Pinned Golf - The Pearl Rangefinder - Unofficial Review

[Sox_Fan]

Earlier this month, I received an email stating that I had been chosen as a Brand Ambassador for Pinned Golf. Intrigued by their story and their product, I had submitted an application to join their team and was thrilled when I received the congratulatory email from them about two weeks later.

Pinned currently makes one standard rangefinder called The Pearl. They are currently developing a second unit which will feature slope readings. The Pearl retails for a very affordable $175.00. Aptly, their motto is “lowering scores, not bank accounts”. More on the features of The Pearl later in this post.


The Pinned Golf story as taken from their website ( https://www.pinnedgolf.com/ ):

Pinned was created by three average golfers who would use every excuse in the book as to why their shots didn't end up the way they would have liked. It all started on one beautiful, sunny Saturday at a course in Quincy MA. The excuse of the day just happened to be, "What the hell! I thought the pin was a lot farther away than it was!" This was followed with, "I know, I wish we had a rangefinder! Why the are they so friggen expensive?!"

Fast forward a few months and Pinned was created...

Golf is expensive! No other way of looking at it. Pinned wants to give you the luxury of using the latest rangefinder technology at half the cost the ones on the market today. Pinned's rangefindersoffer Pinned Lock Vibration Technology, are accurate to within one yard and are water resistant! We want to Improve your game without breaking the bank!


I received The Pearl rangefinder about 10 days ago, my previous rangefinder experience was limited to a Bushnell Tour v3. I finally made the jump into modern technology when I purchased that unit about 3 years ago after walking off yardages from stakes and sprinkler heads for over 35 years. I have used The Pearl for 5 rounds and must say I am thoroughly impressed. Following are the features of The Pearl as stated on the Pinned Golf website:

• PinnedLock Vibration Technology provides you with short vibrating pulses when the laser has locked onto the flag for assurance
• Instantly identify distances up to 400 yards away
• Accurate to within 1 yard
• 6x magnification
• Fast Focus System
• Measuring Time= .5-1 second
• Displays distances in either yards or meters and included tenths
• 3-Volt CR2 Battery powered
• Water resistant
• Dimensions: 3.9” X 1.7” X 3.1”
• Weight: 6.5 ounces

In the next post, I will provide a how the features of The Pearl compare to my experiences with the Bushnell Tour v3.

If anybody is interested in purchasing one of these units, entering the coupon code scottkefalas will give you free shipping.

Please feel free to post any questions in this thread or to send me a PM.

 

[Sox_Fan]

As mentioned in the OP, the only other rangefinder I have previously used is the Bushnell Tour v3. I used that unit for approximately 3 years. Below are the features of The Pearl and how they compare to my experiences with the Tour v3.

• PinnedLock Vibration Technology provides you with short vibrating pulses when the laser has locked onto the flag for assurance - This feature is equal for me as Bushnell’s PinSeeker Jolt technology basically serves the same purpose. I have not experienced any “false readings” with The Pearl whereas the Tour v3 would often pick up a tree or some other object on the first try to shoot the pin.
• Instantly identify distances up to 400 yards away - Tour v3 rated as 300+ yards to a flag. I have never seen a reason to shoot a distance over 250 yards since I can’t hit the ball any further than that.
• Accurate to within 1 yard - Same accuracy claim on both units.
• 6x magnification - Tour v3 features 5X.
• Fast Focus System - Both units provide the ability to focus the view.
• Measuring Time= .5-1 second - I could not find any hard stats on the Tour v3 measuring time, but from personal experience, The Pearl returns the yardage to the target seemingly a good bit quicker.
• Displays distances in either yards or meters and includes tenths - Both units can give distances in both units of measure but the Tour v3 does not give distance readings to the tenth.
• 3-Volt CR2 Battery powered - Same battery in both units.
• Water resistant - Same feature on both units.
• Dimensions: 3.9” X 1.7” X 3.1” - Tour v3 is 4.3” X 1.6” X 2.8”.
• Weight: 6.5 ounces - Tour v3 is slightly heavier at 7.4 ounces.

Additionally, The Pearl sells for approximately $100 less than the standard Bushnell Tour v3 did. The one advantage I saw in the Tour v3 over The Pearl was that it came with a much better and higher quality carrying case. Not a concern for me (I have always put my rangefinder in the net on my Clicgear 3.5+ for quick and easy access during play and store it in a velour lined pocket in my bag while not playing) but it may be for others.

 

[McLovin]

next time i'm in the market for a rangefinder, sounds like i should consider these guys. really nice job with the writeup!

 

[JB]

Sox Fan,
Is it just another one of the companies buying cheap rangefinders and putting their logo on them? Or is it a device they manufacture? I know Precision Pro touched on this in their Quick Six on the THP Home Page last year.
The laser companies are popping up faster than golf ball companies are and knowing what goes into some of the creations, it seems crazy to me outside of buying off the shelf factory products.

 

[Sox_Fan]

next time i'm in the market for a rangefinder, sounds like i should consider these guys. really nice job with the writeup!

Thanks! It is a really high quality unit. I was shocked at how fast it returned the distance I was seeking. There are 4 greens on my home course where I always had to try about 3 or 4 times to get the actual pin due to trees close behind the green using the Bushnell. Not so with this unit. Put the pin in the cross hairs and it hits it every time.

 

[JDax]

Sox Fan,
Is it just another one of the companies buying cheap rangefinders and putting their logo on them? Or is it a device they manufacture? I know Precision Pro touched on this in their Quick Six on the THP Home Page last year.
The laser companies are popping up faster than golf ball companies are and knowing what goes into some of the creations, it seems crazy to me outside of buying off the shelf factory products.

I was thinking the same thing... is this a rebranded Bushnell V3? It looks very similar....


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Sox_Fan]

Sox Fan,
Is it just another one of the companies buying cheap rangefinders and putting their logo on them? Or is it a device they manufacture? I know Precision Pro touched on this in their Quick Six on the THP Home Page last year.
The laser companies are popping up faster than golf ball companies are and knowing what goes into some of the creations, it seems crazy to me outside of buying off the shelf factory products.

I don't know but will inquire. I do know it works better than the Bushnell I had been using. Faster and picks up the pins better as opposed to registering trees and such behind the pin.

 

[Sox_Fan]

I was thinking the same thing... is this a rebranded Bushnell V3? It looks very similar....


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Cosmetically, it does look just like the v3. The dimensions and weight are slightly different though.

 

[JB]

I don't know but will inquire. I do know it works better than the Bushnell I had been using. Faster and picks up the pins better as opposed to registering trees and such behind the pin.

Thats a good thing. Although the V3 is about 6 years old now haha, I would hope so.
Looking forward to what you find out.

 

[DataDude]

Thanks for the write up Sox Fan. My Leupold is still kicking, but I would love to get the same thing for $100 less (Duh right).

 

[SpartanLife]

Damn I could have told them about several companies selling for this price or less

 

[Sox_Fan]

Sox Fan,
Is it just another one of the companies buying cheap rangefinders and putting their logo on them? Or is it a device they manufacture? I know Precision Pro touched on this in their Quick Six on the THP Home Page last year.
The laser companies are popping up faster than golf ball companies are and knowing what goes into some of the creations, it seems crazy to me outside of buying off the shelf factory products.

Not surprisingly, I never received a reply from them regarding this subject. In fact, I have received no communication at all from them since sending an email of inquiry to them about this and a few other questions I had. I guess I am out of the program for being a squeaky wheel. Haha

 

[JB]

Not surprisingly, I never received a reply from them regarding this subject. In fact, I have received no communication at all from them since sending an email of inquiry to them about this and a few other questions I had. I guess I am out of the program for being a squeaky wheel. Haha

Thanks for trying.

 

[pumbaa]

I was hoping to see some more info on this thing. I cant justify spending too much on a range finder(which I could spend on Irons or lessons), so I was hoping there would finally be a budget option worth while but with the way the just cut all contact and nothing else is really out there about it I'd rather just buy one of the sub $100 Amazon units since this is probably the same thing.

 

[Sox_Fan]

I was hoping to see some more info on this thing. I cant justify spending too much on a range finder(which I could spend on Irons or lessons), so I was hoping there would finally be a budget option worth while but with the way the just cut all contact and nothing else is really out there about it I'd rather just buy one of the sub $100 Amazon units since this is probably the same thing.

I have no complaints about the unit. It is solid and definitely serves it's intended purpose.

 

[pumbaa]

I have no complaints about the unit. It is solid and definitely serves it's intended purpose.

Just to be sure it does not do slope correct.

 

[Sox_Fan]

Just to be sure it does not do slope correct.

That is correct. Just a standard unit. I play on relatively flat courses so never have considered it necessary to spend the extra cash for the slope option.