Which Laser Rangefinder

[PhilTheFragger]

At Aylesbury Park, there is no indication whether the flag is in the front. middle or back of the greens, and with some "Mounding" surrounding the greens, you often cant tell. Some of the greens are quite large too, so could be 1 or 2 clubs out

Therefore I think I might have to follow little Chubby Bro and get a laser rangefinder.

The one of choice appears to be the Bushnell V2 Tour and these come up on Ebay regularly and go for about £160 , Im aware of the need to NOT have the slope feature

However I dont necessarily want to copy cat little Bro, so are there any other models/ makes out there that you lot have experience of, that you could recommend.

Anyone heard of the Bentley Solar Powered one?

Or Hawke 400? Or should I just go for the V2

Fragger

 

[The_ACE]

Bushnell medalist is good for me, same basic function and nice and compact. Wouldn't buy second hand just for the reasurrance of warranty with a pro

 

[fundy]

Bushnell are supposed to have a new model due out end March/early April so may be worth waiting a month or 2 and trying to pick up either the new one, or the older one a bit cheaper

 

[Bobmysterkaymer]

I'm going for the bushnell 1600 pro tournament just because the pros use it (not really) but because it's waterproof and bushnell have a good reputation. The v2tour looks good but isn't fully waterproof!

 

[need_my_wedge]

I got the Nikon 350 for 180 on eBay. Really good bit of kit, recommend it.

 

[Imurg]

I know what you're saying about the mounding as that's why I got one but I'm not sure you actually need one.
You already have the GPS and this gives you a distance to the front, middle and back.
Not putting down higher handicappers but with a 22 handicap aiming for the middle of the green every time wouldn't be a bad play.
I can go for pins as I (allegedly) have more control over my distances.
You don't lose many shots once you get to the green. Mostly it's a 2 putt, sometimes 3. It's takiing 3, 4 or more to get there that's holding you back.
Work on the chipping and pitching around the green rather than get a laser that won't help you hit more greens in the first place.

 

[Scottjd1]

I had the Bushnell V2 and really happy with it, I am claiming for a replacement due to loss so willget another although I might have a quick look at the Nikon 350 first. Will probably get new due to warranty as already mentioned..

 

[G1BB0]

I know what you're saying about the mounding as that's why I got one but I'm not sure you actually need one.
You already have the GPS and this gives you a distance to the front, middle and back.
Not putting down higher handicappers but with a 22 handicap aiming for the middle of the green every time wouldn't be a bad play.
I can go for pins as I (allegedly) have more control over my distances.
You don't lose many shots once you get to the green. Mostly it's a 2 putt, sometimes 3. It's takiing 3, 4 or more to get there that's holding you back.
Work on the chipping and pitching around the green rather than get a laser that won't help you hit more greens in the first place.

Ignore him, get what you want. I find a GPS totally proficient and in fact my last few months I just used yardage markers

its only a few quid at the end of the day and we waste a lot more on other golfing crap

 

[bluewolf]

Why don't you look at the hillman laser rangefinders? Search on this site for a few threads on these and you'll find that they get cracking reviews and at less than £110 delivered, the price can't be beat. I have the 1500 model and it does everything I need it to.

 

[JT77]

I had a bushnell v2 which I sold as I didnt think I needed it. just bought another before christmas as I really missed it! Great job, not too dear, would imagine that they all do a job, the nikon ones are meant to be very good too a playing partner has one and likes it.
I agree with imurg though, if you have a gps device, do you really need one?

 

[RichardC]

Why don't you look at the hillman laser rangefinders? Search on this site for a few threads on these and you'll find that they get cracking reviews and at less than £110 delivered, the price can't be beat. I have the 1500 model and it does everything I need it to.

Seconded.

My wife sneaked a look on here and saw a thread talking about them, so she got me one for my birthday

Before I got one, the only time I had used one was when we played The Grove and I tried the Nikon. The Hillman is very well built and works extremely well.

 

[Region3]

I too tried the Nikon at The Grove because I'd forgotten my SkyCaddie.

I had a particularly good 9 holes with a few tap in birdies and I put it down to knowing the exact yardage from inside 100yds rather than just the centre of the green so I bought one 2nd hand off Ebay.

An example to the downside of them. One of the holes at The Grove was over water to the green and although I knew exactly how far the flag was we couldn't tell if it was at the front, middle, or back of the green. From about 180-190 out I wasn't going at the flag so a GPS would have been better to know the minimum carry I needed.

If I were buying again today I'd seriously consider the Hillman ones.

 

[GB72]

Not really a practical comment but Bushnell have been very helpful in my Help for Heroes prize hunting so get my vote.

 

[Ethan]

I got the Nikon 350 for 180 on eBay. Really good bit of kit, recommend it.

I had a Nikon which I thought was great, then it mysteriously disappeared while my golf bag was at Heathrow, so I got a Bushnell V2.

I preferred the Nikon which I thought fixed on the target more reliably.

 

[Stub]

Don't understand the advantage of a range-finder over the Garmin S1 GPS wristwatch which gives you distance to front, centre and back of green from wherever you are. Also measures shot distances (disadvantage if you believe all your drives are 300yds+).

Only disdavantage I can see is that the Garmin doesn't gives distances to intermediate hazards such as fairway bunkers etc but I can live with this for the shear convenience, plus it makes estimating intermediate distances easier in any event.

 

[USER1999]

I have a V2. I also have a sky caddie. I liked the Nikon I trialled at The Grove, but I got a better deal on the V2. It works fine.

The GPS and the lazer do different things, so to me, it's worth having both if you can afford it. I certainly don't bother with the lazer on second shots into par 5s, so the GPS is useful for that, along with dog legs, and carries over stuff. From 180 and in, I like the lazer. I still can't get on the green, but it makes me feel like I might.

If I really want to feel that I hit it like a wuss, I lazer the targets at the driving range. The 175 is only 145, the 145 is 122, the 200 is 180, and the 235 is 215. The back fence is out of range at 230. I think they do this as the balls are about 80%, may be less. the harder you hit them, the less far they go.

The 45 yards are resonably ok, at 43 yards.

On the paractice ground I like to put a marker out at what ever distance I am practicing, so I can walk out, and zap my bag to find where to put it. Harder to do this with a gps (not impossible, just harder).

 

[AmandaJR]

Replying to this to bump it and get more feedback/reviews. I use a GPS and have always been happy with it but can't help but wonder about a laser - maybe even as well as! Today on our 12th hole my partner hit a screamer leaving me a gap wedge to the front of the green. The green is 2 tiered and you don't want to be on the top if the flag aint and to my eye from the fairway it looked just a few yards on. Strong wind behind and my wedge would be too big so went with the gap. Hit it nicely and it was short and on the fringe. When we got to the green I could see that in fact the flag was just at the bottom of the slope and therefore almost middle so my wedge would have been perfect and I was a club short for sure. If I had the true distance to the pin I'd have taken a different club and potentially saved a shot...

With a laser can you tell the distance to say carry a hazard such as a ditch? We have them running through some holes on the course and the lay-up or carry distance is very useful information and not sure if that can be identified with a laser? Don't want to be too burdened with gadgetry but could see myself using the laser on 2-3 greens each round at our place. As I aim to improve and reduce my handicap those distances become more important to know as I get more proficient at consistently hitting them...

Thoughts?

 

[USER1999]

You can zap trees, faces of bunkers, players on the green (my favourite), but I guess ditches are a bit more subtle. This is why I keep my sky caddie.

That and the hidden lakes, like at camberley.

 

[Ethan]

With a laser can you tell the distance to say carry a hazard such as a ditch? We have them running through some holes on the course and the lay-up or carry distance is very useful information and not sure if that can be identified with a laser? Don't want to be too burdened with gadgetry but could see myself using the laser on 2-3 greens each round at our place. As I aim to improve and reduce my handicap those distances become more important to know as I get more proficient at consistently hitting them...

Thoughts?

Yes. I use my Bushnell to get distances to trees, ditches, bunkers, parts of greens etc. I also sometimes use other players to sight on.

 

[Bobmysterkaymer]

Yeah you can laser ditches trees greens flags. I bought the bushnell 1600 without slope. Only used it at the range but pinpointed a lot the flags I needed and also found out that most of the markers are incorrectly placed! Going to use it at clitheroe golf club on Sunday so will let you know how it goes. Thumbs up so far!