With such a low price is the quality really there? Nicola Slater tests out the SkyCaddie LX2 GPS watch…
There are many golf watches on the market currently, which can beg the question of which one is the best for me.
The LX2 is SkyCaddies baseline watch, meaning it’s the simplest way to get the numbers you want. Nicola Slater took it out on the course to see how it performed.
SkyCaddie LX2 GPS watch review: NCG Summary
NCG SUMMARY
The Sky Caddie LX2 is the companies baseline GPS watch. Offering front, middle, and back distances, with the Go Play membership, you have access to over 35,000 golf courses.
The watches main focus is accuracy. Unlike other GPS golf manufacturers, SkyCaddie uses dedicated course walkers to map the course on foot, rather than relying on satellite technology.
The LX2 also goes beyond golf features, offering a step count, alarm, stopwatch, and timer.
PROS
- Battery last for 2 rounds
- No annual fees with GOPLAY
- Auto-hole advancing
- Tracks your steps
CONS
SkyCaddie LX2
NOW: £129.95
Check out the latest deals on the SkyCaddie LX2 GPS watch…
First Impressions
This square-faced, seen in all black is sleek, with two control buttons on the right-hand side. As someone who wears one of the larger-screened Fitbit (Versa 2) constantly, the LX2 seemed a lot chunkier on my wrist. However, weight wise, it was pretty light.
Design-wise I thought it was very handy that there were two strap loops to feed to strap through. With only having a small wrist and the watch coming with only one length strip, there was a fair bit of the strap lose. The extra loop was great for keeping this secure and stopping it from possible interference.
The 1.28 inch JDI colour touchscreen display uses sunlight readability, meaning that the display is much more visible when outdoors. This works great when using outside but made setting it up inside a little tricky.
On course testing
The LX2 was a little slow off the mark when it came to loading up courses. For reference, I tried this watch at 3 different courses to see if it was the GPS signal that determined the speed. Whilst the wait for the courses to load up didn’t bother me as I went to warm up before my rounds, if you’re someone who walks from the car park to the first tee, this may be slightly more problematic.
The watches main golf display shows distances to the front, middle, and back of each green. These can be altered between yards and meters, depending on your preferred choice. The bottom panel of the screen displays the hole number, the par and the stroke index. By pressing this panel, you can then see the battery life as well as how many steps you have completed and the elapsed time of the round.
I used the LX2 alongside my Bushnell laser and found the distances to be pretty spot-on, so this definitely offers yardages you can trust. On a course without a coloured flag system, I found myself guessing a little where the flag might be, but often you can’t go too wrong with the middle of the green or looking at where the flag is.
Out on the course, the LX2 would recognise when you had made it to a green. It would often ask if you had finished the hole when near the green however, if you left this notification it would automatically progress onto the next hole once on the next tee. This is a great feature if you’re using the watch purely for distance, it can be set up in the car park and not touched again until the end of the round.
When I first took the watch out on the course, I did think it seemed a little big to swing with, but I quickly adapted to this and didn’t feel it. The top button allows you to lock the screen so you don’t press any other buttons during your swing.
If you’re after a little more from the LX2, swiping left on the distance screen brings you to the score entry area. Here you can enter your score, if you hit the green in regulation and how many putts you had. This data can be synced to your app after your round so you can view the digital scorecard and stats.
Along with the standard distance feature the LX2 offers a step count. This is a great addition for all those who care about their daily step count or for those slightly curious of how far the round was. The LX2 also has a stopwatch and timer feature, great for timing yourself when looking for your ball. The watch also has an alarm setting. This feature is something you’d expect from an ordinary smartwatch and adds to its versatility.
The 19th Hole
Aesthetically, the Sky Caddie LX2 matches the designs of many smartwatches. As previously mentioned, it goes beyond the features of a stand-alone golf watch and has a range of different features such as alarm and step count to make it a great fitness/golf watch hybrid…especially for the price.
SkyCaddie LX2
NOW: £129.95
Check out the latest deals on the SkyCaddie LX2 GPS watch…
Available: Now
RRP: £199.99
More Information: SkyGolf
After more distance measuring device reviews?
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