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When you are out there, playing golf and trying to relax after an exhausting day at the office, the last thing you want to have to think about is math; and yet, without a good quality golf rang finders all you end up doing is just sit around and try to figure out how many golf club lengths go into what distance. And the worst thing about it is that, in a game where there is an ongoing joke about having to sit quietly so you can hear the grass grow, actually sitting around and doing math in your head brings a level of boredom that is simply not necessary. So, hoping that we have proven our point on just how important a golf rangefinder can be, we have taken a look at some of the best on the market and came up with the following list. As you will notice, there are a lot of Bushnell and Nikon rangefinders on that list and that is because they have been the longest in this game, they come up with the best and most accurate products, and they also have a wide range of products that you can choose from to find the one that fits your needs best. It is precisely for that reason that you should scroll past the list itself to find our in depth reviews that will help you understand the differences between each product.
If money is not an issue and you are looking for the very best golf rangefinder on the market today, your best choice is the L1200A Multifunction Laser Range Finder. However, the one thing that you have to be absolutely clear is that this is a top end product with top end capabilities, and you are actually paying a premium for that. So not only do you have to be a professional golfer, you also have to be planning for at least another decade of golf ahead of you, otherwise you are just throwing money away.L1200A Multifunction Laser Range Finder has a range of between 5 yards and 1 mile, with an accuracy of half a yard for the first 125 yards. That 1 mile maximum range is essential for advanced golfers that actually have access to such a huge playing field, but it also puts this rangefinder out of the swing reach of beginners and intermediate users. It has a slope technology system that can detect the incline angle of the whole area and can compensate the distance accordingly. It also has a Vivid Display Technology that gives you an improved contrast and clarity level. Finally, the Bushnell Pro X7 Slope Golf Laser Rangefinder is waterproof and, implicitly, dust proof, and that means it will stand the test of time without any problems.
The Bushnell Tour Z6 Golf Laser Rangefinder is by far the best golf rangefinder on the market in terms of how big of a bang you get for your buck. It is the one product we would recommend to anyone from advanced golfers, to intermediate and even to beginners – with the only mention that, if you are a beginner, you need to be sure that you love the game and are going to practice it for many more years, because this thing is still pretty expensive. It has a range from 5 to 1300 yards, which is more than enough for most golf ranges, and it has a half an yard accuracy for up to 125 yards. It has the Vivid Display Technology that we absolutely love, but it does not have the slope technology system. The good news is that it has the Bushnell Jolt tech that that basically vibrates the device once it has made a positive lock. Furthermore, it is waterproof so you will get to enjoy it for many years to come.
If you are working on a tight budget, or are just used to measuring the distances using your club and are not sure about how much use you would get from a laser rangefinder, the Nikon COOLSHOT 20 might make for an interesting choice. It only has a range of 550 yards, but it is so affordable that you can actually buy it, give it a try, and, if you decide that it is not improving your time and enjoyment of the game, you can just chuck it away and not lose another night’s sleep over it. To be clear though, there are cheaper alternatives on the market, we just love this one as our “on a budget” choice because it is the perfect union of a reasonable price with excellent accuracy. It is also rain proof which means you still can’t drop it in a bucket of water and expect it to survive, but it will go through a drizzle without any problems.
There is a budget friendly offer from Bushnell too, it is the Medalist Rangefinder. We prefer the Nikon as our budget choice because it is even cheaper than the Medalist, but the latter does have some advantages. For one it has a 1000 yards range and an accuracy of just 2 feet. The LCD screen is easier to read even in full sun light conditions, and you have 4 times the magnification. The entire rangefinder only weighs 9 ounces so it is an excellent choice if you are already tired of lugging all that heavy gear with your around anyway. It is the only Bushnell so far that is not waterproof, but it is rain proof which, for our purposes is just as good.
Keeping up the pace with extra small rangefinder them, Nikon also came up with the Nikon 8397 ACULON Laser Rangefinder. Without the batteries it weighs just 4.4 ounces and yet it has a huge 550 yard range capability and a 6X magnification capability. Being so small you would think that they cut some corners in the rangefinder’s time response, but they did not. As long as you have an accurate target it will give you a reading almost instantly and it can be set so that it will give you the measurement to the furthest target it can detect.
The last Bushnell rangefinder we are going to look at is the Bushnell Tour V3 Jolt Standard Edition. We had to mention it here because it was one of the first laser rangefinders to reach the market and most people will recognize it as being the best they have ever used. It has a 1000 yard capacity and 5X zoom. It has a 300 yards to flag capability with an accuracy level of just 1 yard. It too has the Jolt tech capability that lets you know when the finder has locked on the target.
There are very few rangefinders that cost less than 100 dollars and that are accurate and compact, but the Wildgame Innovations Halo XRT Laser Rangefinder is just that. It only has a 400 yard range, but within that range it has a 1 yard accuracy level. It also has a 6X zoom level, which is quite impressive and a scan mode that allows you to range constantly and get perfect bearings while you are on the golf range.
The Tec Tec Tec Golf Rangefinder only has a 540 yards range and it costs a lot more than the Wildgame. However we decided to feature it here because its intelligent software system. It has 3 detection system, one that measure the distance to every pin in its range, one that focuses on the closest pin and one that focuses on the most distant pin it can detect. It is also rain proof so, although somewhat more expensive than we like for this category, it may still make an interesting choice for some of our readers.
If you need to know the distances on your golf course but do not want to shell out even the for the most affordable golf rangefinder, you have the choice of buying the GolfBuddy Voice GPS. It comes preprogrammed with more than 35,000 golf courses worldwide and it has its own GPS so it knows exactly where you are and can use its database to tell how far you are from the pin. So, in principle, this thing has the biggest range of any of the rangefinders we have seen so far, and it is not even limited by line of sight. Of course, the only problem that you have to take into consideration is whether your preferred golf course is in that data base or not and you can find that out either from your golf course club or by writing the manufacturers themselves.
The last product we decided deserved to be featured on our list is the Bresser Rangefinder 800. It has a 800 range with a 1 feet accuracy level which is quite impressive. We tried it out ourselves and were quite impressed with its quality level. However, we decided to leave it for the last position because there is a warning on the manufacturer’s website that warns that your Bresser Rangefinder 800 may or may not come with the Bresser logo on the side. Ours did and we were very excited by the performance level, but we are weary of any business that does not have the least bit of control over its manufacturing process. So before you buy a Bresser rangefinder you need to ask yourself if you are feeling lucky or not.