Review: SkyCaddie Golf GPS Watch
Golf is a favorite sport in our home. We hit the local links about twice per week – three times on a good week. Everyone gets involved. Arguments happen. Yet there is one thing we can all agree upon: having a reliable distance indicator that isn’t ridiculously expensive is important to the golfing experience.
Sure. You could go “old school” and walk off the distance to the hole. Or you could use the published hole guide, assuming your course has one. We’ve found a better solution: The SkyCaddie Golf GPS Watch.
Now it isn’t the highest rated watch or GPS golfing device. Yet with a little care, there’s a good chance it’ll take a few strokes off of your game. Here’s what we’ve discovered about this helpful little timepiece.
#1. It has battery memory right from the start.
You will dramatically decrease battery life on this particular watch if you leave it fully charged for a long period of time without using it. You’ll also decrease battery life if you only charge it part-way and then drain the battery to 0%. Once the watch is fully charged, unplug it. Then recharge it to 100% right before you’re ready to go golfing for the best experience.
#2. You’ll need to register the timepiece with Skycaddie.
You can register your new watch through this link if you wish: https://www.skygolf.com/activation/Register-Intro.aspx
This will give you access to course maps and other GPS data. The good news is that your whole family gets access to the SkyCaddie membership. Now there are tens of thousands of pre-loaded maps that come with this watch, but your course might not be part of the set. An annual SkyCaddie membership tops out at $50 for everyone, which isn’t a bad deal.
You don’t need to pay for a subscription or pay a fee with this watch. Register it and you can use it for forever as-is.
#3. You’ll get more battery life if you just use the GPS function.
One of the common complaints we always hear on the course about the SkyCaddie watch is that it wears out too soon. When we get done with 18 holes, there’s usually about 30% of the battery remaining. The difference is likely in the fact that when we’re golfing, we are only using the GPS function on this watch. If you’re using every feature, there’s a good chance the battery life might only last you 9 holes.
#4. You’ve got to watch out for the warranty on this watch.
Many timepieces offer a 2-year limited warranty on the internal components of the watch. Some manufacturers are even going to limited lifetime warranties. The one complaint we have about SkyCaddie is that their warranty is only for 6 months. If you purchase this watch at the start of your off-season, you might not even get to use the watch for its intended purpose until the warranty period has expired.
So even though we love this watch, you’ll want to carefully plan when you purchase it to avoid a potentially avoidable non-warranty repair situation.
The SkyCaddie Golf GPS Watch has changed the way we play our favorite sport. There are still arguments. Victory dances still occur when someone makes a bogey to win the hole. Yet with the knowledge gained from just having this watch around, our scores are all improving. It’s been a great investment for us and think it will be for you as well.
