GolfLogix vs GolfShot vs Skycaddie

[rdsmith3]

[quote name='TM_HOYER' timestamp='1335829873' post='4819238']

And you can talk all you want about how cheap golf GPS apps are but the truth is you have to commit to spending a minimum of $1620 over two years just to use it. So the cost of the smartphone and the cost of your plan has to be included in calculating the cost. Which makes the cost of the app very expensive. I will look closer when you can show me you can get a smartphone, data plan, and app for less than $500 over two years. Or you can show me a smartphone golf GPS app that can be used on a course without a smartphone and a data plan. Then we can do a fair comparison with a dedicated golf GPS device.
[/quote]

I may be a lousy golfer, but I do know something about finance. I will add to the chorus -- your logic is incorrect. Your analysis is deeply flawed.

IF someone already has a smartphone, the incremental cost of the Golfshot app is what, $29? This is much cheaper than buying a dedicated golf GPS + subscription. I just went through this analysis myself. I already have an iPhone 4s. Whether or not I decided to get Golfshot, I would still have the iPhone. I did not purchase it for its golf capabilities. In fact, it did not occur to me when I bought it that there were golf apps.

For someone in my situation, if the decision is strictly based on cost, then a smartphone app is much cheaper than a dedicated golf GPS.

I do think that dedicated purpose devices generally work better than multi-purpose ones (and I have a Garmin GPS in my car) but each person has to make their own decision as to what they want to spend their money on. However, to try to argue that the true cost of a smartphone app includes the cost of the phone and data plan is really, really misleading.

[Carolina Golfer 2]

[quote name='Swisstrader98' timestamp='1335108795' post='4767724']
[quote name='Striker760' timestamp='1330798282' post='4426551']
I use golfshot and love it. Accurate, aerial views, and tracks FIR, % missed short, long, left, right, GIR, putts, putts in regulation, sand saves, scramble %, distance tracking...etc. For $29 I'm very pleased. I use it on my iPad because the screen is so large. Every time I play with a new person there impressed with it.
[/quote]

+1 for Golfshot, but I take away a lot of points based on the fact that there's no auto advance between holes. For such a great app, kind of a drag to have to manually advance each hole.
[/quote]

I just used Golflogix for the first time yesterday on my Iphone. Your point about the auto advance was my biggest complaint as well on the Golflogix. I was playing my home course, that I know very well, so I have a good feel for distances on almost every hole. So I didn't have to refer to it on each hole. So sometimes, by the time I looked at it, it was two holes behind.

A bit of a nuisance to advance it to the current hole. Also I didn't find it as easy to navigate quickly as I would have hoped. I'll be playing two more rounds this weekend and will give it another go. It seems to have a lot of features, but I want the nuts and bolts to work correctly before anything else.

[shutitdown]

[quote name='TM_HOYER' timestamp='1335832273' post='4819608']
[quote name='Andy L' timestamp='1335830978' post='4819410']
I'm sorry but that is just not correct logic. As the previous poster said, using your logic then you better include the cost of your car because you drive it to the golf course.

Even if you wanted to include the cost of the phone and it's service plan for golf use you would have to amortize it correctly to golf use. So you could say that perhaps 1% or 10% of your phone costs should be allocated to golf. So even at 10% it would only be $162 over two years (assuming your baseline number of $1620). To say the $1620 is all for golf is just flat out illogical.
[/quote]

When a poster pulls out things like the car example or the driver example, that is just someone trying to blow smoke in your face to confuse the issue. Let's just stick to the costs. It is a minimum cost of $1620 to get you to the point you can get the app.



[/quote]
..Just read this thread ..TM...think of the amount of time and energy you have spent arguing over something some trivial...Golf GPS devices are going the way of the dodo bird...golfshot and golfscape is where it's at!!

[Swisstrader98]

+1 to all that...one of the goofiest arguments I've seen here in a while
[quote name='shutitdown' timestamp='1336802703' post='4899906']
[quote name='TM_HOYER' timestamp='1335832273' post='4819608']
[quote name='Andy L' timestamp='1335830978' post='4819410']
I'm sorry but that is just not correct logic. As the previous poster said, using your logic then you better include the cost of your car because you drive it to the golf course.

Even if you wanted to include the cost of the phone and it's service plan for golf use you would have to amortize it correctly to golf use. So you could say that perhaps 1% or 10% of your phone costs should be allocated to golf. So even at 10% it would only be $162 over two years (assuming your baseline number of $1620). To say the $1620 is all for golf is just flat out illogical.
[/quote]

When a poster pulls out things like the car example or the driver example, that is just someone trying to blow smoke in your face to confuse the issue. Let's just stick to the costs. It is a minimum cost of $1620 to get you to the point you can get the app.



[/quote]
..Just read this thread ..TM...think of the amount of time and energy you have spent arguing over something some trivial...Golf GPS devices are going the way of the dodo bird...golfshot and golfscape is where it's at!!
[/quote]

[TM_HOYER]

I cannot believe how much the golf app fanboys are in denial. In denial on how much they have to commit to pay before they can even get a golf app. How much they are in denial that they cannot use the golf app for tournaments and submitting scores for a USGA or R&A handicap. How much they are denial that the device, software, and signal are full of compromises to allow the device to do so many different things, many times average at best. In denial that it can be used at every course that a dedicated golf GPS can be used.

Golf apps will have a short life after the initial excitement wears off. The dedicated golf GPS such as the Skycaddie will win out because it is designed to the specific job at hand with no compromises. It has a better and more accurate GPS, can be used everywhere with a clear view of the sky, provides better and more accurate information, can be purchased for a reasonable price, and is conforming for use in tournaments and for submitting scores for a handicap.

[SnowPlow]

[quote name='TM_HOYER' timestamp='1336877429' post='4903582']
I cannot believe how much the golf app fanboys are in denial. In denial on how much they have to commit to pay before they can even get a golf app. How much they are in denial that they cannot use the golf app for tournaments and submitting scores for a USGA or R&A handicap. How much they are denial that the device, software, and signal are full of compromises to allow the device to do so many different things, many times average at best. In denial that it can be used at every course that a dedicated golf GPS can be used.

Golf apps will have a short life after the initial excitement wears off. The dedicated golf GPS such as the Skycaddie will win out because it is designed to the specific job at hand with no compromises. It has a better and more accurate GPS, can be used everywhere with a clear view of the sky, provides better and more accurate information, can be purchased for a reasonable price, and is conforming for use in tournaments and for submitting scores for a handicap.
[/quote]

I am not in denial.Let's play your game....when you took your shiny new GPS out of the box how much did you have to pay for the computer to connect it to, how much did you pay for the monitor, the modem, your internet service? Oh that's right you had them anyway but you don't want to factor that in....but people who have already bought their smart phones and already pay for their service must add that to the cost of the app to suit your little justification in cost. That's the logic of a 5 year old...that may even be an insult to a 5 year old.

You do know that the vast majority of golfers don't play in tournaments. I'm not denying that should NOT be a factor in doing due diligence when weighing up the use of an app. You also know that Skycaddie was selling their non-conforming devices to golfers prior to 2007? The companies selling golf apps are doing exactly the same thing skycaddie did...what's wrong with that? These companies market to the majority....not the minority....simple really, not rocket science.

When you say Skycaddie has a better more accurate GPS what GPS chips are you comparing them to, are you being phone or app specific? How do you explain all these people posting about being within 2-3 yards of markers when using their app? They are all liars?

If golf apps have a short life, why have sales increased? Why have sales decreased for dedicated units, just ask a couple of golf retailers. Golf apps with GPS have been around for years, I certainly don't see a decrease in popularity, it's increasing.

So...you are a software engineer now...how is the software in a smart phone compromised? Right now 50% of mobile users have smart phones with that likely to increase to 70% next year. The technology is only going to get better, not stand still.These golf app companies are in it for the long haul....they are seeing the future markets only increasing not decreasing. They don't want to join the party when it's too late...they already have a head start.

I am not knocking any specific GPS company...it's about choice and rightfully so. Some people will always use a dedicated GPS, some people will always use a laser instead of a GPS, What smartphone technology is doing is giving people more choices at a fraction of the cost. Of course......GPS companies don't like that.....screw competition. I have a couple of golf apps...on my courses, they are accurate....even when compared to a super-duper GPS that someone paid $400 for..it must be my imagination and I must be under the same mass hallucination as other people seeing their app readings being accurate.

[Swisstrader98]

Sounds like this Hoyer dude has stock in one of the handheld devices or works for one. Just off the course today using my Golfshot iphone app and simply love it. Clean, simple, accurate and only $29!!!

You'd have to be completely illogical to want to spend 10X that for a dedicated device...ooops, that's how I think many have described this guys's logic...illogical.

[mwmgolfx]

There's a place for both types and many many arguments pro and con for each. I have an app on my android phone (skydroid - $1.99) that works great. But I also have a Skycaddie GPS unit that I paid a ton more for. And for a long time until I literally wore it out I had a Bushnell range finder (no slope feature).

And each has great features and not so great. But 99% of the time I use the Skycaddie. Why, it's got more features that I use more often, plus the smart phone app's are NOT legal for any type of USGA handicap posting in a number of states, not counting the fact that they are not legal in almost all tournaments. I don't often play tournaments but once in a blue moon. But I do record scores for handicap purposes- helps keep track of improvement so that I want the scores to be as representative of legal as possible.

And I've found that the skycaddie is generally more accurate. I've found over time for certain courses that smart phone apps pick up the wrong green or the wrong fairway from the satellite pictures. Doesn't happen a lot, but does way more than the skycaddie does. I know this because I've used my own and had issues and have played with lots of players that have used them with similar issues.

Does this happen enough to really make that much of a difference? NAH!!!!! Heck no. Most of the smart phone apps are pretty good overall. It's just a choice of what features you want and your type of golf. Casual once a week player that never records his scores or plays in any tournaments that require a handicap probably should use smart phone app as it's the way to go in my opinion.

[steiny]

Sorry top take the thread away from the heated cost controversy :p but do any golflogix users know if when you delete rounds off of your smatphone, do they also delete off of the website tracking. i have 11 rounds saved on my phone and sync'd to the website, but want to delete them from my phone because during the last 4 or so rounds the app keeps freezing and i think it might be due to all of the storage thats being used by old rounds because it never froze when there were less or no rounds saved. if this is a bad assumption and my saved rounds arent affecting the unit, then id like to keep them, but if deleting them from my phone will make the unit perform better and my stats will still be saved online then id like to delete them

[Tyrone Tyger]

Wow... I leave for a month, and the forum goes NUTBARS!

umm...

Steiny, yes, if you delete the round from the phone, and sync, it comes off the website. But saved rounds shouldn't cause a problem, I've got 150 or so on there, no problem. You might want to delete the app and reinstall it, that's usually a good fix for anything. The app should recognize the phone and get all your info back, no problem.

[matchavez]

Put me down as another GolfShot + Laser.

[simonmax]

At the risk of adding to one of the most heated debates I've seen on this forum.....

I'm firstly: a golf newbie; not a tech-head; and live in the hottest sunniest part of the world most of the year (reason for saying this will be apparent later) - Dubai. So I love playing golf and enjoy tracking stats/progress/accuracy etc and would very happily spend $$'s on a GPS that would download all of this great stuff without a second thought. Issue for me is that I can't find a GPS that covers Dubai - although it's in the golf buggies.

So anyway, I bought Golfshot and thought I'd give it a go..... Now, as I'm no tech-head I haven't figured everything out yet. What I will say is that distances were never more than 1-2 yards different to the buggie GPS - most of the time they were spot on. I had continuous quick coverage from the satellites. No problem reading the screen in sunlight that is as bright as you can feasibly play golf in. Battery was used up quite a lot, around 50% over 18 holes. Am I pleased? Yes. I'll have to get the wife to show me how to use some of the features e.g. I can't see how to make my driver the R11 I have stored in the website the specific club I use on the round (any pointers on how to do this are most welcome).

Conclusion, pretty happy really. If anybody knows of a hand held GPS that works in Dubai and is mac compatible, I really would be grateful if you could let me know as I'm stupid enough to buy one as well! For those of you that may think I'm nuts to be buying my own GPS when it's on the buggie, I'd just say that I had to change buggie 3 times in one round last week to get a GPS unit that was functioning, nothing unusual in this part of the world.

Hopefully I haven't poured more oil on the fire.....

[matchavez]

[quote name='simonmax' timestamp='1338729398' post='5021120']
Hopefully I haven't poured more oil on the fire.....
[/quote]

*rimshot*

[Goldenhawk]

My company pays for my iphone, the monthly bills and data plan,etc. So, using the Golflogix on an essentially free iphone for $20 was a no brainer.

Played a round yesterday with someone who had Golfshot on their iphone. For comparison, both devices were accurate. The Golflogix layout seemed more informative though.

[BlackDiamondPar5]

[quote name='simonmax' timestamp='1338729398' post='5021120']
At the risk of adding to one of the most heated debates I've seen on this forum.....

I'm firstly: a golf newbie; not a tech-head; and live in the hottest sunniest part of the world most of the year (reason for saying this will be apparent later) - Dubai. So I love playing golf and enjoy tracking stats/progress/accuracy etc and would very happily spend $$'s on a GPS that would download all of this great stuff without a second thought. Issue for me is that I can't find a GPS that covers Dubai - although it's in the golf buggies.

So anyway, I bought Golfshot and thought I'd give it a go..... Now, as I'm no tech-head I haven't figured everything out yet. What I will say is that distances were never more than 1-2 yards different to the buggie GPS - most of the time they were spot on. I had continuous quick coverage from the satellites. No problem reading the screen in sunlight that is as bright as you can feasibly play golf in. Battery was used up quite a lot, around 50% over 18 holes. Am I pleased? Yes. I'll have to get the wife to show me how to use some of the features e.g. I can't see how to make my driver the R11 I have stored in the website the specific club I use on the round (any pointers on how to do this are most welcome).

Conclusion, pretty happy really. If anybody knows of a hand held GPS that works in Dubai and is mac compatible, I really would be grateful if you could let me know as I'm stupid enough to buy one as well! For those of you that may think I'm nuts to be buying my own GPS when it's on the buggie, I'd just say that I had to change buggie 3 times in one round last week to get a GPS unit that was functioning, nothing unusual in this part of the world.

Hopefully I haven't poured more oil on the fire.....
[/quote]

Use what works best for you. Each option has its pros and cons. Fortunately we have choices.

[Swisstrader98]

$1620 for the golshot app?? I must have bought mine on a sale day because mine only cost $20! Perhaps if you're one of few people on this earth who don't own a cellphone you could use that flawed logic, but otherwise an argument futility![quote name='TM_HOYER' timestamp='1335832273' post='4819608']
[quote name='Andy L' timestamp='1335830978' post='4819410']

I'm sorry but that is just not correct logic. As the previous poster said, using your logic then you better include the cost of your car because you drive it to the golf course.

Even if you wanted to include the cost of the phone and it's service plan for golf use you would have to amortize it correctly to golf use. So you could say that perhaps 1% or 10% of your phone costs should be allocated to golf. So even at 10% it would only be $162 over two years (assuming your baseline number of $1620). To say the $1620 is all for golf is just flat out illogical.
[/quote]

When a poster pulls out things like the car example or the driver example, that is just someone trying to blow smoke in your face to confuse the issue. Let's just stick to the costs. It is a minimum cost of $1620 to get you to the point you can get the app.
[/quote]

[Mattco]

I use Golfshot to track all my stats but that is about all I use it for. I have a Nikon Laserfinder that I can hit a pin with in about 3 seconds so I shoot my yardages and just use the golfshot for a few things. I just find it cumbersome to whip out a phone, swipe, find the app, try to figure out some yardages and hope I have enough battery life on my iPhone to make it through the round.

[Wayneo]

Simon,
Most apps and dedicated units will let you see what's in their course database. Some will even allow you to map your own.

If they're not there, don't hold out no matter what they say. Buy the unit or app that has them now, or if you're willing to map yourself, knock yourself out.

[MrHack]

What's this post about again?

[xe2087]

Don't EVER get a SKYCADDIE they are a rip off with terrible customer service. I have been asking for a course to be mapped for 6 years pffffffffffffft!!!!!

Buy a rangefinder i got a V2 bushnell best bit of golfing Kit i have ever bought.

[JJFWebster]

I tried to use the apps but found myself having to buy external battery packs for my phones. (Iphone 4 and then Galaxy S2) My phones were at times 10 yards off (usually 5 or so) of what the laser was giving me. (That is with the pin positions set correctly.) I couldn't use my phone in any kind of poor weather conditions and I couldn't use it for my handicap. IMO it is a case of you get what you pay for. I bit the bullet this year for a SkyCaddie because constantly using a laser was cumbersome. The yearly membership is a small price to pay for the number of $5 golf balls I would lose on unfamiliar courses. Either way I do not need to justify the purchase for my favorite hobby. I have yet to play a course that hasn't been mapped by SG.

[callawayjay]

Golfshot for the statistical advantage, and I use a Leupold GX-3 for distance.

[rdsmith3]

On Friday I played a round that took over 5 hours (sigh -- it was very slow out there). The good news is that I was using Golfshot on an iPhone 4s and I still had about 30% battery when I was done.

[Stacy S.]

Hi all,

Has anyone downloaded/used the [url="http://www.mobitee.com"]Mobitee[/url] GPS smartphone app?

I never thought I would need an app to help me with distance but I'm tired of counting my steps, one by one! I downloaded the free version (first five holes) on my Droid X Android phone and I've been playing with the app a bit. The GPS is obviously the main reason I downloaded it but it seems to have a lot of cool features too. I like the aerials, the scorecard, the user experience and it also seems really simple to use so I'm wondering, for $24.90 (and from what I'm reading, no additional fees) if anyone else in the forum has used Mobitee and what they think of it?

[gphin305]

I have used a Skycaddie (SC) for years and just loaded the Golflogix (GL) app on my Blackberry Torch. I found the GL app to be as accurate as the SC and the basic information and distances were fine and accurate. My biggest problem during the first round I played with GL was that it froze up my phone three times during the round. I couldn't even turn off the phone to reboot. Eventually it rebooted but I missed two entire holes going through the process and then it did it again two more times. By the time my round was done (4 hours) my battery was gone (full charge when started). I'll use the GL as a backup if I forget to charge or forget my SC but no way will I trust it as my only gps source.

[Primexcel]

Skycaddie fanboys vs. App fanboys. It's getting pretty hilarious at this point on this thread..

Neither is better than the other. It's all personal preference and to each their own. For me, I don't justify buying a whole device (Skycaddie) when you can just simply buy an app that will provide just as much as the same information you need or looking for. Give or take 5 yards if the GPS is off, who cares. It comes down to your golf game anyways!!!

I'll just add... +1 for Golfshot app. Love their website, stat tracking, and most importantly, all my friends use it and we can see each other's rounds and stats on the website. That's my personal preference. Not saying its better than the other. Just what I simply like about it.

[BriGTi]

I must of gotten lucky with my iPhone 4s and its battery life. Last week played a round of over 5 hours. Brutal I know but it was a holiday so. At the end of the round using Golflogix i had 73% battery left. I have been able to play 36 and still have over a 25% charge. This is a huge improvement from my original droid that I would have to charge on the back 9 at the end of its life.
I like Golflogix because of all the things it tracks. I like that I can track my distances for each club as I've now used 3 different sets of irons this year already. The update this year changed the entire way you use the app but now that I am re-learning how to use it efficiently I like it much more than previous versions (this is year 3 of using the Golflogix app). My buddy uses a free app that just posts distances and I notice he has to move his phone around frequently to get it to adjust. The only issue I ever have is sometimes Golflogix is slow to adjust yardage when getting out of the cart. This may only happen once during the round though so its not bad. My dad has a stand alone unit and the only thing I like better about it is the screen. While I think the iPhone4s does a better job of being visible in bright sun it still is not as good as the stand alone gps units for visibility.
I still think its funny that in any type of forum environment it seems the most important thing to people is proving other people wrong. Everything I typed above is my opinion based on my experience so I will be curious to see how someone says I am wrong.

[shutitdown]

Golfshot App is great. If you follow all of the recommendations to conserve battery life your battery will be fine. I always have it charged to 100% before I play. If you turn WiFi off, turn the brightness way down ( it's sunny out you can see it fine with it turned down)..after a 5 hour round I always have 60-70% of battery life left. I just used it 2 weeks ago all day 9-10 hours on the course for about 40 holes and had 20% left. I am a pedestrian 12 handicapper but two of my buddies who are both scratch golfers recently converted over from their lasers. It is always dead even or within 2 yards of the laser. I don't use the stats feature much as I am more interested in golfing,smoking cigars, drinking beers and listening to music while I play. The stats and scorecard features are very nice though. I use it on my iPhone 4.

[MaxBuck]

Keep in mind that when talking apps, the key component is the accuracy of your smartphone's GPS system. And they aren't all the same. My old BlackBerry Curve and Tour were more accurate than my current Droid Charge. With that said, for the purpose I put it to, the Charge works well enough. I've used the free app "SkyDroid," which uses Google Maps as its aerial view, and it's adequate.

[frichissin]

I have Golflogix on my IPhone 4 and it always seems to be 5 to 10 yards off . Nothing better then hitting a 7 iron when the Golflogix app tells me 150 to the center of the green and I come up short I played a few times with others who had a rangefinder and 5 to 10 yards 50% of the time.