Bushnell PinSeeker 1500 Tournament & Slope Edition Review

Gently blow away any dust or debris on the lenses (or use a soft lens brush). To remove dirt or fingerprints, clean with a soft cotton cloth, rubbing in a circular motion. Use of a coarse cloth or unnecessary rubbing may scratch the lens surface and eventually cause permanent damage. For a more thorough cleaning, photographic lens tissue and photographic-type lens cleaning fluid or isopropyl alcohol may be used. Always apply the fluid to the cleaning cloth – never directly on the lens.

Reference: Bushnell PinSeeker 1500 Manual

With the relatively recent change by the USGA to legalize laser rangefinders, there is no reason not to have one in your bag. Using a laser rangefinder while you play and practice will shave at least a couple strokes off of your game. I have personally seen it in my own game and my playing partners. In this short article, I will go over 5 ways a laser rangefinder will improve your game.

1. Precise Course Yardages -Many golf courses have yardage markers that are off by as much as 10 yards because of maintenance or changes to the course. This can make the difference between a birdie putt and a chip shot for par. Also, these markers are to the center of the green. With a laser rangefinder you can measure the exact yardage to the pin. Laser rangefinders are great for shots within 100 yards since most golf courses don’t have yardage markers within this range.

2. Improve Club Selection -Like golf courses, driving ranges are consistently inaccurate in their yardage markers as well. A huge benefit of a laser rangefinder is knowing the average yardage you hit each club. Your swing will vary just about every day so some days you will hit longer than others. Using a laser rangefinder you can hit practice balls before you play a round and measure how far you are hitting each club that particular day.

3. Improve Short Game -Few driving ranges have yardage markers less than 100 yards and few practice greens have any markers at all. The key to lowering your scores is in the short game. A laser rangefinder will allow you to experiment to find out how far you hit a three-quarter sand wedge or a half pitching wedge.

4. Reduce Penalty Strokes -Probably the biggest benefit that has helped my game is the ability to measure distances to hazards and sand traps. This has allowed me to know how far I need to hit it to clear them or layup to one of them. This has saved me many bogeys. Laser rangefinders also come with magnification so you can survey the green for possible areas to avoid.

5. Improve Confidence -One of the biggest benefits of a laser rangefinder is eliminating doubts in your mind which can cause you to under or overcompensate on shots. A laser rangefinder will allow you to be confident in your club and shot selection so you can just concentrate on your swing.

Golf GPS System

Pros

• Quick and easy – no pointing and aiming like with a laser rangefinder.

Cons

• Can be off by as much as 10 yards sometimes depending on how the course was mapped.
• Only get yardage to front, middle and back of the green. This isn’t very useful for very large greens.
• Must download course before you play and there can be a fee.
• Won’t work on every course.
• Won’t work on the driving range.

Laser Rangefinder

Pros

• Very accurate to plus/minus one yard.
• Can get distance to just about any object you desire.
• Can use on the driving range and practice area.
• Will work on any course.
• With magnification you can survey the green for troublesome areas.

Cons

• Can be tiresome since you have to pull it out of your pocket or bag and aim at the target whereas with a GPS system you can just glance at it and get the yardage.
• Need a clear line of sight for it to work.

If you decide to go with a laser rangefinder, I highly recommend the Bushnell PinSeeker 1500 Tournament Edition which is the most effective and easy to use on the market but the bulkiest and heaviest PinSeeker, or the Bushnell Tour V2 which is lightweight and compact but not as effective.