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GPS vs Rangefinder

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Rusty Dave

Rusty Dave

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Hey guys,
I received a nice gift card and now I'm contemplating buying a Bushnell V3 rangefinder. I already have a skycaddie sgx and was wondering if this would be worth it.
I like the course management that comes with using the sgx (lay ups, front back green distance, etc) but I'm wondering if the v3 would allow me to do the same only more precise? Downloading courses and syncing my sgx is also a bit of a pain.
Any comments or suggestions from guys that have both or used both?
Cheers.


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I have a leupold and love it. I can shoot a distance to pretty much anything, bunker lips, hills, trees and so on. If you get a good rangefinder then you can have an accurate distance to whatever you can get the laser to bounce off of.
 
I have both a GPS and a rangefinder. I go about 50/50 on which I use shot-to-shot, and do like having both devices at the same time.
 
I have a Leupold rangefinder and I use the phone app GPS.
I like the rangefinder better, but I use them about equally. Rangefinder is MUCH better on par 3's, to see how far to clear bunkers and exact pin yardage.
 
I like the Bushnell hybrid as I get the best of both world's.
 
I love my bushnell rangefinder (non-slope) it has saved me a lot of guess work and I typically will laser to the pin then the front to see how much run up distance I have if I come up short.
 
Thx guys. Bought the v3 online this morning.


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O'Carroll said:
I have both a GPS and a rangefinder. I go about 50/50 on which I use shot-to-shot, and do like having both devices at the same time.
Click to expand...

Do you find this slows down your game?


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Rusty Casino said:
Do you find this slows down your game?


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Click to expand...
Not at all. I have a GPS watch that only takes a second to glance down at. And my laser is always in a place that it is readily available for when I want to use that instead. It might take 5-7 seconds to shoot something with the laser.
 
O'Carroll said:
I have both a GPS and a rangefinder. I go about 50/50 on which I use shot-to-shot, and do like having both devices at the same time.
Click to expand...
I'm in the same boat. I find I use the laser to find distance to hazards, and pins only when I'm close enough to have a wedge in my hands. GPS has kept me aiming for center of green more often.
 
O'Carroll said:
Not at all. I have a GPS watch that only takes a second to glance down at. And my laser is always in a place that it is readily available for when I want to use that instead. It might take 5-7 seconds to shoot something with the laser.
Click to expand...
Agreed with the wise Irishman here. It's as fast, if not faster than, looking for some sort of gauge on the course for distance (sprinkler heads, stakes, etc) and you get an idea of front back distance with the gps and exact distance to flag with the laser sighting. Off the tee both are equally applicable.
 
I know I am late to the party here since you already made the purchase, but I would have opted for something else. I have the Bushnell V3 and while it is a good tool, I do not see it being better than the GPS tools out there. Some of the guys I play with use the GPS intruments and they are always within 1 or 2 yards of my rangefinder. I traded in a set of i20 irons about a year ago for the unit and I have missed those irons ever since. If I could do it over, I'd just get a decent GPS unit, or even use Golflogix on my phone and put the gift money elsewhere. BUT, that's just me, and I hope you enjoy the V3!
 
Nixhex524 said:
I know I am late to the party here since you already made the purchase, but I would have opted for something else. I have the Bushnell V3 and while it is a good tool, I do not see it being better than the GPS tools out there. Some of the guys I play with use the GPS intruments and they are always within 1 or 2 yards of my rangefinder. I traded in a set of i20 irons about a year ago for the unit and I have missed those irons ever since. If I could do it over, I'd just get a decent GPS unit, or even use Golflogix on my phone and put the gift money elsewhere. BUT, that's just me, and I hope you enjoy the V3!
Click to expand...

I probably would have been good with just the skycaddie but the deciding factor for me was the range time. I can now laser targets 120 and in and get a really specific feel for my wedges when practicing. Also if I don't have time to download a course, I can use the v3 with confidence.


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i use both. i have a range finder to give me exact distance to pin and i use gps watch for front/middle/back in helping with club selection.
 
I use Bushnell M1 rangefinder and Garmin S1GPS watch. Love them both. The GPS watch is pretty accurate. The RF is exceptiinal for pinpoint numbers and elevation changes.
 
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I think having both GPS and rangefinder is a good idea. I have Skycaddie SGX and use it probably 60% of the time. The main reason I like the SGX (or any GPS device) is that I can get total green depth. I tend to use the rangefinder more often for back pin placements. I can look at the SGX quickly and see the yardages middle and back. The rangefinder tells me where the pin is so especially for a course I am not real familiar with, I have an idea how much room I have behind the pin.
Good choice.
 
I have had and used both. I like the range finder as sometimes GPS seemed to lag a bit. I also like being able to shoot distances at the range (especially if its not a regular range).

Gook look with the decision.
 
I'm 100% GPS.
 
I use both, I have a Garmin S1 GPS Watch and a Laser Rangefinder (just ordered a new Nikon Coolshot AS was a Bushnell guy until I left it on a tee box and it wasn't returned to the club house). My home course also has GPS in the cart, I can calibrate my watch by that. I've also used a GPS app on my iPhone, but I found that it drained too much battery using it.

Dax
 
Rangefinder for me.
And anyone looking for a sgx let me know
 
Today was my first time to go out and use my new Bushnell Neo XS, I really did enjoy just making a glance to see what my yardage was and hit the shot. I've played with those who take the time to rangefind every shot and it can slow a game a bit but I'm not out to remove the fun from playing so I just go along.
 
I believe using both is great since then you can easily get distances to hidden hazards and you can use the laser to get exact distances to the pin. The past 5 years I have been using a GPS soley and I have had good results but now that I have the Arccos unit which effectively replaces my GPS I am looking to get a laser to assist with pin hunting. I borrowed a friends laser recently and combined with the Arcoss I had all the information needed in a timely manner to make me a lot more confident in my shot.
 
I only have a GPS device and would love to have a rangefinder in certain cases. First off would be at the range. Many ranges I frequent don't have accurate distances and some don't even have them. Other case I when you have a water hazard in play that runs diagonal as my GPS will only tell me closest and farthest distances. It would be nice to know distances at certain points, like on the left or right sides of the fairway.
 
We'll have to compare in the spring, when we can get out. I have the Garmin S1
 
I, too, use both. Laser to the pin anytime I am going for the green and GPS for everything else.
 
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