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Sports change as new technology emerges, and golf is no exception. Golfers, both amatuer and expert, are taking advantage of the latest tech gear to shave strokes of their game.
Laser rangefinders are quickly becoming one of the most popular tools among golfers, and almost any player can improve with these devices. But like any new gadget, it’s critical to research the best models beforehand. Few things are more frustrating than buying a piece of technology that doesn’t live up to the hype.
That’s why we created this website—to take a hard look at some of the most popular models. We wanted to weigh their strengths against their weakness to determine which rangefinders were the best value, and which were best avoided.
How We Chose Our Favorites
We combed through blogs, reviews, field tests and other real life side-by-side comparisons of today’s best rangefinders. With the information we found, we weighed the quality features against the price to determine with models were the best values for dollar.
Because no two golfers are alike, we also matched our favorite models to the customer lifestyle they fit best. There’s something for everyone here, whether you’re looking for an inexpensive model that still performs well, or you’re looking for the best that money can buy.
What is a “Golf Rangefinder”?
The technology behind rangefinders has made great strides in recent years. All modern rangefinders on the market today use technology unavailable to the average consumer a few decades ago.
The two main types of golf rangefinders use either GPS or laser technology. We reviewed exclusively laser rangefinders here. While GPS rangefinders can absolutely be useful in many situations, laser rangefinders are more universal in their application. They also tend to provide more accurate results than their GPS counterparts, so we feel they are a better investment.
Laser rangefinders aren’t just used by golfers. They’re a favorite tool in a number of fields, particularly among hunting and gun enthusiast. Rangefinders are also used by contractors, foresters, scientists, and civic engineers—to name a few.
So what makes a rangefinder specifically a “golf rangefinder”?
The difference between golfing rangefinders and those used in other fields is the “priority targeting software”. This means golf rangefinders, when pointed at a group of objects, will target the closest object to the users. Sometimes this is called “pinseeker technology” or “first priority software”.
They’re designed this way for a reason. On a fairway, the closest object to you will likely be flag.
This priority target software (ideally) ignores the objects in the background and instead zeroes in on the closest object in the viewfinder.
Hunting rangefinders, however, usually prioritize the furthest object from the user by default. That’s because hunters often find themselves in the brush, where the closest object is often a bush or a tree trunk.
The highest end models of rangefinders sometimes have a feature that allows you to switch between priority modes. If you enjoy hunting and golfing, check out our Top Laser Rangefinders for some of the best multi-use models at https://bestrangefinder.reviews/
