Precision Pro has made quite the name for themselves in a noticeably short period of time, with Rangefinder options across the spectrum as a much more palatable and direct to consumer price. Well, the company is adamant they are about to bring something totally unique and technology packed into the marketplace, it’s called the Precision Pro R1.
Precision Pro R1 Rangefinder
According to the company this is the most advanced rangefinder they have ever designed, and that there is nothing else like it out there.
As is customary with all of their products, the R1 features their 6X magnification, pulse vibration technology, magnetic cart grip, as well as a lifetime battery replacement guarantee which remains incredibly cool. This one goes much deeper, however.
Using “MYSLOPE” technology, the rangefinder adapts to the player as well as the environment by using an algorithm which combines the golfers unique ball data like launch, ball speed, and spin with the environmental variables such as temperature, humidity, and altitude. By doing this, each course now give data specific to the person using its game and needs.
While yes, this requires using the Precision Pro Golf app, you do not have to look at or use the phone during the round as the rangefinder will sync with it via Bluetooth. What makes it even more interesting is that all of this information will be displayed through the rangefinder onto its LCD screen. With a button push you get standard laser information, and with another you can get slope via the laser as well as front/middle/back through GPS, it will also give you pertinent wind data based on the current weather. Of course, this can all be turned off to make the unit USGA Conforming.
With a price of $319.99, the Precision Pro R1 is eye catching to say the very least, and we at THP will soon have a unit in hand to see if it delivers on some of the most unique design features ever integrated into a rangefinder. For more check out www.precisionprogolf.com as well as the THP community and jump into the conversation with what you think!
I rarely buy new golf equipment (mostly pre-owned stuff) and the new stuff I do buy are all from recommendations and reviews here. I’m very interested in what you find in your testing and honest review as I currently use my phone and a cheap Amazon range finder now. If I can combine the two, get more data, and there’s no subscription, I’m all for it.
I’m hoping it’ll be a fun one, some big claims for them to back up though!
That’s a bummer! I’ve been slow playing going Cobalt to give one of these a go eventually ?
Definitely not ideal. Especially with so many new offerings. The VC SL2 "looks" good. Hoping it is an improvement on the one I had. In any case, I’m glad to see more high quality offerings hitting the market.
Booo.
I’m still really excited for this one since the NX9 is going back, but the communication hasn’t been great.
No he has not. Our equipment should be here shortly from them.
Im ultra jealous! This is still on my mind big time.
it is currently charging, so we’ll go into more detail later once I am able to connect it to my phone and use it.
I’ve used the Precision Pro NX9 for the last year, so this will be a good test against it.
Contents:
– instruction manual
– lens cloth
– case
– USB to USB-C charging cable
– rangefinder
initial thoughts:
– Packaging much improved over the NX9 box. Makes it look much more quality and high-tech. We’ll see if it can live up to it, but initial reaction seeing this packaging was “this looks really cool”
– Feel is still a bit plastic-y, especially on the front of the unit, slightly more-so than the NX9. The grip and ergonomics feels a nice and natural shape in my hand.
– charging, be sure to use the supplied charging cable. I initially used an iPad USB-C charger I had plugged in on my desk, and couldn’t tell if it was working or not, and it felt a bit loose. I switched over to the supplied cable, and it immediately felt a more secured connection. The charging light is now indicating that it is indeed charging.
More updates later today once it has charged and I can play with it, and the app, a bit more.
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I plan on taking it with me to mens league on thursday for the first real test.
I have set up the app, and paired the R1 to it. Next thing I will be working on, is setting up MySlope.
MySlope looks to give a personalized slope distance, and requires each club to have data inserted. So when setting up, I have to build my bag of clubs (in my case, D, 4w, 1h, 2h, 5-AW, 54, 58), then for each of those clubs, input 3 metrics:
For the average consumer, this might be a little difficult if not impossible for them to achieve, or want to learn, these numbers. It is going to take a session and time dedicated to finding them. So while not doing it would give pretty standard slope similar to other rangefinders, it will take a bit of homework to maximize the potential of the R1. I plan on trying to book time on the local trackman to get this all set up.
Beyond those 3 measurements above, the R1 will bluetooth connect to my phone, and is said to use Temperature, Altitude, and Humidity that it gains with that connection, to create a more accurate MySlope distance. That will be interesting to test out.
The R1 itself has 2 different options, each a distinct screen activated by a mode button.
Laser Screen:
GPS Screen:
Beyond this, the app also acts similar to the Grint or other golf tracking apps. While logging score, you’ll also be able to track FIR/GIR count and misses, and putts. There is also something called "Personal Reports" and "Personal Layups". I am not sure what these are, but will explore them on Thursday when I play.
Great stuff!
The packaging makes it look premium.
So, the switch on the side. Is that to flip between screens, or is it for something else? Like turning slope off?
The switch on the side is to turn Slope off/on to make it tournament legal.
There are 2 buttons on top, the Mode button, and Laser button. It’s very quick and easy to switch between GPS and Laser.
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Very cool. Thank you ?
Alright you talked me into it…. I guess I’ll order one up as well! When available of course!!! #ChurchOfNeil
Correct, through a Bluetooth connection with the phone/App. You will have a view in the rangefinder for GPS distances, or you can use the App.
I plan on playing two 9-hole rounds tomorrow, so will have some on course feedback
the good: wonderfully capable as a rangefinder. Very quick and responsive, incredibly clear glass compared to the NX9, and I much prefer this new crosshair to the old one.
the bad:
It seems it did not have my course properly loaded for GPS. This meant any integration with the phone app, any GPS distances, were unusable. That was frustrating to figure out on the first hole.
I did test it near a course closer to home and It appeared to work there, and was really really cool. But if it doesn’t work at my home course, that’s going to be a huge letdown.
Thanks fully there was a “bug reporting” option in the app, with the broken course data as an option.
We’ll see if it gets fixed.
Thanks for all the info on this one!
the laser part is great, though doesn’t really seem to pick up on pins over ~220 yards, but that’s okay. Will need more testing. If this actually works like I think it will eventually, I’m going to love it, just need it to get to that point.
Any additional thoughts on the @xThor?
If I hadn’t bought my current one 3-4 months ago, I would be giving this a really hard look.
I’ve started to play with the club tracking, but need more time with it to truly understand it.
The good: when GPS works, it’s quick, easy, and even shows you on the screen the distance to a target that you lasered (number only, not location).
The not so good: If your course data is broken, the unit is a bit neutered. It still works well as a rangefinder, but leaves you feeling a bit disappointed that you aren’t able to use everything you should be able to.
The bad: well, not really bad, but battery life. I’m fairly confident this will only last 2 rounds on a charge. While charging it is as easy as charging a phone, it’s still a bit of a hassle to deal with as opposed to a battery that will last months on a traditional rangefinder. I believe this is due to the Bluetooth connecting, and it doesn’t really appear you can turn Bluetooth off.
I’m very glad the GPS worked yesterday at the sister course, and hope they fix their data to get it working on my home course. If the GPS didn’t work at all, I would likely consider returning this for a dedicated rangefinder.
While the optical aspects are certainly superior to the NX9, there is a definite tradeoff in battery life, and a legitimate worry of the R1 battery dying mid-round if I don’t stay on top of charging it between every other round.
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it is really helpful and super easy to switch between laser and GPS on the device.
This made the R1 worth it to me. Very quickly I knew the exact distance to the pin, then green front/center/back distances.
– ? my home course still isn’t loaded in GPS, so that’s a bit of a bummer. Will keep checking though.
– ? I cannot get it to shoot a pin over 200 yards. Sometimes I can get it to hit a tree at that distance, sometimes the ground, sometimes it won’t pick up anything and just displays dashes.
– ? when at my 2nd the GPS works and is so easy and helpful
– ? battery life. This is going to be a problem. I used it for just laser on Thursday. On Friday I did GPS as well. It died after my approach on the 17th hole on Friday. This weekend is club championship, so I’ve decided to charge it every day. Kind of annoying but whatever.
– ? the stats and reporting is quick and easy. I like seeing the aggregate data, or I have the option to generate a report over a specific date range. It takes some effort as each state is a manual entry during a round. However, there a plenty of other apps or ways to record these outside of Precision Pro.
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Overall, I’m happy with it for the price, but not as thrilled as I thought I would be. Some kinks to work out, but a solid offering.
is it better than the NX9 – yes absolutely I think so.
Are there better rangefinders on the market? Yes, I would agree with that as well. My buddy has the bushnell V5 shift, and from purely a rangefinder perspective, I find it a bit better (clarity, hitting pins at distance, battery life for sure).
I think the R1 is kind of a niche product right now, as it offers some core features that are cool, but not necessary, and unfortunately has some bugs and drawbacks (namely, battery life and target distance).
I don’t have any plans right now to return it, but I’m not going to rule that out during this 90 day period.
Forgive me if you have already mentioned it, but how is the magnet? Pretty strong?
Yes, magnet feels as strong as the NX9 and my buddys Bushnell.
No issues there.
– measuring wind
One of the selling points is that it measures wind using the gps and real-time Bluetooth connection. To date, I have yet to see any measurements of wind actually show up when using it. It is typically just a couple dashes. Not really helpful.
– loss prevention
This one was especially interesting to me, considering a few months earlier I had left an NX9 on the cart, and by the time I went back for it, it was already gone. Well, the Bluetooth pairing on the R1 does allow you to ping the rangefinder, and it does emit a sound, though it isn’t very loud. If you haven’t used the R1 for ~20-30 mins, you’ll get an alert on your phone that is has lost connection (and if using GPS, what hole it lost connection on).
This works generally well, and does give a somewhat sense of comfort in a reminder not to forget it.
again, battery life is a concern, because once it’s dead, there’s no more connection and no more updates to where it is.
we’ll see how it goes this next week or so, and start to decide if I’m going to keep it long term or not.
While it does have a ton of potential, in its current state, I’m just not satisfied.
A lot of that probably stems from the fact that my home course GPS has not been fixed in the 6 weeks I have been using it (though I have submitted the bug numerous times). If I played at our sister course more often, where the GPS does work, that would make a difference, but maybe not enough for me to keep it.
The battery life is a huge issue for me, as I am unable to really get more than 2 full rounds in, and depending on heavy use, may not last the full 2nd round. Even though it may show 3 out of 4 bars in battery, it would quickly (like within a couple holes) go completely dead.
And shooting targets, especially early in a round, continues to be a problem. It almost feels like I have to warm it up by shooting various length targets (mostly trees) multiple times before it will start to pick up pins.
I really hope they can sort out some of the issues and get this product where it needs to be. It’s a niche, but pretty cool when it does work properly.
While I would be open to trying future products of theirs, the R1 is unfortunately not worth the frustration of dealing with all of those issues right now, and is getting returned.
Really sorry it isn’t working out. Like you said, it has tons of potential…but if it’s not working, it’s not working.
Thanks for posting all the updates on this one
Interesting that you had that many issues. I haven’t had significant issues in initial testing but haven’t been able to get it on course for a round yet so we will see.
What is the number next to hole representing? think it said 11? is that 11 yards from front?
Also so, if i lazer a rock does that populate on the GPS App that I just lazered that? thats pretty sweet if it did.
The 11 is hole #11.
When you laser something, the measured number pops up on the app in the corner. It doesn’t know what or where you measured something, only gives a number.
Yeah, it’s unfortunate as there is a lot of promise within this device. But I can’t keep it for that price knowing it’s only giving me a fraction of what it is supposed to.
Do you feel this is belt and suspenders at this point? What are the benefits of having both…
Seems if I have cell phone mounted as I get image of hole and pick landing approximately quick and easy and then approach Lazer gives me f/c/b where does gps come in, hazards?
I used to use Lazer and bnell phantom, in that manner wondering what I need this for. Best case scenario.
Somewhat, yes. I have an S62 watch as well.
The GPS works as you can move around and pick points to see distances to/from, in addition it will keep your stats (gir/fir/putts/etc…). You can also input layup positions, and GPS will remember it.
it’s cool when it works, but yes overkill.
I’m going to stick with my S62 and go with that.
I am looking for an upgrade in rangefinder, but after reading your thoughts might want to hold off on updating my NX9 until I find something a little better or after Precision fixes some of the bugs you encountered. I do love my NX9
You’re welcome!
I loved my NX9 before it was stolen. So wanting to replace that, in addition to wanting additional data metrics was a driving factor.
i will say, I still have the Precision Pro app, and they still have yet to update the GPS on one of my home courses when I check the other day. Despite the dozens of tickets I submitted, it seems to have never happened.
I have since Preordered the Shot Scope Pro LX+ and am looking forward to testing that out.
Couldn’t agree more. I’d lean S62 as well here from my experience.