Item #41 in GPS Units

Sky Golf SkyCaddie SG3

Made by Sky Golf

Sales Rank on Amazon.com: 19582

Lowest Price: $299.95

Average Review: 2.5 stars

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See more items in: Sports & Outdoors: Sports Electronics & Gadgets: GPS Units

Amazon.com Reviews

Average Rating: 2.5 out of 5 Stars

The following review received 17 helpful votes out of 18 total votes:
Review Date: 2007-11-26
"a bad decision"

I was so happy to get my Sky Caddie for Mother's Day this year. Due to travel plans and family plans, I only recently got a chance to use it on our course. I loved using it for the f1rst nine holes...just about at the 11th hole, it reads 'low battery'. I change the batteries at 14 and finish to 18. Two days later, I think there is some power in the new batteries but by the 5th hole, it poops out on me again. It is truly a total waste when you have to stop every 9 or so holes and replace the batteries. A totally worthless product. Now I don't know what todo. It is an expensive tool and very costly to use, not to mention inconvenient. 1 star

The following review received 8 helpful votes out of 8 total votes:
Review Date: 2007-08-11
"Skycaddie SG3"

I purchased an SG 3 and like it very much. It has a relatively large viewing window that can be backlit when desired. I purchased the Skycaddie because of the number of professionally mapped courses on their website. I would like to be able to program course features like bunkers, etc. but that information only seems available on their professionally mapped courses. At least one of their competitors alows you to input that data on any course. Like one of the others who reviewed this product, I could not get the unit to sync with the website through my computer. I wasted an hour and a half trying and came very close to returning the unit. Customer service is not available in the evening and I did not receive a reply to my email to their website. However, I did figure out how to get around the problem that I encountered. When in the registration box, input aaaaa, bbbbb or other meaningless information. It will then bring up a form to edit your informtion. Make the changes at that time and you should be on your way. You will have to enter a valid email address and possibly one other bit of information; the reply will inform you. I would also like to see a less expensive cart mount. Seventy dollars is expensive. A carry case for the handheld and the mount would be nice. One person who rated the product did not like the fact that skygolf charges an annual fee. They do make it known up front that they charge an annual fee. At least one competitor does not charge for this service. Skycaddie had all of the courses that I play in their system. I think that a flat rate of $25 per year would be a fair price to cover all of their courses world wide. Instead, owners must choose from a few different pricing options. I would think that the inceasing competition in this market will eventually force them to reduce the cost of their annual fee options. I also did not appreciate having to purchase an extended warranty in order to have the unit covered the first full year. The company should be willing to stand behind their product. If you are considering purchasing a GPS for golf, I suggest visiting the company websites to see if your courses are in their system and to understand their pricing policies. 4 stars

The following review received 7 helpful votes out of 9 total votes:
Review Date: 2007-03-30
"Not Ready For Prime Time"

I am really getting better at golf - and I thought the Sky Caddie would help me get even better. Took it home - and couldn't get the unit to communicate with my computer. Called technical support - and it turns out there is a known problem with this Sky Caddie communicating with certain computers - including my IBM Thinkpad. There is no fix or workaround. The SG3 model is supposed to be ideal for the golfer who travels. Of golfers who travel - how many do you suppose travel with IBM Thinkpads? It is not exactly a "Brand X" laptop. I am very disappointed - and will be returning the Sky Caddie. 1 star

The following review received 5 helpful votes out of 9 total votes:
Review Date: 2007-07-08
"Annual Service Rip Off"

I have had the device for 1 year now. It works very well. BUT - in order to continue using it for years 2 thru x, you must fork over $30 each year to Skygolf. This for a device that you already paid full price for :-(.

This is like having to purchase your cable TV box then paying TimeWarner another $60 each month to use it. Without the service, the device is worthless.

Most of us do not need constant computer download updates of golf course information in order to be perfectly satisfied with our SkyCaddie. Too bad SkyGolf is not satisfied with the $300 we alread paid them.

2 stars

The following review received 3 helpful votes out of 3 total votes:
Review Date: 2007-12-28
"Buy another brand - updates and connections difficult"

I purchased the SkyCaddie SG3 for a Christmas gift December 2006. In order to use this product it has to be registered and you have to use the proprietary 'SkyCaddie Desktop'. It was a nightmare from the beginning. The website had just been updated and was not operating correctly (what fool updates a mandatory interface just before the biggest selling season of the year?)There were no phone numbers on the website requiring that all support questions be submitted via email.

We finally did find a phone number and spent hours on hold and talking to the support person trying to get the thing to work. Well, we managed that and things went well until we needed to add a golf course. A slightly better experience but still not a simple transaction as is claimed by the company.

Well, now it is time to renew the membership and once again there are recently updated drivers created for this device. We spent over 49 minutes on the phone with tech support trying to find out why the gadget is not being recognized by the computer. He couldn't solve it so said that he would transfer me to 'Advanced tech support". He hung up.

I called back and spent another 20 minutes waiting to talk to someone who said that the unit must be bad. Now we have to pay for service on the thing. We are ready to throw this thing away. Unfortunately, I paid over $300 for it so we cannot afford to do that.

The maker of this system seems paranoid about protecting their product. It isn't enough to get $329 for the unit. They charge an annual fee on top of a myriad of other charges for what I feel should be included at this price. I have read reviews on other devices that do not require the frequent unit programming (such as the annual subscription fee and costs for courses outside of your area, and extra courses if you travel a lot etc).

Save yourself the hassle and money - look elsewhere.

1 star