Leupold GX-1 Questions

[Shorty]

Just wondering if anyone can help me here.
I just bought a Leupold GX-1, mainly because of the review by Eric and others I have read.
I know that it is a very simple unit to use, but the manual is a bit ordinary.
Anyway.....I would like some clarification on this issue, which is not mentioned in the manual.

There is no information on how to activate Pinhunter mode. The term "Pinhunter" isn't even mentioned in the manual once!
Is the Pinhunter mode something that is always on? Is it linked to the Prism Lock technology? I would greatly appreciate some assistance.

Thanks in advance.

[Zeph]

Pinhunter is a technology in the circuits and laser that makes targetting pins easier and cannot be enabled, it is just a name they've given the technology in it. There aren't a whole lot of options to turn on actually, only the Fog Mode I think.

I haven't played in fog yet, so I've never used any options but those that are there when I turn it on.

[Shorty]

Thanks, Zeph. I though that that was the case.

[JGus]

As Zeph said, no where to turn pinhunter on or off, it is just the technology used with the GX-I.

[TN94z]

Just a quick question....have you guys used a Skycaddie and if so, how would you compare the two? I have a Skycaddie and have been thinking of going to a laser just because of the loading courses, yearly fee, etc...Thanks

[Fourputt]

Pinhunter is a technology in the circuits and laser that makes targetting pins easier and cannot be enabled, it is just a name they've given the technology in it. There aren't a whole lot of options to turn on actually, only the Fog Mode I think.

You can't turn it off??? I wouldn't like that. I use my Bushnell Tour V2 for a lot more than just shooting flagsticks, and sometimes the Pinseeker gets in the way of making an accurate sighting when I want to scan across an area to get distances to the whole surface... like a bunker lip that's just barely visible. With Pinseeker on I get false readings because the unit may pick up the ground in front of the bunker too and the logic circuitry will lock onto that, while with it off, I can get continuous readings by scanning from front to back and side to side, and I can tell when it changes from the foreground to the back lip.

I really don't think I'd have any use for a laser if I couldn't toggle the Pinseeker on and off.

Just a quick question....have you guys used a Skycaddie and if so, how would you compare the two? I have a Skycaddie and have been thinking of going to a laser just because of the loading courses, yearly fee, etc...Thanks

I use both (not SkyCaddie but GolfLogix GPS-8), and I use them for different things. The GPS is limited to whatever the programmer thought was important, and that's fine as long as you play the course as he thought it should be played. I rarely manage to do that though.

That doesn't always cover all the bases for me, so I fill the gaps by using the laser. With that I can get a sighting on anything I can see (but you can't shoot what you can't see, and that's where a GPS has an advantage)... trees, bushes, hills, bunker lips, hazard banks... as well as +/- 1 yard accuracy to the flagstick, no matter where it is on the green. Both units have strengths and weaknesses. What works best for you just depends on what you want from the device. I like having both.

[Zeph]

You can't turn it off??? I wouldn't like that. I use my Bushnell Tour V2 for a lot more than just shooting flagsticks, and sometimes the Pinseeker gets in the way of making an accurate sighting when I want to scan across an area to get distances to the whole surface... like a bunker lip that's just barely visible. With Pinseeker on I get false readings because the unit may pick up the ground in front of the bunker too and the logic circuitry will lock onto that, while with it off, I can get continuous readings by scanning from front to back and side to side, and I can tell when it changes from the foreground to the back lip.

Pinseeker and Pinhunter is not the same thing. The GX will pick up on whatever object is in the middle of the reticle. If you get the lip in the reticle, you'll get the distance to it. It won't pick up on objects inside a circle like the Bushnell does.

[TN94z]

I use both (not SkyCaddie but GolfLogix GPS-8), and I use them for different things. The GPS is limited to whatever the programmer thought was important, and that's fine as long as you play the course as he thought it should be played. I rarely manage to do that though.

Thanks. That's what I was looking for. I may go ahead and just get me a laser and see which I like better. I never really thought about the programmer portion. My cousin uses his brother's Bushnell laser that is made for hunting and if you are outside 150 yards....good luck getting a distance with that. I realize that the pinseeker stuff helps that but it kind of turned me off from the lasers. I would like to try one that is a little more golf specific though.

[Zeph]

I rarely shoot bunkers and stuff really. With a course guide and the distance to the flag, I can make some calculations myself on how far it is. Can't say I've had a lot of situations where I really wanted to shoot an object out of sight. Carrying a GPS and Rangefinder sounds excessive to me.

Generally, the laser is more accurate on the distances, but it depend on which units you got.

[iacas]

Pinseeker and Pinhunter is not the same thing. The GX will pick up on whatever object is in the middle of the reticle. If you get the lip in the reticle, you'll get the distance to it. It won't pick up on objects inside a circle like the Bushnell does.

Yep. I can do what you do, FourPutt, with the GX models and it works fine. And I don't have to worry about turning something on or off.

I've had a Bushnell. I prefer the Leupold.

[Fat Slice]

Just bought the GX1 based on the article here at TST. Played one round with it. Selling my Bushnell!

[Fourputt]

Pinseeker and Pinhunter is not the same thing. The GX will pick up on whatever object is in the middle of the reticle. If you get the lip in the reticle, you'll get the distance to it. It won't pick up on objects inside a circle like the Bushnell does.

Fine if you are rock steady. The reason most players give for not going with a laser is because they can't hold it on target. I haven't found that to be a problem. In Pinseeker mode, you scan across the target and it picks the closest object and locks it into the display (which is what the Pinhunter does in the Leupold). With Pinseeker turned off, you can scan across any terrain and get a running picture of what the laser is being reflected from. And I don't know what you are talking about objects inside of a circle. You scan across the target, you don't hold it on anything. The circle is so small that you can't really hold anything inside of it anyway... it's just an aiming reticule, no different from the Leupold, or from a post or crosshairs on a rifle scope. They are all designed to give you an aiming point to place on the target.

If you aren't using it for anything besides shooting flags, then you aren't getting the full benefit from the device. It's good for so much more. Maybe you never lay up, but I find that I can lay up with absolute confidence that I'm not going to hit into whatever I'm trying to avoid. It used to be that a layup was half guesswork, now it's a sure thing, even when the hazard or bunker or whatever lies at an angle across the fairway... I can shoot the nearest portion and pick the club that can't possibly reach it no matter what. Why should I waste time making calculations from a yardage book when it has become obsolete, or at least redundant. I have everything I need right in my bag for any course I play.

[iacas]

FourPutt, I don't know what you're really talking about. I can scan with the Leupold too. I hit bunker lips, etc. when I want. I shot through a hole in trees today that would not have been large enough to fit a golf cart through - and it was 140 yards away and the flag was 70 yards beyond that. I got an accurate number.

So I really have no idea what you're on about. I've used both, and I've never turned PinSeeker or Hunter off. They're on all the time, and I hit what I want, and sometimes do the continuous scan thing and other times don't.

We know you like your Bushnell... but it's just a laser. Works like the others, basically.

[Fourputt]

FourPutt, I don't know what you're really talking about. I can scan with the Leupold too. I hit bunker lips, etc. when I want. I shot through a hole in trees today that would not have been large enough to fit a golf cart through - and it was 140 yards away and the flag was 70 yards beyond that. I got an accurate number.

Which is exactly what I'd have thought, except that Zeph was so certain that they had totally different functionality. The reason I turn off the Pinseeker when scanning terrain is because it always locks the nearest object into the display, so you can't go back over more distant objects or ground and get a reading unless you release the button to clear the display lock. It's easy to toggle the Pinseeker on and off, so I don't see that as a negative. I've never even held a Leupold, so I can't argue features between the 2. I had the Bushnell before I ever even heard of Leupold, and I've been quite happy with it.

[Zeph]

Then I must've misunderstood how the Pinseeker works, because I don't see why you have to turn it off. With the Leupold, you aim the small reticle at whatever object you want the distance to. If you only want the distance to that single object, click once. If you want to scan across an area to find the distance to multiple objects, hold down the button and the laser will continously scan and display the distance to whatever object you get in the reticle.

You say it always locks the nearest object into the display. Is that the nearest object in the entire display, or the object your reticle is aimed at? The Leupold never give distance to any object except that which you got the reticle at. So, there is nothing needed to be turned off. If the Bushnell scan the entire area inside the display and give the distance to the closest object, I can see why turning off Pinseeker is needed, but in that case, it's not how the Leupold works.

Source: Bushnell Manual
PinSeeker (LCD Indicator - ) Ever have trouble getting distance to the flag? This advanced mode allows easy
acquisition of the flag without inadvertently getting distances to background targets (i.e. trees) that have stronger
signal strength.
6Once in this mode, press the POWER button to turn the unit on. Next, align the aiming circle reticle onto the flag
that you want distance to. Next, press and hold the POWER button and move the laser slowly over the flag or desired
object until a circle surrounds the flag indicator. If the laser beam recognized more than one object (i.e. flag and
background trees), distance of the flag will be displayed and a circle will surround the PinSeeker indicator informing
the user that distance to the flag (i.e. closer object) is being displayed in the LCD (as seen below). There may be times
when only the laser beam only sees one object in its path. In this case, the distance will be displayed, but because more
than one object was not acquired, a circle will not surround the flag indicator.

How can the laser pick up on targets around the flag if the reticle is aimed at it? Unless you try shooting flag sticks, wouldn't shooting the flag mean the laser is shot directly at the flag, not at objects around it? This is what led me to believe that you got a larger circle on the reticle, which means the flag may not always fill up the entire reticle when looking at it.

I shoot whatever I find necessary, but I always (when they offer it) carry with me a course guide, which usually give distances to various objects, so I don't need to go shooting everything. I've shot trees, bunkers, people, knolls etc., but most of the time it is flags.

[MJP]

You can't turn it off??? I wouldn't like that. I use my Bushnell Tour V2 for a lot more than just shooting flagsticks, and sometimes the Pinseeker gets in the way of making an accurate sighting when I want to scan across an area to get distances to the whole surface... like a bunker lip that's just barely visible. With Pinseeker on I get false readings because the unit may pick up the ground in front of the bunker too and the logic circuitry will lock onto that, while with it off, I can get continuous readings by scanning from front to back and side to side, and I can tell when it changes from the foreground to the back lip.

I had a gx-1 and returned it that week. The fact that you didn't know what you were locking onto if there were multiple objects in a close vicinity was very disturbing for me. In golf, confidence is almost everything.

The Bushnell v2 fixed that. Does what the gx-1 does plus the most important yardage of all. There's a huge difference beween 133 to the middle and 137 to the pin. Anyways, unless you have the absolute steadiest hands in the entire world, the gx-1 won't be able to grab pin distances.

[iacas]

The Bushnell v2 fixed that. Does what the gx-1 does plus the most important yardage of all. There's a huge difference beween 133 to the middle and 137 to the pin.

That makes no sense at all. How would you get 133 to the middle with any laser if it's 137? What are you pointing at?

You point at the flag. If you are so unsteady that you point at the flag and then wobble around and point at the front of the green or the lip of a bunker, BOTH the GX-1 and the v2 will tell you the shorter yardage. If you turn PinSeeker off it's the same as holding down the button on the GX-1 and scanning around and noting the number you get when your super-unsteady hands put the reticle or circle on the flag.

[Fourputt]

Then I must've misunderstood how the Pinseeker works, because I don't see why you have to turn it off. With the Leupold, you aim the small reticle at whatever object you want the distance to. If you only want the distance to that single object, click once. If you want to scan across an area to find the distance to multiple objects, hold down the button and the laser will continously scan and display the distance to whatever object you get in the reticle.

With Pinseeker on, the Tour V2 will only the display the distance to the nearest object that the reticule has passed over while the button is depressed. If you are taking a measurement to the flag and someone walks across the front of the green past your aiming point while you are doing it, you will only see the distance to that person because he is closer than the flag is, even if you continue to shoot after he has passed. This guarantees that you will always be able to separate the flag from any background clutter. When you turn the Pinseeker mode off the unit is in continuous scan mode while the button is held down, and will display whatever it was last aimed at, regardless of distance.