Golf companies tend to come and go.
This is partly why so many people are interested in choosing a golf company that is a name brand and has a solid history behind it.
When a golf company goes out of business, it can be frustrating if you already own their product.
You may find that when you go to sign up for an update or handle a warranty issue, the company no longer exists.
This is unfortunate, but it does happen.
Those who are searching for Sonocaddie may have run into some issues when looking for the company and how to update their products.
If you have struggled to find Sonocaddie, this could be why.
Is Sonocaddie Out of Business?
The Sonocaddie website is no longer in operation.
Sonocaddie has not been a website for a few years now as the company is no longer in operation.
Sonocaddie was one of the originals in the golf GPS technology.
As time went on, this type of technology became easier to access and much cheaper for people as well.
In the end, the cost to operate the business and to make it work for Sonocaddie was just not justifiable.
It made much more sense to close the business.
There is not much out there on Sonocaddie and where past customers can go for support.
This is one of those unfortunate situations that tend to come up with these smaller businesses that can’t quite make it.
Let’s take a look at what Sonocaddie was and where the customers can go now that the company is out of business.
What Was Sonocaddie?
Sonocaddie made a golf GPS unit that helped golfers figure out how far they are from the hole.
The Sonocaddie V300 was the most popular of the apps that they put on the market.
At the time that Sonocaddie was still available on the market, you could download a trial course and see how it all works.
Once you tested this initial download, you could then sign up for the full paid version of Sonocaddie.
The trial didn’t really give you very much information about what Sonocaddie had to offer, and that was frustrating to some people.
In addition, the person using the golf GPS unit had to be on their iPhone the entire time they were operating it.
If your operating system wasn’t up to date or you didn’t have much storage available on your phone, you would have had a hard time running Sonocaddie.
Those are some of the negatives, but the positives included that the Sonocaddie was very accurate and gave good golf course information.
Sometimes the yardages on these GPS-type systems will vary, and you will end up with very few accurate yardages during the course of your round.
The Sonocaddie app really struggled to keep up to date with the releases that iPhone kept putting out.
Each time that they would come up with a new operating system, the Sonocaddie app had to be updated as well.
This process did not go all that well for Sonocaddie, and they kept having customer service issues related to this problem.
In addition, the app only allowed you to keep about twenty courses in place.
Considering the open access to all golf courses on most of the GPS devices on the market today, this is a restriction that some people didn’t like.
Although most golfers don’t play more than 20 courses on a regular basis, it is just annoying to have to download new courses if you decided to play somewhere out of town or went on vacation.
The Sonocaddie app did allow you to keep score for your game, but it only had room to score for one player.
This again was a frustrating update and feature that didn’t really make all that much sense.
If you are thinking that the Sonocaddie app being gone is a major problem in the golf world, think again.
There are so many apps on the market now that can offer this same functionality, and many of them are priced quite a bit cheaper.
Let’s take a look at some of the alternative options you have now that Sonocaddie is out of business.
Are There Other Alternatives to Sonocaddie?
Today, golfers have a few options when it comes to finding the yardage on a golf hole.
There are three basic ways to go around the golf course with the help of a distance measuring device.
Each of these has some positives and negatives that will help to decide which is best for your game.
Here are some of the best alternatives to what you became accustomed to with the Sonocaddie app on your phone.
1. Golf GPS Rangefinder
A golf GPS rangefinder is a device that will give you yardage for your golf hole.
The golf GPS rangefinder will mostly give the yardage to the front, center, and back of the greens.
The courses will usually load up on your GPS device as you are moving from one hole to the next.
Probably one of the nicest things about the golf GPS rangefinder is that you can have a view of the holes that you are playing.
As you make your way around the golf course, you can see each of the holes and determine where bunkers or water hazards are located.
This certainly makes things quite a bit easier if you have never played the golf course before.
Most GPS devices have a way for you to track your stats and allow you to see what you are doing as you play.
The other great benefit of a golf GPS rangefinder is that you don’t have to be on your phone the entire time you are playing your round.
Since this is a separate device from your phone, you won’t have to worry about the phone battery dying and not being able to make calls or texts after your round.
The golf GPS rangefinder tends to be great for those who struggle to hold a laser rangefinder steady.
2. Golf GPS App
A golf GPS app is something that you download to your phone or smart device.
These apps are sometimes free.
With the free apps, you will have limited capabilities, but it is hard to complain when the product does not have any cost associated with it.
For the paid apps, your functionality will increase considerably.
Sometimes you will be able to get yardages to more than just the green, and you may even get color flyovers.
In addition, the paid apps will often track your round and your stats for you and give you a running total of how your golf game is progressing and improving.
The golf GPS app is an excellent alternative to a handheld golf GPS, especially if you are looking to make money.
The problem, of course, is that you will need to remember to charge your phone, and you will have your phone in your pocket with you all day.
This ends up being a bit difficult to deal with and sometimes causes the phone to lose its charge rather quickly.
The golf GPS app saves quite a bit of money, but it has its downsides as well.
If you can remember to charge your phone, this is a great option.
Just make sure you are not on social media or checking your work emails while out on the course.
Enjoy that time and focus on your golf game.
3. Golf Laser Rangefinder
As golf laser rangefinder is much different from GPS devices.
This is what you will use when you want to know the exact yardage to the pin.
With the laser rangefinder, you simply point your device directly to the target, and you will get a reading that gives you the number of the pin.
This information is very easy to get, and it will keep things simple for golfers.
Many players really like the rangefinder because it is more accurate than GPS and gives those exact distances that players want.
We like the golf laser rangefinder for the better player who likes to keep things simple.
However, there are some people who struggle with getting the proper numbers from the rangefinder.
If your hand is shaky and you can’t settle it on the target, then your reading will not be nearly as accurate.
This gets very frustrating and makes many golfers realize that the laser rangefinder is not always the perfect solution for their golf game.
Golf laser rangefinders tend to be priced around the same as the golf GPS handheld devices.
Is Playing with a Golf GPS Device a Good Idea?
Playing with a golf GPS device is strictly a personal decision.
Most golfers who are serious about their game have a yardage device or a measuring system of some kind.
Players don’t like to spend the time pacing off yardages the way they once did.
In addition, golfers have realized that the pacing off of yardages is not the most accurate way to get the distance to your hole.
Really, you will have to decide if your budget allows for a new rangefinder and whether or not you believe in the technology.
If you find that it is a good fit for you, there are plenty of options on the market to choose from.
The only thing you have to be careful of is that you don’t get stuck spending too much time on your device.
Remember that we are out on the golf course to focus on our game and enjoy all that the golf course has to offer.
If you are constantly inputting information or playing around to get exact numbers and stats, you may take some of the fun out of the game.
Most of the time, it is not going to matter if the yardage is 151 or 152 yards.
Having this general idea of approximately how far the pin is away from you will be all that you need to hit a great shot close to the green.
Certainly, it helps to narrow down the yardage quite a bit and make it more accurate than pacing off to the green is.
Conclusion
Hopefully, now you have a better understanding of what happened to Sonocaddie.
It is unfortunate when a quality company or golf product goes out of business.
However, as you will quickly see, the competition in this space is quite fierce.
With the competition continuing to increase and golfers realizing that they need a measuring device in their bag, Sonocaddie just couldn’t keep up.
You should have no problem getting another product to replace the Sonocaddie and get back to your accurate yardages and numbers as soon as you can.
Golf distance devices are helpful and, if used properly, will help to speed up the pace of play.
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