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GPS vs Range Finder

SuperStroke
I am really looking into the Golf Buddy, There was a write up on it from the Home Page and it looked really interesting and a good price!!!
 
I currently use the Bushnell XGC+ for my GPS and love it, it's easy to use and have mounted on my :clicgear: for front/middle/back yardages and layups. But from time to time I find myself wanting to know exact yardages to the pin, or maybe an object. We have prisms on our flag sticks and the laser range finders are very popular on our course. But I'm curious what the best value one would be to buy? And it wouldn't even have to be a laser, the bushnell and other's that can ping a non-flag item is kind of interesting as well. It's more of a wishlist item, but will probably add one soon!
 
jdtox said:
Never even really considered using a rangefinder as they are so expensive compared to using my phone's GPS. However after recently seeing a commercial for a rangefinder stating on how to use the range finder for practice to know exactly how far you hit your irons, made perfect sense.

That alone would be useful info. I mean I know what club I have to hit for what distance, but I think if nothing else it could be a great practice tool? Still gonna have a hard time dropping $300 on one. Thats almost half of a new set of irons!!
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Not sure you need a rangefinder for that.
Maybe its more accurate if you can target your precise ball location and landing place, but i heard they _really_ like to snap to targets they pick for themselves.

On the other hand, isn't this featured in many GPS golf apps?
I've just started looking into this (new phone day, yay!), and downloaded golflogix. It has a club tracker, allowing you to input your club selection, then it tracks your old vs new location to determine distance.
Hands you a new distance, asks for next club, repeat.

Now i'm just waiting for their response for tracking outside of mapped courses. My clubs courses and the other course i visit most often are not mapped :E GPS should be able to track distance regardless, no idea if playing outside a known course messes with the app. If it does, thats a place for rangefinders.
 
Rangefinder

Rangefinder

Are they worth it or is a GPS (Skycaddie or similar) better?
 
I merged this one with a huge thread that might have all the info you are looking for.
 
Don't settle. Bushnell Hybrid FTW!
 
JB said:
I merged this one with a huge thread that might have all the info you are looking for.
Click to expand...

JB whats your opinion?
 
They both have there ups and downs.. I have used both on numerous occasions. GPS is great for on course use, distances to front-back-center that you cant exactly see with eye. Rangefinder is better in some cases where you can see a specific target clearly and wish to know the distance. They are also great at the driving range espcaially from an evalvated driving range. I recently bought and returned a Bushnell Tour V2 because i quickly realized it was not worth the $300. With the rangefinders you need to make sure the courses you play have some sort of prizim or reflective tape around the flagstick for it to pick up if you wish to get an accurate reading.. With the Bushnell i probaly got an accurate reading a dozen times in 3-4 rounds of play and cost me some much needed strokes.

All in all they both have pro's and cons.. Buy Both. but if you can get one.... SKYCADDIE SGX
 
I've got the Golf Shot GPS app on my iPhone, but as soon as the finances will allow it...I will be picking up a Rangefinder. Imo, you can shoot the pins on the range to get exact yardages, and make practice more efficient, and it's also nice to know exact yardages on the course. I will use them both on the course (GPS when I have a blind shot or want a yardage to a lay up), but at least some tournaments will allow me to use the Rangefinder, so it's a must have for me.

I'll be going with a Bushnell.
 
They both have pros and cons. I have both a SGX and a Bushnell TE 1500 with slope and I wind up using both.

The pros to the GPS are I have every yardage one could need no matter if I'm in the fairway 250yds straight ahead or 250 yds off but 40 yards right or left of the fairway. The negative to GPS is that if the battery dies and it's not a replaceable kind, there's the end of that. Also if the course isn't on there (rare but it happens sometimes) then it's pretty useless. Also, sometimes the course may be on there but it only gives you front center and back yardages. That's not always bad unless there's a hazard in a fairway to cross and you'd like to know the distance to it and to carry it. Then you sometimes have a problem.

Rangefinder: I can always laser to the pin, to carry a hazard, distance to a tree, etc. With mine, I have a yardage to X target within 3 seconds. The negative is you do need a line of sight to the target for it to be effective. If you're blocked out by trees, it can be a pain trying to duck under branches in order to hit the flag. I've not noticed issues with not picking up the right target. Sometimes if you get a bad reading, you can deduce that really quickly by just knowing where you are off the tee to begin with. If you're inside the 150 marker to a front pin and it says 165, you've probably picked up the wrong target, try again haha. The other negative is you have the tendency to fire at the flag a lot more because you're inclined to want to see how far you are to it. The flagstick shouldn't always be your target.
 
I am really interested in buying one now after reading a little bit through these. I don't want to spend too much on a range finder but I don't want to get stuck with one of those walmart brand "range" finders lol

any suggestions?
 
GPS tends to be slightly cheaper, but they have to have the golf course you want to play in their database. I stick to the Laser Range finder for this reason, only the country clubs around here are usually available on the GPS units. If I lived in a bigger city I'd for sure go GPS.
 
leiruagetro said:
I am really interested in buying one now after reading a little bit through these. I don't want to spend too much on a range finder but I don't want to get stuck with one of those walmart brand "range" finders lol

any suggestions?
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When I try to find one on a budget, I plan on getting a top tier model in the BST or on the bay...used should cut the cost down a bit, I'd think.
 
InHartWeTrust said:
When I try to find one on a budget, I plan on getting a top tier model in the BST or on the bay...used should cut the cost down a bit, I'd think.
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Awesome I will look there, I really want a decent bushnell, they make great military scopes.
 
Any thoughts on this?

[h=1]Bushnell Yardage Pro Sport 450[/h]
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http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dl...&ssPageName=VIP:watchlink:top:en#ht_500wt_927
 
Call me old fashioned, but there's something about using good ole estimation and yardage markers. Don't get me wrong, some of the rangefinder and GPS technology is amazing, but part of the intrigue and challenge for me with golf is seeing how well I can hone my swing AND my course management skills. Hitting a shot dead on when knowing your distance is great. But when I do that using my analytical skills to boot, there's nothing better in my book.
 
I am really interested in a rangefinder now instead of a GPS, I think it will be better for me, any suggestions that people have? I may want to stick to bushnell
 
Tour V2 should be good. Watch for deals.. I picked up the patriot pack for $240 with a coupon at a local sporting goods store.

Again just make sure the courses you play have reflective markings on the flagsticks or your not going to get use out of the " pinseeking technoligy "
 
I have the Bushnell Scout 1000 w/ARC and it works great, but I ended up never using it and liking my GPS a lot better.
 
InHartWeTrust said:
When I try to find one on a budget, I plan on getting a top tier model in the BST or on the bay...used should cut the cost down a bit, I'd think.
Click to expand...
I have just purchased a GPS unit over a range finder.
I did a lot of reading about both and the one thing that seemed to jump out about range finders was the alignment of the laser within the range finder itself. It seemed a lot of folks had problems after dropping or allowing the range finder to "rattle" around in the cart. The repair always involved returning to the item to the factory for realignment.
Just my 2 cents.
 
stlgolfer said:
Call me old fashioned, but there's something about using good ole estimation and yardage markers. Don't get me wrong, some of the rangefinder and GPS technology is amazing, but part of the intrigue and challenge for me with golf is seeing how well I can hone my swing AND my course management skills. Hitting a shot dead on when knowing your distance is great. But when I do that using my analytical skills to boot, there's nothing better in my book.
Click to expand...

I couldn't disagree more. What does guessing your yardage have to do with course management?
 
airguard said:
I have just purchased a GPS unit over a range finder.
I did a lot of reading about both and the one thing that seemed to jump out about range finders was the alignment of the laser within the range finder itself. It seemed a lot of folks had problems after dropping or allowing the range finder to "rattle" around in the cart. The repair always involved returning to the item to the factory for realignment.
Just my 2 cents.
Click to expand...

That's interesting, I've actually never heard of this issue. Anyone else?
 
I absolutely suck at estimating distances so I have both an SGX as well as a simple Bushnell laser rangefinder. My pros/cons are pretty similar to others who have posted. I really like the SGX for the score-keeping capabilities. I can upload my scores to their website and track progress of my game over time. It does have it's drawbacks in my opinion. Reaction time when changing functions. I do find myself fiddling with the thing between holes alot. As someone else mentioned, on certain courses, it only provides distances to the greens, no hole layout. That is a drawback and a bit frustrating on a new course especially if there is no hole map on the scorecard.

The rangefinder is quick, easy to use but you need a steady hand to get an accurate read...after awhile, you figure it out though. It does provide a quicker check on distances to hazards or other objects...unlike the SGX, there is no messing around with menus, functions or joysticks to determine ranges. You just point and shoot and you have your distance. Very straightforward.

I actually prefer the SGX mainly for the score-keeping functionality, but do find I spend more time messing around with it between holes. (annoys my wife, and sometimes me if the thing reacts slow or I inadvertently select the wrong function...it's just not as user-friendly as I think it could be. I dont like carrying either one to the ball if it's a cart path only day. I'll shoot my distance from the cart if I am parallel with my ball and go with that. I like them both but think a GPS is more robust as a golf aid.
 
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