Customer Reviews:
 Excellent Once You Get It Up and Running November 30, 2007
17 out of 17 found this review helpful
I would have rated the iGolf GPS Caddie 5 stars, except that (1) the manual is weak in a few important areas; (2) the software installation wizard does not "self-start" when you run the CD (as almost all other software CD's do); and (3) the terminology on your PC screen, in the manual, and on the Caddie's display all differ in minor but confusing ways. It took me a fair amount of playing around with various functions in Windows (which I hate), but by using my head plus getting clues from the manual, I was able to get the software installed succcessfully.
Badly written software instructions are a pet peeve of mine, so I downrated the product. Interestingly, the manual's instructions on how to use the unit are clear and accurate. My guess is that techies wrote the parts about installing the software, and golfers wrote the parts about how to use the unit. (I can say this, because I used to be a techie.)
Once you're on the golf course, the unit is a pleasure to own, a 5-star product.
Here are some of the things I like most:
--Its price. It's simply cheaper than competing units offering the same functionality.
--It works. It does exactly what it says it will do: gives you the distance to the front, center, and back of the green you are going for. That's all I need to have confidence in club selection. I particularly like the precision inside 100 yards, where course markers are rare. I use 4 wedges with about 15 yards difference between them, so knowing I'm, say, 80 yards away rather than 90 is important to me. No more mid-swing "is this the right club?" doubts, guaranteed to screw you up.
--No more hunting for sprinkler heads or other course markers. No more pacing forward or backward from such markers. No more guessing at how your distance varies from the nearest sprinkler head because you are 20 yards to the right of it. No more trying to envision concentric circles around the green to adjust for the fact that you're off to the side ("I wonder what that sprinkler head would say if it were on my line instead of over there?")
--It lets you play faster and with more confidence. It's fun helping out your golfing buddies by giving them their distances when they can't find a sprinkler head.
--Operation of the unit is simple and intuitive. The manual does a good job of describing operation. It's a quick, clear read, and everything works as described. You'll only need to read it once for each function, the operation is intuitive once you have that background. The handheld unit itself is very well designed, with just three buttons: one to turn it on and off; one to navigate between menus and advance from one hole to the next; and an "escape" button that takes you to the previous screen...so you can't get trapped inside layers of menus.
--The Web site is clear, simple, and very fairly priced. For $30, you get a one-year membership. A huge advantage over the Sky Caddy subscription model, iGolf allows you to keep the courses in your computer. For the $30, you get 50 download credits (one course per credit). You also get one "mapping" credit, so you can have them map a golf course for you if it doesn't happen to be in their database. The handheld unit itself holds 10 courses, but you can download 50 to your PC and then just transfer them into and out of the handheld as needed. Once you download a course, you own that data. You don't have to maintain a subscription to keep using it. The 50-course limit more than covers my forseeable needs. We have separate winter and summer homes, so I'll have a "southern" set and a "northern" set. Within a year, I'll have downloaded all the courses I need. (So far I've downloaded 4 courses from iGolf.)
--The download includes not only the GPS data, but the course's scorecard. So as you push the button to advance to the next hole, up pops the hole number, yardage, par, and handicap for that hole. When you are downloading a course, the Web site displays the scorecard, so you can check and be sure it matches the actual printed scorecard before you download it. (Then when you are playing, you select on the handheld which tees you are playing from...that's how the unit knows what yardage to display for each hole.)
Bottom line, I think this is a fine product and service at a fair price. I have not yet mapped out my own course, nor marked hazards on particular holes, nor used the other functions that are available. I may do some of this over time. I will probably use it to measure how far I hit my drives and other clubs. But that's all gravy...the main function of the unit is to give you your distance, and it does that well. The display could not be clearer. It's simple black-and-white, with very clear letters and numbers.
A couple of notes:
One reviewer complained that the displayed distance keeps changing or drifting. I've noticed that a couple of times on an occasional hole. If that happens, just flick the button to the previous hole, then flick it back to your hole. The unit will give you a fresh, stable reading.
The manual is weak in its description of how to download a course from your PC to the handheld. Do this: (1) On your PC desktop, click the iGolf "transfer" icon. (2) This brings up a "Caddie Sync Software" box with several tabs. Click the "Send Golf Course" tab. (3) There are then three steps shown in a box that appears on your PC screen. Step 1 is accurate. Step 2 is accurate. Step 3 is misdescribed. Ignore the two things it tells you to select on the handheld...they don't exist. Instead, select "Sync Handheld" from the main menu on the handheld. On your PC, just press the "Send" button. The handheld's display will switch from "Waiting" to "Active" (this is not mentioned in the manual). The download will take place (it takes maybe 30 seconds for one course). When it's done, the top box on your PC will say "TRANSFER SUCCESSFUL" and the handheld will say "Closed." The course data is now in your handheld unit.
If I could, I would give this 4.5 stars. I've downrated it only for the incomplete/incorrect manual instructions. Now that it's up and running, I'm very glad I bought it.
 Customer Service- Where? February 16, 2007
12 out of 15 found this review helpful
The product itself seems straight forward enough. However, The HUGE write-ups about the customer service need another point of view. I purchased this as a Christmas gift for my brother. He just purchased a membership at a club that was not mapped or available to GPS by I-Golf. After requesting the course on Dec. 22nd, I heard back from the company at the end of Jan. They couldn't do it and asked if I might map it myself- great idea if I were a member and this wasn't a gift. My father-in-law has another brand of GPs- Golf Caddy. I asked the CS person if he had the course mapped, his caddy had it, could I somehow add it to the I-Golf--haven't heard back from them to this day.
I-Golf: "Any chance you'd like to map the Colorado Golf Club by the time the snow melts here in Denver?" Muchas gracias.
 can't get my home course mapped February 22, 2008
4 out of 5 found this review helpful
Igolf says that when you get their gps you can add one course which they don't offer, and they will map it for you. My home course was not in their database and I've requested they map it. A couple months now and they haven't done it. When I ask for a date they give me vague answers and I have little confidence that it will ever be done.
Does not provide accurate results July 19, 2007
3 out of 8 found this review helpful
Unit is easy to use but is not accurate. iGolf data for courses is as much as 20 yards off. They know it, won't do anyhting about it, and asked me to do the mapping and then send the true data to them. Unit also doesn't give stable reading on the course (wanders 10+ yards). Spend a few more dollars and buy a SkyCaddie.
iGolf II Very Helpful & Accurate January 7, 2008
3 out of 4 found this review helpful
The weather broke and I was finally able to take my new iGolf II to the course. My partner and I checked its measurements against the course's in-ground markers and found the iGolf to be very accurate. I was surprised, quite frankly, how helpful the iGolf was in strategy and club selection. What I especially liked about the iGolf II was the shot measurement feature which allowed me to see exactly how far (or short!) I was hitting clubs. What we found too often was we "didn't have a club for that distance in our bags." We also had fun by calling out the distance we thought a shot was, as we always do, and then comparing our estimation against the iGolf. We weren't always very accurate! Although my score for this first round using my iGolf II was no better than usual, I am sure that as the golfing season comes, my game can't help but improve. I'd recommend the iGolf II to any golfer. While fun to use, it's more than a toy.
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