Thinking of picking my first laser range finder.

Any of you who have one can comment on how useful it is and recommend some good ones to me? Thanks.

T

Don't need a rangefinder.

I use the force!! (IMG:style_emoticons/TSG_Smileys/atsg_smilie_roll.gif)

No, but seriously, I've been thinking about this too. They're quite a lot of money, but it looks like the Bushnell line are the best out there. Problem with those I've heard is that they don't work well if you can't see to where you're hitting, such as a blind shot. And then you have those like the SkyCadddie where they use GPS and you need a membership to download a particular course you're going to. Heard mixed reviews on these. So I'm so confused on which would be worth it.

The tricky part is not whether I can find out the distance, it is whether I can actually hit the given yardage once I know it. I have been playing on the same 5 courses for the past 20 years hence I would be in serious trouble if I still dont know the distance from anywhere on the course. I guess I am still old school and like to eyeball distance as long as there is a 150 marker.

For you T, it has to be a Nikon.

Bought the Nikon(think it was the 500--the official PGA one) and sold it after the first round. It worked fine but was only off a few yards here and there with my guesstimates anyway--and I am not that precise to be concerned with a few yards.

I have played with people that have Sky Caddies and they are pretty sweet...no pointing or aiming just look at it when you need the yardage.

I use the Bushnell 1500. No slope.

I love it. Point at the flag and get the exact distance. No subscription to buy, no courses to download.

I also like that when practicing I get the distance to the markers or a particular area. What good is it if you are hitting an iron well but don't know how far it's going?

I'm very happy with my Bushnell Tour V2. It's basically a much more compact (and cheaper) version of the 1500 with less magnification (5x instead of 7x). Unless you need to aim at the flag from much further than 250 yards away, the 5x works just fine in one hand. The 1500 is a great performer all around, but you can't beat the V2 for it's portability and ease of use.

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You can also save a bit more by getting the Scout 1000. It's virtually identical to the V2 without the rubber grip for much cheaper. It also uses the term "bullseye" instead of "pinseeker" which is basically the same technology.

Bat

I bought the Bushnell Pro when it first came out and now just use it at the range where they have grass tees and move them around weekly. The Skycaddie is the way to go. You can also use it to find out exactly how far you hit your driver and irons.

Im with golfbuddy exactly what i've done , I like my range finder but, skycaddie is accurate enough and also gives you more info about the hole,and a lot quicker to use .

I've used a Bushnell Yardage Pro XL for years and it works fine. My wife got me a Golflogix GPS for a b-day present and I think it's much easier (faster) to use, especially if you don't have a clear line of sight to the pin.

I've the Skycaddie. Ease of use plus 2 to 3 yards are more than sufficient for my skill level. Don't buy the models with rechargeable battery.

It has to be " your own personal caddie". It was fun for us who play in Asia where you can get caddie everytime you play with only a small fraction for me.......no need bino or skycaddie anymore, and woman caddie are more fun to peek at.......:) (IMG:style_emoticons/TSG_Smileys/atsg_smilie_roll.gif)

I finally broke down and bought a gps. I bought the Golf Buddy Pro this past Wednesday, took it out of box, tossed the box in my car and went out and played a round. Turned the unit on while on the putting green and a couple minutes latter it was ready to go. Played a round and it worked like a champ. It's size isn't too bad (similiar size of a standard cell phone) - was able to put in my front pocket between shots and had no problems losing a signal. It's jammed packed with a lot of courses and surprisingly there's a couple of courses which I didn't expect to be loaded on it (i.e. two par 3/executive courses which my wife and I play on) which was a bonus. I like the idea of no subscriptions and I got it for a good price. I'll post future comments if any issues come up with it and how it performs after a few more rounds.

I have a bushnell pinseeker 1500 w/slope. What I like about it is it takes the guess work out of how far you need to hit the ball. If you play on a golf course with big greens it will really help you because most sprinkler heads are to the center of the green. You do need a direct line to the flag to get the yardage. Hope this helps you (IMG:style_emoticons/TSG_Smileys/atsg_smilie_mizuno.gif)