Bushnell Yardage Pro XGC Review

The Hackers Paradise has reviewed a lot of GPS devices over the last year. Some good, some not so good, and one excellent. When it comes to our reviews, one handheld GPS has set a benchmark that very few have come even close to and that device is the UPRO from Callaway. We have yet to find a device that works quite as well and has as many features as that one did…UNTIL NOW. When we last reviewed a Bushnell GPS device we thought it was a decent little GPS for the money. Enter the Yardage Pro XGC…We did not know what to expect when Bushnell said they were sending it over. However by the end of this review, you will know exactly why this reviewer at THP believes that it is the best GPS unit on the market today.

From The Company
Take your game to the next level with – the compact Yardage Pro XGC. The 2.2″ High Resolution screen gives you your last shot, as well as distance to any point on the hole, at a glance and in vivid, sun-light readable color. You can download color maps, and the unique hole up tracking feature gives you a “down the fairway” perspective, for easier and better course management. It stores up to 100 courses, and it’s scorekeeping and statistic capabilities make the Yardage Pro XGC golf’s ultimate GPS, tool.

* 2.2″ High Resolution color screen, sunlight readable
* Download custom color course maps
* Distance to any point on the hole
* Stores up to 100 courses
* Scorekeeping & statistics capabilities
* Belt clip and storage pouch included
* Rechargeable Li-lon battery
* Battery life up to 16 hours
* Rainproof
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First Impressions
When the package arrived we did not know what to expect. It came with the “usual suspects” as far as a pouch, clip, and CD software. One click to turn it on and we immediately saw a bright, vivid screen with the time displayed on it. Click the directional pad to the left or right and all your features are right there (more on those later). It seemed to be complete one handed operation. One thing that most “heavily featured” GPS units seem to lack. But right off the bat, we noticed that this was not the same as my Skycaddie. It seems to have every feature somebody would ever want and need and if they truly work, then we may have a hit on our hands. The unit is smaller than some of others we have tried and certainly smaller than my Skycaddie that I used for comparisons during this review. It has a bright color screen as we mentioned and a rechargeable battery that is said to last 4 rounds.

Accuracy
Obviously all the bells and whistles in the world will not help you if the device is not accurate. To test the accuracy of this device, we compared it to 2 other GPS units as we drove around the course for an hour. We used our Skycaddie and the GPS built into the carts at our local club. All three devices registered within 1 yard of each other at the tee boxes, at where an approach shot would be, and the green measurements. What stood out to us here was just how accurate the readings on this device were compared to pulling out a Bushnell Tour V2 Rangefinder. Each time we compared the GPS to the rangefinder, the readings were dead on and it is something we were delighted to see. The accuracy to hazards and other “points of interest” were also right on the money. Overall it is something we often take for granted and expect, but knowing just how good the accuracy was on the Bushnell Yardage Pro XGC was exactly what we were hoping for.

Features
A picture can say a thousand words, so before I get into each feature and how well it works, here are some pictures of the different features that are included in this GPS device. Keep in mind that all of this is done with one-handed operation and just by clicking one button.

The Play Golf Screen. Takes you to your course list.

News. They have both latest golf news and opinion columns.

Reviews. Equipment reviews (none from THP) as well as travel, gadgets, and so much more.

We will get into each feature that was shown above in our playing golf section of the review coming up now.

Playing Golf
Playing golf with the Bushnell Yardage Pro XGC is an absolute joy. For starters, pull up to the course and turn the unit on and there is nothing else to do. It knows where you are and comes up with the correct course each time. Once on the course you have the standard screen showing you distances to the green. One click over and you get correct yardages to any points of interest on that hole. One click over again and you bring up the over head map of the hole in which you can move the cursor to any point on the course and get the distance. You want a distance to a tree in the middle of the water? Simply 2 clicks and move the cursor. It is that easy.

The overhead map zooms in to make sure you not only have the best view but also the right distance. It works that well. They seem to have every interest point for each hole we played, but you can certainly add more with no issues at all. (more on that later) Once you finish the hole, does it go right to the next hole? Nope, but that is because the device will also keep your score for you.

The scoreboard defaults to whatever the par may be on that hole. The unit will keep overall score as well as putts per round. Just a little perk that we really liked during our testing. We were able to use the device on 3 different courses for a total of 7 rounds and not once did the unit hiccup at all with any feature. While playing the first day with it, we got backed up on a par 3 and had about a 15 minute wait. I pulled out the Bushnell and found myself reading headlines from the golf world and a few course reviews. Are they needed? Of course not, but do they come in handy? On slow days they sure did. The battery life lived up to the hype and gave us 4 full rounds on one charge and still had enough juice to probably give us one more round. We gave the device to our “senior tester” who also marveled at the ease of use and how well it worked in the sun. He spoke about how the less technology savvy golfers want something easy that still has the features. This was IT as far as he was concerned.

Mapping and Editing
Of course the Bushnell Yardage Pro XGC comes complete with the ability to map your own courses and edit already saved courses. On two of the courses we played we did not need to add anything or edit a thing. However the 3rd course added a new bunker just last week and we wanted to add that to the GPS. Simply make a few quick clicks on the device in the mapping section (shown above) and the new data was stored. It could NOT have been any easier. By far the easiest GPS we have used when it comes to mapping and editing courses.

Pricing. Membership, & Software
The Bushnell Yardage Pro XGC has a retail price of about $350. However we have seen them advertised online for as low as about $315. This is a GPS unit that works on a “membership” basis and for $35 you get 100 credits. Most 18 hole courses we looked up cost only 1 credit. However one little issue we had was that if a course had 27 holes for some reason the price wanted to default to 3 credits. We think this is more of a tech issue than anything else. With these kind of features, the $35 seems to be a much better bargain than what I am currently paying Skycaddie. The sync program that goes with the device works flawlessly and is about as easy to use as everything else we described. Simply type in the name of the course and it comes up. Download it and then sync it to the device.

Final Thoughts
We get the question asked to us almost on a weekly basis. What type of GPS or Rangefinder should I get? As a Skycaddie user for GPS and Leupold user for my rangefinder, I have never been really able to help them. The problem came down to the fact that I was never thrilled with either device. Reviewing equipment has shown me that I made mistakes when purchasing both of those devices as I have found that there are better ones at less money. For now I am kind of stuck, but I assure you when people ask me now, the answer is simple. BUSHNELL! With the Tour V2 Rangefinder and the Yardage Pro XGC, I am not sure that there are better devices out right now in either category for the money. You can read all about this product and any other Bushnell product at www.bushnellgolf.com.

Till Next Time

Josh B.

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