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60 of 60 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
This works better than I expected, June 27, 2006
When I bought the Igolf caddie I really had some questions as to how good it would be. Especially since it is so much cheaper than its highly advertised competitor.
Before buying, I checked to be sure the courses I play the most were in the database, they were all there.
I did have a problem, when I first turned the unit on I received an error message when trying to install the software. I uninstalled the software and reinstalled it a couple of times but could not get the unit to work so I sent an email to technical support on Saturday morning. I expected to have a reply by Monday afternoon. Well I received a response within a couple of hours with an explanation and a link to download the latest version of the software. I did and everything worked great.
I used the igolf caddie for the first time the next day (Sunday). The course I played had recently swapped the front nine and the back nine and when I turned on the igolf caddie I noticed that it still had the old configuration. Since I could select the hole independently it was not much of a problem.
When I got home Sunday afternoon I emailed them to let them know about the front and back nines being swapped. This is on a Sunday afternoon, and they responded within hours saying the problem had been corrected. I downloaded the new setup and everything worked great.
Since then I have used the igolf caddie about 10 times and it has been perfect everytime. I use the 'hole marker' feature to note some 'layup' points and 'carry' points.
It has performed flawlessly and I believe pulled at least two strokes average off each game. By being able to see the distance to the 'front', 'back' and 'center' of the green I find myself making sure I carry at least to the front of the green. This has really helped.
I'm a pretty aggressive golfer by nature and this helps me make better course management decisions and remain fairly agressive.
Bottom line is that the product works great and my experience with their technical support has been nothing short of remarkable. They give the type of support I wish I could find in other companies.
I'm still in the process of marking different points on some of the holes, but overall I'm in the low 80's now and hoping for some high 70's here pretty soon.
A few tips, first get yourself some rechargeable batteries since the batteries go down to about 50% after one round. I bought NmH batteries and they work great, just don't forget to put the switch to 'rechargeable' on the igolf unit.
Second, since I tend to scratch the front screen on my cellphone I could see me doing the same thing here, so I put a piece of clear shipping tape over the screen and then used a razor knife to cut around it. That way I can replace the tape when it gets scratched without damaging the screen (I do the same thing on my cellphone).
Bottom line, the unit delivers as promised and I would recommend it to anyone wanting to improve their game.
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38 of 38 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Very good game improvement device, July 24, 2006
Now legal for local tournament play if the USGA local rule allowing such devices (GPS & Laser Rangefinders) is in effect. You definitely should own one of these before your next `club championship' if allowed by your local club.
The iGolf system is a very high quality, low cost GPS solution for golfers. At $229 retail, . . . it is really worth the investment. I have a laser rangefinder, . . . but wanted a GPS system for the speed of getting yardages to set points (versus `shooting' the flag or point every time). I looked at a number of GPS options and choose the iGolf GPS Caddie for the following reasons (read as PROs);
- Cost
- Self Mapping of 8 addition points per hole
- Share files with other iGolf GPS Caddie users
- Speed of reading distance (compared to Laser)
- Not having to pay annual service fees if you don't want to
Ok - so how does it work? I received my unit after a 6 week backorder. Our home course was not pre mapped. No issue, I would map myself. The manual is a bit weak, . . . however, the unit's menus are very intuitive and not a lot of explanation is really needed. I entered our course's scorecard via the enclosed SW and then downloaded to the handheld. I then pre-selected all the points per hole that I wanted to map (in addition to the standard Front/Center/Back green points) and then entered the names into the unit manually.
Mapping points while on the course takes about 7 seconds for each (once you get there, select point, go to register, . . . and then the registration takes ~5 seconds). I mapped our whole course one early morning in a couple of hours. I averaged about 8 points per hole (including the 3 standard points).
Using the GPS Caddie during rounds, . . . the information is excellent. I mapped many points through the fairway and around the greens (added green left side, right side, bunker carries, etc. to every hole in addition to the standard frt/cent/back). I find the extra green data to be the most useful information. Knowing what it is to carry a bunker with a tight pin behind it is priceless. In the past, one would need to estimate based on the ball's angle to the green, and then the addition/subtraction from either the green front or center green markings on sprinkler heads and assuming you know the green depth. Huge improvement in my approach club selection the first couple of times around using this device.
There are a few things that I wish could be better. Some of these are minor, but you should know what you are getting in advance. Maybe iGolf will work on these for a future revision if they know about them:
- Battery Life is very short. Definitely get good rechargeable batteries and replace often. Carry an extra set with you on the course. When they go, . . . the unit just shuts off. I used standard alkaline first - was able to map and play two 4 hour rounds (about 10 hours). Switched to some old rechargeable - I only get a single 4 hour round with these.
- Stability of yardage is weak. The unit is most stable (and accurate) when you first arrive at your ball. However, after standing in one spot for a period of time, the yardage will start to vary after about 5 seconds, . . . and I've seen it vary a lot (15 yards in one case, 10 yards happens often). I've tried both the WAAS (shut off/on) and the stability settings (on/off), but it didn't really improve this. However, as a walker, I now look for my yardage as soon as I get to my ball and trust the yardage I see right away.
- I wish the SW would allow you to enter point names to map in advance and then download to the handheld. This would save set up time for a new course.
- I also wish the SW would allow you to edit a backed-up course database by displaying all mapped points to allow you to re-arrange them (order) and/or edit them as needed to be downloaded back to the handheld. All this needs to be done via the handheld and is very time consuming while on the course and requires you to get out of `play mode' to do so.
- I also wish the handheld would allow you to add a map point easily while in the `play mode'. Currently, you need to exit out, go to the map mode, map the point, then go back to play mode and scroll back to the current hole. Again, time consuming during a round.
- Belt clip is useless. A fast way to attach to a golf bag would be much more practical. I used the enclosed lanyard and attach with a small quick clip carabiner. I don't think the lanyard will last that long given the bouncing around this goes through during a round.
- A protective full unit leather cover as an accessory would be nice.
All in all, an excellent unit that is much more cost effective than the other GPS units out there, and much faster yardages than a laser. Without question, a great addition to a golfer's gear. So far, I really like this unit, and others at our course have started to order the same unit so the ability to share the files is huge.
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43 of 44 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The best golf GPS for the money., May 11, 2006
This product is fantastic. The iGolf.com website has a database of all the already mapped courses. You must subscribe only once. They have an amazing amount of courses--in my area only two I play were not already mapped. You get one free mapping of your choice; they mapped the course I requested within 24 hours. You can buy additional mappings for $10.99. You can map courses on your own as well. Further, you can add up to 8 additional points per hole to already mapped courses (or your mapped course). This means you have front, back, middle, and whatever other 8 objects you care to measure. You push a button, wait around 4 seconds, and you're done. The transfer from a computer to the device takes 30 seconds or so per course. It's not like an iPod, but it's not obscene, either. Once a course is on the device, it is forever. You own it. Other GPS systems make you continuously subscribe to keep access. Not iGolf. Battery life is pretty good; I use rechargeable batteries (2 AA) and those are good for at least two rounds with the device left on continuously for around 5 hours each. The device is durable, sturdy, and even water resistant. It's quite accurate. I've compared it to both course markings and carts with GPS. The iGolf is probably +/- 1-2 yards at worse and often right on. More than accurate enough for anyone. Finally, it takes no more than a minute in my experience to synch with the GPS satellites. I've had no problem with signal strength on any course I've played. To summarize: this is a cost-effective tremendous product with outstanding customer support. It's a great product with a rapidly expanding course database. Even obscure courses can be mapped by the company. It's great. I think it will eventually beat SkyGolf and the others because of its price and customer service, for whatever that's worth.
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