Unlike Lasers, SkyCaddie® PinPoint DOES NOT Require a Line of Sight to the Flag; New Application for SGX Owners Offers Best of Both Worlds, Providing Instant, Uninhibited Distance to the Flag, Along With Distance To Back, Depth Of Green And Proximity To Bunkers And False Fronts
RIDGELAND, Miss., January 27, 2011 … SkyGolf (booth #1043), pioneer of the GPS rangefinder category and developer of SkyCaddie®, the #1 Rangefinder in Golf, today established a new standard for the category by debuting SkyCaddie® PinPoint technology, the latest innovation for the Company’s revolutionary SGX; making it the first-ever GPS rangefinder to offer precise distance to the flag, from all angles of approach, without requiring a line of sight.
The development of SkyCaddie PinPoint establishes SGX as the most complete “hybrid” solution, without having to aim or carry a bulky laser that requires a line of sight and aiming before every shot, which hinders pace of play. With just a couple minutes invested before play, SkyCaddie PinPoint allows golfers to add a PinSheet to SkyGolf’s patented IntelliGreen to obtain instant distance to the flag from any angle of approach on the course, whether they can see the flag or not. Plus, with IntelliGreen Pro golfers get a precise eagle’s eye view of the flag location relative to edges of the green, bunkers, major slopes, false fronts and the green depth, including front carry, back, and distance to any other point on the green. All of this information is available automatically and on one screen.
For the past decade, the golf industry has debated the benefits of lasers vs. GPS. SkyCaddie has been the leader in this new growth category, with hundreds of thousands of golfers enjoying the quality, ease of use and depth of its course management information. The debut of PinPoint once again establishes a new industry standard, as this technology eliminates the need for line of sight to the flag, providing precise distances to all targets, which is not possible with a laser.
“To our knowledge, not a single player on Tour uses either a laser or a GPS rangefinder in competition. However, 100% of players on Tour and their caddies trust and depend upon their yardage books because it provides all the information they need and they know it has been checked and verified,” said Richard Edmonson, CEO, SkyGolf. “SkyCaddie includes this same verified and trusted information and is clearly closer to the ‘real thing’ than any other rangefinder. Compared to the many limitations of a laser, the SkyCaddie provides so much more information, more easily and in less time.”
Edmonson adds, “Some laser providers offer GPS devices in an attempt to overcome the clear disadvantages of laser technology, and now there is a Hybrid laser with some basic GPS added to it. A hybrid GPS/laser device can be more of a distraction to golfers, adding guesswork to their round, as they are unsure which distance to trust. It raises the question of whether the golfer should look through the lens of the laser and aim it, or turn it around and look at his GPS screen. If golfers have to choose which option to trust, it can have a negative impact on pace of play. We’ve come up with a better solution that provides golfers with all relevant distances on the course, including the distance to the pin, and for much less money. With SkyCaddie, PinPoint, golfers get all the benefits of a ‘laser/GPS hybrid’… within the industry’s best of class GPS!”
SkyCaddie PinPoint technology is the latest innovation enabled for SkyCaddie SGX and comes on the heels of the recently introduced AutoView application, a free upgrade for SkyCaddie users. Utilizing “buttonfree” and “touchfree” technology, AutoView enables golfers to change between their most popular screens, including HoleVue™, IntelliGreen® and their Scorecard, with just a simple turn of the wrist from portrait to landscape positions. Currently, the default view — in a portrait position — showcases SkyCaddie’s “Best-of-Class” HoleVue™ in brilliant colors and precise detail.
With a simple turn to the right, golfers are quickly treated to a clear landscape view of SkyCaddie’s patented IntelliGreen® with invaluable approach shot information in large clear numbers. A turn back to portrait position and the golfer is back to the HoleVue™ layout. If a golfer wants to enter or check a score, a simple turn to the left and their complete Scorecard is featured on the screen in landscape view. After entering the score, a simple turn back to portrait position and the HoleVue™ screen returns. Integrating AutoView with SkyCaddie’s breadth of standard and innovative features (AutoCourse select, AutoHole advance, AutoZoom in HoleVue™ mode, and IntelliGreen® with auto green rotation to align with your approach position), enable SkyCaddie users to operate the device from the first tee to the 18th green with virtually no button pushes.
“The addition of SkyCaddie PinPoint Technology and the AutoView application further supports why the SGX is clearly the easiest, most powerful rangefinder in the game,” said Edmonson. “This new application, combined with the most complete and most reliable course maps in golf, further establishes SkyCaddie as the closest thing to having a Professional Tour Caddie. Nothing else comes close!”
SkyGolf is dedicated to providing amateur golfers with the same trusted, reliable distance information Tour Caddies depend on to help their Pro win tournaments. As a benefit to Membership, SkyCaddie Members get access to the TrueGround maps created by walking every course using survey grade equipment. As a result of SkyGolf’s mapping methodology, only SkyCaddie can provide invaluable approach shot information through advanced course management features like its patented IntelliGreen® and IntelliGreen® Pro. By ground-mapping every course, only SkyGolf is able to rectify and correct errors and distortions that are common to aerial imagery and flyovers used in competitive devices. Owners of competitive rangefinders are quickly learning there is no way to verify the accuracy of a golf course image using satellite or aerial imagery – a location must be visited and every hole must be walked using sub-meter, survey grade GPS equipment. As a result, SkyCaddie is the only rangefinder that calculates distances solely from professionally surveyed and verified points on the golf course via its exclusive HoleVue™.
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About SkyGolf
SkyGolf® is a private company specializing in the development of innovative positioning systems and technology products specifically designed for personal use on a golf course. SkyGolf is leading a revolution that is improving the way golfers play the game. The mission of SkyGolf is to respect the long-standing traditions of the game, use technology responsibly and within the spirit and rules of golf, and to provide golfers of all skill levels with better and more rewarding golf experiences. SkyGolf, maker of SkyCaddie®, the #1 rangefinder in golf, is committed to providing the same reliable information a professional caddie provides to PGA TOUR professionals. This unmatched reliability is created by walking the course just like a TOUR Caddie does for a professional golfer, recording critical target information using the only method trusted in professional golf. To date, SkyGolf has traveled over a million miles to ground map golf courses, recording approximately 100 million data points on close to 30,000 golf courses worldwide using their TOUR Caddie ground-mapping methodology. Additionally, thousands of courses are updated annually. SkyGolf believes every amateur deserves the same complete information with the same reliability professional golfers receive and would never play without and believes its SkyCaddie is the closest thing to a Tour caddie’s actual yardage book. The SkyCaddie is the Official Rangefinder of The PGA of America, Canadian PGA, PGA of Great Britain and Ireland, the PGA of New Zealand, PGA of Germany, the PGA of Spain, the Swedish PGA and a Technology Partner of the PGA Learning Center.
Contact:
Julie Davis, SkyGolf, VP Marketing, 858-775-0795 or jdavis@skygolf.com
Ari Edelman, Mastro Communications, 732-469-5700 or aedelman@mastrocomm.com
