VoiceCaddie - SL3 True Hybrid GPS and Laser Range Finder with Dual Color OLED, Course Layout Undulation, and Pin Tracer Technology - Black

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The vast majority of our reviews come from verified purchases. Reviews from customers may include My Best Buy members, employees, and Tech Insider Network members (as tagged). Select reviewers may receive discounted products, promotional considerations or entries into drawings for honest, helpful reviews.

• Rated 5 out of 5 stars

  Excellent All Around. I Love It.

  • Tech Insider Network Member
  • Top 100 Contributor

  My first question when looking at this product was what makes it different then your normal range finder? What justifies the extra cost? Mostly it is the GPS functionality. 1. This doesn’t require any membership, subscription, downloading of maps, pairing to cell phone, or anything. You just simply take the Rangefinder to your golf course and when you arrive on your first tee of the day you press the left icon for golf mode (green circle with a ball on a tee) on the OLED and it will take a few minutes for it to locate where you are in the world and it automatically shows you the course layout, how far out the bunkers/water/others are, where water is, where your driver (assuming you know your distance) is likely to land with a good hit. Once you get on the green (assuming your course supports this) it will also show you a reading of the green. It autorotates for you. You can manually put where the pin and where your ball is based on the GPS location of the Range Finder. If it doesn’t switch automatically to the green you can swipe right to get it there. Or to go back to see the entire hole. Basically, it is like having an app on your watch or cell phone, but it is on the range finder itself. Which I found to be a bit more convenient. As that way I can also double check manually with the range finder function. 2. Based on GPS it will also tell you how far away you are from the green (I’m assuming center of green as I’m not sure how it would know the flag location). Without even having to look down the Range Finder. However, you can at any time use the range finder to manually check ranges. I found the GPS to be very accurate along with the range finder. So, mostly I just looked down at the OLED screen quickly to see how far away I was and then could grab my club. Took like 2 seconds to pull it out of pocket, look at screen, put it away. Which dramatically improved my game. As my shots were right on. Also, helped me zone in on my distances and the correct clubs. 3. This is my favorite feature. When on the tee box you can press a black arrow button on the display, which will mark your current location. Then when you start driving down the range it will measure how far away you are. Making it so you can tell exactly how far your drive or other hits were (assuming you manually reset it each time). This makes a more exact measurement then looking back at the tee box or your previous hit with the range finder. 4. Speaking of the range finder. It has a very clear red overlay. 6x scope which is very clear, and you can adjust how clear it is on the device. It will also show you slope (by saying + or – a certain yardage) along with showing the actual distance incorporating the slope AND the distance not incorporating the slope. Giving you all the info you need. I think you can also turn off that feature to be more simple if you’d like (didn’t confirm but thought I saw it mentioned). 5. It has two functions for finding the flag via the range finder. One with assistance of GPS. Which I found to take longer to actually find the flag along with needing to do it multiple times. With the GPS flag function off it found the flag easier and just told me the distance. I suppose one thing to look up would be if by using the GPS function if it then adjusts the flag position when you get to the green automatically? 6. You can change the brightness of the screen by pressing the brightness button on top. 7. It has a built-in rechargeable battery. I found it lasts about two rounds (36 holes) for me. But others are saying about 18 before recharge. Which means if you forget to charge, hopefully your cart has a charger, and you brought the USB-C charging cord. I found charging to be relatively quick. But didn’t investigate that a lot. 8. It has a bunch of settings that you can toggle to make it as advanced or basic as you want. 9. If you are worried about accidentally pressing the OLED display when stored or in your pocket don’t. As it has an auto lock feature which turns on quickly (maybe 2 – 3 seconds). Simply press the lock to unlock it. 10. Looks extremely sleek. Is lightweight. Good build quality. 11. I also just happened to be out when it was raining/misting the entire time I was out. I never had any issues with the glass or display getting horribly wet or blurry. As those things are quite recessed which is nice. I’m not sure how waterproof it is. But it came out of it like a champ. CONS: - Doesn’t have a magnet function. - Because it is lightweight and mostly feels like it is made of plastic it can come across as cheap feeling. - Rechargeable battery means no quick swapping if it is dead. - Touch screen is responsive. But could be better. As sometimes it wouldn’t register my touch. - No way to track score on the device. Which I don’t mind but wanted to mention. Overall, this thing is awesome. I like it a lot. I suck at golf and its already improved my game a lot. It has allowed me to speed up my play as I don’t have to look for markers to see how far out I am. It allows me to have a better understanding of how far I’m hitting my clubs and their distances as I can manually check. Which is also fun to play the game of how far everyone is hitting. It gives me a heads up on possible hazards to avoid. And it helps those I’m golfing with have the same benefits by sharing the information. I found the GPS function to be very beneficial and accurate. Where honestly, I rarely used the actual range finder function due to that. But the range finder also works wonderfully. It looks very professional and sleek. The holder just slides into your belt loop and is very attractive as well.

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  Posted 1 year ago by SirGalahad

• Rated 4 out of 5 stars

  Advanced and Accurate

  • Tech Insider Network Member
  • Top 250 Contributor

  Normally, I golf about twice a week and frequently take golf trips to other out-of-state courses. For the past week, I've been testing the Voice Caddie SL3 Rangefinder.. The Voice Caddie SL3 features top-notch build quality. As soon as I felt it in my hand I could immediately tell that I was holding premium technology. The compact size fits in my hand well and the viewfinder offers excellent clarity. The SL3 is made of metal and it is wrapped in black leather. It also came with a carabiner and white leather pouch. The Carabiner was probably the least premium feature of this product. When I attached it to the golf cart with the carbineer, it was bouncing around and I felt like it could easily break. I would have preferred to have magnets or another method for keeping it attached to the cart. Setting it up was a learning experience. I had to read the booklet and look up some how-to videos online, but eventually I figured out how to use it. Using the app, I was easily able to find and download my local golf course maps without any additional cost. It features built-in GPS and a laser for determining my position and distance to the flag. I love that it gives me both the slope distance as well as the actual distance, while taking into account if the green is elevated or below the tee box. The OLED touch screen is vibrant and easily visible on sunny days. However, it sometimes was not very responsive. There were a few occasions when I had to keep tapping the golf icon to get it to go into golf mode. But, I am sure this would be fixed in an update. With that said, This is the most advanced and accurate rangefinder I have ever used. Overall I love it and would recommend it.

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  Posted 1 year ago by buckbabes

• Rated 5 out of 5 stars

  VoiceCaddie SL3 Hybrid - My new secret golf weapon

  • Tech Insider Network Member
  • Top 1000 Contributor

  As an avid golfer I’m always looking for ways to improve my game and ultimately scoring better. The VoiceCaddie SL3 is like having a really smart local caddie who can provide course knowledge like distances, hazards and overall lay of the land in the fairways and on the green. What sets the SL3 apart from many of its competitors is that it provides two gadgets in a single device. There is the laser range finder mode, simply point it at the flag or a tree to know exactly how far it is. If additional course information is needed, turn on the GPS mode and the SL3 provides a map of the hole and tells you distances to important spots along the way, like sand traps, water hazards and how far to the pin. Unboxing & Set Up: The VoiceCaddie SL3 came well packaged and includes the rangefinder, a leather carrying case, a USB-C charging cable, cleaning cloth and a user’s manual. There’s also a VoiceCaddie app available, although the user’s manual does not call it out or provide any details. I came across it trying to find the list of supported golf course. I would definitely recommend downloading the app as it provided an update to the software on the SL3 device and also prompted me to update the list of supported courses. Outside of that it provides hole descriptions for the course being played, setting the distance unit measure, an electronic version of the user’s manual and a supported course list based on GPS location. It seems a bit daunting on first pass, but really it sets up easily and is ready to use within minutes. The SL3 itself feels like a range finder that was put in a time machine as its aesthetics are a bit on the vintage side with a metal case wrapped in leather. The overall build quality is top-notch, and it feels sturdy yet not too heavy in hand. The included case is more on the modern side in white leather with red graphics, a magnetic closure, and a carabiner for connecting it to your bag or the golfcart. Operation: For the laser range finder mode, just turn the SL3 on by hitting the well positioned power button on top of the device and aim it at the flag or any other object. Hold the power button until the laser locks on its target, with a little haptic notice, the laser locks and provides the distance to that target. There is a slope feature which can be toggled on/off, but due to the hilly nature of the course in my area, I use the slope adjustment. Once locked on, the SL3 will provide the actual yardage to the object as well as the slope-adjusted yardage based on whether you are hitting up or downhill. The brightness is adjustable by clicking the “sun” button next to the power button on top of the device. Even in total sunshine, the display is easy to read at any of the brightness settings. Overall, the SL3 seemed to be very quick to lock on the target and provided accurate yardages. There also the ability to magnify the view by 6X with the adjustable viewfinder. The GPS mode is very similar to what some golfcarts at higher end courses provide. It’s like having Google Maps for the course you’re playing. To access the GPS mode, there is a small LCD touchscreen on the frontside of the SL3. You heard that right, there is a touchscreen display built into the SL3. When powered on there is an option for settings and for golf mode. Settings provides a demo mode, language and measurement selection, and an “about” page for software version, etc. To get the course information, toggle into the “golf mode” and the GPS satellite will connect and provide courses in the area. Select the course being played and step into the tee box area to get started. The options available are: - Course View: See the whole hole from above. Like a bird’s-eye view. - Green View: Know how far to the front, middle, and back of the green. - Putt View: Helps you read the greens (like a golf whisperer). - Yardage View: Shows key distances. - Flyover: Get a cool flyover view of the hole. Pretend you’re in a golf video game. The GPS mode is fantastic for courses that you haven’t played before as it provides so much detailed information about the fairway, hazards, and the putting surface. Again, it’s like having that local caddie providing course secrets. As you begin to play the hole, the GPS will automatically reset your position and show the updated yardages to certain points. For putting, the SL3 provides green undulation and distances which again are such a plus on a course that isn’t played often. Pros: - Dual Functionality of a laser range finder and GPS yardages and views - Easy to use – simply point and click for yardage - Pin Tracer Mode – ideal for flags with trees or obstacles behind them - Well-built and a cool vintage feel aesthetically - Leather carry pouch for protection on the course - GPS course and hole overview is a game changer - 6X lens magnification for those long par 5 holes - Quick battery recharge with standard USB-C cable - No subscription fees to use, and the course list is updated regularly Cons: - Not all courses are included in the GPS Golf Mode – my local course is not supported - Bit pricier than some options, but you get 2 devices in one with the SL3 Overall Impressions: The VoiceCaddie SL3 is a remarkable golf rangefinder that seamlessly combines laser accuracy with GPS functionality. Golfers seeking precision and accuracy will appreciate its strategic course planning features. It won’t fix your slice, but it’ll definitely help you pick the right club. I would recommend the SL3 to any golfer looking to improve their game and scoring.

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  Posted 1 year ago by mstanleynh