Callaway uPro GPS

Does anyone have any knowledge or experience of these devices? My club has banned GPS on phones because of the possibility of gaining other information, so I'm looking at getting a specific device and I like the look of these. However, nowhere seems to have any stock, and there are only 2 on eBay so I'm wondering if they're discontinued or if there's some sort of issue with them?

Never heard of them but they look like any other GPS type system. I tried one and didn't like them, I now use a laser rangefinder (Nikon 350G) which I much prefer. I like to know the exact yardage rather than front centre or back of the green.

Don't know a huge amount about the callaway device... but I would look at a few things with GPS.

1. Annual Subscription
2. Course download fees
3. Battery life and in car charge facility
4. Price

The first two seem to share a reciprocal relationship. Some have no annual usage for the GPS signal but have a high course download charge... and others have a high annual fee but free course downloads.

There is also a fair amount to look into in terms of the number of yardages per hole. So the distance to a given hazard, past that hazard, the ability to move a cursor on the virtual green to give a best approximation to the flag etc etc...

Look into what the callaway offers compared to others on the market and pick and choose carefully.

I picked up a bushnell a while after they came out. My cousin had both a skycaddie and a bushnell and the GPS device I was half hearted about as it wasn't precise. The laser I think is a much better solution as I can target as many points as I like in seconds. But I have no stats on that.... which is something the GPS would give that I like.


Look into them both. A lot of places offer trials with the devices they have on sale. (although I can't remember if Crondon does that).

Thanks guys. I don't think I have a steady enough hand for a laser, but the thing I like about the uPro is its size and the option to have an aerial photo view of each hole, as well as being able to pick any point on the hole and get a yardage to that point. That's in what they term 'Pro Mode', which you pay about £2-3 per course for, but the basic info is free.

That sounds pretty good SJ.... but before you go for it let me point you at these

http://www.direct-golf.co.uk/golf_accessories/garmin/gps_device_approach_g3_golf_gps_unit/p11298

http://www.direct-golf.co.uk/golf_accessories/sonocaddie/gps_device_v300_plus_colour_gps_golf_device/p12625

http://www.direct-golf.co.uk/golf_accessories/skycaddie/gps_device_sgx_gps_golf_device/p11275

I have no idea if they are comparable to the Callaway for functionality and price.... but it seems that everyone is doing that sort of thing now.

There is also one on the market that does all of that plus driving GPS and also speed camera locations. That last one sounds really useful.

LondonJonnyO wrote:That sounds pretty good SJ.... but before you go for it let me point you at these

http://www.direct-golf.co.uk/golf_accessories/garmin/gps_device_approach_g3_golf_gps_unit/p11298

http://www.direct-golf.co.uk/golf_accessories/sonocaddie/gps_device_v300_plus_colour_gps_golf_device/p12625

http://www.direct-golf.co.uk/golf_accessories/skycaddie/gps_device_sgx_gps_golf_device/p11275

I have no idea if they are comparable to the Callaway for functionality and price.... but it seems that everyone is doing that sort of thing now.

There is also one on the market that does all of that plus driving GPS and also speed camera locations. That last one sounds really useful.

It's the mobile units that you need to worry about though, not the fixed cameras. No fixed ones on the M11, eh?

Those all look to be capable of the same sort of thing, but the Callaway is only about £150. Hopefully that's the only reason everyone's out of stock!

Nae comment.

Is it still golf if you use distance aids, and I include fairway distance markers in this comment.

sure it is mac. you've got all those clubs because, primarily, they hit the ball a different distance. it's not like they're hitting the ball for you, that's enough of a problem on its own! (given your recent 4 GIR round, i'm sure you agree ;-)

I've got the Golf GPS & SATNAV & Camera gadget. It's made by Snooper and is the Sapphire 280 +. This has been superseded, the new models are the Snooper 320 and 430. Lots of info on http://shop.snooperdirect.com/product1700186.html (this is the 430)
I've had mine 15 months and was sent back yesterday as the on/off button isn't working.

what amuses me most is this claim to a "giant 3.5 inch screen"

If you claimed 3 and a half inches as giant anywhere else you'd be ridiculed.

I will admit I have a rangefinder and use it but there is a nagging feeling that we should consider that using the eye to judge distance is part of the game. Working out what club to hit should be a major part of the sport and distance aids detract from this. In the same way that long players gain an advantage those blessed with better judgement should also.

The game is becoming one obsessed with distance both in terms of how far we hit the ball and knowing how far we have to hit the ball. Where is the feel and the skills of perception that the game was based on? After all I think most people are totally bored with target golf and that is a relatively new form of the game.

Mac. In the past most people wouldn't consider playing without a caddy. Who would know the ground and the yardages from each little spot on the course. The GPS devices do the same without the need for a drunken old scotsman or an ignorant child whispering in your ear.

In addition knowing a distance doesn't remove feel. You still have all the sticks in your bag to choose from. And have to make the shot work. All a yardage tells you is how far you have to hit it. And people have known that information from day 1.

LondonJonnyO wrote:Mac. In the past most people wouldn't consider playing without a caddy. Who would know the ground and the yardages from each little spot on the course. The GPS devices do the same without the need for a drunken old scotsman or an ignorant child whispering in your ear.

In addition knowing a distance doesn't remove feel. You still have all the sticks in your bag to choose from. And have to make the shot work. All a yardage tells you is how far you have to hit it. And people have known that information from day 1.

LJ

Please make sure you check the facts before posting as all the research shows that caddies did little more than carry clubs (without a bag) until the 20th century. There would have been no mention of distance in the same way as we obsessed in todays game. So it is not true to say people had the yardage from day one because firstly the caddies would not have thought of the game in that way and secondly were merely there to carry clubs. Further it would only have been the matches played for large amounts of money where caddies would be used. Distance is a later 20th century golfing disease.

Mac. Where is your evidence supporting that?

Everything I can see points to the fact that the caddies were local men who knew the course very well. How would they not provide statements on how far a particular shot would need to be hit? It's how they would earn their money from tips as far as I'm concerned.

LJ

A good place to start would be to read tommys honour. I am sure amazon will have it.

Take notes of key events and search newspaper archives for the reports on the big matches, after that use your imagination.

They should all be banned. Takes away part of the skill of the game.

Mac. I'm not going to go and buy a book. If you have references then quote them.

And I hardly think newspaper archives will be of any use. The press today rarely mention the caddies... and they do a lot more than just 'carry the bag'

Well I am glad you think that, but why not have a read and see if those thoughts are correct.

McLaren wrote:Well I am glad you think that, but why not have a read and see if those thoughts are correct.

I'm not going to go and dig through old papers. It's hardly something I'm that interested in.

If you have something that shows I'm wrong then fine... but I'm not going looking for anything. You want to change my opinion no problem... but it's up to you to do so by providing your 'evidence'

McLaren is correct, the game was played mainly by the upper classes who would not performa any sort of manual labour, so paid someone to carry there bag for them for a payment, and that's all they did. Read any golf history literature, it's in most of them.

http://www.pcaworldwide.com/history3.htm

Gentleman golfers of the 18th century often had many personal servants. It was only natural that an elite gentleman would have a servant tote his clubs and find his balls for him. A caddie.


Many matches would also make use of a "forecaddie". The forecaddie was so-called because of their job as a "forward caddie", one who would be sent up ahead to sight the driven ball. The grazing of the sheep and rabbits was all that would cut the grass, so players tended to rely on the forecaddie at every hole. The players, to alert the forecaddies to spot the flight of the ball, yelled "Fore".
The old time caddies were men from hard backgrounds whose nicknames occasionally suggested just how they had to be to survive. With feathery balls costing a week's wage and with the popularity of gambling among players, a crooked forecaddie who might also accept bribes from players, could supplement his wages handsomely. Willie Johnson, for instance, became known as "Trap Door," because he pretended one leg was shorter than the other was and had a special boot made with a hollow sole. In it, he hid "lost" golf balls, which he later sold back to his clients. His boot, it is claimed, could hold half a dozen golf balls.
Willie "Trap Door" Johnson
Most of these men lived hand-to-mouth. They also had a sense of craft that was handed down from father to son. That's what separated them from someone who just carried clubs. They employed knowledge of wind, ground, of how conditions affect what route to take. They quickly learned the way you hit the ball ... and they take you around the course like a guide instead of some sort of a packhorse.

SmithersJones wrote:Thanks guys. I don't think I have a steady enough hand for a laser, but the thing I like about the uPro is its size and the option to have an aerial photo view of each hole, as well as being able to pick any point on the hole and get a yardage to that point. That's in what they term 'Pro Mode', which you pay about £2-3 per course for, but the basic info is free.

Smithers don't worry about needing a steady hand. I have a Bushnell and use it one-handed and never have problems with getting an accurate read, even in wind. The only time it can give a miss-read is if theres something like a tree directly behind the flag, and you just move yourslf sideways and scan again, no worries. Even Alex Higgins would have been able to use a Bushnell and shaky hand with a hangover

Doc wrote:

SmithersJones wrote:Thanks guys. I don't think I have a steady enough hand for a laser, but the thing I like about the uPro is its size and the option to have an aerial photo view of each hole, as well as being able to pick any point on the hole and get a yardage to that point. That's in what they term 'Pro Mode', which you pay about £2-3 per course for, but the basic info is free.

Smithers don't worry about needing a steady hand. I have a Bushnell and use it one-handed and never have problems with getting an accurate read, even in wind. The only time it can give a miss-read is if theres something like a tree directly behind the flag, and you just move yourslf sideways and scan again, no worries. Even Alex Higgins would have been able to use a Bushnell and shaky hand with a hangover

Besides which they also have a tripod mount on the bushnell.

LondonJonnyO wrote:Besides which they also have a tripod mount on the bushnell.

Please tell me that's not true

JPX wrote:

LondonJonnyO wrote:Besides which they also have a tripod mount on the bushnell.

Please tell me that's not true

From the manual

TRIPOD MOUNT
Molded into the bottom of your TOUR V2 is a threaded tripod mount that will allow you to attach a tripod
for a more stable operation during long periods of use.

I think it's funny as it happens. I can imagine some old geezer walking around with his trolley and his camera tripod circa 1894

I think the tri pod may be for hunting use.

McLaren wrote:I think the tri pod may be for hunting use.

That's the funny thing. I have the golfing bushnell (the tourv2) and it has a tripod... A friend of mine bought a hunting version which is cheaper (not pinseeker tech makes it half the price). His doesn't have the tripod fitting. Very bizarre as I assumed the same thing you just did.

Oh well. Can always use it for hunting the flag.

I'm actually considering one of those gorilla things to attach the laser to my trolley. It would certainly make hangover golf easier.

LondonJonnyO wrote:

McLaren wrote:I think the tri pod may be for hunting use.

That's the funny thing. I have the golfing bushnell (the tourv2) and it has a tripod... A friend of mine bought a hunting version which is cheaper (not pinseeker tech makes it half the price). His doesn't have the tripod fitting. Very bizarre as I assumed the same thing you just did.

Mine came with the fitting but not the tripod thank god. The Bushnell blurb advertises the fact that Bushnell are world leaders in sniper scopes and hunting technology, and thats their roots. The Tour V2 was built upon hunting technology and just found a new revenue stream. I can just see myself sighting down a line with Saltman in my scope ........

that's one thing that a GPS can never give you. The yardage required to hit a saltman from elevated ground.

I find the people saying that a GPS isn't accurate enough for them because they prefer the accuracy of a laser determining the precise pin distance quite laughable.
I'll wager that no one on here is so accurate that they can hit consistently to the yard the same distance with each and every club.

I've had both a laser and a SkyCaddy and while I initially saw the benefit of a laser it was superceded by the additional data provided by a GPS such as depth of green, front, middle and back and distance to front and carry hazards. You can move the cursor signifying the pin position to where the pin is and it will tell you the yardage, it isn't just the front middle and back that it tells you , and that frankly ought to be more than enough for any amateur golfer.
I use it in conjunction with the Pin sheet handed out at my club whilst checking the sprinker heads occasionally to make sure it's not out by too much, so while I can see why people like Lasers, saying that a GPS isn't accurate enough is a pretty feeble argument.
I've been in situations when one might be preferable to another but for me at least the extra information from a GPS helps more with course management where with a laser it isn't always possible to see the front, middle or back of a green.
After all, it isn't always wise to go for the pin, sometimes the middle of a green or ensuring you leave an uphill putt is preferable to going for a sucker pin.

super_realist wrote:I find the people saying that a GPS isn't accurate enough for them because they prefer the accuracy of a laser determining the precise pin distance quite laughable.
I'll wager that no one on here is so accurate that they can hit consistently to the yard the same distance with each and every club.

i must agree. i use distance markers and pacing out with the knowledge that the marker is either to the front or the centre of the green. the green is going to average 20-30 yds deep (something that a course guide booklet can illuminate) and then i'll take my shot. if you're not off +6, as s_r says, don't tell me that you're going to knock it to within a 3 yard diameter with a touch of check to the left or the right to take advantage of that swale... not unless you know the course very, very well and hit a peach of a shot. and even then, we're just not good enough to do that each and every time.

i know both of our courses intimately but would never be so presumptuous, even on my best game, to require a distance measure to within a yard or two. and i don't know anyone who would, even the + handicappers at crail that i play with.

So it appears the uPro is about to be replaced with the uPro MX, at the end of this month. As far as I can tell, it's going to cost $199 in the US, but I haven't been able to find out about here. That's why the original was going for only £149, and why nowhere has any left.