Went out for my second round with my 1500 TE today. All was good until the 5th hole when the all of the LCD digits started to flicker. Took the battery out and reinstalled...no change. Played the rest of the round without it figuring that the battery died. Got home installed new battery and still no change. Took it back to the retailer where I bought it and they said they had just replaced another unit where the some of the digits would not display. They didn't have any in stock unless I wanted the slope edition. They were very nice about it and offered me a store credit or my money back stating that it might be a next week before they get any more. There was a Skycaddie rep in the store and when he overheard the conversation he chimed in about the new SG5. I got my money back because the SG5 got me thinking...and like most when I think it usually costs me money. Has anyone got their hands on a SG5 yet? The website is not much help.

If you're considering a GPS... and can live without the color screen and "intelligreen", may I suggest the GolfLogix unit. It is based on the Garmin ETrex (which is one of the most waterproof, bulletproof, accurate handhelds on the market.).

Golflogix also lacks the mark function to measure your last shot at this time. And to clarify, it has the same accuracy specs as the SkyCaddie which is =/- 3 yards.

I have the Garmin Etrex Vista and it is a very good unit. Does GolfLogix map the courses on site or do they use aerial photos? I heard that GolfLogix had alot of features that would be coming in a software upgrade including distance from last mark. I haven't heard/read alot about GolfLogix...has it been out for awhile?

To clarify further, quoted specifications and real world performance are often two different things.

I don't know how they map their courses... but supposedly, the ball marking feature is coming later this year (they just released software for Vista and Mac OS X last month - about thirty days late from their estimated release date).

According to what I have read/heard... they've been around since 1999, but the ETrex based unit was just recently released this January at the PGA merchandise show. You will probably find more info at golflogix.com. They have a very interesting "what's in the future" section that's also worth a look.

They use high res images to do the course mapping which is a bunch quicker than personally walking the course when you are requesting that they add a course but I haven't heard anything good or bad about the accuracy of using this method. I would think that thet will be a real contender in the future but at this point the product just isn't as mature as the SkyCaddie IMO.

I am curious what you think is more mature about the skygolf units?

1. Intelligreen.
2. Distance from Mark funtionality - GolfLogix says they'll add this soon but I think they've been saying that for over a year now!
3. More courses in my area are available - I did this research in the beginning of the season so It may be different now.
4. Mapping technique - Like I said before I've never heard anything proven bad about using images to map from but FOR ME it sounds better to actually mark the waypoints personally.

I think virtually everything else about the products is pretty much the same even the good and bad points of the subscriptions. I've got the SG3 which is based on the Magellan eXplorist the same way the the GolfLogix is related to the Garmin so they are both usingfailry established and respected hardware.

Garmin is a highly regarded company in the world of nav and handheld GPS. My guess is they waited to release until they were sure their product would hold up against the other units on the market. When I was in the market for a handheld GPS unit I chose Garmin because of form, function, durability, and available maps. Now I just have to figure out who's software and features will be best for for the golf course.

Etcetera',
Do you use a rangefinder? If so which one? Anyone else use GolfLogix? If I go GPS I am torn between the SG3 (like the AA batteries), SG5 (unit built specifically for golf), or GolfLogix (AA batteries, Garmin reputation, and I already own a Vista)

You'll have to explain this one to me as I didn't really see the point of this.

The unit has only been out for 9 months.

I think they are indeed comparable at this point... at least all the courses I would play are mapped. Plus they will usually map a course requested within a week.

When you used the word mature... the following things came to mind:

1 year warranty versus 90 days. If the manufacturer does not feel good enough about its products to offer at least an industry standard one year warranty, neither do I.

GolfLogix was the first to supply Vista support for its software, and is the only vendor to support the Mac OS (and doesn't require IE to communicate with their servers). It seems clearly that GL's software development is more mature (even though the SkyCaddies have been out far longer).

Many GPS users will argue the ETrex platform to be more mature than the Explorists series, and that it is better built and waterproof. Don't know about the SG5 hardware.

YMMV

I use a Nikon 500G. I like being able to visualize where I want to hit the ball to, and then get the distance with the laser. I had no plans to buy a GPS. But a couple of golf stores (Roger Dunn & Golf USA) in my area were closing their doors due to a Golf Galaxy going up across the street and most everything was 50% off or more, so I decided to snag a GolfLogix (they had the skycaddies as well).

After a few rounds I have to admit I really like the way the thing works. You don't have to touch it. It knows what hole your on... automatically switches from indicating distances to fairways, doglegs, to and over hazards, and front, center, and back of greens. You can scroll through the pages manually if you want, but there is no need as they automatically change based on your position of the course.

edit: BTW... if you have any specific questions about the GL please feel free to PM me.