you want. The "Caddie Synch" function is the way the unit gets the information via a USB cable plugged into the laptop. It will feed not only the courses but will give you software upgrades and you can then download scores and other details of your round onto your online account.

So what. The proof of the pudding is out on the course. Well it is quick to load and I have had no trouble with the unit finding the course. I have used it with and without the scoring option and if I'm being brutally honest I found the scoring option fiddly and irritating as it kept asking for the score and number of putts (and fairway hit or not) before moving onto the next hole. I keep my score the old fashioned way with card and pencil and so for me it didn't add anything. I keep my statistics and round details on another bit of software (Scoresaver 2) so I'm not too bothered about downloading my score information.

That is a small grumble. The unit gives you a view of the hole, ideal if you have never seen it before and gives you an idea what lies in front. You have the option to list the hazards, one I've set up, so you can stand on the tee and know how far it is to carry that fairway bunker. It makes the decision making process a lot easier. As you progress down the hole the overhead view accurately shows where you are and what is left to negotiate. As you approach the green you can zoom to the "intelligreen" feature which shows the shape and give you a reading to the front, middle and back. Using the joystick you can move the flag to show its true position on the green and the unit will recalculate these three readings accordingly.

The SGX unit is compact and sits comfortably inside my pocket. It is easy to read and as with my old SC5 model I have confidence in the distances it gives me. I have a very good idea how far I hit each club (having used the ball mark feature on my SC5 on the practice ground) and so it is a very quick process to get a reading, adjust the flag position if I want more detail and decide what club to hit based on the conditions.

I have had used it a number of times now and I'm very pleased with my purchase. It does everything a DMD device should do (with loads of other features like scoring) and is hassle free and above all accurate. Standing on a par 3, I adjusted the flag position and then compared the yardage with the laser device of my partner. We had the same figure and lets face it even if there had been a +/- of a yard of two because he had locked onto the flag, at my level is that going to be a show stopper? I don't think so. The difference in performance between the SGX and my old SC5 is huge. Graphics are sharper, there are more features and the unit has got smaller. It is worth shopping around as there are some great deals on the SGX out there. I have to say aside from the subscription issue, there is very little I can find with the SGX that is a negative. I would give it a solid 8.5/10 and it only loses marks for the fiddly scoring and the annual fee.