I love my Bushnell Tour V2 Rangefinder!

[Zeph]

My Leupold GX1 ran out of batteries right before a round last week. It felt like playing blind folded. I was able to find somewhat correct yardages with the course guide, but I really discovered how useful a rangefinder is. And how much faster it is than pacing and calculating. It also affected my game. Without the certain knowledge of the distance to the flag, I often had to take a guess as to what club to hit. Doesn't help with the confidence to know that I might hit it long or short of the green. Now I always got two spare batteries in my bag. Sounds like you got bad batteries or use it a lot. Mine lasted for years. I think they advertise 4000 uses. I can't imagine playing without it anymore. It is also a great way to check your club distances. If I measure 130 to the flag and hit a PW pin high, I know I hit my PW 130 yards.

[TourSpoon]

I think it was the cheap Ebay batteries I bought. I started buying them at a regular  store and I was able to get 6-9 months out of one (that's between 30-50 rounds). I always keep a spare just in case. I have really become spoiled to knowing front, to the pin, to the end of a fairway on a dogleg, to carry a bunker, etc. It really is faster than walking it off, point, click, pull and hit. This thread is old, but I still feel the same way...I love my V2!

[MiniBlueDragon]

Used my V2 for th first time today but ended up leaving it in the bag after a while as it started to confuse me. With 'pinseeker' switched on there's a flag displayed to the bottom left of the viewfinder. My understanding is that the process for getting yardage is: - hold v2 up to your eye - press top button to switch on - aim at the flag - press and hold top button - when flag is found a circle appears around the flag icon in viewfinder and range is displayed Today though I'd take a reading, say 165y and have the 'pin' circle appear but would second guess it based on fairway markers. I'd then take a second reading which would also 'lock' on the pin but display a distance completely different to the first, e.g. 153y and closer to my own estimate. All subsequent readings would also 'lock' but be one of the two readings give or take a yard. No idea what I was doing wrong but decided to stop wasting time reading distances that were 'locked' but still managed to change somehow. :(

[michaeljames92]

Originally Posted by MiniBlueDragon

Today though I'd take a reading, say 165y and have the 'pin' circle appear but would second guess it based on fairway markers. I'd then take a second reading which would also 'lock' on the pin but display a distance completely different to the first, e.g. 153y and closer to my own estimate. All subsequent readings would also 'lock' but be one of the two readings give or take a yard.

No idea what I was doing wrong but decided to stop wasting time reading distances that were 'locked' but still managed to change somehow. :(

That's happened to me a few times too, I usually just measure it twice, but overall the V2 is a great little rangefinder. You can get readings from under 200m reasonably quickly and around 230m can take a couple of tries. I've got pretty shaky hands though, and it still works pretty well for me.

[cruzthepug]

Just bought a V2 this week and will take it to the course tomorrow. I use Golflogix app on my iPhone and it works pretty good, but I sometimes find the yardage to off just a bit. Like some others have said, I plan to use the laser for the exact yardage and the gps for front and back numbers.

[Mick farrell]

High quality. I googled this as my battery (good brand) lasted only a couple of rounds so must have been used up by previous use given the replies on here.

[inthehole]

I'd be lost without my V2 - most essential single piece of golf gear I own (I'd rather putt with a hybrid than golf without my V2)

[grubby98]

I wont play a round without mine.  I love it.  I say it saves me 3-5 strokes a game since my chipping and puttingis god awful.  I hit atleast 2-3 more greens a round since I know the exact yardage.  The only negative I have, and people have already stated it, is that when the battery goes dead it just goes dead.  I dont think there is a warning.  But I can get over 100 rounds on a battery, I just learned to keep an extra one in my bag so I dont have to go without.

[TourSpoon]

Originally Posted by grubby98

I wont play a round without mine.  I love it.  I say it saves me 3-5 strokes a game since my chipping and puttingis god awful.  I hit atleast 2-3 more greens a round since I know the exact yardage.  The only negative I have, and people have already stated it, is that when the battery goes dead it just goes dead.  I dont think there is a warning.  But I can get over 100 rounds on a battery, I just learned to keep an extra one in my bag so I dont have to go without.

Yes, there is that feeling of WTH when the battery goes dead and I scramble for a new one.

[grubby98]

o yea, the first time it happened I was on hole 12 and I thought it was broke.  I didnt have a spare battery with me.  I played awful rest of way (think I was 2 or 3 over and ended up shooting like an 84).  All I could think about was that it was broke and I would have to buy a new one.  Then a new battery and poof, it was like christmas again.

[rehmwa]

Love mine.  Best piece of equipment in the bag.

First time I used it last season was my first game under 80.  I know it made the difference even though I was also playing decent that day too (for me)

[BuckeyeNut]

My 2 cents on lasers vs GPS........GPS is for casual gofers...............lasers are for serious GOLFERS!

A phone AP or sky caddie is fine for the mid-high capper, but serious golfers own a laser.

[shooter]

Originally Posted by BuckeyeNut

My 2 cents on lasers vs GPS........GPS is for casual gofers...............lasers are for serious GOLFERS!

A phone AP or sky caddie is fine for the mid-high capper, but serious golfers own a laser.

^^^^

Good call, i used the Golflogix app on my iphone for a while, now that i bought myself a Bushnell V2 there's no going back. My fave part of having a range finder is being able to laser my distances while practicing at a range, or a open field, and lastly, i hated how GPS units would sometimes delay and not give you accurate readings when you arrive at the ball, and i'm all about ready golf so It slowed my pace of play because i always waited for a min or two so i can be curtain that the distance displayed is accurate.

[Jpin76]

Since I own a GPS and not a Bushnell,  does the Bushnell measure distance to a fairway bunker or water in case u need to carry it?  I've played with a few people who own Bushnells and I always see them measure to the flag but not to certain points like the example I described.

I'm only asking since I'm starting to lean in favor of a Bushnell instead of my GPS if my GPS ever breaks down.....

[shooter]

The laser will give you distances to whatever you point and shoot it at. You can laser a lip of a bunker, the lip of a water hazard, the tree behind the green. It hardly matters, laser finders that have some sort of "pin seeking" feature really give you lots of confidence that you'r actually on the pin and not getting the distance to some other object. It's pretty neat, the Bushnell will actually know when i'm pointing it at a tree versus the pin because a icon pops up in he view finder on the Bushnell, so you know its on the pin...

[Gaber]

^^^^ Good call, i used the Golflogix app on my iphone for a while, now that i bought myself a Bushnell V2 there's no going back. My fave part of having a range finder is being able to laser my distances while practicing at a range, or a open field, and lastly, i hated how GPS units would sometimes delay and not give you accurate readings when you arrive at the ball, and i'm all about ready golf so It slowed my pace of play because i always waited for a min or two so i can be curtain that the distance displayed is accurate.

BUMP! That's exactly why I'm looking to get a range finder! I have the golf shot got the iPhone it's great for keeping score and my rounds but awful for keeping my battery life and the new feature that it has called golf scape is okay but not very intuitive, you're always realigning it to centre. I know this thread is old but curious if anyone is selling there's?

[flintcreek6412]

I must be the oddball here.  I play with both and actually prefer my GPS.  I use the upro and appreciate the fact that I can get exact carry distance to front/back of greens, hazards etc.  I like that it shows me the exact shape of the green too.  It's also nice to know how far you drove the ball or hit your 3 wood from the fairway when you use the mark distance option.

I am lucky enough to be an avid hunter so I've also got a really nice Leica range finder.  I've carried it before and used it to see how accurate the GPS is and found that the GPS was right on as far as yardage.   While there is a little estimating exact pin placement I can get within 2-3 yards with my GPS when you know if the pin is front/back/middle.  I  found the GPS to be faster than the range finder.  Just hit a button and results are instant.  You still have to sight through a range finder.

Both have pros/cons but I prefer the GPS.

FYI, as far as range finders go, I've owned Bushnell, Nikon, Leupold and now a Leica.  There is absolutely no comparison.  Leica has the best glass around and that really makes a difference in shadows.  And the 7x makes it easier to see the pin from 200 plus yards.  Never had a problem problem finding the pin but then again, it can range a fence post at 1000yrds.

[Fourputt]

Originally Posted by Jpin76

Since I own a GPS and not a Bushnell,  does the Bushnell measure distance to a fairway bunker or water in case u need to carry it?  I've played with a few people who own Bushnells and I always see them measure to the flag but not to certain points like the example I described.

I'm only asking since I'm starting to lean in favor of a Bushnell instead of my GPS if my GPS ever breaks down.....

The down side to measuring such terrain features is that you have no guarantee that you are actually measuring to that feature exactly.  There can be a lot of error if the aim wavers even a little bit.  The beam just doesn't reflect accurately from a mound or dirt face unless it is very sharply defined.  The fact that you have to have line of sight to what you are measuring is also a negative with a laser.  It doesn't shoot through trees and bushes or over hills.  I won't show you a hidden bunker or hazard.  And 99.9% of golfers don't need accuracy tighter than the +/- 9 feet that the GPS is rated for.  A good GPS with a graphic of the hole and measurements from your location to all important features is of more value to most players than the best laser made.  My Garmin Approach G5 has all of these features, as well as being able to just touch the screen, drag and place a target anywhere on the hole and instantly get the distance from you to the target and from the target to the hole.  Great for planning tee shots and layups.  You can place the pin anywhere you want it on the green to match it up with the daily pin sheet.  I find it far more useful than either of the lasers I owned.

Originally Posted by flintcreek6412

I must be the oddball here.  I play with both and actually prefer my GPS.  I use the upro and appreciate the fact that I can get exact carry distance to front/back of greens, hazards etc.  I like that it shows me the exact shape of the green too.  It's also nice to know how far you drove the ball or hit your 3 wood from the fairway when you use the mark distance option.

I am lucky enough to be an avid hunter so I've also got a really nice Leica range finder.  I've carried it before and used it to see how accurate the GPS is and found that the GPS was right on as far as yardage.   While there is a little estimating exact pin placement I can get within 2-3 yards with my GPS when you know if the pin is front/back/middle.  I  found the GPS to be faster than the range finder.  Just hit a button and results are instant.  You still have to sight through a range finder.

Both have pros/cons but I prefer the GPS.

FYI, as far as range finders go, I've owned Bushnell, Nikon, Leupold and now a Leica.  There is absolutely no comparison.  Leica has the best glass around and that really makes a difference in shadows.  And the 7x makes it easier to see the pin from 200 plus yards.  Never had a problem problem finding the pin but then again, it can range a fence post at 1000yrds.

I carried both for a full season to give it a good test, but I gave my V2 to my brother when I found myself using only the GPS and never even pulling the laser out of the bag.