Final Reviews: Voice Caddie SL2 Rangefinder

Removed, OEM change of plans

Official Review: Voice Caddie SL2

Introduction:

Hi, I’m Bucky CC.  You may remember me from such reviews as #CobraConnect Challenge 3, Nippon Modus GOST hybrid shaft, and The Big Beertha (I wish).

First off, a huge thank you to Voice Caddie and MGS for giving us the opportunity to review another top notch product.

I’ve been messing around with golf for 30+ years now.  Started as a kid in my backyard and currently play about 50 rounds a year in the Milwaukee, Wisconsin area.  There are a ton of absolutely stunning courses in Wisconsin but the downside is we only have 6-7 months of decent weather each year.  This year the state is hosting the 2020 2021 Ryder Cup at Whistling Straits with Wisconsin native Captain Steve Stricker.  I'm volunteering as a hole marshal and will be there each date of the event.

And what’s this?  Steve Stricker also uses Voice Caddie?  Perfect!

 

My handicap has been in the 3-6 range the last couple of years.  Over the last 20 rounds Arccos shows I lose the most strokes off the tee compared to a scratch handicap.

Driver smart distance is 278 so the main issue is hitting too many penalties off the tee.  Maybe the built in GPS function of the SL2 will help improve that?

 

Approach, Short game, and Putting all come and go depending on the round.  I’m probably most confident with my putter even though our greens looked like this most of the last year:

 

They blamed the conditions on excessive rain that led to root rot but no other course in the area experienced problems.  The greens are better now but still inconsistent from week to week as they are understandably shy about cutting them too short.

I’m least confident off the tee when there is danger on both sides of the fairway.  I often hesitate on what club to use knowing that iron may be the best choice on shorter holes but also knowing that most strokes gained analysis shows driver is the correct choice the majority of the time.

 

Expectations

For this test I’ll be comparing the Voice Caddie SL2 against a Bushnell Tour V4, Arccos on my iPhone, and I’ll try to find my old Garmin Approach G3 as well.  I don’t use Arccos very much off the tee since I’ve been at my current course for the last 7 years but I do shoot the pin on all approach shots.

         
My hopes for the SL2 are that it will be as quick as the Bushnell to find the pin on approach shots and as accurate as my Arccos iPhone GPS for tee shots and layups.  I love the fact that the design was inspired by yacht sailing and the use of aluminum in premium speakers, but at the end of the day the performance is what will determine if it earns a spot in my bag or not.  If they can somehow pull off the 2 in 1 combo that is accurate and easy to use this could be a perfect product.

Can’t wait to get started!

 

FINAL REVIEW – Voice Caddie SL2 – Official MGS Forum Review by Bucky CC, 09/01/2021

Intro

After three weeks of having the Voice Caddie SL2 in play I’m ready to give my full impressions of the product.  For this test I compared the SL2 against my a Bushnell Tour V4, Arccos running on an iPhone X, and an old Garmin Approach G3 GPS.

Looks & Feel (10 out of 10 points) 

Voice Caddie describes the SL2 as “Class on Class”; inspired by the deck of a yacht sailing the ocean and use of aluminum in premium speakers.  I would have to agree on first impressions alone.  Simply put, the range finder is beautiful.

 

Just before I received the rangefinder I was at my in-laws lake house for a week long summer vacation.  While they don’t have a yacht, they do have an extremely nice Chaparral boat.  I would say the rangefinder fits right in with the white leather and aluminum speaker look.

 

Size wise it’s very similar to my Bushnell and I had no issues getting used to it.

Setup (10 out of 15 points)

I was lucky in that my SL2 came set to English instructions (not everyone’s did), which is a good thing because the user manual included was very sparse.  There were a few tips on how to get started but it was definitely not the most robust manual I’ve ever read.

The unit comes with a battery life claiming to last 45 hours in laser mode and 20 hours for the GPS Pin Assist.  A USB-C cable came for charging, but no plug was included.  Seems strange to charge $600 for a rangefinder but then skimp on a sub $5 plug.  Oh well.

Charging didn’t take too long but it was long enough that you couldn’t plan to use your car charger on the way to a nearby course.

Customer service was great for the testers as we had a directly email and phone to a VoiceCaddie rep.  I wonder if the same level of service would be available for the general public though.  I submitted a request to have two resort courses in Wisconsin mapped and did not hear a word from anyone for 2+ weeks until our rep said he would push it through.

Getting the unit was updated was also an adventure as there is nothing in the included manual about it and the SL2 is not yet listed on the Voice Caddie Manager Download page.

 

Accuracy (10 out of 15 points)

To test out the accuracy I compared the SL2 against a Bushnell Tour V4, Arccos running on an iPhone X, and an old Garmin Approach G3 GPS.  I ended up using all four devices on six separate holes.  I was hoping to do it on the full 18 but my playing partners were starting to get angry with me (rightfully so) when I was checking four different devices on each hole.

I tried to use a variety of distances and made sure to include one from the 150 yard stake in the center of the fairway.

SL2 Rangefinder vs Bushnell (pin location)

- 3 of 6 locations were exact
- largest gap was only 2 yards
-Bushnell easier to hit flag on most shots
-SL2 picked up flag more quickly on 223 yard shot; could be the GPS tech helping out with this

SL2 GPS vs Garmin

- Average difference for front/middle/back was 2.4 yards
- Largest difference was measurement to Back of green at 7 yards; 3.7 yards avg difference for back of green location
 -150 yard location : SL2 showed 145 to center of green, Garmin 151
- 18 data points: SL2 was shorter on 15 of them

SL2 GPS vs Arccos

- Average difference for all measurements 2.6 yards
- Largest difference was to Back of green at 7 yards; 5.2 average difference to back of green
 -150 yard location: SL2 showed 145 yards, Arccos 150
- 18 data points: SL2 was shorter on 14 of them

Garmin vs Arccos

Though neither was officially part of the test I also did a quick comparison of the Garmin and Arccos GPS devices.

- Average difference 0.2 yards
- Largest difference was 4 yards to middle and back of green on one hole
 -150 yard location: Arccos showed 150, Garmin 151 to center
- 18 data points: equal split between which was longer/shorter

I would have no problem trusting the SL2’s rangefinder function, but it scares me to see the constant short numbers for the GPS locations.

On-Course (25 out of 40 points)

As stated the device is comfortable to use and relatively quick to get your numbers with.  I was disappointed to see the driving distance ring occasionally show incorrect images.  I preset the distance ring to 275 and the first time out on the course it showed me this:

The GPS screen is very small to use compared to other GPS devices or a phone app.

The thing I was most excited to try out was the green undulation feature on the GPS screen.  I have been playing the same course for about 8 years now and I was very eager to see if my personal experience matched the 11 different heat zones that SL2 would show me.

Unfortunately my course does not seem to be mapped because when I booted up the product the only images I saw were these:

 

I can 100% verify that my course’s greens are not perfectly flat.  The website even shows it was updated earlier this year.

 

Play it or Trade it? (10 out of 20 points)

If I did not own a distance measuring device the SL2 would be something very intriguing in that it combines a laser rangefinder with a GPS map and a green undulation feature (assuming your course is mapped).  It takes multiple great ideas and combines them into one product.

The problem I had is none of the features seem any better than what I currently use.  Yes each feature is in one product, but none of them really seem top notch above a competitor’s single use device.  And then you factor in this:

SL2: $600
Bushnell: $300 or less
Phone GPS app: potentially free

Unless you are fascinated with the “class on class” marketing of how the device looks I don’t see how the list price is justified right now. 

Conclusion

The Voice Caddie SL2 rangefinder/GPS combo device is marketed as capturing the highest essence of technology in one, state-of-the-art laser rangefinder.  Unfortunately my testing showed it to be a beautiful device without the substance to match.  The rangefinder matched a Bushnell Tour V4 for distance and ease of use, but the GPS seemed to constantly under report distances versus a Garmin and an iPhone GPS app.  If the product came in at a reasonable price I could definitely see a bigger market, but it just doesn’t make sense to me to spend $600 on something and have it not perform at a top level.

My final score reflects how the product performs today.  The good news is this is an absolute floor and with a few updates to correct the GPS and Green Undulation features I could easily see it rise 10-20 points.

Final Score: 65 out of 100 right now; potential of 75-85 with some software updates

 

 

What's up everyone!  Let's start this intro by saying how bummed I am for @kanoito for having to back out of this one.  That said I am super excited to join my fellow testers for the Voice Caddie SL2 Rangefinder.  I would also like to extend an enormous THANK YOU to MGS and Voice Caddie for this opportunity.

 

For those that don't know me, I go by blackngold_blood, BNG, or just plain old Mark.  I live in north central Iowa in the small rural town of Wesley.  I am a bit of a fantasy sports nut and trade aficionado!  I have bee lucky enough to turn 2 golden tickets into 2 amazing testing opportunities (Lynx Prowler VT irons and Titleist T200 irons) over the last couple of years.  I have been been enjoying this crazy game for the last 25 years. Up until a few years ago I was a big believer in the bomb and gouge concept in golf.  As I age the distance, while still there for the most part, is of less importance.  That is probably the main reason my game has improved like it has lately.  I consider my short game to be the most consistent part of my game but at the same time putting dictates my score more often than not.  I no longer carry an official handicap but as of april last year I was an 8.3.  It is most certainly closer to a 5 now due to the change in philosophy and playing more often.

 

I currently use a generic hunting rangefinder.  It does not lock onto the flag and picks up trees more often than not but gets the job done, sort of! lol  If I am playing a course I don't know or don't play often, I use the GPS feature on the Grint.  I do a lot of guessing of my yardages and have wondered lately if that is the final piece to the puzzle for me to finally shoot par or better over 18 holes.  

As this test unfolds, I will be giving the SL2 an honest evaluation.  I will be sure to check number accuracy but will not be comparing it to anything else on the market.  All SL2 all the time!  I will say I am very intrigued by the green undulation function.  I also now have a built in excuse to travel and play some new courses!

Will the Voice Caddie SL2 Rangefinder be the answer for me or possibly you? I can't wait to get this in hand so we can find out together!

I will try to get some pics of my course and what not soon.  I just wanted to get this intro up and going!

Please feel free to post any questions, comments, or testing interests in the comments section!

 

Voice Caddie SL2 Active Hybrid GPS Laser Rangefinder with Green Undulation

Official Review by Blackngold_blood August 31, 2021

 

This review was an interesting one for me.  I don't use a rangefinder all that often.  I do have an older hunting one that I take with me to new or less played courses but otherwise I usually know my distances at my normal course.  For this review I used the SL2 for every shot during the 12 rounds I have had it.  I also took a measuring wheel to the course with me for some accuracy readings, more on that later.  I also wanted to mention the box the SL2 came in.  The magnetic closure is a really neat feature and allows for easy storage during the off season.

 

Looks & Feel           10 out of 10

When I first looked at the SL2 online I thought it looked amazing but once I had it in hand, I was blown away.  It fits perfectly in my hands and the combo of white leather mixed with the oak grain pattern and aluminum is simply stunning.

 

Setup                    12 out of 15

This section would have been higher had the unit came in English instead of Korean.  As I don't understand Korean, I sent an email to our contact Jonathan Diaz.  He replied quickly with a couple videos showing how to switch the language as well as changing holes manually.  It will switch holes automatically as you go along but if you skip holes you will need to change manually.  I would include them here but the file size is too large.  I do have them saved should anyone want or need them.  Jonathan also reached out a few weeks later to see if there was any other questions, which I thought was really cool of him and something he definitely didn't have to do.

Right out of the box I used the SL2 for 4 rounds before finally needing a charge.  When I went to charge it I noticed the USB cable doesn't include a wall outlet.  I had to use one I had laying around the house and in just over an hour it was fully charged.

 

Accuracy        14 out of 15

For this test I used the measuring wheel mentioned earlier as well as the GPS from the Grint.  My camera crapped out on me so pictures weren't captured and wouldn't you know it, to top it off the SL2 finally needed charging lol.  After a charge I returned the next weekend to write down my findings.  Let me preface this with the fact that some of you will look at these numbers and think my score doesn't reflect the findings.  I will do my best to explain why I graded the way I did.

First the rangefinder using the flag vs the measuring wheel

Hole 1                                                                              Hole 4                                                                       Hole 9

Wheel 100yds                                      Wheel 100yds                                    Wheel 100yds

SL2     100yds                                      SL2     100yds                                    SL2     100yds

_____________________________________________________________________________________________

Wheel 200yds                                      Wheel 200yds                                   Wheel 200yds

SL2     198yds                                       SL2     198yds                                   SL2     197yds

_____________________________________________________________________________________________

Wheel 300yds                                      Wheel 300yds                                   Wheel 300yds

SL2      295yds                                     SL2      295yds                                  SL2      296yds

 

As you can see once outside 100yds the wheel and SL2 never hit the same number.  Allowing for tolerances and user error, I would say that those numbers are pretty darn good.  As I mentioned before some will say that those numbers should be closer if not exact.  I look at it this way, at 300 yards, The measuring wheel and the SL2 were different by a 15 feet average!

As for the SL2 GPS and the Grint GPS, they were exactly the same every time, which quite frankly surprised me more than anything!

The slope function is hard to quantify for accuracy but when I did use it, it seemed to be right on the money.

 

On Course                 38 out of 40

As someone who rarely uses a rangefinder at my home course, I did have to remind myself constantly to use the SL2.  When I played a round at a course I knew less about, it was much easier to remember.  When I did use it the numbers were super clear and easy to read. (I had a photo to show it but when I went to resize it to post it blurred.  I am working on getting a new one asap) I do have to say that the combination of a rangefinder and gps in one unit is very welcomed.  Anything that will allow me to throw the cell phone in the bag and leave it there is alright in my book!

I am gonna touch briefly on the Green Undulation feature here.  This was something that I was really looking forward to.  This feature is the reason for the less that perfect score.  It isn't the easiest to read.  After speaking with Jonathan, he stated they are working on improvements to it, such as arrows to show fall.  While it may work for others, the colors on the screen blur together for me and my terrible eyes.

The biggest advantage for me as it relates to my scores using the SL2 have come when I hit wayward drives, which does happen more than I care to admit!

 

Play it or Trade it           20 out of 20

Not much to say here.  This is staying in my bag and don't see it leaving until it craps out.  While it may not get used on every hole, it will always be with me should I need it.

 

Conclusion

The Voice Caddie SL2 Hybrid GPS Rangefinder with Green Undulation is an absolute must for anyone that uses GPS and/or a rangefinder.  While it is expensive($599.99) and does have its limitations/issues, being able to get multiple types of measurements in one unit is awesome and what this Spy hopes to be the future of rangefinders.

 

Total Score         94 out of 100

First off, thanks to MGS and Voice Caddie for my first testing opportunity!

I took up the game when I was in my early 30s and living in Rochester, MN in the late 80s - really inexpensive to play ($7.95 for 9 holes), but a rather short season.  Then for the first 15 years of the new millennium, we were busy raising our two daughters, so I didn't have the time or $ to play -- Bumper sticker - Driver carries no cash, has wife and two daughters. 

About 5 years ago, I got into a job that had a few golf outings per year, so got back into the game.  That and I had hurt my shoulder so gave up water-skiing. Both daughters are now out of college and off the payroll, so I now have more time and $ to play our great game.  Don't have an official HC, but it is about 11, and I get to play year-round as we now reside in the SF Bay area (with a few trips to Santa Barbara where the in-laws and out-laws live). Front door of my in-laws place is 700 yards from the 10th green of SB muni (per The Grint app on my phone).

I usually get out to play a couple of times a week now, and like to play the back nine early mornings. I currently use Shot Scope V2 which gives FMB, and also The Grint app that gives center of green distance; which for my level of expertise has seemed to suffice.  Will be very interested to integrate the VC SL2 into my game, and report back to everyone on the features and benefits.

 

FINAL REVIEW

Intro

Under the title of “Timing Is Everything” I was short a couple of rounds from what I anticipated being able to test this on, as I had two vehicles go kaput on me at the same time, and had to concentrate time to getting back on the road. I utilized the SL2 while playing a total of 8 times - two 18 hole rounds and six back nines. But I believe I was able to get out enough with it to give a fair comparison with my current device/app that I have been using now for a couple years.

Looks & Feel (10 out of 10 points) 

The packaging is really well done.  Laser-cut styrofoam to protect everything, and keep it all in its place during shipping. High end all the way

- The size is about average I’d say (from my somewhat limited experience) and feels good in the hand with the leather making for an excellent grip.

- The build quality appears top notch, it looks BEAUTIFUL !

- Storage case is very nice thick black leather with a 1 ⅛” triangular metal VoiceCaddie emblem attached to the front flap, with a light gray suede interior

- There are two loops sewn into one side which look to be tee holders. I wouldn’t ever use these as I’d have to spit-shine the tee before putting it anywhere near the case, for fear of "inserting impurities" -- From the penultimate page of the USER MANUAL, under the title CAUTION; item number 6 gives some particularly sage advice -- Be careful not to drop, throw, insert impurities or arbitrarily modify by dismantling or burning the device.

 

Setup (14 out of 15 points)

- The 4 ¼” x 3 ¼” x 30” multi-folded 16 page printed user manual that comes included has printed on the front page (in quite a small font) that “detailed instructions for this product are available from the VOICE CADDIE website: www.voicecaddie.com  The instructions seemed clear and easy to understand, with representative pictures of the display to show the various features.

- Mine came with 3 of 4 bars worth of charge. I didn’t time how long it took to get to full capacity, but seemed pretty quick. I never tested how long the battery would last, and just re-charged it after each round, since I do that with my Shot Scope watch anyway. Standard C connector / USB cable is provided, that accepted a charge from a couple of different USB chargers I have for other devices (a charger is NOT included, just the cable).

- I did search their website for information on whether the courses I usually play were mapped and whether they had the greens mapped.

- Looking at the chart presented was quite confusing as there is NO LEGEND.  All the boxes on the first page shown, have a capital O in each box.  Scrolling down further you find some with a dash “-” in the box, and you finally figure out this means that is NOT mapped.  The search function works great.  Courses are listed by Country / State / City / Club / Course / Front,Back / Green Undulation / Green Shape / Slope Data / Course Layout and it tells you "showing # of # filtered from 30,394 total entries".

 

Accuracy (15 out of 15 points)

- The yardages to the center of the green are accurate as compared to my V2 Shot Scope watch and The Grint app on my phone - within a yard usually at anything about 150 yards and in, with some 3 yard differences at distances over 200 yards.  Certainly close enough for me !

- The courses I played while testing don’t have too dramatic slopes involved, so the most I saw was a nine yard calculation for the “plays like” distance.  Certainly more accurate than my usual intuition for how far above or below the target I am, and how that would equate to a yardage number.

- I’m not in the habit of “shooting” intermediate targets on the courses I normally play, but can see that this would be great knowledge to have when playing a course for the first time(s).

 

On-Course (20 out of 40 points)

- I would have to remember to hit unlock and swipe the screen to get from fairway information to the detailed green information, as I am so used to just glancing down at my wrist for the FMB distances shown by my Shot Scope watch.

- For my level of expertise in distance control, I had relied on FMB info from Shot Scope, and then figured out what the distance to the flag was based on where I could see it was placed (as well as the color of the flag for additional insight), so I had to remember to shoot the flag with the SL2.

- There was a bit of a learning curve for me as far as shooting the flag position.  Initially I was getting wildly different readings from what I knew should be the relative distance.  I had to shoot the bottom six inches of the flag to get accurate yardages.  The slope info that comes up in that display was an added bonus, which I didn’t have before in either of my devices.

- My favorite feature is the green undulation information, as it gives me an additional reference point to add to what I am reading with my eyes.  The fact that it rotates the image of the green to your position is brilliant.

- Compared to the two other devices/apps that I was currently using, this gives me more information, and will be particularly useful when playing a new course.  The ability to input your average driving distance and have that red arc presented on each tee which shows the hazards that are within that range is very beneficial to know, so you can decide whether you need to ease up a bit to be short of the hazard, or perhaps even take a different club. Those of you that have an extra gear might be able to pull your Bryson hat down tightly and get beyond the shown hazard; but I don't have that gear, and will always opt to go shorter.

- I think I can lower my scores by taking an extra minute to shoot the distances of hazards at which I’m just guessing at this point.  That and the green undulation info which I love.

- Now I do have one major issue that has happened twice during my testing:  I normally play the back nine early mornings on either Saturday or Sunday at one of the courses close to me in San Jose, CA. I have played the front nine there twice recently (a couple weeks ago, and yesterday) and had the exact same problem both times - the GPS froze on hole 5 and would not progress any further, no matter where I went on the rest of the course.  No matter what combinations of buttons I tried NOTHING WORKED.  When I played the back nine this past Saturday, I thought I was having the same issue after 5 holes, but once I was standing on the 15th tee it shifted to that hole. Once is a glitch, failing twice the same way is a PROBLEM.  This is in comparison to my Shot Scope that during a couple of years of use has NEVER had any GPS issues whatsoever (and it was one quarter the price of the SL2). I was still able to shoot the flag distance as that function is separate from the GPS. IMHO rock-solid GPS function ought to be a given, particularly at the price point of the SL2 !

- I have emailed our contact at Voice Caddie regarding this issue, but have not heard back as of yet. I shall update the forum on what I hear back from VC.

- This makes it a failing grade for me in this area, as it has turned into an exquisite looking paperweight for 13 of 18 holes on multiple occasions. I was damn glad to have the other two devices/apps with me that I was comparing this to, to get me home to the 18th.

 

Play it or Trade it? (20 out of 20 points)

If you are in a big tournament or money game I believe the information provided by the Voice Caddie SL2 can absolutely help you play your best.

Any golfer that likes as much information about the hole they are playing as they can get, will love the Voice Caddie SL2. The green undulation info is a unique addition to the arsenal, which I find incredibly beneficial to have, so it is a definite “Play It” for me.  This is with the caveat, that the GPS freeze I have encountered twice, can get fixed by either a software or firmware update (or new unit perhaps). 

 

Conclusion

If you like as much data/information as you can get about the hole you are playing, the SL2 can give it to you.  Of particular interest to me is the green undulation information, which I found very beneficial; and since putting makes up about 40% of your score, any help here is crucial to the final number written on your score card.

Final Score: 79

 

Below are some pics. Note: the last pic is NOT a 430 yard par 3 ! It is me standing in the parking lot after the original round where the GPS froze on hole 5 and never moved along to the following holes (but as you can see, I was always kept apprised of the distance I was from the 5th green).

 

UPDATE: I did hear back from Jonathan, our contact at Voice Caddie; he arranged for a new unit to be sent to me, and provided return postage for the original unit.  I'll update on whether the new unit can make it past hole 5.

FURTHER UPDATE:

Replacement unit has had no issues with the GPS freezing on a hole, so this one works as designed.  Glad to have a fully functional unit now!

FURTHER UPDATE II (10-20-21):

Replacement unit had worked fine for a few rounds, and then last week it "lost it's mind" and froze on Hole #12 and also showed my usual tee shot arc off to the right side and vertical.  One of the other testers had seen this before, it was my first time for that little foible.

Then it froze on hole #2 on a subsequent round at a different course.  Voice Caddie REALLY NEEDS TO ADD A RESET BUTTON on these units, because once it freezes there is NOTHING that can be done to jog it to get to the next hole.  That, or put an option in the displayed screen to manually advance the hole -- maybe if I can tell it where it is, it might be able to take it from there. 

Played a round yesterday at the course on which it had frozen before and had NO PROBLEMS, worked for the full 18 holes. 

Don't know what GPS Voice Caddie is using in these, but it is wholly unreliable and glitchy; they need to adopt technology from somebody that has figured this out IMHO.

They ought to call Shot Scope and license whatever they utilize, as I have NEVER had so much as one hiccup using either Shot Scope V2 or now V3, in what now numbers in the hundreds of rounds.

NOTE: The rangefinder function still works, even when the GPS function is frozen.

I ended up submitting a request to add two courses to Voice Caddie's list on July 18th; one with a scorecard PDF and the other without.  I don't see either of them listed on their website and I never received an email reply for either submission.  Sand Valley and Mammoth Dunes are $225 resort courses that I was hoping to play later this year with the SL2 in tow.

https://sandvalley.com/

Hopefully we'll receive our rangefinders soon and can start posting some good news/reviews on the product since the support hasn't exactly wowed us yet.

43 minutes ago, Bucky CC said:

I ended up submitting a request to add two courses to Voice Caddie's list on July 18th; one with a scorecard PDF and the other without.  I don't see either of them listed on their website and I never received an email reply for either submission.  Sand Valley and Mammoth Dunes are $225 resort courses that I was hoping to play later this year with the SL2 in tow.

https://sandvalley.com/

Hopefully we'll receive our rangefinders soon and can start posting some good news/reviews on the product since the support hasn't exactly wowed us yet.

Same. I tried submitting 1 course about a month ago and still nothing so far.

Lo and behold, something on my doorstep when I arrived home this afternoon!  Today is one of my days off this week, so I played this morning.

Excited to finally lay hands on this !

 

1 minute ago, Tom D. said:

Lo and behold, something on my doorstep when I arrived home this afternoon!  Today is one of my days off this week, so I played this morning.

Excited to finally lay hands on this !

How did they ship it?

Shipped via USPS Priority Mail 2-Day from La Mirada, CA.

I was one of the very last to get my Titleist test balls, as they came from the east coast; and now the opposite appears to be true for this, as I'm in California.

2 minutes ago, Tom D. said:

Shipped via USPS Priority Mail 2-Day from La Mirada, CA.

I was one of the very last to get my Titleist test balls, as they came from the east coast; and now the opposite appears to be true for this, as I'm in California.

Guess maybe I better run up to the post office quick and check. Lol

12 hours ago, Kanoito said:

tried submitting 1 course about a month ago and still nothing so far.

The testers were given an email address for someone at Voice Caddie to whom we can send these requests directly.

I also received mine via USPS Priority Mail 2 day today.  I'm playing 36 holes at two different courses on Thursday so I'll have a few days to read the manual and mess around with things first.

First impressions:  Very nice!

I also received mine via USPS 3-Day. It feels exceptionally well made.  Will have to run out to the course tomorrow after work to check out some of the features. The vibration feature when it locks on a target is very welcoming for a guy that shakes at times. 

43 minutes ago, Tom D. said:

Lo and behold, something on my doorstep when I arrived home this afternoon!  Today is one of my days off this week, so I played this morning.

Excited to finally lay hands on this !

 

28 minutes ago, Bucky CC said:

I also received mine via USPS Priority Mail 2 day today.  I'm playing 36 holes at two different courses on Thursday so I'll have a few days to read the manual and mess around with things first.

First impressions:  Very nice!

If the Voice Caddie performs half as well as it looks, I feel you all are going to be in for a treat. 

Inside of the nice leather case, there is a tag indicating Made In China.  There is a tag attached to the carabiner loop which says "CAUTION", but then everything underneath that is written in what I assume is Chinese.  If anybody reads Chinese, can you please let us know of what we are supposed to be cautious?

4 hours ago, Tom D. said:

Inside of the nice leather case, there is a tag indicating Made In China.  There is a tag attached to the carabiner loop which says "CAUTION", but then everything underneath that is written in what I assume is Chinese.  If anybody reads Chinese, can you please let us know of what we are supposed to be cautious?

Hmmm that's Korean.

Internet translator says something like "the pouch can stain after rain/sweat in the summer, so avoid wearing white". The 2nd is translated into something really weird... AS (after sales) not being available after serial feasting??? Whatever that means...

2 hours ago, Kanoito said:

Hmmm that's Korean.

Internet translator says something like "the pouch can stain after rain/sweat in the summer, so avoid wearing white". The 2nd is translated into something really weird... AS (after sales) not being available after serial feasting??? Whatever that means...

So basically don't have it attached to you while wearing white and don't eat it.

On the penultimate page of the USER MANUAL, under the title CAUTION; item number 6 gives some particularly sage advice -- Be careful not to drop, throw, insert impurities or arbitrarily modify by dismantling or burning the device. 

Perhaps common sense isn't so common.  I had REALLY not thought of doing any of those things, but I guess the legal team wanted to "cover" some extra contingencies...

I ran out to the course to check out the gps and green undulation features after work.
 

Took a minute or two to get the gps to find me. Once found it worked effortlessly. Followed me easily as well.

A couple quick notes though. The setting are in Korean and I don’t know that language. I was running my thumb across the gps map and happened into the green undulation. The 3 holes I played showed it very accurately. When I got to the second tee I tried to swipe to change holes but ended up having to walk onto the tee box to get it to switch by itself.  When I got to the 3rd hole I had to wait so I decided to run over quick to the adjacent 6th and couldn’t get it to switch at all. I’m not sure if it requires you to go in order or not. 
 

A question for my fellow testers. Were you able to get the settings in English or perhaps able to manually switch holes on the gps?

I have an email in to Jonathan to see if it is possible. Could be a real miss if neither is possible. 

18 hours ago, blackngold_blood said:

I ran out to the course to check out the gps and green undulation features after work.
 

Took a minute or two to get the gps to find me. Once found it worked effortlessly. Followed me easily as well.

A couple quick notes though. The setting are in Korean and I don’t know that language. I was running my thumb across the gps map and happened into the green undulation. The 3 holes I played showed it very accurately. When I got to the second tee I tried to swipe to change holes but ended up having to walk onto the tee box to get it to switch by itself.  When I got to the 3rd hole I had to wait so I decided to run over quick to the adjacent 6th and couldn’t get it to switch at all. I’m not sure if it requires you to go in order or not. 
 

A question for my fellow testers. Were you able to get the settings in English or perhaps able to manually switch holes on the gps?

I have an email in to Jonathan to see if it is possible. Could be a real miss if neither is possible. 

I've only had the GPS in demo mode so far but I plan on testing it out on two courses tomorrow.  First tee time is set for 6:42am (ugh) so hopefully things run smoothly as I won't be awake enough to mess with things if there are issues.

I also heard back from our contact at Voice Caddie and he said it typically takes 4-6 weeks for a new course to be mapped.  I'll keep checking sporadically to see when Sand Valley and Mammoth Dunes are updated in their system but at least now we have an approximate timeframe.

3 hours ago, Bucky CC said:

I've only had the GPS in demo mode so far but I plan on testing it out on two courses tomorrow.  First tee time is set for 6:42am (ugh) so hopefully things run smoothly as I won't be awake enough to mess with things if there are issues.

I also heard back from our contact at Voice Caddie and he said it typically takes 4-6 weeks for a new course to be mapped.  I'll keep checking sporadically to see when Sand Valley and Mammoth Dunes are updated in their system but at least now we have an approximate timeframe.

I was sent 2 video tutorials for my questions. I plan on checking them out tonight after work. If you need the videos let me know. 

1 hour ago, blackngold_blood said:

I was sent 2 video tutorials for my questions. I plan on checking them out tonight after work. If you need the videos let me know. 

Videos are too big to upload but I can email them should someone need them. They worked perfect for me. Now I know what all the words say since I only know English

Took the SL2 out to two different courses yesterday.  I'll continue testing to see if any of these were user errors.

The good:
Easy to shoot the flag stick
Slope function seemed to match up to my previous experiences at the course
Multiple comments from people saying how well put together everything appears

The not so good:
GPS was having issues switching over to new holes
It randomly shifted from yards to meters during my round
Green undulation did not load for one of the courses
Preset driving ring would frequently show for different holes or be displayed out of the image

Here's what it showed for hole 14.  The 275 is my preset driver range.  The hole is much longer than 215 as well.

And this is what Arccos shows for the exact same hole.  Pretty big difference.

On 8/6/2021 at 8:21 AM, Bucky CC said:

The good:
Easy to shoot the flag stick
Slope function seemed to match up to my previous experiences at the course
Multiple comments from people saying how well put together everything appears

The not so good:
GPS was having issues switching over to new holes
It randomly shifted from yards to meters during my round
Green undulation did not load for one of the courses
Preset driving ring would frequently show for different holes or be displayed out of the image

The good:

- Yardage to the center of the green matched exactly to my Shot Scope V2

The not so good:

- Green undulation did not load for one of the courses I play, even though there is a Zero in the box in the list of courses on the VC website (which appears to mean it's active -- to my way of thinking, it would be MUCH clearer to have Y and N in those boxes, or put a LEGEND at the top of the courses chart, to lay out what the entries signify).

- GPS having issues switching over to new holes

- Shooting the flag stick was VERY hit and miss.  Based on Shot Scope giving me FMB and seeing where the flag was located on the green, I could tell the yardage was not accurate

As Bucky said, I'll have to determine if it is user error, and I'm part of the problem on shooting flag sticks; or if a different MODE would perhaps help me.

Back on the course for round 2 of testing tomorrow.  Any questions people would like to see answered?  I was mainly focused on the GPS vs my Arccos app last time so tomorrow will most likely be a comparison of the laser function vs my Bushnell.

Got a big weekend of testing the accuracy of the SL2. Should be interesting. So far the GPS and Rangefinder to pin yardages have been basically the same so if one is off that may mean that they both are. 
 

Also got an impromptu follow up email from Jonathan seeing if there was any questions about the features etc. Totally unnecessary but pretty neat for him to do that.  I am a big believer that the little things make all the difference. 

So it was an interesting weekend of testing for me. Turns out my camera on my iPhone quit working yesterday. Went to take a pic and got nothing but a black screen.  Went back today with a notebook and wouldn’t you know it, the SL2 battery died lol. Turns out the only hard data that I got to do was battery life. Managed to get 6 full rounds in the initial charge. I would think getting 1 more round shouldn’t be a problem from a completely full charge.
 

 Hopefully work isn’t too hectic this week and I can get my phone fixed. 

22 hours ago, blackngold_blood said:

So it was an interesting weekend of testing for me. Turns out my camera on my iPhone quit working yesterday. Went to take a pic and got nothing but a black screen.  Went back today with a notebook and wouldn’t you know it, the SL2 battery died lol. Turns out the only hard data that I got to do was battery life. Managed to get 6 full rounds in the initial charge. I would think getting 1 more round shouldn’t be a problem from a completely full charge.
 

 Hopefully work isn’t too hectic this week and I can get my phone fixed. 

Thanks for the reminder to recharge my SL2.  I'm used to the Bushnell model of putting in a new battery each spring and then forgetting about it for the rest of the year.  I do like the extra features of the SL2, but there's something to be said about once a year maintenance with a simple rangefinder.

Nothing crazy or unexpected with my round on Sunday.  I did verify that my home course does not have the green heat zone/slope feature mapped out which is kind of a bummer.  I would have loved to see this:

But instead I saw this:

18 more holes on Thursday and then two rounds this weekend.  Should have a pretty good idea if this is a best of both worlds product or more along the lines of product that has a lot of great ideas but doesn't just match up.

Another day of testing set for tonight.  I printed out a sheet to track Pin, Front, Middle, and Back yardages for the greens against my other GPS devices.  Most of the time I rely on a combo of my Bushnell and Arccos, but I dug the old Garmin Approach G3 out of the basement for this one.

Not exactly sure how to track the slope function but I think there is a way to get it in the Arccos app.  I'm hoping to check at least 5 holes.  I would do more but I don't want to slow down the entire course as I check 4 different devices on every shot.

It would be fun to put one of these head-to-head with my Precision Pro NX7, I'm in!

Love to test the new VC rangefinder.  See how distances compare to the Shot Scope watch.  

I don't use a rangefinder, I am using my Apple watch but would like to see if it would improve my game.

Lost my TGW range finder last months (it was not very good to begin with), going purely on feel now. Testing this would be awesome...

would like to compare to the one i have now

This range finder appears to have a lot of neat features, ones that I have not seen on a range finder before. It would be interesting to see how many would be useful on the course or in practice sessions. 

Currently using a Nikon Coolshot Pro II.  I like this rangefinder because it is lightweight.  I’d be interested in comparing the new Voicecaddy with what I am using now.

I've been using the golflogix app on the phone for 5 seasons.  As a 15 hdcp, I never thought myself skilled enough to need anything more accurate.  But it would be fun to leap way ahead with all the approach & greens features. 

Currently use a GoGoGo rangefinder, it’s not accurate part of the time. It could be 10-15 yards off the markers in ground on the tee boxes. This is nice looking and hopefully is accurate.

I hope it works better than my tec tec tec rangefinder.

Silence.

I have an Apple Watch // Garmin descent watch // bushel v5 // use golf shot app // I have 2 brands from Ali express // and have tested bushnell xe // blue tees s2

ive had my eye on the voice caddy first version and would love to test it and compare in detail!

I use the SkyCaddy SX500 and prefer GPS to rangefinders but would like to try this out for you. I'm heading to Bandon in 2 weeks for 6 rounds of golf plus the par 3 course so could give it a real test if it arrived in time.

 

Another Great testing opportunity, good luck everyone

Currently use Bushnell Phantom, Garmin Vivoactive 3 music and  Leupold PinSeeker 2; They've never had the same number and rarely do 2 of the 3

Would love to experience the Voice Caddie SL2.  Would make a great August birthday present.

Wow that's a good looking rangefinder.  Another awesome test this year.  My first test in the forums was a PrecisionPro unit... this is a great opportunity for those interested.

 

I play 3 days a week and use both a rangefinder and watch so i feel this would be a fantastic way to se how accurate it would be on a course,  thanks  Kevin.

Would love to test this device as I have never had or used a range finder before. Sign me up :)

I would love to test a laser rangefinder. Currently I just have a cheap watch that just gives me front middle and back distances. Nothing as accurate as a laser !!

 Wish me luckWish me luck

Great products, would love to test‍

Been interested in getting a rangefinder for a while now... would love to give this thing a shot... I'm out 3 times a week so I would give some good and honest feedback... good luck to everyone who enters!

Thanks for the opportunity. Would love to test it versus my Leupold.

I would love to be a tester. I use a Bushnell  laser. 

I have a Bushnell which is getting older (like me).  I am always interested in new technology.