SkyCaddie SX500 by SkyGolf
In recent years, fewer golf courses have an on course GPS unit in their carts. Most of us have smart phones with an app, a GPS unit or a Laser Range Finder. When we use the one on our phone it makes it harder to do more than one thing on our phones and we are always running out of battery life. When you run out of battery life you can’t check in with the misses to see if you can play that emergency 9.
Thanks to our friends at SkyGolf they have solved all of the problems with the most state of the art device you can add into your accessories. The SkyCaddie SX500 by SkyGolf!
I was introduced to the device at the 2019 PGA Merchandise Show. I am a player who relies on my laser to get all of my yardages. It is hard for me to even trust the GPS Units on the golf cart. In getting the SX500 I really wanted to put it through the ringer in testing.
I first took it out to a course that had a cart mounted GPS Unit to look at the number and compare them to my laser. The first think that I noticed was the SkyCaddie SX500 was more accurate than the cart mounted unit. I even went so far as to walk off yardages and also have someone stand in certain points to make sure that we were getting the right distances. The SkyCaddie SX500 was nearly 100% accurate in every test. Right away is was helping me trust it!
The next test was to get it on a course that I have never seen before. This is a huge test for me. It is key to help every one of us play our best the first time we see the course. On the way up to the Super Bowl of Golf we stopped and played at Sea Island as well as Tobacco Road. This was going to be a great test for the SX500 to see really how great it is.
HoleVue
When you stand on the first tee of a new course you really have no idea where you need to hit it. Sure it may have 150 yard poles you can aim at. But, you don’t know how far the dog legs are and where you can be aggressive and where you can’t. The SX500 responded.
The 5th hole at Sea Island was a dogleg left par 4 with water down the left and bunkers straight out. There is a false front that you need to carry to keep the ball on the green. Standing on the tee you really don’t know how far you need to hit it. Using the HoleVue technology with IntelliPath the SX500 allows you to move the cursor on the screen. This allows you to not only see how far you have from the tee but what it will leave you with into the middle of the green. I did verify the numbers and they were spot on.
Tobacco Road is an interesting golf course, if you have played it you will agree. Starting with the first hole you have nearly 18 blind tee shots and even your approach shot can be difficult to see where you need to hit it. I have never spent so much time looking for information on each and every shot. I had a yardage book, range finder and my SX500. All of them were used on each and every shot. I really needed to know where I needed to hit it.
There was a lot of elevation change in the course. Sometimes up to a 3 club difference. You really needed to have all of the information necessary to make sure you pulled the right club. The only thing that I needed the yardage book for was to see how many yards up hill or down hill the shot played. The rest of the information was easily accessible in my SX500. I ended up shooting 76 there and I was even par on the back 9.
RangeVue
The courses do come pre-loaded with their Double Eagle Subscription that costs $59.95 annually. There are over 35,000 courses pre-loaded. The best part about this is as they add courses they can be downloaded over Wi-Fi so you don’t have to connect it to your computer.
IntelliGreen
Some of the other amazing features in the SX500 is their RangeVue technology. It gives you 4 different points on the hole with yardages that will help you selecting the right club quickly. Another great feature is the ability to add yardages for your clubs into the device. If you don’t know how far you hit each shot, don’t worry, the SX500 can help you figure that out. There is a button on the side of the unit to mark how far it is from one point to another. You can hit your shot, hit the button and see how far it is when you get to your next shot. You can also see how far you have out driven your playing partner by measuring the distance between the 2 balls. Not that I would ever do that?
One of my favorite features is the IntelliGreen Pro. You can zoom in on the green and see depth and width. It also shows you slopes in the green so you can see how far you need to carry a ball to get it up on the top tier of the green and give yourself the best chance for birdie.
SkyGolf has done a lot of work to upgrade the design and quality in making this device. It comes with a 5 inch screen that is fully HD. The graphics are clear as can be. It is also rubberized so if you drop it, you don’t have to worry about it breaking. If you want to remember a hole in one you can get a picture of it right on the device. There is a 13 megapixel camera.
One of the fears that comes with any device is what happens when it falls out of the cart and lands on the ground. Worst case scenario is it landing on the cart path. During testing this happened and I held my breath as it landed face down. When I picked it up there were no issues at all and getting to the next tee I could see how far it was to the water for my tee shot!
The SX500 also has a scorecard feature on the SX500. It allows you to not only keep your score but, you can track fairways, greens putts and add your handicap. This way you won’t worry about losing it before you add it to your tracking system at home.
Scorecard
Now I am sure you are wondering, how does it hold a charge? I used the SX500 for 3 straight days. It still had enough charge to go for a 4th round. I did plug it in before I went to bed when I plugged in my speaker for the course the next morning and woke up to a full charge. One day, when it was down to 50%, I plugged it in and it was fully charged in less than an hour! It does come with its own charging cable that I do suggest you use. The tip of it is extended and it holds in the device where a shorter, cell phone cord will not.
Dads Say So, the SkyGolf Sky Caddie SX500 has changed my mind on the handheld GPS Units completely. It is now in my bag at all times when I am playing any course. It gives you so much great information! You can lower your score on a course you have played hundreds of times. Currently on the SkyGolf web site you can purchase it for only $399.95. It includes a 1 year subscription to their Double Eagle Subscription. It is a great deal. If you are not using the SkyCaddy SX500 by SkyGolf you are costing yourself strokes. If you want to lower your scores go to SkyGolf.com today and order yours!
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