SkyCaddie SX500 replacing yardage books on Tour

Bryson DeChambeau may care to disagree, but Staysure Tour professional Paul Streeter believes the golf yardage book "is now on borrowed time".

Streeter made his comments be known after both he and David Shacklady (pictured above) relied heavily on the SkyCaddie SX500 to finish third and first respectively at the Sinclair Invitational at Hanbury Manor at the weekend. 

Shacklady's victory marked yet another tournament win for SkyCaddie's revolutionary GPS device. 

“I don’t find any need for the yardage book now," said Shacklady, who moves up to fifth on the Staysure Tour Order of Merit. "I get absolutely everything off the SkyCaddie."

Competitors can purchase detailed yardage books for each Staysure Tour event they play in, but with almost half the Staysure Tour field now using a SkyCaddie SX500 for their yardages the days may be numbered for old-fashioned yardage books on Tour.

Shacklady’s final hole on Sunday provided the perfect example of why the SX500 is revolutionising golf for competitors on the Staysure Tour.

“The 18th hole typified how I use my SkyCaddie SX500," he said.

"I had the day’s pin position pre-loaded, but as it was an uphill second shot to a two-tier green it was more important to know the yardage to the ridge. Also, I wanted to know how much space there was beyond the pin.

"On shots like that you know the ball won’t stop immediately, so just knowing distance to the pin isn’t enough.

"Both me and my caddie Ash have an SX500, so with the cursor we worked out a yardage to a landing area safely on the top tier. It gave me a clear picture in my mind as to what I was hitting into, and I hit one of my best shots of the day to under four feet.

"It would have been impossible to do that with a laser, and I also have no need for the Tour yardage book now. I get absolutely everything I need from the SkyCaddie SX500, as quick as you like."

SkyCaddie’s unique status as the only golf distance measuring device brand to walk every golf course, mapping dozens of target points on every hole, gives Staysure Tour golfers faith in its yardages.

The SX500, which emerged in late 2018, also has the ability to show the day’s pins – which is crucial to an elite golfer.

On Sunday Shacklady shot a final round 66 to win by a shot from Austria’s Markus Brief, with Streeter shooting 71 to finish third at the Hertfordshire golf course.

Two other SkyCaddie SX500 users, Peter Baker and James Kingston, are also in the current top 10 of the Staysure Tour Order of Merit.

In September 2019 the SkyCaddie SX500 can be bought with a free £30 leatherette holster, which also acts as a belt and golf bag clip for ease of use.

For more information, please visit www.skycaddie.co.uk.