User 105
Journeyman Pro
I've waited to post this review for a couple of weeks while a give the device good workout. It's a long review as there is a lot to say.
I've had an SG 2.5 for 18 months and loved it, and as I had a bit of spare cash burning a hole in my pocket I couldn't resist the new shine all singing all dancing SGX any longer.
What do you get ?
The SGX Unit, a holder with a belt clip, really nice carry case, Micro-USB Cable and USB charger plug, some screen protectors (Nice touch) and a quick start guide.
First Impressions
Out the box the unit feels solid and well made. Nice size, fits in the palm well. Feels more like a quality smartphone. Very good build quality.
On First Start-up
Ok this is where things start to go wrong. Out the box if you plug in the USB cable and charger it into the mains it will automatically start up and then throw an 'exception error'. Skycaddie speak for I've just crashed !
Not a great start.
After a bit I realised it would start, but not if the USB cable was plugged into the mains. After a bit of digging on the skycaddie forum I found out that the early version of the software isn't compatible with USB 1.1 ports and you need to use a USB 2.0 port to update the SGX. I also discovered you need to re-download caddysync, if you already have it, but select SGX as the device. Otherwise you don't get the right drivers for the PC.
Well after all of that, updated the software, downloaded my courses, got it charged and all was fine in the world again.
You need to subscribe to get the full courses, same as past SkyCaddies. Otherwise you just get middle of the green for ~30,000 courses, why you'd spend £300+ just for middle of the green is beyond me.
Out on the Course
So off I run to my course to give it a workout. Startup is a little slow, slower than my SG 2.5, but it was up and running quick enough. The unit feels good in the hand, buttons a responsive, the thumb stick takes a little getting used to and the large colour display is vibrant and clear in the bright sunlight.
OK, Holeview and Quickview. You need to know this !!!
Holeview is the overhead view of the hole that you can zoom into, move the cursor to points and it gives you distance etc. Quickview is the dumbed down version. Basically shows you a line from the tee to the green to give you an idea where you should be going.
Now here's the major issue. What they don't tell you is to use holeview (the one we all want) the course has to be re-mapped. Yep you got it. Re-Mapped. At this time only about 10% of the courses have been re-mapped. Mine not being one of them !!
And quickview, IMHO, is a complete waste of time. It doesn't really tell you anything you can't see with you're own eyes. And here's another issue. You can switch it off in the targets settings menu but when you start a new round, it's back on again. So you have to switch it off each round.
After I sussed that out and got into the round the unit performed well as you'd expect.
The built in scoring app works well. But for only 1 player. Trackes shots, putts, Fairways (hit, miss, left and right). After each hole it gives you total score, number of putts and number of shots over\under par. When you sync again it will upload the scores to the ClubSG website. More about that later.
After my first round I was a little disapointed. Yes the unit is a really nice peice of kit, big wow factor.
But IMHO no better than an SG2.5 or SG 5 if the course hasn't been re-mapped.
So, found a course that had been re-mapped. You can check on the courses section on the skycaddie website. It just happened to be 'The Grove'
Now how did it work.
Now this is the experience I was looking for. Holeview works really well. You can zoom in and out, move the cursor to points on the hole and it will give you distance to point and distance to hole from that point. Really useful for plotting you're way round.
Takes a little getting used to. Picking out some hazards that are small on the full view is a bit difficult until you zoom. But that could just be my eyesight.
So now much happier.
I took it out again at Batchworth Park the next day, another course that has been fully mapped. And was really starting to get the hang of it. Started to get into intelligreen pro, this gives you the greens tiers. So if you know where the pin is positioned it's a help.
ClubSG
Is the online community. Anyone that has used OOBGolf (www.oobgolf.com) will immediate recognise the layout. SkyGolf has licensed the software. And that's a great idea. I used to use OOB golf and it was a great website for recording and tracking all sorts of the data about you're game.
Your scores from the SC get synced to clubSG when you re-sync you're skycaddie with caddiesync.
When you go onto you're personal page it give you some summary information that is fully customizable.
List recent scores, that you can drill into to see the scorecard and stats. Again you can customize what you want to see.
Club SG gives you a stats section with some really nice graphs, You can analyse almost all aspects of you're game. Fairways hit over time, GIR, Putts, Shots taken etc. You can look at course summaries and work out which holes you need to improve on etc
Support
You can get online support through the ClubSG fourm. The support guys there are quite frankly fantastic. They respond really quickly and a really helpfull.
BUT
There are still too many teething problems. They release updates to the SGX software and Caddiesync almost every few days. Which you are forced to install.
So they are really trying to sort out the problems.
However there quality control is a bit lacking. Last night they updated caddiesync and it stopped all users with Windows 7 64-bit from syncing there SGX's. And I'm one of them. As they force the updates you're basically stuck, you can't just load the last version.
The support guys responded quickly and backed out the new version within a few hours. But it should never have happened.
If you have a scan of the SGX section support forums you will quickly realize that the device is only now becoming stable and usable. The guys in the US who have had it for a month or so before us have basically been trouble shooting it for the rest of the world. The problems they have had since day 1 have been ridiculous quite frankly.
In Summary
Am I glad I have an SGX. I'd have to say yes, when it works it's a great device, the website integration is great. I really like holeview, for the courses that have it.
And I can really see the potencial for the unit.
Would I recomend someone to get one ? If you regulaly play courses that have been mapped for holeview then it's a maybe. If they haven't then it's a big NO.
The device is being updated all the time and problems fixed but there are still just too many teething problems. For a device at this premium price tag it should have been perfrect at launch !
But I'm really looking forward to the development of this solution. They have the potencial for a fantastic product.
I've had an SG 2.5 for 18 months and loved it, and as I had a bit of spare cash burning a hole in my pocket I couldn't resist the new shine all singing all dancing SGX any longer.
What do you get ?
The SGX Unit, a holder with a belt clip, really nice carry case, Micro-USB Cable and USB charger plug, some screen protectors (Nice touch) and a quick start guide.
First Impressions
Out the box the unit feels solid and well made. Nice size, fits in the palm well. Feels more like a quality smartphone. Very good build quality.
On First Start-up
Ok this is where things start to go wrong. Out the box if you plug in the USB cable and charger it into the mains it will automatically start up and then throw an 'exception error'. Skycaddie speak for I've just crashed !
Not a great start.
After a bit I realised it would start, but not if the USB cable was plugged into the mains. After a bit of digging on the skycaddie forum I found out that the early version of the software isn't compatible with USB 1.1 ports and you need to use a USB 2.0 port to update the SGX. I also discovered you need to re-download caddysync, if you already have it, but select SGX as the device. Otherwise you don't get the right drivers for the PC.
Well after all of that, updated the software, downloaded my courses, got it charged and all was fine in the world again.
You need to subscribe to get the full courses, same as past SkyCaddies. Otherwise you just get middle of the green for ~30,000 courses, why you'd spend £300+ just for middle of the green is beyond me.
Out on the Course
So off I run to my course to give it a workout. Startup is a little slow, slower than my SG 2.5, but it was up and running quick enough. The unit feels good in the hand, buttons a responsive, the thumb stick takes a little getting used to and the large colour display is vibrant and clear in the bright sunlight.
OK, Holeview and Quickview. You need to know this !!!
Holeview is the overhead view of the hole that you can zoom into, move the cursor to points and it gives you distance etc. Quickview is the dumbed down version. Basically shows you a line from the tee to the green to give you an idea where you should be going.
Now here's the major issue. What they don't tell you is to use holeview (the one we all want) the course has to be re-mapped. Yep you got it. Re-Mapped. At this time only about 10% of the courses have been re-mapped. Mine not being one of them !!
And quickview, IMHO, is a complete waste of time. It doesn't really tell you anything you can't see with you're own eyes. And here's another issue. You can switch it off in the targets settings menu but when you start a new round, it's back on again. So you have to switch it off each round.
After I sussed that out and got into the round the unit performed well as you'd expect.
The built in scoring app works well. But for only 1 player. Trackes shots, putts, Fairways (hit, miss, left and right). After each hole it gives you total score, number of putts and number of shots over\under par. When you sync again it will upload the scores to the ClubSG website. More about that later.
After my first round I was a little disapointed. Yes the unit is a really nice peice of kit, big wow factor.
But IMHO no better than an SG2.5 or SG 5 if the course hasn't been re-mapped.
So, found a course that had been re-mapped. You can check on the courses section on the skycaddie website. It just happened to be 'The Grove'
Now how did it work.
Now this is the experience I was looking for. Holeview works really well. You can zoom in and out, move the cursor to points on the hole and it will give you distance to point and distance to hole from that point. Really useful for plotting you're way round.
Takes a little getting used to. Picking out some hazards that are small on the full view is a bit difficult until you zoom. But that could just be my eyesight.
So now much happier.
I took it out again at Batchworth Park the next day, another course that has been fully mapped. And was really starting to get the hang of it. Started to get into intelligreen pro, this gives you the greens tiers. So if you know where the pin is positioned it's a help.
ClubSG
Is the online community. Anyone that has used OOBGolf (www.oobgolf.com) will immediate recognise the layout. SkyGolf has licensed the software. And that's a great idea. I used to use OOB golf and it was a great website for recording and tracking all sorts of the data about you're game.
Your scores from the SC get synced to clubSG when you re-sync you're skycaddie with caddiesync.
When you go onto you're personal page it give you some summary information that is fully customizable.
List recent scores, that you can drill into to see the scorecard and stats. Again you can customize what you want to see.
Club SG gives you a stats section with some really nice graphs, You can analyse almost all aspects of you're game. Fairways hit over time, GIR, Putts, Shots taken etc. You can look at course summaries and work out which holes you need to improve on etc
Support
You can get online support through the ClubSG fourm. The support guys there are quite frankly fantastic. They respond really quickly and a really helpfull.
BUT
There are still too many teething problems. They release updates to the SGX software and Caddiesync almost every few days. Which you are forced to install.
So they are really trying to sort out the problems.
However there quality control is a bit lacking. Last night they updated caddiesync and it stopped all users with Windows 7 64-bit from syncing there SGX's. And I'm one of them. As they force the updates you're basically stuck, you can't just load the last version.
The support guys responded quickly and backed out the new version within a few hours. But it should never have happened.
If you have a scan of the SGX section support forums you will quickly realize that the device is only now becoming stable and usable. The guys in the US who have had it for a month or so before us have basically been trouble shooting it for the rest of the world. The problems they have had since day 1 have been ridiculous quite frankly.
In Summary
Am I glad I have an SGX. I'd have to say yes, when it works it's a great device, the website integration is great. I really like holeview, for the courses that have it.
And I can really see the potencial for the unit.
Would I recomend someone to get one ? If you regulaly play courses that have been mapped for holeview then it's a maybe. If they haven't then it's a big NO.
The device is being updated all the time and problems fixed but there are still just too many teething problems. For a device at this premium price tag it should have been perfrect at launch !
But I'm really looking forward to the development of this solution. They have the potencial for a fantastic product.
