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Garmin Z80 GPS/Laser Ranger Finder Hybrid - The official thread


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I mentioned the Z80 in another thread, but I thought it deserved its own dedicated thread.

 

The Z80 is a new Hybrid GPS Rand Finder. It has a hefty price tag of $599 MSRP. Release has been delayed till Jun 2018. It looks like it is going to be very cool. Unlike Bushnell's new Hybrid, it has slope as well as a color 2D overlay of every hole that shows distances to features.

 

Here is Golf Box's YouTube review

 

 

Here is Garmin's official page

 

https://buy.garmin.com/en-US/US/p/572178

 

My Bushnell is 9 years old and I was looking for a replacement. Bad new is I have to wait 2 months. Good news is I have 2 months to sell stuff on eBay to pay for it.

 

 

"Some emotions cannot be endured with a golf club in your hand." - Bobby Jones

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This would have been really handy this past weekend. Played a course for the first time in Houston called Eagle Pointe. Lots of dog legs and "where do I hit it" holes. A number of times I hit great drives only to find them through the fairway.

"Some emotions cannot be endured with a golf club in your hand." - Bobby Jones

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I was looking at the Z80 and the new Bushnell Hybrid. I like the concept of the Z80; the hole overlay in the view finder of the Z80 was going to be a love/hate feature for me and since it's not available it was difficult to delay buying something since our season is nicely underway. Went with the Hybrid since it is currently available. I regret to a small degree buying the Hybrid. I know it's going to be a good machine however part of me thinks I should have picked up a Garmin Approach G8 and called it a day. Front, middle and back plus hazard yardages are enough for me. I like seeing the hole layout too. However for each argument I make for a GPS, I remind myself I seldom play a new course where seeing the hole layout is a benefit. The GPS units pack a lot of tech and I'm not sure I would make use of all the features. I've been using the Pinseeker 1500 since it was released and never felt I was missing out. My gut is telling me I will end up with the Approach G8 too and make an informed decision after a series of rounds with both machines in use. One will stay, the other will go and my pondering will cease.

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  • 4 weeks later...

Does anyone know if you can carry the Z80 or the Bushnell in it's case while playing and not lose the GPS signal? I've used an older Bushnell and attach the case to my bag to keep it protected. And while I really like the idea of the Z80 I don't want to wait for signal acquisition when I take it out.

 

Phred

If you need a grinder to make your weld look good, you are a grinder not a welder.

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The Bushnell GPS can be set to be always on but on the other timed setting once it turns off you have to resync the device. My understanding is the Garmin has the same options for keeping the GPS active.

Ping G430 Max 10K 10.5° driver - Diamana GT 60S

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  • 2 weeks later...

The Z80 looks awesome. So far the downsides are price and potentially the battery. This thing costs more than my iron set!

In the Bag:

  • Titleist 690MB Forged Irons 3-PW
  • TaylorMade M3 Driver with TENSEI Blue Stiff Shaft
  • TaylorMade V-Steel 15° 3-Wood
  • Titleist Spin Milled 56° and 60° Wedges
  • Scotty Cameron Newport Mil-Spec Putter
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This thing looks like it will be the ultimate range finder. Have been a Bushnell loyalist for years, but this might be a big enough of an upgrade to make me change.

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Sub70 949X 22* HZRDUS Smoke RDX Red 

PXG Gen3 0311T N.S. Pro Modus3 120

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Birdie wrap blue - logo only - jpeg - small-100.jpg

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It will be interesting to see how the GPS function and the laser marry up in this unit. I found the Bushnell Hybrid to be a very frustrating product and ended up only trusting the laser yardage.

Ping G430 Max 10K 10.5° driver - Diamana GT 60S

Ping G430 Max 15° #3 fairway - Diamana TB 70S

Ping G430 Max 21° #7 fairway - Diamana TB 80S

Ping G430 Max 26° #5 hybrid - MMTh 90S

Mizuno Pro 243 4-PW irons - MMT 105S

Mizuno T24 Raw 48°-10S wedge - MMT 105S

Mizuno T24 Raw 54°-10S and 60°-06X wedges - MMT Scoring Wedge 105S

Ping PLD Ally Blue 4

Titleist Pro V1x

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It will be interesting to see how the GPS function and the laser marry up in this unit. I found the Bushnell Hybrid to be a very frustrating product and ended up only trusting the laser yardage.

 

Mine will be here early next week. I will let you know.

"Some emotions cannot be endured with a golf club in your hand." - Bobby Jones

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If you are fast enough, you can pick up a Garmin Z80 on eBay right now for $499 shipped if you use the coupon code PICKDADSGIFT. That is $100 off.

 

I am not allowed to post a link, so you will need to search for it.

 

Down side is shipping is only July 20-27th

"Some emotions cannot be endured with a golf club in your hand." - Bobby Jones

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If you are fast enough, you can pick up a Garmin Z80 on eBay right now for $499 shipped if you use the coupon code PICKDADSGIFT. That is $100 off.

 

I am not allowed to post a link, so you will need to search for it.

 

Down side is shipping is only July 20-27th

 

Is that where you ordered yours from?

 

No.

"Some emotions cannot be endured with a golf club in your hand." - Bobby Jones

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Anyone get their hands on the Z80 yet? My pre-order is yet to ship :dntknw:

 

Yes. Got mine. Hoping to use it this weekend.

 

The case is very snug. You can’t have a “stick it†on the range finder and put it in the case. It won’t fit. Also, the stick it covers the buttons, so that is another issue. There is no lens cover or eyepiece cover. I would have a concern that optics will get scratched. So basically you HAVE to put it in the case and pull it out every time you want to use it,and as mentioned it is a TIGHT fitting case, so that is a hassle. May be best just to put it in a velour pocket of your bag.

 

One other thing I noticed is that to deactivate sleep mode, it relies on touch NOT a button press. I had an issue where it would not wake up from sleep mode. This would be very problematic on the golf course.

"Some emotions cannot be endured with a golf club in your hand." - Bobby Jones

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MGS ranked 5 other models higher than this one. Speed held it back. Any owners agree with this assessment? How slow is it really?

In the Bag:

  • Titleist 690MB Forged Irons 3-PW
  • TaylorMade M3 Driver with TENSEI Blue Stiff Shaft
  • TaylorMade V-Steel 15° 3-Wood
  • Titleist Spin Milled 56° and 60° Wedges
  • Scotty Cameron Newport Mil-Spec Putter
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MGS ranked 5 other models higher than this one. Speed held it back. Any owners agree with this assessment? How slow is it really?

 

Slow is VERY relative. The rangefinder it is replacing is a old Bushnell 1500, which takes about 3/4 second to report a distance. This is faster than that. If 1/2 second is too slow for you, then I would stay far away (big sarcasm here).

"Some emotions cannot be endured with a golf club in your hand." - Bobby Jones

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I would like to see some more in depth reviews before I pull the trigger on this. Garmin says it has image stabilization as well so I would like to hear more about how that plays out in real world testing.

 

Slow is VERY relative. The rangefinder it is replacing is a old Bushnell 1500, which takes about 3/4 second to report a distance. This is faster than that. If 1/2 second is too slow for you, then I would stay far away (big sarcasm here).

 

Exactly. It ranks 15th which looks really bad. But is it bad like hundredths of a second apart and thats just how they fell in the rankings? If so, BFD, "15th" means nothing in that case. I always strongly question any study that ranks "things" - on WRX or otherwise - that does not at least give you the option to look at the raw data afterwards. Show me the study, show me the conclusions, show me the prettied up picture - fine. But I'm a data person in real life so let me see that too and draw my own conclusions.

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I got mine yesterday, will be taking it on the course Tuesday. I like the course overlay feature and if distances to hazards are more accurate it's worth the extra time to report the distance.

Driver - Callaway Paradym
Woods - Callaway Paradym 3W
Hybrids - XXIO 10 3H, 4H, 5H
Irons - Callaway Paradym 6-52*
Wedge - PXG Forged 56** 
Putter - Ping TYNE C
Ball - Titleist AVX

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I got mine yesterday, will be taking it on the course Tuesday. I like the course overlay feature and if distances to hazards are more accurate it's worth the extra time to report the distance.

 

I will look forward to some additional feedback. I am going to get a new unit to replace my Leupold that doesn't have slope. Just trying to decide if I want the next model up from mine or the Garmin Z80.

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Got mine today and played a round with it. Love it. You can set your carry distance so off the tee it shows that on the map. It is a little slow to get turned back on from sleep mode- maybe 3 seconds? Locks onto the pin with no problem. The case is snug but really a non issue. Well worth the money imo.

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Miura CB 301 4-GW True Temper Rifle 7.0
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Got mine today and played a round with it. Love it. You can set your carry distance so off the tee it shows that on the map. It is a little slow to get turned back on from sleep mode- maybe 3 seconds? Locks onto the pin with no problem. The case is snug but really a non issue. Well worth the money imo.

 

Thank you for the feedback. The sleep mode was my biggest concern. Did not want to be constantly waiting for it to be locking on to a signal. Sounds like that is not too bad.

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A couple seconds to get out of sleep mode...kinda annoying but really not that bad. It’s an awesome range finder so it’s worth it. And I haven’t even looked at the instructions to know about all the features. You do charge it via a usb so I don’t think battery can be removed.

Taylormade M2 10.5 degree Tensei Orange V2 60TX Prototype
Taylormade M2 Proto 13/ Mitsubishi Tensi Blue 70tX
Taylormade GAPR Mid 3H Oban Devotion HB 85
Miura CB 301 4-GW True Temper Rifle 7.0
Edel Putter

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I used the Z80 for my last two rounds and I'm impressed. I agree wakeup time is a bit slow and targeting may not be as easy as Bushnell Pro X2 but seeing accurate distances to all the hazards, front and back of green as well as exact distance to pin at the same time is worth the price I paid.

 

My golf buddy wasn't impressed when I told him what the Z80 did, told me he prefers traditional rangefinders but whenever we came up to a hole where there were some hazards he started asking me to shoot the flag and tell him the distances to the traps and water. By the end of yesterday he was ordering one when he got home.

 

I was also pleasantly surprised with the battery life. After 2 full rounds of use I still have 85% battery left so not quite as good as traditional rangefinder but 1000 times better than traditional gps / gps watch which barely gets me through 27 holes.

Driver - Callaway Paradym
Woods - Callaway Paradym 3W
Hybrids - XXIO 10 3H, 4H, 5H
Irons - Callaway Paradym 6-52*
Wedge - PXG Forged 56** 
Putter - Ping TYNE C
Ball - Titleist AVX

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