Sky Caddie's

BUACHAILL

Sorry if this has been covered had a look and didnt see anything !!

Does anyone have one of these and if so how do you find them ??
Is there many courses that cover this facility ?? Are they accurate etc ??

Thinking of buying one and would just like to know how people get on with them

Thanks

JCDUB

Eerm, excuse my ignorance, but wtf is a sky caddy??

Please don't tell me this is one of those "long stand/bucket of steam" type jokes:o

BUACHAILL

ha your a joker

its basically a sat nav for every golf course

initial cost is for the handheld ( about 200)then u pay roughly 30 a year to download any course u play, while on course it tells u exact yardage etc , just a handy gadget I suppose but very useful if u are playing strange courses and dont trust the yardage markers etc

I am seriously thinking of purchasing one, think it might be invaluable

Mr. Larson

Hey Buachaill... personally... I don't 'get' the value of these things but then I'm off 15...

The way I see it and playing devils advocate for a minute... and please set me striaght if I got it arseways...

...you know the yardage from the tee coz it's on the card - chances are you're left with something inside 200 yards for your 2nd shot... and most courses have these distances marked out in some way (stakes/discs at 200-150-100) or if it's a Par 5 you know you've just got to hit it as far up there as you can... you've got to figure out any elevation difference in any case so does it really make anything that more precise?

BUACHAILL

yeah I hear that

Played with pro today , and he was saying he gets thick when he knows he has hit a 100 yard shot to find out it was 90 and over shoots the green, all of a sudden he is facing an up and down for par as oppose to a birdie putt !! I was considering one of these before our game by the way he just help convince me on these .

I guess its just a reassurance of yardage as opposed to an approximate, and we know its a game of feet and inch's, I can be very specific in my approach's and just think it will take doubt away and let me concentrate on good strike of the ball.

One less thing to leave to chance I suppose, that said I know I am far from a pro but just like the idea of not having to trust markers on a course I havent played etc, I would play a lot of different courses throughout a year and normally go by eye but guess I want to try perfect it and not leave it to chance

Mr. Larson

Face it man, you just love gadgets - fair enough tho - I see the point... anything that helps you focus on the shot and remove any doubts can't hurt for sure.

BUACHAILL

ok ok I admit it

Hi guys my name is Buachaill and I have an addiction .... I love gadgets
Its been 2 weeks since my last gadget and I really need help, please dont judge me ha ha

No honestly I just think they are useful on strange tracks

thegen

A lot od lads in my club are using one form or another of distance measuring devices, be it GSM or view finders.

There has been different feedback on both.

Some guys prefer view finders because they dont need charging, the dont need course maps downloaded.

Other lads prefer the gsm as you are not putting a device up to your face and looking a bit odd.

At present all these devices are banned for all Interclub and Championships.

BUACHAILL

Thanks thegen

Isnt it funny how all these devices are banned from Interclub and Championships yet the if the pro at your club plays in an event he is allowed use them. My pro informed of this yesterday, I was shocked. Seemingly its an agreement that was made at beginning of the year and he can use the rangefinder in any course he plays an event on.

Surely its us Amateurs that need the assistance and not the pro's !!

thegen

I agree with you there.

I feel they would speed up play as lads would not be looking at shot savers etc. After all it is just like having a good caddy who does'nt answer you back when you f up on the bag:D

A lot of clubs are allowing them for noral club comps.

ShriekingSheet

I used one of the range-finder one for a while. I'm not the quickest of players as it is and found that taking this thing out and looking through it added to my overall time to play a shot. I felt rushed doing it to be honest.

The Sureshot GPS one looks the business. I really like getting yardages to front, middle and back at a glance. Played with a few people with them who gave me yardages on my way round and I really did hit more accurate irons than usual. Obviously, that's likely to be down to both physical and mental benefits of being sure of the yardage.

All that said, I then realised that these are banned from the Cups & Shields so I won't be going out to get one of either kind.