Bushnell PinSeeker 1500 Tournament & Slope Edition Review

Dialed in!!, January 14, 2007

I think this optical instrument should be mandatory on all golf courses. Just as iPods have obviated CDs, this device will completely obviate the need for yardages on sprinkler heads and the like. Here’s my normal round without the Bushnell Pinseeker: I drive out in the fairway — hopefully — and then have to find a sprinkler head. From there I have to pace it off to my ball. I get a yardage, but that’s to the center of the green. At my home course I go to a pin sheet which has a crude outline of the green with four numbers on the green — back left, back right, front left, front center. Now, assuming we’re playing the back left number, I have to do some speculative math to determine how far back left the pin is, add that to the yardage … you get the picture. WHAT A WASTE OF TIME!! The Bushnell zeroes in on the flag and gives me an exact-to-the-pin yardage every time. DO NOT get the cheaper versions as the optics are not good and it’s almost impossible to lock in on the flag — you will be terribly disappointed if you get the under $200 one. And the one that factors in slope is not USGA legal. I just finished a round at famous Riviera C.C. I had a caddy. He was calculating yardages for both me and my partner and he was amazingly accurate, but the time he wasted pacing off yardages from sprinkler heads … and whenever someone hit it right or left in the Eucalyptuses he relied heavily on my Bushnell for the yardages. And he was not spot-on with his distances. This has been by far the best new thing I have put in my bag. It’s a little pricey but then no one thinks about spending $400 for that new driver that does nothing to improve their swing. One thing the Bushnell has done is to really refine my iron distances. I’m a single digit handicap and this beautiful little instrument has just been a fantastic addition. I don’t work for the company and I think their cheaper products are garbage. But this little guy is a beaut.

Pinseeker 1500-Awesome-Worth the extra money!, February 19, 2006

Surprised my husband with the Pinseeker 1500 for Christmas, we “BOTH” love it!! It is soooo “user friendly” and best of all “visually” user friendly! GREAT for the visually impaired over age “40″ group who depend on the “Walgreen’s” reading glasses! No need for glasses or lenghty instruction books-just aim at the flag and click the button-shows two distances. The actual distance and the distance it should play because of the slope!! Having the SLOPE FINDER is the most important aspect-this is what gives you the ACCURATE yardage. The “slope” differance” is what normally what makes the difference of which club to use.Many of the cheaper models do not allow for the slope-so what good is that, there’s plenty yard markers on a course? It was fun to see what the course yardage markers read and then what the scope finder tells you. Makes your club selection so much more accurate! It’s price is on the higher side, but for the quality, it’s WELL worth it. My husband had tried a friends cheaper version, he actually could not use it because it was so hard visually to read. Before you buy one, be sure to check that out! Word of warning, your golfing partners will love to be in your golf group, asking you the yardage on “their” shots too!!

As another viewer mentioned-it’s the best club in the bag, we HIGHLY reccomend it!!! Now….if it could only make the ball actually go to that exact spot, we’d all be happy golfers!!!

Great Game Improvement and Easy to Use., November 10, 2006

The Bushnell Pinseeker 1500 Rangefinder (non-slope model) is easy to use and constructed for the elements. After using the Pinseeker for a few rounds I quickly learned how to focus and acquire the desired target in a matter of seconds. As I walk up to my ball I pull out the rangefinder, acquire the target, put it back in the case and hit the shot without adding more then 10 seconds to my preshot routine. This rangefinder is most definately a game improvement device and has helped me to select the right club, and in many cases made me aware that I needed to change clubs.

In my opinion it is better then the GPS devices whereas you must have a course loaded or manually enter the course info beforehand. If you ride in a golf car with GPS and are subject to cart path only, then the point where your ball lies will only be an estimate of the actual yardage. The Pinseeker can go to any course in the world and be used immediately on any part of the course.

If you are looking for a device that will help with club selection and game imporvement, then I would highly recommend the Pinseeker 1500.

A substantial improvement over earlier iterations of this same product., October 8, 2007

This is a beautifully constructed laser instrument for accurately measuring your distance to the pin or to any obstacle on the course. It works significantly better than the older version of this same product locking in much quicker plus it can find the flag MUCH easier.

My dad and I both use this when we are playing golf and find it to be completely reliable. You will also find additional uses for your Yardage Pro Laser Rangefinder. I use my for sighting in my rifle and for all sorts of other things.

One small downside. You do have to drag it out and sight in every time you need a measurement and that does get a bit tiresome. The GPS units that are on some golf carts on some courses are VERY convenient but do not give precise yardage to the pin and other objects.

I heartily recommend this product! It delivers exactly as promised.

Does what they say it does, August 25, 2006

This thing works exactly as advertised. I use it for golf, and it does a very good job of separating the flag from other background objects, even when wind or my over-caffeinated hands make it hard to get the target centered on the flag. Even works when there is no wind and the flag is hanging straight down. This is well worth the cost adder over cheaper ones that don’t work nearly as well.

Bushnel Pinseeker 1500 Rangefinder w/, January 9, 2007

I bought this rangefinder to take to Myrtle Beach for a golf outing. Since we play a different course every day, I hoped it would give me true yardages on a course I hadn’t played before. It out performed my expectations. Every golfer knows that the yardages on the course are to the center of the green. But some greens are 1 to 2 club lengths more. This rangefinder gave perfect yardages for me.
This rangefinder has three modes of operation. You can use it for hunting with the first mode, which just gives you yardage to any target you aim at. The second mode is the pin seeker mode for golf. You aim at the flag and press the button and it gives you the yardage to the flag. The third mode is the pin seeker w/slope mode for golf. You also aim at the flag and it gives you the distance to the pin plus or minus the slope to the green(this mode is illegal for USGA tournaments).
It was very helpful off the tee. You could aim it at a fairway bunker or hazard from the tee and you could get a yardage that would let you know whether you could carry it.
I found it very easy to operate and a great product.

Steady Hand Needed, December 22, 2006

I have only used it a few times and like it, especially the slope feature (I’m not a tournament player), but I must point out that it took me a while to learn to steady it enough to get good readings. It still takes me too long to get readings when the flag is more than 200 yds away, especially when there is no wind and when the background is cluttered. Perhaps I will get better results with more use and practice. I play with friends who are low handicappers (I’m not) and who don’t waste time on the course. While they ask me for readings when the slope of a hole is great, I usually don’t have much time to get readings and keep playing at a steady pace. The instruction manual is too sketchy for my liking.

One important point!!!, August 3, 2007

This rangefinder is every bit as good as everyone says it is. But I think one point is not emphasized enough. With older range finders I’ve owned, you “shot” the flag. If you missed, you had to shoot it again…and again. And sometimes you just couldn’t “hit” it. But with this Bushnell Pinseeker 1500, you don’t have to nail it. Just aim it generally at the flag and move it around a bit. When it captures the flag, the yardage is locked in. So now my aim doesn’t matter and I can shoot from much farther away and get the accurate distance in just a few seconds. It’s awesome. And don’t spend the extra $80 on the “slope” model. One, it’s not legal and, two, can’t you already tell when the hole is uphill or downhill? I think it’s wasted money (although it DOES work as advertised). What a Christmas or birthday gift!!!

Seeing is believing…, February 1, 2007

I love my rangefinder! I’ve had it since Oct.2006 and forgot it at home only once.
I’ve trusted my Pinseeker over tee box yardage markers, a myriad of GPS in-cart units, sprinker heads and the usual variety of yardage to the center of the green course markers 200, 150, 100. I believe what it tells me and it has been highly accurate. I’m reluctant to share the yardage info with my fellow players unless asked, to avoid chatty debates and responsibility for their errant shots.(you’d be surprised…)

A few things to be aware are, the flags must be clearly visable of distant out of focus shrub branches that can interfere with the laser sensor, low light overcast conditions can be difficult to accurately measure distance and lastly, if you’ve heavily consumed too much COFFEE or too many martinis the night before, shakiness will prevail. You may want to add a tripod to your bag. % )

Bushnell 1500 is a great rangefinder alternative, September 6, 2006

I considered various alternatives of rangefinders and am thrilled that I chose both this type and this model. It is easy to use, has great features and is very accurate. I primarily use just the distance feature, but for non-competitive rounds the effective distance feature taking into consideration upward or downward slope is very cool. I also like the carrying case which can be attached to a bag or pull cart and provides easy accessibility to the rangefinder. I just returned from a trip to Ireland where many of the courses have few if any distance markers. It was indespensible.