Garmin Z82

[bscramer11]

I absolutely love this thing. Figured I’d start a thread for those looking at getting one as there is limited info from real users. Feel free to ask away!

[alaaro]

Ill ask the first question 7 months later...

 

Is it worth the cost? I like the GPS feature along with the laser, but is it worth the price tag? 

 

How is the battery? Ive read about people experiencing it dying fast. 

 

Im debating this or the Bushnell Pro XE - Ive had 3 other Bushnell rangefinders and they are all great, so I am leaning Bushnell, but am curious about the Garmin. 

 

Thanks. 

[Elee913]

Really wanted to love this, but had to return 3 of these in a row.  Two of them just couldn’t lock on a target and all three would show distances that were off compared to gps (e.g., shoot the flag at 130 yards when the gps confirmed with my watch would say the front of the green was 135 yards). Stick with bushnell.

[bscramer11]

4 hours ago, Elee913 said:

Really wanted to love this, but had to return 3 of these in a row.  Two of them just couldn’t lock on a target and all three would show distances that were off compared to gps (e.g., shoot the flag at 130 yards when the gps confirmed with my watch would say the front of the green was 135 yards). Stick with bushnell.

Really? Mine has been perfect. The only issue I’ve had is when it thinks I’m on a different hole which is an easy couple clicks. First unit no problems 

[bscramer11]

7 hours ago, alaaro said:

Ill ask the first question 7 months later...

 

Is it worth the cost? I like the GPS feature along with the laser, but is it worth the price tag? 

 

How is the battery? Ive read about people experiencing it dying fast. 

 

Im debating this or the Bushnell Pro XE - Ive had 3 other Bushnell rangefinders and they are all great, so I am leaning Bushnell, but am curious about the Garmin. 

 

Thanks. 

I’m in love. I have no regrets about it at all. I got a %10 percent coupon (sign up for dicks sports email and you get it) so that are some of the cost. 
 

having both GPS and laser is absolutely amazing. I like to play as many different places as possible so I never am super familiar with any single course. Being able to pop the hole up and see the various yardages to clear various obstacles is amazing. I don’t use the laser for much other than the flag as it has all the info there without shooting any targets.

 

As far as battery goes “fast” I believe is a relative term. I have mine set for auto sleep after like 15 seconds or something and you learn to press the button as you go to get it to wake it up. I burn at most 20-25% a round do I can easily get 4 rounds in. That said yes the battery will die after those rounds which is much faster than others but if you think about the amount of info you get it makes sense. 
 

It’s great at finding the pin and drawing a line on the green so you really can tell where that pin is sitting instead of guessing on some of those sloping deceptive greens. 
 

I absolutely love it. The only “issue” I’ve had is when I hit my shot into another fairway it’ll think I switched holes and while my pin yardage readout I’d still accurate I don’t get the haptic lock on as it still thinks I’m on the incorrect hole (to be fair my ball is hahaha). A couple quick clicks and it’s back to being set. 
 

Objects that aren’t the pin I can accurately scope out to 250 yards past that it needs to be a very defined line (tree or lip of bunker/water). It’ll draw the line based on what it sees and me with my less than steady hands might be just off of what I think I’m aiming at if I’m aimed at a generic thing like a point in a fairway. 
 

the other nice thing is it’ll always calculate how far you are for layups and give you the yardage to leave you 100, 150, 200 yards out (if applicable). 
 

like I said I love it 

[alaaro]

5 hours ago, bscramer11 said:

I’m in love. I have no regrets about it at all. I got a %10 percent coupon (sign up for dicks sports email and you get it) so that are some of the cost. 
 

having both GPS and laser is absolutely amazing. I like to play as many different places as possible so I never am super familiar with any single course. Being able to pop the hole up and see the various yardages to clear various obstacles is amazing. I don’t use the laser for much other than the flag as it has all the info there without shooting any targets.

 

As far as battery goes “fast” I believe is a relative term. I have mine set for auto sleep after like 15 seconds or something and you learn to press the button as you go to get it to wake it up. I burn at most 20-25% a round do I can easily get 4 rounds in. That said yes the battery will die after those rounds which is much faster than others but if you think about the amount of info you get it makes sense. 
 

It’s great at finding the pin and drawing a line on the green so you really can tell where that pin is sitting instead of guessing on some of those sloping deceptive greens. 
 

I absolutely love it. The only “issue” I’ve had is when I hit my shot into another fairway it’ll think I switched holes and while my pin yardage readout I’d still accurate I don’t get the haptic lock on as it still thinks I’m on the incorrect hole (to be fair my ball is hahaha). A couple quick clicks and it’s back to being set. 
 

Objects that aren’t the pin I can accurately scope out to 250 yards past that it needs to be a very defined line (tree or lip of bunker/water). It’ll draw the line based on what it sees and me with my less than steady hands might be just off of what I think I’m aiming at if I’m aimed at a generic thing like a point in a fairway. 
 

the other nice thing is it’ll always calculate how far you are for layups and give you the yardage to leave you 100, 150, 200 yards out (if applicable). 
 

like I said I love it 

Thanks - I appreciate the feedback. 

[Mr_Wolfe]

I am getting ready to pull the trigger on this, but really want to find a 10% off. I tried the Dicks Sporting Goods one last week, but apparently I already signed up for their email in the past. Looking forward to using this Laser/GPS unit. I will never give Bushnell my money again and I am not the type that walks away from a company easily. I paid almost $500 for my last Bushnell product and I got 15 months out of it and it totally died. They won't do anything and while looking the problem up online, there is an entire multi-page thread on this happening to other people. I don't mind a paying a premium for a nice product, but I do expect to get more than 2-3 seasons out of it.

 

Okay, enough complaining - where can I get that 10%??

 

Mr. Wolfe

[bscramer11]

1 hour ago, Mr_Wolfe said:

I am getting ready to pull the trigger on this, but really want to find a 10% off. I tried the Dicks Sporting Goods one last week, but apparently I already signed up for their email in the past. Looking forward to using this Laser/GPS unit. I will never give Bushnell my money again and I am not the type that walks away from a company easily. I paid almost $500 for my last Bushnell product and I got 15 months out of it and it totally died. They won't do anything and while looking the problem up online, there is an entire multi-page thread on this happening to other people. I don't mind a paying a premium for a nice product, but I do expect to get more than 2-3 seasons out of it.

 

Okay, enough complaining - where can I get that 10%??

 

Mr. Wolfe

Make a new email account and sign up again? Haha then delet the account after it gets to you 

[Mr_Wolfe]

36 minutes ago, bscramer11 said:

Make a new email account and sign up again? Haha then delet the account after it gets to you 

 

I tried, but the email must end in ".com" and my work email ends with ".solutions".

 

Mr. Wolfe

[Mr_Wolfe]

Used an older email and that worked - thank you. $577 after taxes.

 

Mr. Wolfe

[bscramer11]

4 minutes ago, Mr_Wolfe said:

Used an older email and that worked - thank you. $577 after taxes.

 

Mr. Wolfe

Awesome! If shipping gets delayed and you contact them they might take another 10% off (happened to me)

[Steelhead]

On 1/31/2021 at 7:44 PM, alaaro said:

Ill ask the first question 7 months later...

 

Is it worth the cost? I like the GPS feature along with the laser, but is it worth the price tag? 

 

How is the battery? Ive read about people experiencing it dying fast. 

 

Im debating this or the Bushnell Pro XE - Ive had 3 other Bushnell rangefinders and they are all great, so I am leaning Bushnell, but am curious about the Garmin. 

 

Thanks. 

If you like information in bunches, yes, worth every penny! 

I wanted to love it but found it a very "busy" thing to look at while playing. I would drift from the GPS view on the left, to the yardages given, and finally look at the flag on the view finder, but wait, "How far is that hazard ahead, and can I clear it?", then back to the yardages, then back to the GPS map, then back to... then I hear, "PLEASE hit your ball!" Entertaining and uber informative but for now prefer my S62. Simpler is better at times.

[Mr_Wolfe]

Just received mine. Opened up and put on charger. Very nice looking piece of kit.

 

Mr. Wolfe

[Redbird]

For those with the Z82, has anyone noticed any loss of battery life in between rounds when the thing is sitting in your golf bag?  

[Pepperturbo]

I leave Z82 hanging on my bag for 1-2weeks at a time, and battery seems fine.  I typically charge it after 2-3 rds.  I have sleep mode set and don't use it a lot during a round.  Longer holes maybe 2-3 times.  I haven't had any issues with mine.

[Redbird]

Had a chance to use those range finder today. This thing is awesome!  Anyone have a recommendation for a magnetic strap?  

Edited March 14, 2021 by Redbird

[Mr_Wolfe]

On 2/2/2021 at 3:47 PM, Steelhead said:

If you like information in bunches, yes, worth every penny! 

I wanted to love it but found it a very "busy" thing to look at while playing. I would drift from the GPS view on the left, to the yardages given, and finally look at the flag on the view finder, but wait, "How far is that hazard ahead, and can I clear it?", then back to the yardages, then back to the GPS map, then back to... then I hear, "PLEASE hit your ball!" Entertaining and uber informative but for now prefer my S62. Simpler is better at times.

Unfortunately, the exact same for me. I wanted to love it and I am sure it is a great for many people, but I found myself just wanting to know the yardage to the stick. I think some of it was me playing a course I play all the time. The extra info was not needed. Regardless, it is $100 off right now. My timing for buying things is terrible. lol I sold mine to a member today for less than I wanted...

 

Mr. Wolfe

[Dan13]

How much battery does the Z82 burn when "on" but sleeping in its case? I would anticipate using it sporadically for most rounds. Use it to shoot the occasional elevated pin, hidden hazard on the home course but would use it a lot for new courses / golf trips.

 

Charging two GPS devices (GPS watch + Z82) may not be the way to go.

 

 

 

 

 

[avinashr]

I don’t see the z82 available on the pga super store website, is a new version of this device coming out soon?

[Miker20890]

does the plays like distance factor in the wind speed/direction?

[BirdieBob]

9 minutes ago, Miker20890 said:

does the plays like distance factor in the wind speed/direction?

No...the data comes from the nearest airport NWS setup and is for you use via your phone app.

I my case it is 20 miles away exposed while my course is more inland and does not get the same winds speeds.   Basically no value to me and I do not even use it.

[KARL M]

Currently $500 at Dicks

[DragonballZ]

It’s the best all in one GPS laser rangefinder in the market but not without its negatives as with any product. 

[bcc69]

I’ve used mine for 3 rounds and will be returning it.  The GPS feature is not giving me accurate distances.  Sometimes it is off as much as 10 yards.  I’ll stick with my Bushnell

[Miker20890]

Had mine for about a month. Love the hole overly feature. 

[ExMrBlonde]

23 hours ago, bcc69 said:

I’ve used mine for 3 rounds and will be returning it.  The GPS feature is not giving me accurate distances.  Sometimes it is off as much as 10 yards.  I’ll stick with my Bushnell

 

I found the same thing - but realised that the GPS distances don't account for slope.  The laser does.  If you turn off slope, distances will be much closer, although still not 100% equal.

[Miker20890]

On 7/19/2021 at 11:19 PM, ExMrBlonde said:

 

I found the same thing - but realised that the GPS distances don't account for slope.  The laser does.  If you turn off slope, distances will be much closer, although still not 100% equal.

 

I had no idea the gps distances factored slope in. Makes sense why the FMB distances have been off from my shotscope watch.

[3_Jack_Par]

After waiting a few weeks, I got my Z82 earlier this week and used it for the first time yesterday. It happened to be on a course that had GPS on the carts, so I didn't use that functionality on the rangefinder all that much, but I'm liking the performance so far. What I'm a little concerned about is that the battery life seems like it might be an issue on the one that I got. I have it set to go into sleep mode after 10 seconds, which is the shortest time interval option, and I set the brightness to medium, but after a round that took about 4:15, the battery was down to 37%. I don't have a problem charging it after a couple of rounds, but there's occasionally a day when I'll play 36 holes, so I need it to last at least 10 hours on a charge (I have a charging block I can bring along, but I don't feel like I should have to do that). I'm going to be using it a couple more times on Sunday/Monday, and maybe this will prove to be a fluke, but I'm a little worried that I got one with a bad battery.

[3_Jack_Par]

On 7/23/2021 at 5:14 PM, 3_Jack_Par said:

After waiting a few weeks, I got my Z82 earlier this week and used it for the first time yesterday. It happened to be on a course that had GPS on the carts, so I didn't use that functionality on the rangefinder all that much, but I'm liking the performance so far. What I'm a little concerned about is that the battery life seems like it might be an issue on the one that I got. I have it set to go into sleep mode after 10 seconds, which is the shortest time interval option, and I set the brightness to medium, but after a round that took about 4:15, the battery was down to 37%. I don't have a problem charging it after a couple of rounds, but there's occasionally a day when I'll play 36 holes, so I need it to last at least 10 hours on a charge (I have a charging block I can bring along, but I don't feel like I should have to do that). I'm going to be using it a couple more times on Sunday/Monday, and maybe this will prove to be a fluke, but I'm a little worried that I got one with a bad battery.

I'm not sure what the issue was the first time I used it, but I've used it the last two days (charging it before both rounds), and it's been around 75% after each round. 

[Willwinz]

I really don't get why Garmin gets all the attention on WRX, voicecaddie SL2 is better in almost every way. It just doesn't have wind but the wind feature on Z82 isn't very accurate anyway