Golf GPS or Rangefinder

[trembly01]

I'm in the market for either a Skycaddie GPS or a rangefinder from bushnell or leupold. I have used rangefinders before but couple golf buddies of mine have skycaddies and they love them. Is there any benefits of one over another ? any input or feedback would be greatly appreciated.....

[motofrog]

I'm in the same boat, however I'm a beginner so I went with the GPS so I can see the hazards and use it to figure out how far I can really hit my individual clubs. It will also allow me to track scores and other metrics which should allow me to see if the lessons are paying off.

I am however digging on a rangefinder and want one for hunting so I am probably going to go with the Bushnell G-Force 1300 when they are released as they can be had cheaper than the Tour Z6. It has similar features bullseye instead of pinseeker. The kicker is I have quite the stash of Cabela's Club points saved up from paying for the kid's daycare with the Cabela's Visa. The G-Force 1300 ARC Is not conforming but it also has a 1 year 100% Money Back Guarantee so I feel pretty safe knowing I can return it if it takes a dump within a year and is under warranty for 2 should it fail after the first year is up.
[url="http://www.bushnell.com/downloads/Bullet-Proof-Money-Back-Guarantee.pdf"]Bushnell Bulletproof Guarantee[/url]


Just have to wait for that thing to show up on cabelas.com

[BirdiesnBogeys]

The SkyCaddie will give you mpre than just one mnumber at a time, plus you don't have to point and shoot the target that you are looking for. The have Intelligreen that rotates the green based on your apppeoach angle and will always give you the true Front carry, middle and back numbers to the grren from your perspective. The HoleVUe they have is very nice, I can get a distance to anywhere on the hole and have a distnace from there to the middle of the green, whic helps me with my game manangement. There is no other GPS rangefinder that is more accurate and more dependable (IMO), than SkyCaddie. I hav ethe newsest unit that they have out, SGXw, I lov ethis device as it has a wireless feature that allows me to download a course via a Wi-Fi connection, if i need to do so. Go to [url="http://www.skygolf.com"]www.skygolf.com[/url] and look around at their devices.

[avgjoe]

have had a couple of gps in the past few yrs, and sold em all... the downsides for me were:
[list][*]subscription needed (less common now), and gotta pay for advanced features[*]need to load courses (less common now), so tied to computer[*]need to remember to turn on and allow to acquire sat signal before using[*]need to remember to charge batteries or make sure they are charged up[*]units would drop/lose sat signal (even w/ new sirf III chipset), or lag in giving a reading[*]need to advance holes (most now have auto-advance)[*]F-C-B only on most (not a huge dealbreaker)[/list]all of that wasn't a big deal individually, but together made for a pita, esp when travelling

[lenrex]

[quote name='trembly01' timestamp='1329964896' post='4355053']
I'm in the market for either a Skycaddie GPS or a rangefinder from bushnell or leupold. I have used rangefinders before but couple golf buddies of mine have skycaddies and they love them. Is there any benefits of one over another ? any input or feedback would be greatly appreciated.....
[/quote]

I have the Bushnell Hybrid. Why not have the best of both worlds. Laser is good because it lets you know how far the pin's are. You can also shoot parts of a green or bunkers as well. GPS gives you front center and back. So knowing how far the pin is, plus how far the front or back is lets you know how much room you have to play with. It'll also give you some other miscellaneous yardages like fairway bunkers or water, but they're not that detailed.

[avgjoe]

The hybrid isn't really the 'best' of both worlds... it's the low-end neo+ stuck on a midrange v2. still, each unit is solid, altho the neo+ is one that I had problems w signal loss (2 brand new units). But then again, one prob wont be putting the hybrid in your pocket

[rblmp32]

Range finder. That way you're not limited to what the GPS shows you, you can shoot anything you want. Helps for range practice too.

[kbrussell]

[quote name='avgjoe' timestamp='1330008863' post='4357843']
have had a couple of gps in the past few yrs, and sold em all... the downsides for me were:
[list][*]subscription needed (less common now), and gotta pay for advanced features[*]need to load courses (less common now), so tied to computer[*]need to remember to turn on and allow to acquire sat signal before using[*]need to remember to charge batteries or make sure they are charged up[*]units would drop/lose sat signal (even w/ new sirf III chipset), or lag in giving a reading[*]need to advance holes (most now have auto-advance)[*]F-C-B only on most (not a huge dealbreaker)[/list]all of that wasn't a big deal individually, but together made for a pita, esp when travelling



[/quote]



The deal breaker for me was the battery... if I cut out on short notice to the club, I have to worry about the charge... with my bushnell, I have an extra battery in my bag all the time... Also, I found the GPS (I had a sky caddie sg5) was ultimately less convent, and found I was just as happy ranging items like creek banks, eye... AND I always knew the distance TO THE FLAG....

[Par Fore]

I personally prefer the GPS, I have used both and I understand that falback of batteries and of GPS in general. However, this is why I like the GPS. It is faster for me to use, and I use it as often for layup yardages over hazards as I do for flag locations. I'm not good enough of a ball striker for a couple of yards to matter to me. Case in point, a couple of weeks ago I was playing a four man scramble. I had my gps and my buddy had his range finder. for the first few holes we used both manily because he didn't trust the yardages. but after a couple of holes he realized that the yardages were pretty close, I was using an upro classic with promode so I would move the courser to where the fag was. so anyway after about four holes his range finder didn't come out of his bag. I had yardages alot faster even moving the cursor and when he had to lay up it wsa much better. So having said that either tool is good and will be helpful. I just find that for they way I play and my skill level a GPS is more handy

[The Golfing Boy]

I prefer the rangefinder. I do have a GPS and a Rangefinder and I still strongly reccomend one over the other. The tour V2 seems extremely accurate. My buddies and I always try to compare the GPS readings to the Tour V2 readings, and it always seems the rangefinder has a much more accurate reading. Just a reccomendation. GLWB

[The Golfing Boy]

I prefer the rangefinder. I do have a GPS and a Rangefinder and I still strongly reccomend one over the other. The tour V2 seems extremely accurate. My buddies and I always try to compare the GPS readings to the Tour V2 readings, and it always seems the rangefinder has a much more accurate reading. Just a reccomendation. GLWB