Which GPS device best suits you?
We often get asked questions like which brands are best for GPS devices, and whether watches are as good as rangefinders. Well, here’s our answer…
Accessories
Watch, laser, or both?
November is a wonderful time of year filled with crisp mornings and bright midday sunshine. But the darkness in the afternoon can certainly creep up on us.
Throughout the colder months, there’s a finite window of visibility on the golf course, and we’re often racing against the coming sunset to get those last few holes in.
These quick-paced holes are often rushed with plenty of guesswork as we try to beat the encroaching darkness, but the latest golf tech from Bushnell can help us make the most of the twilight hours on the golf course.
Instant information with Golf GPS
It can be harder to detect distances with the naked eye, especially when the light is fading. It can also be hard to judge your shot distance by feel alone, and feel you’ve definitely got the right club for the shot in hand.
You can put all that uncertainty to rest however when you play golf with a Bushnell laser rangefinder or golf GPS watch. These gadgets give you almost instant information when you use them to size up how far away the green is.
Instead of umming and ahing on whether you should be playing your approach shot with a 7 iron or an 8 iron, only to pick the wrong one and hit your shot too short or long, you’ll know your shot is exactly 138 yards and perfect for your 7 iron. Knowing the exact distance will give you total confidence to commit to your shot.
Watches, lasers, or both?
So, which distance measuring device is right for you? All the latest Bushnell golf GPS devices are packed with fascinating tech to help you succeed on the golf course.
Bushnell’s laser rangefinders are an excellent choice of device if you want to see as much of the course as possible. These handy devices take just a moment to hold in your hand and direct towards your target. Once locked on, they’ll give you a distance reading from up to 600 yards away – that’s even the longest par 5 holes pretty much covered!
Just as fantastic to use are golf GPS watches. These go beyond typical fitness trackers and smartphone apps and are primarily built for use on the golf course. The latest watches from Bushnell have glossy colour touchscreens that display maps of upcoming greens in vivid detail.
So which one do you go for, and what are the benefits of using them both? Well, laser rangefinders give you complete pinpoint accuracy so you’ll know the exact distance to the flag, while GPS watches provide you with distance info to the front, middle, and back of each green.
Having the distance to the hole and each section of the green mapped out ahead of you will give you an excellent understanding of how best to plan your approach into the green. You’ll know the exact distance to each slope of the green as well as nearby hazards on every hole. You can never have too much info, and you’ll instantly benefit from pairing these devices together.
Join us as we cover the latest products from Bushnell, and explain the benefits of adding them to your bag.
The Bushnell Pro X3+ laser rangefinder
As we’ve already mentioned, devices like the Pro X3+ laser can give you readings from several hundreds of yards away, and can zoom in up to 7x on a specific target. Bushnell’s PinSeeker tech features Visual Jolt. This functionality gives your hand a slight vibration once the reticle has locked onto the flagstick, ensuring you’re picking out the correct target.
It also comes with Bushnell’s Slope compensation feature that takes into account the various contours and changes in elevation of the land when giving distance readings. This will let you know whereabouts your ball is likely to come to rest and is particularly helpful on hilly holes.
The Bushnell iON Elite GPS watch
With over 12 hours of battery life, the iON Elite Watch is perfect for a weekend of golf. This golf GPS device has a clear touchscreen display that offers immersive course views, and with 38,000 preloaded courses built in, you’ll have no trouble finding your local track.
Bushnell’s Dynamic Green mapping mode shows clear distance readings based on the player’s line of play, and shows distances to the front, middle, and back of greens in large easy-to-read numbers. It also comes with lots of scorekeeping functionalities and additional features, all conveniently available on your wrist.
The Bushnell Phantom 3 handheld
An excellent budget-friendly option that you can conveniently hold in one hand, the Phantom 3 is a compact tablet that gives you super reliable yardage readings on a crisp no-nonsense touch screen.
The device is simple and easy to navigate with straightforward touch activated buttons, and the round timer and odometer features are very easy to read. The Phantom 3 is highly interactive, and with the GreenView functionality, you’ll be able to move the pin placement on the green being displayed to get a better idea of the exact distance to the hole.
This device can pick up to six hazards per hole, and can display distances to the front, middle, and back of each green. With auto course and hole recognition, as well as an auto-prompt to enter your score, across 38,000 pre-loaded courses, you’ll be ready to hit the course straight away with this one in your pocket or attached to your belt.
Packing your bag with one or more of these devices will give you one less thing to worry about on the course. If you’re on the hunt for a new golf GPS device and you’re unsure of which one to settle on, we’d be happy to consult you in the pro shop.
