The SkyHawke SkyCaddie SG5 Golf GPS was a gift from my wife along with a membership to the SkyGolf Birdie club. The device does not function without a subscription/membership to one of the clubs. The Birdie club has maps of almost all golf courses in my state and costs under $30 for one-year The Eagle Club has all the noteworthy golf courses in the US for less than $50. The Double Eagle Club has all the noteworthy golf courses world-wide for less than $60.

The SkyCaddie SG5 is priced in a range of $430 to $460. My buddies and I have been on the course since early May putting the SkyCaddie SG5 through its paces. By way of a recommendation, all my golf buddies have recently purchased a SkyCaddie SG5 GPS because it is awesome.


Features:

Predictably, the SkyCaddie SG5 is all about getting on the green. The unique feature offered by the SG5 is the mapping of a golf course of your choice designed by a golf professional. The company sends pros out to each golf course who map out each course personally. What you get is an up to date GPS mapping with targets for laying up or angles and views that factor in obstacles like trees, sand traps and varying slopes. The device has a brilliant 2.2-inch LCD display with backlight capability. It provides various angles and views and even make suggestions as to what club or iron to use to accomplish the shot. It is like having a professional caddy on the course with you who knows the course backwards and forwards.

The Intelligreen technology developed by SkyHawke gives the golfer the distance to the green from three different angles or approaches with calculations for each approach. Up to three distances can be displayed simultaneously with calculations of the back of the green, carry to the front or any point in between. The golfer/user gets to decide what is the best shot given his/her ability and overall distance capability. The calculations are consistently accurate on each hole. The SG5 will suggest up to 40 targets for each hole that take into account the idiosyncrasies of each hole. Most devices only provide six or seven suggested targets.

The SkyCaddie SG5 has the ability to store up to 10 courses on the device. It also can keep track of scores and levels of improvement in the golfers game. The members only club, allows users to exchange information about less well-known golf courses and offers an opportunity for bragging about improvements.

The SkyCaddie SG5 comes with all of the necessary cables, CD set up guide and chargers to make it operational right out of the box. A golfer/user needs to have a PC with Windows 2000 or later with 256 RAM memory and 4 MB hard drive space available. It is Mac compatible and requires the same memory. The only other things you need is a USB port on your PC and a CD drive to set up the SG5 and Internet Explorer 7 or above to access the SkyGolf GPS web site.

Seeing is believing. I find the SkyCaddie SG5 has improved my game and added a whole circle of friends and support services to my game. Give it a shot or log on to the SkyGolf GPS web site and see for yourself.