GPS vs Range Finder

I have both. For the GPS I use the Golfshot app for my iPhone. At a $30 one-time price it's hard to beat as I don't like paying yearly or whatever to use it, plus I love the stat keeping that comes with it. For the rangefinder I have the Bushnell V2 with slope. It's a very handy tool with a few limitations. I'm not able to use it in weekly competitions and tournaments and that's where the Golfshot app comes in handy.

I'm the same, but it was £17.99 for me. I don't bother with a rangefinder though, I use the GPS to get the front and back green distances and then club accordingly depending on where the pin is located
 
For the record, I have not used a rangefinder for an entire 18 holes, only sporadically throughout the 18, but I am entirely for GPS units, with one major stipulation. They MUST have a feature that allows a click and drag for distances.

My uPro mx allows me to touch the screen and drag all around the green for specific distances, giving me the confidence in length I need to be able to attack my approach shots.. I strongly recommend it.
 
A couple years ago I bought the Bushnell Scout 1000, I think that's the model. It's made for hunting, but exactly the same as the golf model, only $50 cheaper. I am tempted to get one of those GPS with fly overs though.
 
A couple years ago I bought the Bushnell Scout 1000, I think that's the model. It's made for hunting, but exactly the same as the golf model, only $50 cheaper. I am tempted to get one of those GPS with fly overs though.

Does it have Pinseeker mode like the golf model?
 
Totally voting for the Bushnell Hybrid. I LOVE it. I use the laser most of the time, but it's nice to have the GPS when there's a dogleg or something in the line of sight.

If I had to choose 1, I'd go laser for sure.
 
Which GPS app would you recommend for blackberry's?
 
I had a rangefinder when they first came out years ago. Cumbersome and although today's are much sleeker, I'm sure I'd still find it a pain to laser most every shot.

I use a Golf Guru gps and have been extremely happy with it. A regular playing partner has a Bushnell rangefinder and my Golf Guru has never been off by more than a few yards. When the pin is cut to a strange location, I'll have to do some calculations but that's golf. My gps always give me a great basis to form my decisions.

Love the ease and accuracy of my Guru.
 
Gps Pros: gives you a yardage
Cons: gives the wrong yardage, expensive, annual fees, downloading courses, nothing good about it.

Rangefinder Pros: reasonable price, fast, easy, accurate to less than a yard, no annual fees
Cons: ....

My opinion: rangefinder would be your best bet.
 
Gps Pros: gives you a yardage
Cons: gives the wrong yardage, expensive, annual fees, downloading courses, nothing good about it.

Rangefinder Pros: reasonable price, fast, easy, accurate to less than a yard, no annual fees
Cons: ....

My opinion: rangefinder would be your best bet.

Rangefinder cons: How do you know how far it is to that hazard on the other side of the dogleg? How do you know how far it is to a green that you can't see because you are on the other side of a hill and you are in the wrong fairway?

A GPS doesn't give you the WRONG yardage. It just doesn't give you the exact yardage. And most of us don't need to know to the yard.
 
Gps Pros: gives you a yardage
Cons: gives the wrong yardage, expensive, annual fees, downloading courses, nothing good about it.

Rangefinder Pros: reasonable price, fast, easy, accurate to less than a yard, no annual fees
Cons: ....

My opinion: rangefinder would be your best bet.

Rangefinder cons: How do you know how far it is to that hazard on the other side of the dogleg? How do you know how far it is to a green that you can't see because you are on the other side of a hill and you are in the wrong fairway?

A GPS doesn't give you the WRONG yardage. It just doesn't give you the exact yardage. And most of us don't need to know to the yard.

And one more thing that Smallie did not ask. How is a Pro for the rangefinder price, when you can get a GPS for less or the same price as the rangefinder?
 
And one more thing that Smallie did not ask. How is a Pro for the rangefinder price, when you can get a GPS for less or the same price as the rangefinder?

That's the exact reason I have GPS instead of a rangefinder. Golfshot cost me $15 since I split it with a buddy. From my experience playing with friends that have rangefinders and taking some from the pro shop out for a round I've found Golshot to always be very accurate plus it gives me front, middle, back of the green, carry distances to and over bunkers.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
And one more thing that Smallie did not ask. How is a Pro for the rangefinder price, when you can get a GPS for less or the same price as the rangefinder?

Pretty much why I have a GPS too, for the price I don't think Golfshot can be beaten. As others have said yes it doesn't give exact yardages to the pins but it is not hard to roughly work out what the yardage is using the front and back measurements. It's fine for me and means I don't have to carry another device around with me, as I always have my phone on me.
 
Gps Pros: gives you a yardage
Cons: gives the wrong yardage, expensive, annual fees, downloading courses, nothing good about it.

Rangefinder Pros: reasonable price, fast, easy, accurate to less than a yard, no annual fees
Cons: ....

My opinion: rangefinder would be your best bet.

Man I had no idea my skycaddie was giving me the wrong yardage.
 
I am a GPS guy. I tried both a rangefinder and a GPS unit before buying and decided on the GPS. I keep it mounted on my push cart and do not have to do anything to get my distances to targets or areas except push a button sometimes. I currently have the SkyCaddie SG5 and love it. It may cost $30 a year after the initial price, but it does everything I need it to, but I don't play outside of my state often and it updates any changes that are made or upgrades the course files.

The reason I went with a GPS is so I could visually see mainly the greens, get front,back, middle distances and see an overlay of the hole before starting the hole. I consider myself a decent golfer, but it is rare that knowing I have "exactly" 180 to the pin actually helps my game. I would rather know that I have 170 to the front edge and 190 to the back edge with the pin marked as being in the middle. At least on my SG5, I can move where I believe the pin is on the green to get a decent idea of what the pin distance is, but again, that is going to be a guide. It also helps to know the shape of the green from the angle you are coming in from. Obviously, there is more of a benefit from knowing more accurate distances at shorter ranges, but at least for me, a GPS works.

Either way, whether using a rangefinder or GPS, I can promise that you will have more accurate numbers than pacing off from markers, trees or numbers on the cart path. Either one will help your game. If you can, try both. Borrow from friends, the course, someone and get them out there and try them.

Best of luck to you.
 
Laser Rangefinder v's GPS

Laser Rangefinder v's GPS

Any thoughts or preferences, the GPS seems to be the obvious choice but I think I would like the flexability of getting any yardage I can for lay up's hazards etc which may not be plotted on the GPS.

Any one got both or either and would like to add their thoughts?
 
i use a bushnell tour v2 and I've got to say that it has really helped my game from 100 yards and in purely because i know how far i have to hit it and then i can see if i achieved that when i get to the green. For the longer shots i usually just judge the club by the distance to the nearest 5 yards. it is useful when laying up on par 5's and even par 4 tee shots if there are bunkers to avoid/carry. Also when playing courses i don't normally play its great to find the correct yardage on par 3's as some scorecards aren't very accurate if the green is very long.
The only problem is that you can only get a yardage to the flag and that sometimes makes me play straight at it when i really shouldn't be, but as long as i hit the club about the correct distance then it shouldn't be a problem too much.
 
alot of gps devices such as the sky caddie sgx will give you numbers for many targets on the hole such as lay ups,bunkers, ditches etc as well as a good top down view of the hole. Also you can move the pointer anywhere on the hole and it will give you the distance. Thus you could move the target marker to the point where you would want to lay up on the hole and it will give you the distance to the target and distance left to the green. The disadvantage of the sky caddie is the yearly subscription, however i love mine and would not part with it.
 
theres other threads on this already. search and you will find them... i have a bushnel hybrid its a gps and rangefinder.
 
so here is my two cents. I have no direct experience with Range Finders but have seen them in action. I have owned two GPS's (Skycaddie SG3 and updated to SGX this past spring)

GPS:
Pros: (at least with the new SkyCaddie SGX)
- Can get a yardage on just about every distance even if you can't see what you are measuring.
- Cons: Yearly Subscription; Need to download a course; Accuracy of the yardages given can be off by 5-10 yds (although I find the SGX incredible and greatly improved to the SG3 and at the last tournament I played, was giving the exact yardages my two playing partners had with their range finders.)

Range Finder:
- Pros: Accurate to 1 yd. Can be used anywhere without subscription or downloading a course, including the practice area.
- Cons: Can't measure a distance if you can't see what you are measuring. (again, that same tournament, provided a yardage to a water hazzard that we couldn't see from the tee, but could reach).
Can sometime pick up the incorrect measurement because the device grabs something in the distance of what you are measuring.
 
I used a rangefinder for three or four years, but now use a GPS. I'll take the GPS handsdown. So far, every course I have played since buying my Golf Buddy World, all the bunkers/hazards etc. have been plotted with yardages in the original setup. I have yet to have to add anything.
 
You could get the Bushnell hybrid and have the best of both worlds. I have used GPS in the past, and I bought myself a Bushnell Tour V2 yesterday. After only one use I prefer the laser to know and have confidence in exact yardages. I know I'm giving up some things with the laser, like a whole hole overview, but I'm OK with that for now.
 
Don't tell Kevin.
 
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