Garmin Approach Z82 Range Finder

[Shades234]

[Shades234]

I've been gaming my Bushnell Medalist (c2007) for over a decade. The 9v battery connector harness broke recently, so I've been in the market for a new rangefinder. The idea of a hybrid rangefinder sounds fantastic. Definitely will be following this thread as more people get these and can offer their opinions.

My concerns with this would be durability (drop resistance, water proofing (heavy rain)) and battery life. Drops happen. I'm pretty careful with my Bushnell but I was definitely rough on it when I was younger and it held up well. It doesn't perform well in the rain. Water would definitely get in and at one point I had thought that I ruined it last year while playing in a downpour. It dried out over a couple days and was fine, but there are more electronics in a Z82. Their water resistance rating at being submersible for 30 minutes in 1m of water is promising.

Battery life is 2 fold. How many rounds can I get out of this thing per charge? Sounds like 3 or 4? That's fine. I play on weekends. So it won't be a hassle for a while. What's more concerning is battery degradation. For how long (months/years) will I be able to get 3 to 4 rounds out of this thing before the internal battery degrades? The benefit of Bushnell or any other disposable batter rangefinder is that when your battery dies, you replace it. Sure it's annoying to have to go to the store to buy another every 6 months, but you never have to worry about your rangefinder having an expiration date due to the battery. Can anyone with a Z80 comment on this? Hopefully it's not like an iPhone's battery life. lol

[BrendanH]

Garmin claims 450 yards accuracy, so I'm not sure I would agree that the example in the video is so easily dismissed. I certainly hope it is not a problem, but my testing of the Z80 consistently showed serious GPS errors even compared side-by-side with a Garmin G8 using the exact same map data.

 

Anyway, fingers crossed none of you folks encounter this problem but you should definitely pay close attention to it while still inside your return window.

[Shades234]

You're right. The Z82 claims 450y. The prior Z80 is the 350y one. Sorry for the mixup.

ETA: In the video his GPS readings are 381, 389, and 398 (front, middle, back). Those numbers match with what you'd expect from him standing several yards behind the 381 marked teebox. I don't think the GPS can be proven faulty from this clip. I believe he shot the mound in front of the green when he was trying to hit the golf cart but the pinseeker activated. So still not a good look for Garmin, but I don't think it's a GPS bug.

[Steelhead]

I’ve used the Z82 with my new S62 and everything yardage-wise is spot on. Amazing technology but not a fit for me. That said, I returned it as I’ve too many years with all the Garmin GPS watches and a rangefinder is just another item for me to keep track of on a cart. If I lived in the PNW again where I carried and walked? I’d probably keep as I would never lay it down. I live in Florida and am moving back to California and most all the courses I play are cart only.

[puresurfr]

Just ordered mine from Golf Galaxy, it seems like a no brainer with their 90 day return policy.

[Carolina Golfer 2]

Quick Rant.

To whoever found my Z80 and didn't turn it in. I hope you have a life of misery ?

I know It was my fault for not noticing it waa missing right away. But still people suck!!

[TheMoneyShot]

Great review here. “The holy grail” of range finders...

[puresurfr]

Got my rangefinder out for the first time yesterday, it is a bit strange to look into the viewfinder and see black like a lens cap is still on it....it does wake up rather quickly. The wind reading takes a bit of time before it shows, at least 5-7 seconds if not longer. Oh and the wind meter is absolutely useless and the compass is horrible too, if you have a blind shot, don't rely on the red arrow. Distance seems spotty too but that might just be me. I will take my Bushnell to compare distances.....Right now I am considering returning it. But its so new that I will give it a few more outings. Perhaps the compass and wind readings need to be adjusted. The compass was really off and that might be why the wind was totally off.....but on a few holes it was perfectly still and it read 8mph and on some holes late in the day, it was gusting at least 3 clubs and my wind meter said 8mph.....I didnt get ay reading but 8mph. Perhaps its just reading a weather forecast ??

[RobDMB]

When you put the Z82 in "Tournament Mode" to disable slope - do you still get the GPS overlay and distances?

[puresurfr]

i still see all the GPS features in tournament mode

[RobDMB]

Is the screen improved over the z80 or is it about the same?

[egolfer]

Everything has improved over the previous model. I'm really enjoying the Z82 over my Z80. The screen is brighter, less grainy, wakes quicker. Overall, they made a more improved version of the original model. The only thing that has stayed the same is the shape and size of the unit. It's almost identical to the previous model in that regard.

I do like the new case it come with which has a interchangeable spine system that you can use for many purposes. I had to cut the top material off and put Velcro straps and used the case as a cart post mount as that's where I like to place my range finder during play.

Overall, I'm very satisfied with the improvements and added features of the new Z82. I do agree that wind speed/direction is not a huge factor for me because it's just taking general data from the internet off your phone, but the other new features have increased my pleasure using the new Z82.

[RobDMB]

Thanks - debating if its worth the premium over regular rangefinders.

[puresurfr]

This rangefinder definitely has its own Niche, as a rangefinder purely, it is not as useful as my Bushnell ProXE, not to mention, this unit needs a slight bit of time to wake up and it needs to be charged quite often, I would not recommend going more than 2 rounds without charging. Ive only used mine twice and installed the software update yesterday. The Picture is also a bit weird, it is not as sharp as I would prefer, which makes me wonder how bad the Z80 screen must have been. The GPS feature is useful but it sometimes confuses you too, do I trust my eyes and where the pin appears to be or do I go with the laser reading ? Also the small gps map doesn't seem too useful, but thats probably due to lack of familiarity. Im still learning the features.

Now on to the good points, its a lightweight unit that looks very sharp, the battery life is more than adequate and I always carry a power bank so its no big deal to have power on standby. The screen is adequate because you are just looking for landmarks. I can see the GPS feature being useful once you get used to using both. If you ride a cart and have plenty of time, its a fun toy to play with. The last 2 rounds I played were under the new rules and one of them was as a single only and carts were not available. This normally is fine but the course pace was 2:30 which is extremely quick for 18 holes and does not allow you much time to adjust to a rangefinder. The other course I played had so many hazards that I didn't bother figuring them out. I was having issues with my swing and a exact yardage was not going to help me out.

I think this is a very fun unit and if you are playing a course that you are not familiar with, it provides loads of useful information. However if you are playing your local course, you are better off with a standard rangefinder. Normally you know exactly how far things play and how far they are on your home course and the only distance you want is the flag or the edge of the bunker. To improve this unit, I would say better viewfinder, longer battery life, wake up faster and provide a better case.

[RobDMB]

Thanks for feedback.

[donuts]

To improve this unit, I would say better viewfinder, longer battery life, wake up faster and provide a better case.

 

— so all the exact same things people complained about with the Z80.

[RobDMB]

Do you own the unit?

[donuts]

I have the z80

[RobDMB]

Sounds like you are not a fan.

[DNice26]

Is that because the yardage you are referring to is calculating the slope and therefore the playing distance and not the true distance?

[BrendanH]

I'm afraid not. You can find more details in my posts in the Z80 thread. To summarize though, it was clear that the GPS yardages being reported were consistently longer than the real numbers. That resulted in the laser yardage being marked off the front of the green in many cases. I never got the opposite result. i.e. a pin yardage off the back, which lead me to believe the GPS accuracy is not good and they are trying to play it safe by reporting the upper range of the GPS accuracy window the hardware provides. That is just guesswork on my part though. I had no way to know for sure what was going on. I hope that is no longer the case with the Z82 but so far I have not seen any evidence they have fixed it.

[happybob]

I picked up the Z82 recently with the 20% off coupon from Dicks Sporting Goods, used it for two rounds, really wanted to like it and keep it, but ultimately returned it to Dicks. It is a great piece of toy, combining quite a lot of information in one package, but unfortunately it was just too clunky to use. Purely as a rangefinder, it’s certainly not as easy to use as the Bushnell ProX2, Nikon coolshot pro stabilized, or even the cheap Precision Pro NX9 HD slope (I’ve had all three). I thought the GPS, wind speed, and pin pointer were all great tools, especially the pin pointer was quite helpful with blind shots, but overall it actually slowed my pace of play significantly. I found myself spending more time scrolling thru all the items on Z82 every time than focusing on my next shot. I also had the problem on a hole of getting a distance to the pin that’s a lot longer than the GPS distances to the front and back of the green. I just couldn’t trust the thing when that happened.

I think having a handheld GPS like the Garmin G80 or a GPS watch like the S62 along with a standard rangefinder will probably be a much more useful combination.

 

[RobDMB]

Thanks good feedback. Which did you like better between the Bushnell and Nikon?

[happybob]

They all have their pros and cons. The Bushnell pro X2 is built like a tank, but Bushnell warranty and customer service are basically crap. I don't think I will buy another Bushnell. Nikon is decently built, but not in the same league as the top of the line Bushnell models. It's main selling point is the image stabilizer, but I find the pulse/vibrate feature of the Bushnell to be more helpful.

The Precision Pro NX9 HD would be my choice as it offers both slope and pulse feature, has great customer service, and cost half as much as the Bushnell and Nikon. It's not built as solid as the Nikon and Bushnell, but it's plenty sturdy enough. If you are using it in conjunction with a GPS, I would just save your money and get the Precision Pro NX9.

 

 

[ry1808]

Got the new Z82 yesterday and played the first round with it today on a very familiar course.

 

On the whole a very encouraging round. It was fairly responsive and didn't have to wait too long for it to wake up. It is weird looking through a screen at the pin but you get used to it pretty quick. I do find the focusing a little tricky, it's not that the image is out of focus, it just appears a little streaky if you get me?

 

Comparing the GPS to laser numbers where a little 'off' at times. On a couple of holes the pin was measured at 1 yard from the edge of the green when in reality it was 4-5 yards. Not a huge issue in reality. I think it'll be more useful on courses I haven't played before when I want to know carry over bunkers etc...

 

Impressive product that I hope I'll start to use more efficiently going forward.

[gambit]

I used my buddy's for a hole last week just to see what it was like. Overall, I think it's very useful for unfamiliar courses so you can see hazards and green layout. Not sure it's necessary if you're using it on your regular course. Waking it up wasn't as bad as I thought it'd be.

[tbowles411]

I was about to pull the trigger on a watch. Now I have to rethink this. However, my Bushnell grew legs and the reason I want a watch...

[BirdieBob]

Ordered one from Double D and at a very attractive price.

Have used Sky Caddies since inception but the rangefinder with the slope correction does provide more accurate distance for shot making purposes.

Certainly the dual purpose, gps and rangefinder is welcomed as a former gps user.

 

[TheMoneyShot]

Just pull the trigger!