Pocket Caddy Review

[sai-jin]

Pocket Caddy is kind enough to send me this new app for review.

And I was finally able to test it for 18 holes.

 

When you fire up the app, it will look as if it's just a normal GPS with a satellite overhead view of the map.

At first I was a little confused how it works, because I'm used to a traditional GPS.

 

So first you need to know the distances of all your clubs and you need to input it into the app.

Second, you push and hold the screen to put a pin on where you want the ball to land.

Once it's done, it will calculate the yardage, tell you what club to use and it will also factor in the wind and will

tell you where to aim IE: 5yards left of target.

 

It's a very simple app and you have to operate it manually compared to a traditional GPS.

 

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I think that instead of expecting and treating this like a GPS, you should treat it like you have a caddy in your pocket,

So you don't get disappointed that you need a little extra clicks and steps to get the most out of it.

 

I actually was rather impatient the first couple of holes using this app, however when I set my mind to "I have a caddy, not a GPS",

the app works great.

 

For 99 cents and you don't need to pay the yearly GPS fee, this app is worth it in my opinion.

[PocketCaddy]

Sai-Jin,

 

Thank you for offering to test and review our app. You are exactly right in saying that it is a little different than a traditional GPS. You may not even use it for every shot. But other users have really found it helpful on par 3s, approach shots, dog legs, holes where you need to clear water, or large elevation changes. It also factors both the cross wind and tail/head wind and adjusts accordingly.

 

Thanks again for the review. Good luck to all this season!

[Hula Rock]

Plan on using it for the first time this weekend playing TPC San Antonio. Had to put the clubs up for a little, but back into the "swing" of things now.

[Hula Rock]

So I got the chance to use Pocket Caddie this weekend at the Westin La Cantera Resort Course here in San Antonio. I consider this a “rotation” course so I play it probably 1-2 a month so I know where I have to put the ball off the tee, on the green, etc.

 

I had the opportunity to compare Pocket Caddie to the on cart GPS system and my “goto” laser range finder throughout the round, post round I found myself using the laser range finder the most followed by the on cart GPS, then pocket caddie.

 

Takeaways PRO's and CON's

 

PRO:

App worked pretty good, using the I-phone GPS functionality, app acquired GPS fairly quick.

 

App would be a best used for golfers not familiar with the golf course that they are playing for the first time: Lay-ups, distance to hazards, doglegs, and carries. I also like the high altitude “google maps” type overhead view of the hole.

 

App is good for situations where there is NO cart GPS. If I did not have my Laser or cart GPS, hands down, for the price, I would use this app to get a “general” idea for yardages.

 

Elevation effect feature. This feature is pretty cool, this feature “Calculates” elevation factor for the yardage that you enter for each club in your bag.

 

CON:

 

Wind effect feature. Well kind of a “CON”. You really cannot rely on this feature with wind gusts. Works great if wind readings are constant throughout your round. It was blowing 10-15 with wind gusts to 25-30 MPH.

 

Like SJ pointed out, this is more of a GPS system and limited to “what is the exact yardage to cover the pin” on approach shots. It does perform for general FRONT MIDDLE BACK green readings but if you are like me I want to know what the yardage is to the pin.

 

The zoom in feature is also limited. This works against in twofold. (1)You are using your finger to press for a location to measure on the screen giving an inaccurate reading at times, every yard counts in this game in certain situation. (2) You cannot ZOOM in too much to get a more accurate reading , the MAP will black out.

 

Conclusion:

 

If I had to rate this app from a scale to 1-10, I would give it a 6-7. Will it replace my laser range finder ? probably not. I will however keep this app on the I-phone for and emergency type application: Battery drained on the laser range finder and if I am playing a course for the first time and need general yardage readings.

[PocketCaddy]

Thanks again for the review. I think this is a pretty fair description of what the app does and is capable of doing.

 

We are still working on improving the app but accurate wind readings are only as good as what we are importing from the local weather stations. It should be accurate but it can't account for wind gusts. The elevation calculation is very accurate. These are the two features we feel set us apart from other devices.

 

We do agree that this app can't replace the convenience of a laser. It is really geared more for an additional tool that golfers can use in certain situations and casual golfers who maybe don't have a laser.

 

For $0.99 with no additional fees we feel it does provided a lot of value.

 

Thanks again!

[GolfSpy Barbajo]

Got to use it for the first time in a tournament in Hummelstown, PA on Monday. I didn't use it on every hole, but I did find it useful on the occasions I did fire it up.

 

The course has a few blind shots, so Pocket Caddy was ver useful in getting a view of the hole and finding the ideal landing spot. It was also able to give distances to hazards, which helped the group avoid them.

 

One hole was a short downhill dogleg par 4. There was a pond in front of the green -- by using Pocket Caddy we were able to get a tee shot in position A short of the pond. Since it was a scramble, we were able to get a good distance to the green which allowed two members of the foursome to go for the green, which we made. Couldn't have done this with a laser.

 

Didn't use the wind function - couldn't figure it out, but frankly didn't try all that hard since it wasn't a very windy day.

 

Cons: VERY hard to read the screen, even though it was only partly sunny. It was kind of an open course, so it was a challenge to figure out which fairway was ours on the screen. Also -- not sure why, but whenever I pressed the screen to acquire a target, I lost the image. It just gave me a screen of green marks, no image. I did get the yardage to target, though.

 

Gotta admit, after fooling with it over the previous couple of weeks I was prepared to delete it and say thanks but no thanks, but after using it when needed at an unfamiliar course, I can see it as a nice supplement for my rangefinder. Agree with Hula's assessment above, a solid 6. For 99 cents (I screwed up the promo code, wound up buying it), it's a nice thing to have in your arsenal.

 

One other note - to use it in the most basic mode it's stupid easy to use. Oh, and it's cool watching the blue dot representing you move around as you walk around the tee box with it. Technology is a wicked cool thing!