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GPS vs Laser Rangefinder


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I would go with a GPS. Like Big stated, you don't have to aim and shoot. I played with two guys with Rangefinders and the round was at least 45 minutes, longer. Why? With the wind, they could not get an accurate reading.

I use an older bushnell range finder. I can spot and get a distance easily from the flat. My buddies have a newer bushnell models that have higher magnification. Neither they nor I can use these to sight the flag. It is because the humans are not steady enough at the higher mag.

I like range finders because I can get the distance to the edge of hazards and bunkers (how many yards to carry the edge of the bunker). GPS doesn't have that (unless you can program in the bunkers?).

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One of the oldest debates around..lol..I've had the opportunity of owning both the rangefinder (Bushnell Pinseeker 1500) and the SkyCaddie SG3 (current). For the average golfer, me, I prefer to have immediate yardage available that is why I choose the SkyCaddie. It's always on and I never have to aim and click to get a yardage. After playing with the rangefinder, honestly for me, it got tiring and a pain in the butt to always bring it out, look at the hole, aim, click for every single shot. It's just burdensome to be frankly honest and slowed me down.

NOW, if you want exact yardages to various points all over the hole, then the laser rangefinder can't be beat. You can get yardages to basically anything you want to get a yardage to. A tree, rock, front of the bunker, rear of the bunker, front of the water, rear of the water, and etc.. A SkyCaddie WILL NOT give you these numerous and precise yardages.

If you're a person who requires all these yardages then by all means the laser rangefinder is your calling..but if you're the average joe, like me, and just want quick, immediate, yardages then I suggest the SkyCaddie.

Hope this helps.
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Best golf purchase I have made ever is the Sky Caddie GPS. For most of us mortals, distance to front of green & back of green are the most important measurements. I have shaved 4 strokes off of my HDCP and attribute it to the GPS (and some hard work). Takes away the doubts.

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3 Wood: Sonartac SS03 *14
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Best golf purchase I have made ever is the Sky Caddie GPS. For most of us mortals, distance to front of green & back of green are the most important measurements. I have shaved 4 strokes off of my HDCP and attribute it to the GPS (and some hard work). Takes away the doubts.

Dido. I've played at golf courses where the yardage was off as much as 15 yards. I have the version 1 of the Sky Caddies when there were hardly any golf courses to download and I was uploading courses for posting. I tested the GPS extensively and I've concluded it is more accurate than the yardages on the courses, I rarely play without it.

I've tried the yardage binocular types and I can't keep my hand steady enough to get an accurate reading. Maybe when they come out with a stabilizer type for long distance reading, I'll look at em again.

DR: Insight XTD Pro DF2400X 9.5 w/YSQ AD 65g S-flex
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Wow! Maybe it's pre Parkinsons or Tourettes like Eric said - or just old range finder tech - but my Pinseeker 1500 is instant - wind - no wind - clouds - no clouds etc . . .

What ever happend to those stories I would hear about turning on your sky caddie GPS upon arrival to the course and it not getting signal or providing yardage till the 5th hole etc. . . & loss of signal during the round etc. . .

Anyway, the most important distinction for me is YARDAGE TO THE FLAG!!! I am trying to get inside Dave Pelz "Golden Eight Feet"!!! I already know most greens are around 30 yards deep. Flag distance allows me to decide if I want to keep it short of the flag for an uphill putt - or just past it to be sure to carry a false front etc. .

It is also always overlooked that rangefinders have MAGNIFICATION!!! I survey the green for trouble with 7X mag!

No subscription fees - no loading courses - Just take off for Arizona, Hawaii, Palm Springs etc. . . and play golf . . .

I'll never quit using my Pinseeker!!!

J.P.

Bridgestone J33 10.5* Fujikura Rombax w
Bridgestone J33 15* Fujikura Zcom tw74
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Neither they nor I can use these to sight the flag. It is because the humans are not steady enough at the higher mag.

Gee, I must be a freak of nature, and the other people I know, too.

I like range finders because I can get the distance to the edge of hazards and bunkers (how many yards to carry the edge of the bunker). GPS doesn't have that (unless you can program in the bunkers?).

Ditto.

Wow! Maybe it's pre Parkinsons or Tourettes like Eric said - or just old range finder tech - but my Pinseeker 1500 is instant - wind - no wind - clouds - no clouds etc . . .

Ditto again.

What ever happend to those stories I would hear about turning on your sky caddie GPS upon arrival to the course and it not getting signal or providing yardage till the 5th hole etc. . . & loss of signal during the round etc. . .

I've had that happen, and seen it happen to others. Cloud cover's no good. And what if you decide to go somewhere on a whim and don't download the course? GPS is only accurate to +/- 3 meters or so - that's nine or ten feet you can be off, and since you're not even getting a yardage to the FLAG... ouch.

Anyway, the most important distinction for me is YARDAGE TO THE FLAG!!! I am trying to get inside Dave Pelz "Golden Eight Feet"!!! I already know most greens are around 30 yards deep. Flag distance allows me to decide if I want to keep it short of the flag for an uphill putt - or just past it to be sure to carry a false front etc.

Agreed, and I think the yardage to the flag matters the better you are, of course. For (and I'm generalizing here) a 15, they only need to know "it's about 150." For me, the difference between 151 and 147 is a 16-foot putt!

Erik J. Barzeski —  I knock a ball. It goes in a gopher hole. 🏌🏼‍♂️
Director of Instruction Golf Evolution • Owner, The Sand Trap .com • AuthorLowest Score Wins
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I've had that happen, and seen it happen to others. Cloud cover's no good. And what if you decide to go somewhere on a whim and don't download the course? GPS is only accurate to +/- 3 meters or so - that's nine or ten feet you can be off, and since you're not even getting a yardage to the FLAG... ouch.

I've NEVER had this happen to my iGolf Caddie II, and I've played in complete cloud cover. It also NEVER takes more than a minute to initially start-up. When I step on the front edge of a green, it is rarely off at all, let alone 3 yards. Yes, rangefinders ARE more accurate, but not by a lot. How often do you go play a course on a whim? Even if so, you can download 100 courses, so just download every course in the greater metro area that you live and put the 40 that you are most likely to play on the unit. Also, I can usually determine within 2-3 yards of where the pin is by using the F,B,C, distances.

-I think both devices have their merrits... it just depends what you want. You are correcting people who say that aiming is tricky on thier rangefinders, I'm sure you don't think they are lying, they just had older models or something. Well, I'm saying not all GPS units quit working in cloud cover or take a long time to "turn on and start".
My Clubs: Callaway FT-i Tour LCG 9.5° w/ Matrix Ozik Xcon 6 stiff; Sonartec GS Tour 14° w/ Graphite Design Red Ice 70 stiff; Adams Idea Pro 2h(18°) & 3h(20°) w/ Aldila VS Proto 80 stiff; Adams Idea Pro Forged 4-PW w/ TT Black Gold stiff; Cleveland CG12 DSG RTG 52°-10° & 58°-10°; Odyssey...
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Last weekend a playing partner had his SkyCaddie. I had my Bushnell Pinseeker 1500. For approach shots, I always measured the distance and shared that information at the request of my playing partners. The fellow with the SkyCaddie mentioned our distances seemed well off from each other. For the sake of information, we walked off the distance of two of the approach shots. The Pinseeker seemed right on the money. I have heard this from others on several occassions who have SkyCaddies.

I am not disparaging the SkyCaddie, or suggesting that it is often inaccurrate, just relating the experiences.

I have found the Pinseeker light, easy to use even in windy conditions, accurrate and fast. Plus, it is very rugged. After the initial purchase, there are no other expenses other than a battery now and again. After owning one for 16 months, I must confess, I've never changed the battery; never needed to.

I have rarely been in a situation in which the Pinseeker couldn't be accurrately used. I guess for the blind shots, one can find out the yardage the old fashioned way.

I admire the SkyCaddie technology and I know the guys that put up the seed money for it ( wish I had been one of them ). But for my money, and for all I know about both systems, I would still choose the Bushnell Rangefinder 1500.

shortgame85
In the Bag:
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3 Wood :TaylorMade: RBZ Reg Flex
Hybrid: Ping G25 Hybrids 17*, 20*, 23*

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I used to have a Bushnell laser rangefinder and it was great if I was trying to get the yardage to something big( the house down the street...), but I had a really hard time ever hitting the flagstick with it. After trying to use it in 5 or 6 rounds, I gave up on it. I sold it this winter and just bought a SG3 skycaddie. It is great when the weather is good, but I have had issues with it as well. One round, I went out on the course and it didn't kick in and find enough satelites until I was on #8. Other times I stood in the middle of the fairway with it and got a yardage reading (that I believed to be accurate, and then 15 seconds later, the yardage started changing and finally stopped at a # 20 yards off!)

I still like the GPS better, but I don't trust it 100%. I still look at the yardages marked on the course, and will trust the GPS if it seems in line with what is marked on the sprinkler heads etc.

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3w: HiBore 15* fujikura stiff
2i hybrid: HiBore fujikura stiff3-sw: MP-57 +1/2 2* up stiff steelPutter: 2ball SRT 36"GPS: SG3 Sky caddieCart:Clicgear 2.0Home Course: Lake Spanaway http://www.lakespanawaygc.com

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I've been debating which way to go for a few months now. I think after reading the reviews and posts this week I'm going to pull the trigger on a Bushnell Pinseeker 1500.

I play with a guy sometimes who has a Skycaddie, and it doesn't seem to be reliable always. I pulled a yardage from him a few rounds ago, and in my mind there was no way it was right. I went with my own yardage from pacing off from a sprinkler and I was more accurate than it was. He was also saying there was a solar storm a few days back and it was out.

I like the accuracy and lack of an annual fee, so now I just need to start saving the money to go buy one.

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I was looking at The Golf Warehouse and their Pinseeker 1500 tournament edition is $400 and their Medalist is $300. Anyone had experience with both of these? What is better on the 1500 over the Medalist? Is the 1500 worth the extra $100? Any help with this would be appreciated.

Ping G 410 10.5 ˚ Driver Ping Tour Stiff Shaft
Ping G 410 14.5˚ 3 Ping Tour Stiff Shaft
Ping G 410 19˚ Ping Tour Stiff Shaft
i 500 irons 4-UW 1/2 inch over, blue dot, NS Pro Modus 105 Stiff Shafts
Ping Stealth Wedges Wedges  54˚ 58˚

Scotty Cameron Studio Select Newport 2 34" 

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I was looking at The Golf Warehouse and their Pinseeker 1500 tournament edition is $400 and their Medalist is $300. Anyone had experience with both of these? What is better on the 1500 over the Medalist? Is the 1500 worth the extra $100? Any help with this would be appreciated.

One's 7x, the other's 4x. One does 300+ to the flag, the other 350+. That's mostly about it.

Per Alan's recent Bag Drop article (last Tuesday), you may want to look into hunting models by Bushnell. Many have the same features (some with different names) and cost less.

Erik J. Barzeski —  I knock a ball. It goes in a gopher hole. 🏌🏼‍♂️
Director of Instruction Golf Evolution • Owner, The Sand Trap .com • AuthorLowest Score Wins
Golf Digest "Best Young Teachers in America" 2016-17 & "Best in State" 2017-20 • WNY Section PGA Teacher of the Year 2019 :edel: :true_linkswear:

Check Out: New Topics | TST Blog | Golf Terms | Instructional Content | Analyzr | LSW | Instructional Droplets

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I consider my rangefinder to be one of the most important pieces of equipment in my bag. I too have seen guys with the sky caddie and they are not bad either. I like my rangefinder because I can get distances to things that are not on the skycaddie like hills, trees, different angles of a dogleg, etc.

For me the GPS in insufficient in two ways, it doesn't give me yardages to all the points I need yardage to, and it has the tendency to be off on occasion, my rangefinder is always dead on.

Danny    In my :ping: Hoofer Tour golf bag on my :clicgear: 8.0 Cart

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I have a skycaddie, but if I could get a mulligan I would go with a range finder. I was not impressed with the early versions of range finders, but the ones out now are very nice and easy to use. I have had a lot of issues with my skycaddie (SG3).

Driver: Taylor Made RBZ HL
3-Wood:Taylor Made RBZ 16*
Hybrid: Taylor Made RBZ 19* and 22*
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I have the SkyCaddie SG4, and I like it a lot. It shows you the distances to the front, middle, and back of the green. So you can get a pretty good idea of how far it is to the flag.

This is my second season with it, and I've used it twice so far this year. However, both times when I fired it up it wouldn't get a signal. I had to reset the GPS both times, and that set it straight. I shouldn't have to reset the GPS every time I want to use it though. I had to reset the GPS 2-3 times last year as well. I'm worried that this is going to become a regular thing.
"The only thing in my bag that works is the bug spray."

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Rangefinder is much better.

1. Measure to the pin, not the center of the green.
2. No downloading/course doesn't have to be in a system.
3. Measure to trees, carry distance over bunkers, water hazards (exact points, not vague references)

I don't see what advantages a GPS would have over a range finder.

You can get a range finder for $200'ish.

What's in the bag
Driver: FTI
3W: 15 Degree
2H: X
4I-7I: X-188I, 9I, PW: X-Forged52 Deg: Vokey Oil Can, all rusted out56 Deg: Vokey, Chrome 60 Deg: Black PearlPutter: Catalina Two

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Rangefinder is much better.

both units have advantages and if you can't see that, well I guess I just don't know what to say... "closed minded" maybe

GPS -no pointing to shoot -don't need line of sight -faster to get yardage -gives you F,B,C... not just pin or other object to bounce off
My Clubs: Callaway FT-i Tour LCG 9.5° w/ Matrix Ozik Xcon 6 stiff; Sonartec GS Tour 14° w/ Graphite Design Red Ice 70 stiff; Adams Idea Pro 2h(18°) & 3h(20°) w/ Aldila VS Proto 80 stiff; Adams Idea Pro Forged 4-PW w/ TT Black Gold stiff; Cleveland CG12 DSG RTG 52°-10° & 58°-10°; Odyssey...
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My tax dollars paid to put the damn satelites in orbit and now they want me to rent them from Sky Golf?I DON"T THINK SO,It is a scam.My son is in the Navy and on Subs for the last 15 years and he tells me that if you buy the software the satelites are free.We should not pay twice for the damn things.And that is the biggest reason I own a bushnell laser,

In my new FT carry bag
FT-9 Tour nuetral 9.5
FT-15 degree 3 wood
Fussion Hybrids #2&4
Fussion irons with Grapholoy Pro launch Red shafts56&60 Cally X forged wedges with Red shaftsSG9 putterCally I ballBushnell Meadealist range finder

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Note: This thread is 2490 days old. We appreciate that you found this thread instead of starting a new one, but if you plan to post here please make sure it's still relevant. If not, please start a new topic. Thank you!

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