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I'm a rangefinder idiot


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...and have one of those annoying "which one should I get" question. I don't need slope/elevation reading or any of that stuff. But want a rangefinder that's built with some quality. My boy and I are using a bottom-of-the-barrel model and we need to keep the battery cover on with a bunch of rubber bands. What is a good-quality, basic rangefinder? Also...I had a thought about whether or not there's a product out there like the following: Is there an accurate, GPS, based product that clips on the golf bag? Last time I checked, however, it seemed that GPS lacked accuracy. Your thoughts appreciated...

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Well GPS isn't going to get more accurate. It is what it is until they upgrade the sats or you happen to play someplace where differential GPS is available. Laser rangefinders will always give you 0.5 to 1 meter repeatability. Accuracy should be that good as well, but not all companies calibrate them that well. Accuracy should still be good to a few meters regardless.

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I just bought a BOBLOV rangefinder off of amazon for 70 some bucks. My first dive into this pool. They make one with slope but I got the one without. I bought it because its inexpensive, had good reviews( some dude on YouTube did an on course review also and it passed) and it has a built in rechargeable battery. So you wouldnt have to worry about rubber bands at least.

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Honestly, the old Bushnell Pinseeker 1500 and Pro 1600s are a bargain on the used market if you don't mind a slightly larger size device. Great field of view and higher magnification than most (i think 7x?), and can easily be had on ebay for $50-$100.

[size=2][i]"I see the distorted swings, the hurried rounds, and now the electric carts tae ruin the course and rob us of our exercise...we have gone off the mark, gone after the wrong things, forgotten what it's all about"[/i][/size]

[size=2]-Dr. Julian Sands, Golf in the Kingdom[/size]

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Honestly, the old Bushnell Pinseeker 1500 and Pro 1600s are a bargain on the used market if you don't mind a slightly larger size device. Great field of view and higher magnification than most (i think 7x?), and can easily be had on ebay for $50-$100.

.....and I have had mine for years and zero problems. Just don't leave it in hit car or throw it down...friends of mine have proven they break under duress.

"We have learned that we must
live as men, not as ostriches, nor
as dogs in the manger." FDR

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I got my rangefinder at a pawn shop for about $50 a few years ago and have never had a problem with it. I'd highly recommend checking pawn shops and haggling the price. Golf stuff tends to move slowly in the pawn shops near me, so I can almost always get a decent price.

 

Ask the shop if you can test it outside. If you can scope a telephone wire and a tree out to about 300 yds, then that's basically all you'll need.

"Of all the hazards, fear is the worst" - Sam Snead
WITB: PXG 0311 ~ Ping Anser 4w @16.5 ~ Cobra F6 Baffler @18.5 ~ Titleist T300 4-P ~ Titleist Vokey 48, 54, 58 ~ Cleveland HB 8

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Precision Pro would seem a good choice to start. $219 for the non slope NX7 model, gets good commentary here, has tested well on certain other golf related websites that I shan't name.

 

GPS, I would avoid. Faster than a laser, certainly, but accuracy is inherently ±3 yds, if not even ±5 yds, and you're at the mercy of the person who mapped the course. Having had several instances of GPS giving grossly inaccurate distance, when it came time to purchase for myself, I went laser.

 

Thinking of replacing my old Nikon unit this year, looking closely at the above mentioned Precision Pro NX7.

The Ever Changing Bag!  A lot of mixing and matching
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Leupold, great products. I've got GX-3i, the bright red display of numbers is the best. You can also hold the unit into a "scan mode" and you can pan back and forth to get several yardages.

 

I got one too and I have for over 5 years now. still good and very accurate with/without elevation reads. i just replaced the battery late last year.

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Precision Pro would seem a good choice to start. $219 for the non slope NX7 model, gets good commentary here, has tested well on certain other golf related websites that I shan't name.

 

GPS, I would avoid. Faster than a laser, certainly, but accuracy is inherently ±3 yds, if not even ±5 yds, and you're at the mercy of the person who mapped the course. Having had several instances of GPS giving grossly inaccurate distance, when it came time to purchase for myself, I went laser.

 

Thinking of replacing my old Nikon unit this year, looking closely at the above mentioned Precision Pro NX7.

 

Saw our named mentioned here and thought we would share our 2cents.

 

We absolutely agree that the NX7 is a great place to start and a lot. It has the quality and accuracy to compete with any rangefinder on the market. It also has other features like our Pulse Vibration Technology, our Precision Care Package which includes free batteries for life and our customer service. GOLFWRX users can also take $20 off with code GOLFWRX.

 

Hope this helps and if you have any questions please don't hesitate to ask! - Trey D.

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Precision Pro is excellent as referenced and the Golf Buddy LR7 at $199 is hard to beat as well. As has been discussed many times the technology has caught up and no need to pay $349 from Bushnell when $200 range gets you the same speed, accuracy and reliability. I would even argue if the 3 Lasers were in front of you with no brand name you would say the GB and PP were superior.Good Luck!

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I like GPS for the ease of use, but nothing beats laser for accuracy.

My home course has a par 3 with a pond in front. Bushnell made an error in mapping and it GPS's out to 10-12 yards shorter than it actually is.

Sidenote: I have lmao on several occasions playing with guys who have played the course for years and comment to others than you need to add an extra club because "it's uphill" (it's not) or "there is a always a headwind you can't feel on the tee" (really, I feel plenty or right to left...) :swoon:

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Ping G400 3 and 5 Woods - Diamana D+ Limited 70 stiff

Ping G400 22° Hybrid - Diamana D+ 90 Stiff

Ping i200 5-UW - Modus Tour 105 stiff

Vokey SM4 54° and 58° - DGS-300

Cameron Special Select Newport 2

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I'm switching from a laser to a gps watch. The watch shows the entire hole and you can point to various spots for carry or layup distances. The laser is the most accurate for hitting a flag, but quite often it's hard to shoot other points on the course (bunkers, doglegs). Also, I find the front/middle/back information more useful overall than the exact distance to the pin. I find sometimes when I'm not focusing, I'll get the pin # from the laser and let that automatically dictate my club choice without gathering the other info.

 

I'm hoping the watch will be faster and more useful. Time will tell. As far as +/- 1 yd for a laser vs +/- 3 yds for gps to the pin (or whatever the actual #s may be), I find this quite inconsequential for my 10 HC abilities.

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PING i20 10.5*

Adams a7 19*, 22*

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PING BeCu Anser

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The Garmin Approach Z80 is $799. That is ridiculous

 

Got one for "just" $550 yesterday while down in Florida. Not sure where you see them for $799 as $699 is MSRP. Also picking up a Precision Pro NX7 in the next week or two. Those boys are down the road from me, in Cincy, so why not support the "locals."

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Precision Pro is worth taking a look at. If you have a "Golf Show" coming to town you can always find great deals on a variety of laser RF's. I use both GPS and the laser RF and the GPS is always +/- 3 yards. And you know since this is WRX I require the utmost precision :golfer: so the GPS is merely a guide.

Taylormade Sim 2 9.0 Project X Hzrdus Blue 60G | Mizuno JPX 919 Forged on KBS T120 | Cobra FlyZ 3W | Cobra FlyZ 5h | Bettinardi Studio Stock 2 Olympic Bronze | Vice Pro |

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This thread has been helpful as I'm in the market as well. GPS is quick and simple but a lot of courses still have GPS in the carts, none of them have rangefinders and I'm sure there are free GPS apps for phones as a guide.

 

The Precision Pro is looking tempting, the NX7 is just a bit more than the Nikon Coolshot 20 so maybe the Nexus to save some cash.

Lefty - WITB Thread

Driver: 10° Cobra LTDxLS | AD-IZ 6X 

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Wedges: SM9 50° - 54° - 58° 

Putter(s): Ping PLD Anser 4K | CMD Gauge R | and more. 

Ball: TP5X 2024

Bag: Ghost Katana

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  • 1 month later...

> @Hifade said:

> JMH1220 wrote:

>

>

>

> The Garmin Approach Z80 is $799. That is ridiculous

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

> Got one for "just" $550 yesterday while down in Florida. Not sure where you see them for $799 as $699 is MSRP. Also picking up a Precision Pro NX7 in the next week or two. Those boys are down the road from me, in Cincy, so why not support the "locals."

 

I’m going to look into these. An Ohio company sound like a good thing to support.

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Precision pro is working well for me

Callaway Epic MAX 10.5*
Callaway Mavrik MAX 15*
Taylor Made M4 19* & 22* hybrids
PING G410 5-U w/DG 105s 
Cleveland RTX 54* & 58*
Odyssey Stroke Lab Big Seven Toe Up vs MEZZ1 vs Seemore
Precision Pro Nx7 Pro, Garmin S60 (watch)


https://forums.golfwrx.com/discussion/1580770/recaps-the-taylormade-twistfaceexperience-7-golfwrx-members-visit-the-kingdom-for-an-exclusive-m3/p1

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I just got the new Bushnell XE and so far so good. figuring how the elements feature relates to my game will take some time though.

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I went with the TecTecTec VPro500 on Amazon for $150. I looked at the 'cheaper' brands, but was a bit gun shy on those based on some of the reviews. My Swami 5000 was okay for what it did- (carry to hazards, front, middle, center, etc...) but having exact numbers just makes me "feel" better. First day with the VPro I was paired with a guy using an older and pricier Bushnell and both were the same or within a yard. "Pin mode" is super easy to use if you get a bit shaky or a windy day.

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It's 2019. Anything over $150 or $200 is a straight rip-off.

 

My $125 Golf Buddy LR5 hasn't skipped a beat since I got it. It's super-fast and stupidly-easy to use. Built solid as a rock as far as I can tell.

 

I'd buy another in a heartbeat if for some reason I had to.

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SM9 56-F / 60-S
Maltby PTM-5CS

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> @Hifade said:

> JMH1220 wrote:

>

>

>

> The Garmin Approach Z80 is $799. That is ridiculous

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

> Got one for "just" $550 yesterday while down in Florida. Not sure where you see them for $799 as $699 is MSRP. Also picking up a Precision Pro NX7 in the next week or two. Those boys are down the road from me, in Cincy, so why not support the "locals."

 

Just north of me. I meet Adam at a golf show and bought in. I still mostly use my Garmin g6 gps for anything 150 out as I’m not good enough to it to make a difference.

 

Callaway Epic MAX 10.5*
Callaway Mavrik MAX 15*
Taylor Made M4 19* & 22* hybrids
PING G410 5-U w/DG 105s 
Cleveland RTX 54* & 58*
Odyssey Stroke Lab Big Seven Toe Up vs MEZZ1 vs Seemore
Precision Pro Nx7 Pro, Garmin S60 (watch)


https://forums.golfwrx.com/discussion/1580770/recaps-the-taylormade-twistfaceexperience-7-golfwrx-members-visit-the-kingdom-for-an-exclusive-m3/p1

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I've had my Leupold GX 1i2 going on 6 years now and I've only replaced batteries twice. It's accurate and picks up objects quite well.

----> See my current WITB
Callaway Rogue Sub Zero 9°, Fujikura VENTUS Red 6 X
Callaway Epic Flash Sub Zero 15° Tensei AV Blue 75 X
Callaway Epic Flash Sub Zero 18° Tensei AV Blue 75 X
Mizuno MP-18 MMC 3 Fli-Hi | 4-PW, Project X LZ 6.5
Mizuno T7 52-09 | 58-12
TaylorMade TP Mullen
 

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