Bushnell Yardage Pro Sport Rangefinder

Now that the USGA has made it legal to use laser range finders for handicap rounds, and tournament rounds (committee permitting), I felt it was finally time to buy one.

I tried a couple of them, and the entry-level Yardage Pro Sport works just great.

Let's get to the cons first.

The only con is that it is hard to hit a flagstick from over 100 yards. It's very difficult if there is no wind. It's damn near impossible from over 150 yards. That sounds like a lot, but it really isn't.

There are workarounds. Instead of shooting the flag, you shoot the folks ahead of you that are putting out. Easy. This is easy to well over 200 yards. Only when there is no one ahead of you will you have difficulty getting a yardage.

The second work around is that you shoot the bottom of the flag where the cup is. This works quite well also.

As time goes on and laser's become more popular, I'm sure many golf courses will attach those reflectors to the sticks again. I saw many courses with them about 5 years ago, but they disappeared. If they invest the money to put the reflectors back on, I'm sure the Yardage Pro Sport will be able to get just about any useful yardage you need.

With that said, I wouldn't trade my laser range finder for anything golf related. It is BY FAR the best golf purchase I have ever made, and should have made long ago.

Here's why.

If you practice at the driving range, do you really know how far away those pins and markers are? I doubt it. Now you will. At my range, the first stick is 91 yards away as shot by my rangefinder. So I practice my 100 yard swing which lands right next to the stick and releases to 100. I do that over and over.

Now when I get to the course and I shoot the stick and it says 100 yards, how much confidence am I going to have with that yardage? I'm not relying on whether or not the survey crew got the yardage correct. The exact same device I shot the flag on the range with is the exact same device I'm shooting my yardage on the course with. So I ABSOLUTELY KNOW the yardage I need to hit it.

I have only been to the range twice with the rangefinder, and played three rounds with it. I have hit more shots close to the pin in those three rounds than I have all summer. Confidence.

In the coming year or so there is going to be a great debate between getting a laser rangefinder or getting a GPS. Get the laser for the exact reason that the GPS will do you ABSOLUTELY NO GOOD on the practice range. Also, those GPS's will most likely be to the middle of the green. With the laser finder, it's ALWAYS to the stick, PLUS you can shoot how far it is to the front, or to that bunker, or how far it is to carry the water.

As an example, on Thursday I went for a par 5 in two. The green is a bit raised and protected by a bunker. I drew my ball a little left and below the bunker. All I could see from down there was the flag and the bunker. You know the shot, where it looks like there is no room between the two.

So I take out the rangefinder and shoot the stick, 30 yards. Then I move it a bit down and shoot the top of the bunker, 15 yards. I was guessing there was about 6 yards between the two, and in reality there was 15. Also, I know I need to hit the ball at least 15 yards to carry the bunker.

Knowing I had all that room between the hazard and the pin made the shot a LOT easier to hit. This is something you just won't be able to do with GPS in it's current state.

Another thing I love about a laser rangefinder is that most golfers don't play a lot of shots from the fairway. You always have to guess your distance on an arc. With the laserfinder you just shoot your distance and play that. It doesn't matter if it's fairway, rough, trees, swamp, as long as you can see the stick, you can get your yardage.

The last thing I love about it is that 99% of courses don't have ANY kind of markings inside 100 yards. Inside 100 yards is where you should score from, and courses don't seem to think it's that important to give you a yardage. The laserfinder is just TERRIFIC inside 100 yards.

Can you really tell, with your eyes, the difference between 60 and 70 yards? I know I can't. And if you are playing it 60 and it's 70, you have a 30-foot putt. The laserfinder will tell you the exact yardage and you'll be able to hit the shot that you practiced to that exact yardage whether it be at a range, your back yard, or a field somewhere.

I'll wrap things up saying that the Bushnell Yardage Pro Sport is a GREAT entry-level laser range-finder. Inside 100 yards, it'll be just as good, and just as accurate as the most expensive units out there.

Outside 150 yards, it might get a little harder to get correct yardages on a calm day, or if there isn't a group in front of you on that calm day. I expect this to change as more courses adopt the usage of laser rangefinders and put the reflectors on the pins.

When that happens, the Bushnell Yardage Pro Sport will be just as good as anything out there from any range.

And finally, finally, on a different topic, the Bushnell Yardage Pro Sport comes with a handy little padded case that keeps it quite protected inside my golf bag. I have no problem pulling it out and putting it away in it's case before/after every shot with no delay in my normal routine.

I highly recommend it.