If you have an opinion on SkyCaddies click here.

[USER1999]

Any of the google earth based systems won't have The Grove (which I play) or Castle Stewart (for instance) as they were fields when the satellite pictures were taken. For my home course, the over heads will also be wrong, as a few of the bunkers have been moved. Tees too, but that is less important obviously.

AS for retaining courses on your SkyCaddie if you don't renew your subscription, I beilieve they can just turn it off, and leave it with only basic funtion (ie: courses you have mapped). They can do this if the unit is stolen, so I bet they can do it at other times. As an aside, mine flagged up that my subscription was due, so there must be a way they can talk to it which doesn't involve plugging it into my pc.

 

[GB72]

That is what I heard as well and believe that there was a post on here about it a few months ago. When the subscription ends you lose everything except courses that you have mapped.

 

[viscount17]

chances are then that it's got a 'valid to' date stored, can't see how they'll talk to it. I will be renewing in December though.

 

[bobmac]

I agree that £30 a year membership isn't much but multiply that by all the people who have them, it's a tidy figure.
They hit you when you buy it and they hit you again and again and again and you cant leave. They must be laughing all the way to the bank

 

[Marko77]

I'm with the view that I wouldn't be without my SC2.5 I have had no issues with the accuracy of information.

If SC were listening though I would comment I would prefer their prices were download related rather than a blanket annual fee.

I downloaded upwards of 20 courses a year - 75p a mapped course, what pay-as-you-go gps can better that?

Thats fine if you download 20+ courses a year. If you don't download any next year that's £1.50 per download and so forth. If someone buys one and only downloads 5 courses for the whole time they own it the cost per download would seem quite high?

It could be sky caddie have missed a trick by not going down a pay per download strategy?

 

[HomerJSimpson]

Has anyone actually thought of contacting SC and seeing what happens if you don't renew. Do you retain access to the courses already held on the machine or do they switch your machine off altogether. I'd be interested to know as to my mind you have a) bought the unit and b) paid to download the courses already so surely that is a transaction that makes you the owner of both.

 

[toonarmy]

...or you could just tell SC to shove it up their 'arris and buy a Sonocaddie instead and never have to worry about any of these charges and have a better unit to boot.

Just look at the feedback from buyers on Amazon - pretty unanimous. Me and Bobmac sing its praises but people seem to have difficulty paying any attention to us!

 

[Smiffy]

I bought a SkyCaddie 2.5 about two years ago but to be honest didn't bother taking it out most of the time. The only times I really found it useful were when I played Princes with it strapped to the bag because the lack of trees gave no real perception of distance and the fairway yardage markers are all cock-eyed down there. One minute the red marker will be 100 yards out, on the next hole it might be 50 or 125! Completely throws you, and I found the Skycaddie invaluable.
The other time I found it really useful was when playing courses during the winter when some of the par 3 teeing areas were moved way in front of the usual markers giving you no idea at all of the distance. Hitting off a mat with three sets of marker posts stuck in the ground next to it was bloody confusing! It then became my best friend.
But as I say, I hardly took it out in the end, even when I played new courses, much preferring to rely on my eyesight and experience.
But I've noticed James's scores have come down since he started using one....

 

[theeaglehunter]

Has anyone actually thought of contacting SC and seeing what happens if you don't renew. Do you retain access to the courses already held on the machine or do they switch your machine off altogether. I'd be interested to know as to my mind you have a) bought the unit and b) paid to download the courses already so surely that is a transaction that makes you the owner of both.

Being a golfer who plays regularly for a couple of weeks, then not at all for a couple of months (or longer now in my case, but I'm trying to get back into it, honest!) I unknowingly let my skycaddie membership lapse. In doing so I learnt very quickly that the device is useless without an up to date subscription. You can not access any of the courses previously downloaded/ stored on your device, only those which you have mapped yourself which I hadn't done and have no intention of ever doing- it defeats the object of having one! What is more when paying to update your membership it gets back dated from the time it lapsed. So I ended up paying for 3 months during which time I didn't use the unit once, which meant I was to get a maximum of 9 months use for my full years fee, before having to renew again.

It is true what Bob and others have said. Skycaddie have got us all by the wotsits. I turned up to play on the day I realised membership had lapsed, pulled my skycaddie out and was unable to use it. Not wanting an item I'd paid around £130 for to be redundant for future games I felt obliged to return home and hand over the £30 for the next 9 months.

I love the product, however hate the marketing / sales policy. I'm sure if I was Skycaddie CEO I would have a wholely different outlook however...laughing all the way to the bank indeed!

 

[andiritchie]

I bought my Skycaddie off Ethan on here which had a good few months left on it.First of all you get 'your subscription is running out' then it will take off all your Skycaddie stored courses once your subscription has run out.

So with Skycaddie you must renew which aint so bad,but with the price of the unit i think it should be offered on a mobile phone type contract.Cheaper device say £50 and a yearly subs maybe more than the normal fee.

 

[Imurg]

I've had my SC for a year now. I renewed the subs last night as I want to keep using it. I paid £130 + £30 for the subs. If I keep it for another 5 years it will have cost me a shade over £300. Technology and quality will have improved by then, prices will have come down and I'll look to change it - assuming it lasts that long!
A quid a week - I can live with that

 

[steviep]

I've got an SC 2.5 and I've got the message that my membership is about to expire. I didn't realise that I couldn't get access to courses I've already downloaded once it had expired.

I'll renew it this year and start looking around for an alternative I think. By the time I've renewed this year the total cost is about £240.

Has anyone tried anything from GolfBuddy? Wondering what they are like as they have no annual or download fees.

 

[USER1999]

If read back through this thread, you will find my opinion of golfbuddy. Personally, for me, it would be useless.