Customer Reviews

SkyCaddie SGX Golf GPS (2011 Version)

5 star:		(22)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(16)

 

 

I waited for about a week from release to order the SGX skycaddie from Amazon. The negative review on synching with windows worried me. After reading the user comment I went ahead and ordered the unit figuring that, if it didn't work I could always return it to Amazon.
I had no problems synching it, and it downloaded the courses I selected without any problems. It is very important to note that Quick Vue does not work with SGX, only Hole Vue does. I didn't realize this and wondered why he courses I play did not show the hole view. It turns out only two of them were listed as having Hole Vue. If this is important you need to check on the skygolf website to make sure that your courses are mapped for Hole Vue. I believe this will get resolved soon as they get their mapping up to date.
On the course, I found the ranges accurate which are what this rangefinder is really about and is the reason I did not get any of the satellite mapped rangefinders.
The controls consist of three small keys, which might be a little too small for people with big fingers and also have a tad of a learning curve to get to use them properly. There is a button/joystick to navigate the cursor around. It does double duty as selection button when you press on it; this may cause problems for some but there is a workaround in the settings menu, where you can disable the select function from the joystick and just use the right key for that.
Two additional small buttons on either side of the joystick serve to take you out of golf menus and into your scorecard.
There are two larger buttons at the bottom corners:
The left one (with a ball logo) is used to mark your ball position to use the stroke distance measurement. You hit the button where you hit the ball from and when you get to the ball the display shows (in numbers that are too small and easy to miss) the distance to the spot you hit from. (Note that the manual is wrong and you should not hit the ball button again.)
The right one with a flag takes you to the green view.
You have a choice to have your unit keep your score for you. It will also track number of fairways hit and how you miss them, as well as number of putts per hole. It will keep 10 scorecards in memory and synch them to your account in SkyGolf, which is rather neat.
The biggest negative for me is the learning curve. It takes a while to learn all the features and how to use them.
All in all, I like the unit and recommend it. I may edit this after I have a chance to play with it some more.

I recently purchased the SGX and like most people had a problem trying to register the product. When I tried to sync on my computer with Windows 7 and 64 bit, I never did get it to sync, so I took it to office and was able to work on my XP machine. The have a temporary fix for Windows 7, but real fix will come shortly. As far as use and ease of use, this is the best GPS I have had and I have had a previous sky caddie and most recently a upro. What I like best is the clearity of the screen and how fast it reads the yardage. As with any product brand new on the market, there are normally a few bugs, but this product is worth the hassle. I would have given it 5 stars if it did not have the sync problems.

The new SkyCaddie SGX started shipping the first week of April 2010 and I received mine directly from the company yesterday. It was released without a proper driver for Windows applications being available and as a result you are currently unable to sync the unit with the Sky Golf website. I found a work around process for Windows to accept the existing driver (F8 at start-up) by using a Google search, but it still didn't solve the sync issue. The SkyCaddie customer service organization is slammed with complaints and I have been unable to talk to anyone even after being on hold for the better part of an hour. They give you an alternative of sending them an email with your questions however that process is also not currently functioning. Much to no one's surprise, they were able however to process my credit card charge for the unit and membership fee.

My advice would be to wait to buy until they have resolved their software issues and you can get some feedback on how well the SGX units function, as I should have done. I find it extremely short-sighted that they started shipping the units before they were ready to support them. Maybe that's why they elected to give you the first 30 days "limited use" without a membership fee.

I read all the reviews here and was concerned about purchasing the SGX but I have used Skygolf products for many years, so I knew that any problems would be corrected. I purchased the unit and it has worked flawlessly! The first sync with my computer was flawless. The SGX locks onto satellites very quickly from INSIDE MY HOUSE which means even faster on the course with the open sky!

I already had a membership and had a few months left on my old unit so I called tech support to find out how to switch to my new SGX. I got a support technician very quickly and he solved my problem quickly in one phone call; was very friendly and helpful.

This unit is so cool! I downloaded 40 courses that I play throughout the year; I play 2 to 3 rounds per week. I can sit in my house and study each hole before I play since 98% of the courses that I play have been recorded using the latest technology.

Skygolf is the only golf GPS company that actually puts an expert on the ground, walking the course recording, very accurately, the important targets that will make a difference to a players score. The golfer will know EXACTLY how far to a creek and EXACTLY how far to carry the creek or bunker, etc.

The course technician actually walks the perimeter of each green so a player knows EXACTLY how far to any point around the green and the exact shape of the green.

Any problems that may have existed on the first units are gone. I recommend all Skygolf products and especially the SGX now that I have used one!

12/21/2010 - ADDENDUM TO ABOVE REVIEW:

SkyGolf just completed a major upgrade for the SGX! I have just added the upgrade and everything works flawlessly! The SkyCaddie SGX has several NEW features including Auto-Course Select, Auto-Hole Advance and Auto-Zoom that make it easy to use by eliminating the need to push buttons or touch points on an LCD screen. AutoView is the newest auto feature that allows golfers to focus on their game instead of their rangefinder.

The SGX features a built-in accelerometer that makes AutoView Technology possible. AutoView provides three viewing positions - one portrait view and two additional landscape views.

In the upright "portrait" view, golfers can get distance information to anywhere on the hole with Interactive HoleVue(tm) With Zoom. By simply rotating the SGX to the right, golfers can access a "landscape" view of IntelliGreen® for a detailed view of the green. Turning the SGX to the left allows golfers to check or enter a score with a "landscape" view of the Digital Scorecard.

I have been using the SG2 for a few years and found it very useful but didn't enjoy paying the yearly subscriptions. I recently purchased the SGX even though I read a lot of reviews where people were having difficulties with the unit. I use XP and my unit works great. If you use the unit straight out of the box without updating the unit you may have some issues. The SGX does exactly what I want from a GPS unit, it gives me yardages to specific targets, be as accurate as a gps unit can be, and keep stats for me during the round(including round duration is a +). The size and width of the gps is roughly the same as my droid phone. I enjoy using a seperate GPS unit instead of my phone for battery life, distractions, etc. I love the unit but understand if people are skeptical to pay the $400 price on it. I received a great price for the unit and have used it for 3 rounds so far. I would definitely say if your a casual player, you should probably use a gps app from your phone. The SGX definitely shaves off between 4-5 strokes a round for me and is a lot easier to navigate than my previous SG2.

I bought this after it had a few software updates done, to iron out the glitches.
I am a skycaddie user, and have always loved my SG3, I skipped on the SG5, and upgraded to the SGX instead.
The sleek design is a great upgrade in itself. The information available is another high quality upgrade.
The screen is much much better, and easily read, and it is intuitive to navigate.

My issue at first was the joystick. For the same reason I will never enjoy a blackberry (the naviball)I had to get used to the sensitivity of the joystick. My fingers would require a delicate touch to easily operate the buttons. Overall this is minute in the scheme of things.
I mainly just want good advice on target distance, and green distance. I get that the best with skycaddie in general. The scoring features are nice, but I do not want to use my iPhone in conjunction with the SGX to have the complete scoring feature available to me.
A simple software update for the unit itself to include all the extra scoring details to track would be very nice.

Although actual sattelite footage flyovers are nice and pleasing to the eye, I find the graphics of each hole to be suffice, and do the job just fine. In comparison to some other models, and even mobile applications, You pay up front for the device with skycaddie, and the others if not equal price you continue to pay for each course you would like to download. The skycaddie membership is one of the best Ive encountered, and with the new social golf forum for skygolf, I just love it even more.

My only real "worth" complaining about issue has been it is sometimes difficult to sync with my computer. I have a normal PC, running Win7. I often have to adjust security settings, and tinker with the Caddiesync program to get the sync to happen. This is annoying, as I enjoy nice simplistic plug 'n play operation. Once connected, Im golden, just sometimes I wish it were faster and easier to do so.

I initially purchased the Callway Upro GPS thinking that it was a good deal because you don't have to purchase a subscription. Then i realized that i had to purchase 150 bucks worth of credits to get the courses down to a reasonable rate. That is 5 years worth of state subscription or 3 years worth of nationwide. Considering the flimsy feel of the callaway i didn't think it would last that long. i played 2 rounds with the callway and immediately noticed that the yardages were off by about 5 yards. I thought the markers on the course could be off to I stood in the middle of the green and it would tell me i was 5-7 yards away. same for front and back of the greens. Also, the screen is very small.

Onto the Skycaddie SGX. First off, it is very solidly built and comes with a very nice case and screen protectors. I couldn't get the sync to work at first. I unplugged and and restarted a couple of times and then it synced and updated the firmware. After that it syncs the first time every time. It has a very large screen that is easy to read in the sunlight and the battery goes down about 30% per round. You can easily play 36 holes with no recharge. The GPS is very accurate, and the intelligreen feature rotates the green to show you distance to front back and middle from your angle of play. The course i played actually showed major dips and false fronts. The coolest feature is the score keeping and stat tracking. Input your score and when you sync your stats are uploaded on to a web page that you and your buddies can view. Very fun.

All in all, this is a great machine that will only get better as time goes on and skycaddie updates with new features. I would recommend over all other GPS on the market.

EDIT: 6/23/2010 I went to update GPS for read trip and bang!! Now it's a brick. Sky caddie agreed to send me a new one at their expense. Really, maybe they should have tested this thing a little more before going gold. I still love it when it works, but it doesn't work at all right now.

I have had other SkyGolf GPS range finders, and in each instance have had difficulty linking them with my computer for registration, updates, course downloads, membership payments, and the like. However, nothing compares to the mess SkyGolf has created with the SGX. It is nearly impossible to "sync" and when you finally get that done you will find many features don't work. Not to fear - there is an update. But, I can't get the device to "sync" with my computer so no access to the update. Finally, technical support is a joke. The product has so many flaws that people have clogged the phone lines trying to get the darn thing to work. Waits of 2 hours or more on hold are not unheard of -- check their forums. Avoid this product or spend the rest of the summer in your house with your computer trying to get the darn thing to work.

Updated September 3, 2011: SkyGolf just published their battery replacement policy for the SGX. Skygolf refuses to sell the SGX batteries and requires that you pay $90 for them to send you a used "refurbished" SGX with another battery in it, which likely also be at least 12 months old, and you MUST return YOUR working SGX to SkyGolf in return, and you will NOT get it back. There is no longer any reason to buy a new SGX. You might as well buy one used, as after this announcement, there will be lots of used ones available at a deep discount from owners abandoning SkyGolf. I can no longer recommend the SGX because of this insane battery replacement policy. Worse yet, it has come to light that many of the brand new SGX units are shipping with batteries that are anywhere from 9 to 15 months old inside, increasing the likelihood of premature battery failure. BEWARE!!!

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As a recent SGX owner who has navigated the minefields at Skygolf over the last 5 months to finally get stability with my SGX while dealing with buggy Optional Updates that SkyGolf releases, knowing that they are buggy, let me tell you what SkyGolf won't tell you:

First of all, no matter what the ad copy says, the SGX cannot zoom into any point on the hole. The Interactive HoleVue with Zoom is useful on all but Par 5's where the highest zoom will still encompass a full 250 yards on the screen.

The advertised ClubSG on the box does not yet exist. It is instead only a BETA feature, for which SkyGolf disclaims all responsibility and says you will be BETA testing this feature with known bugs and they may discontinue it at any time without liability, or even decide to charge EXTRA for it, despite the fact that they tell you on the box that there are no hidden charges.

Even the HoleVue and the Intelligreen features are still shown as being BETA products on the Skygolf Website. Draw your own conclusions.

All that being said, I like the unit, and once you get it stable, it is very reliable.
The problem is that SkyGolf is pushing out buggy Optional Updates which are causing all the problems while not clearly disclosing that they are Optional Updates with consequences as described below.

The fancy Landscape View using autorotation with an accelerometer is still buggy, and locks up the screen for most users several times a round, so turn it OFF so that you are only using the SGX in Portrait mode. Landscape View is also unreadable while wearing polarized sunglasses. The GPS antenna is also at its weakest when turned sideways, which is contrary to using Landscape View for precise repositioning of the actual pin location. There is also still another bug due to the photosensor at dusk, where it will make the backlight start flashing like an oscilloscope. Putting a piece of black tape over the sensor helps during twilight play to avoid this, while mildly shortening the battery life.

Buy the $13 silicone skin to avoid the painful experience of using the included hard plastic holster, which will literally be a pain in your thumb by the end of your first round, because the sharp edge of the release mechanism will be digging into your thumb every time you remove the SGX from your belt holster.

There are two versions of the syncing software.
Do not use CaddieSync Express. Use Caddie Sync Desktop which is the original version.
SkyGolf will encourage you to use CaddieSync Express which deceptively offers buggy Optional Updates, which will force you to play Skygolf online "Russian Roulette" to restore functionality.
Caddie Sync Desktop will not offer you any Updates, so you get to decide when and if to install them manually. Always stay on the last stable NON-OPTIONAL update available for stability.

The current Update that CaddieSync Express is now offering to all SGX owners is the "sneaky" OPTIONAL UPDATE which is known to strip out all your Preloaded Course, but SkyGolf will not disclose this before they offer you the update, hoping they can trick you into installing it.
Check to see if all your Preloaded Courses are missing. If all the searches for courses return "No courses found. Try another search" they have been stripped out by the Optional Update. Unless your unit is within the first 30 days of ownership, they will all be gone!
If your Preloaded Courses are missing, you'll have to turn full control over your own personal computer to an "advanced online support technician" over the internet to restore the Preloaded Courses that SkyGolf knew would be stripped out by your installing the Optional Update, while agreeing that SkyGolf will not accept ANY responsibility for damages to your computer or your data, while the neanderthal on the other side of the online chat session, who will likely be English language challenged, roots around on your computer while trying to learn how to repair your SGX.
We SGX Owners call it playing SkyGolf Online "Russian Roulette."
You might get lucky and the random tech might really know what they are doing.
However, don't count on it. Most are learning on the job, and the failure rate of SGX restoration when dealing with a tech is greater than 50%. Most will simply tell you to call SkyGolf to have your SGX replaced, when they fail, but it is only their incompetence that is the problem.
This means you will have to repeat the entire process over again with yet another "advanced online support technician" further increasing your risk of damage to your computer and your data.
In some 15 of these "online" chat sessions with their "advanced online support technicians" I wouldn't trust most of them to even watch my golf bag, let alone perform brain surgery on my SGX, while using MY computer, on which they will install programs that you tell them not to, and close open applications after you tell them not to, and will even reboot your computer and change your screen resolution, all without your permission. They will try and bully you into giving them full control, while lying to you, and refusing to tell you what they are going to do before they do it.
It is the "wild west" of tech support, likely outsourced to "Bob" in New Delhi, but you won't know it until half way into the chat session (when they answer no to a question that should be answered yes), since you cannot talk to him on the phone, and can only communicate with him via a written chat window. The technician will also be "helping" several other people at the same time, so expect this process to take an hour or longer, while they leave you hanging, while acting like an air traffic controller. Hopefully they remember which person they are doing what with, as their ability to even handle an exclusive one-on-one session would be highly suspect! If you like living dangerously and like playing Russian Roulette in your spare time, you'll have lots of fun "visiting" Skygolf's online tech support! LOL.
Skygolf doesn't trust these technicians not to destroy your computer and your data which is why they require that you agree to a Waiver Agreement before the session.
Since Skygolf doesn't trust them and requires a Waiver Agreement of you to use them, why should you trust them with your personal computer and your data, which weren't broken in the first place, to fix your SGX that SkyGolf knowingly broke by duping you into downloading an Optional Update they knew would strip out your Preloaded Courses, forcing you into SkyGolf Russian Roulette to restore them.
Currently, the ONLY way to know you are being offered an OPTIONAL UPDATE is if it offers you the option of UPDATE LATER (instead of only Update Now)
ALWAYS choose Update LATER to avoid unintentionally installing an Optional Update, which may require you to use the dubious online support to restore full functionality to your SGX that the Optional Update is known to strip out.
Never install any Optional Update from SkyGolf unless you are willing to deal with the creatons at Skygolf Online support to restore functionality while risking your personal computer and all its data to fix your SGX that the Optional Update will break.

I am now happily enjoying my SGX, but have lost trust in SkyGolf because of their actions lately.
Skygolf also deletes ALL negative posts that expose the above minefields on their Forums, so if everything looks rosy, keep reading. You will often catch an honest negative post before the forum moderators can delete it. Read the posts in every category of SkyCaddie to see all the issues with online support, including the older SG5, the SG4 and SG2. The Feedback section is heavily censored.

If you have any questions, I'll be happy to answer them so you, too, can have a happy SGX ownership experience, because it is a great piece of hardware, that will eventually be made even better, but wait until the PUBLIC RELEASE of any updates so you don't become an involuntary guinea pig.

The SGX can be wonderful addition to your game, but a buggy one will be major distraction which can destroy your game, and your concentration, while you are cussing more at the SGX than your errant golf swing.

Not sure where all the great reviews are coming from. If you go to the SkyGolf website, all you see is pages of angst. I've had nothing but problems from day one with installs and updates for the mac. The brand new update rendered my SGX unable to sych at all now. (If I could, I'd deactivate it in prep for a return.) PLEASE WAIT until they work out the bugs before buying, and take a look at the skygolf forums as well.