CADDYTALK CUBE

[GolferXY]

I think this may be a game changer.  The CaddyTalk Cube rangefinder is the first laser ranger that can calculate distance from ball to pin from the comfort of your cart.  Saddle up, let's go!

Deemed the Best Of 2023 Golf Show, the Cube is a horse of a different color.  MyGolfSpy has an official review here that covers the specifics, so I'm just going to cover my experience with it here.  In a word, great!

The Cube comes packaged in a robust, well padded cardboard box.  Included was a nice looking case, charger, handbook, and the rangefinder itself.  Let's look at these a bit closer:

OVERALL: A

ACCURACY: A

EASE OF USE: B

TECHNOLOGY: A

VALUE: A [If you're a cart golfer]
             B [If you're just using it for yardages]

CASE: The case itself looks good, and has a belt loop as well as a small, light-weight aluminum carabiner for hooking to bag or belt loop.  I tried both of these and found that when looped on my belt I had to swing it well past my hip in order to keep it away from my swing.  This made it a bit of a hassle to use because I had to reach around to get it.  Hanging it from the 'biner was even worse...now it's banging around on my hip or butt.  I ended up leaving the case in my bag.  I put the rangefinder in my pocket which worked out nicely as it's compact and slides in and out with a minimum of effort, even with the optional soft-plastic sleeve [$20 extra].  The case has a magnetic closure on the flap that is adequate for storage, but doesn't secure the rangefinder for transfer or travel...it slipped out of the case a couple of times when I was moving it from car to cart.  Case rating:  C-

HANDBOOK:  Small and easy to understand, with pictures, diagrams, and examples of use.  Interestingly, the English section is sandwiched between Korean and Chinese.  I used sticky notes to delineate the English section.  The rangefinder is able to do a number of things, some of which require multiple button pushes so the manual is appreciated and fits easily in my back pocket.
Handbook rating: A

USB CHARGING CORD: Very short [6"]. Rating: meh

RANGEFINDER: I ordered the rangefinder without the plastic sleeve but they threw one in for nothing because the order was delayed.  Kudos to CaddyTalk for that.  The Cube is small, lightweight, and accurate.  I was able to range trees, bunkers, tee boxes, golf balls, and of course pins effortlessly up to about 500 yards. Past that it was a bit more difficult to get good readings due to jiggling hands, but I found it very stable even without a dedicated stabilizer function. 

Balls were a bit harder to range depending on how far away they were, but I usually managed to get a good snap shot on the first or second try.  The 6x magnification was welcome and much better than the 4x I have on my Bushnell.   I was using my Bushnell for accuracy comparison and found that the Cube was within a yard of the Bushnell consistently.  I also verified it's accuracy with my golf partners' Nikon, which seemed a bit less accurate, often 2-3 yards different.

Of course, where the rubber hits the road for me is how well it triangulates distance from ball to target from a third location like a cart or different tee box.  To test this I rented a cart and went to work.  Man, this job can be tough...riding in an electric cart in the 70 degree weather on a world-class golf course.  My comfort issues aside, the triangulation works very well.  Sitting in my cart I shot the ball and then the pin from 100, 200, 300, and 400 yards.  I then walked to my ball and ranged the pin directly.  It performed flawlessly, within +/- .5 yard.  I repeated the process standing at the blue tees and shooting the white tee, then shooting the flag.  Again, flawless.

The Cube has a Jolt feature when it finds the flag, and also a constant ranging feature that lets the user hold the button down and range across the fairway to find distances to hazards, trees, etc. without having to shoot each one individually.  I appreciated both functions.  CaddyTalk advertises the "Horizon Detect" laser system and it appears to work because the Cube was much better at picking out the flag when it was just visible over a rise compared to other rangefinders I've used.

The optics were clear, the 6x magnification was great with no discernable corruption of the view, and it stayed in adjustment very well even when being stowed in my pants pocket between shots.  Color representation was excellent - what you see is what you get.  For those of us who use their rangefinder to suss out the green contours on our approach shots, it worked fine.  Not the best I've seen, but for me, now an 8 handicap [see my LAB Mezz Max review!], it was definitely not an issue.  

The Cube came with the display too bright for me and caused some halo effect around the numbers.  Once I turned the brightness down it was no longer an issue.  

The Side Display in my hands was used mainly to make sure I was in the correct mode [Caddy Mode is required for triangulation and is not the default - a mistake in my mind since this is the biggest selling point to the product] and quite frankly is too small.  Other reviews have mentioned that this display can get washed out in sunlight which is true, but using polarized sun glasses will also make this display unreadable. I didn't use it to determine how far my last shot travelled, so can't speak to that [sorry to the big hitters out there] but I'll update this review the next time to verify its ease of use and accuracy for that particular function.  To be honest I just forgot it had that functionality.

The battery lasted three rounds and is still working after a couple of days sitting in my bag.  I'm going to let it sit to see how long I can go before recharging and again will update this review.

Lastly, CaddyTalk offers "Magic Slope" which uses a differential ballistics method to determine a recommended club by utilizing launch angle and height of stroke, and E-Slope that reflects air temp, altitude, and humidity for precise measurement.  I can't speak to whether this is a true benefit to my game.  Perhaps I can determine that better with time.  However, temperature and altitude that the Cube showed were similar to what I got on my phone when I compared them.  I didn't have an app that shows humidity, but I played in the desert on Sunday and on a lush western Washington course on Tuesday and I was happy with the Cube's accuracy both days.

So if you're looking for a new rangefinder, or you are using a cart and are tired of carrying 2 or 3 clubs across the fairway when it is Cart Path Only [about 8 months of the year here in Seattle], give this one a try.

GolferXX

 

 

[brivard]

Have you noticed the e slope is junk? Like 5-7 yards short? I’ve had mine a week and am struggling with the e slope to the point I’ve turned it off. Also caddy mode has trouble grabbing the pin, but I’m going to try that scanning left or right technique it mentions in the manual for pin lock more diligently. Biggest issue is e slope… if I can’t get that accurate, it may be going back. So close to a great device if I can get it dialed in.

[Ally]

Just curious as to what other rangefinder brands you've previously used/what were your thoughts in comparison?

[ZoSo]

I just got mine and was baffled and frustrated that you had to turn your brightness down.  On the 1 setting mine was transparent, on 2 barely visible and on 3 really weak.  I compared it to my Leupold and VC SL2 and it was not even close to brightness levels and crispness of the aiming reticle.  Perhaps I got a defective unit.

[PJB90]

Such a promising device! Bought it! Started out with a nice problem, the unit constantly measures -3 degrees on straight shots, tried calibrating in every way possible, getting a lot of OKs, still 3 down. Even when calibrating 3 to even 10 up, the numbers don’t change. Any advice? Trying here, because so far, there is nothing to find on issues with the Cube..

[Skibum]

I’ve had mine about 2 weeks. It is small than my bushnell v4. It is really light weight also. It’s just an accurate as my bushnell. I haven’t had any problems with the e slope. Remember it takes environmental factors in to the figuring the distance. So if it’s cold the distance is going to be more. I mainly bought it for the triangulation. I really like that feature. My golf buddies like that they don’t have to take several clubs with them. The side display is pretty much useless in sunlight. I wish there was an adjustment for that. You can tell what mode the rangefinder is in on the side display. 

[tourstriker]

I love it. I actually did a promo and sold a bunch for them. We sold around 300 or so. There were some returns where people complained about the brightness or lack thereof. I guess like any product, there are some lemons in the bunch, but most of the customers who bought one, love it. Me too. I used a Bushnell for years. Great product, but I like my Cube better. My screen (and 99% of the ones people get) are super crisp and really bright if you are on setting 3. You can back it down if you like. Not sure why you would. The other features are great, too. Triangulation is a cool option and I use it regularly. 

[GolferXY]

On 8/31/2023 at 10:12 AM, Ally said:

Just curious as to what other rangefinder brands you've previously used/what were your thoughts in comparison?

Garmin, Bushnell, Nikon, GOGOGO, Callaway, maybe a couple more.  Bushnell is my favorite for precise distances and ease of capturing the pin.  Nikon has great optics. GOGOGO was just cheap, ran through batteries, and optics were very so-so. Callaway grabbed the pin pretty well and was about 3 yards off on yardages consistently.  All were about the same size and style, whereas the Cube is smaller and is not designed for comfort in the hand.  I would say the others were easier to wield, but the Cube is right up there for optics, accuracy, and small size [though that contributes to being more difficult to use, so tradeoff there]

[GolferXY]

10 hours ago, tourstriker said:

I love it. I actually did a promo and sold a bunch for them. We sold around 300 or so. There were some returns where people complained about the brightness or lack thereof. I guess like any product, there are some lemons in the bunch, but most of the customers who bought one, love it. Me too. I used a Bushnell for years. Great product, but I like my Cube better. My screen (and 99% of the ones people get) are super crisp and really bright if you are on setting 3. You can back it down if you like. Not sure why you would. The other features are great, too. Triangulation is a cool option and I use it regularly. 

The Cube IS very bright out of the package.  I dialed it down quite a bit, but have to adjust it depending on how bright the day is.  The cross sight is also a bit bigger than most, but I don't find that to be a problem.