Bushnell 1500 PinSeeker with slope is no dope

I was a little reticent about spending $400 (Digital Foto Club)on the Bushnell PinSeeker with slope laser range finder that I could not demo first, but none of the area golf stores had one. I read a few of the reviews and was wavering between the Bushnell product vs. the new Nikon competitive product that was a little less expensive. The slope compensation feature offered on the top of the line Bushnell model made sense to me, so that was my determining factor in the decision.

I received the product within 3 days of placing the order (free shipping by UPS) and was pretty excited when it arrived at my office. It seemed to work quite well on any distant target, even through the windows (not unexpected since it is based on laser technology). I have used it on two successive days on two golf courses over the weekend and it did not disappoint. There is a mode button that allows you to use it in one of three modes (no PinSeeker, PinSeeker, and PinSeeker with slope compensation). I left it in the PinSeeker mode with slope compensation for the entire time (no reason not to). It is powered by a 9 volt battery, which I considered an advantage, in not having to worry about recharging and the battery life is quite long according to the directions.

Essentially, you turn it on, point it at the flag or any object on which you require a distance read and continue to push down on the power button until it locks on the target and reads out yardage (default is yards, but can be switched to meters for our friends across the pond). This only takes seconds. Even though your view of the target may be a bit unstable at long distances - you can only hold it so steady with respect to a distant flag - like using a handheld telescope - the PinSeeker did exactly as advertised - it locked onto the target sited in the measurement circle within the viewfinder. Even though the image is shaking while acquiring the reading, it doesn't seem to bother the yardage acquisition due to some sophisticated software.

Then, almost immediately, the slope in or - degree angle is read out just below the first yardage number appearing in the viewfinder and below that is the final "compensated" yardage - the true yardage you should use to select the proper club. For the course I was on, this varied up to 8-9 yards, so it can be significant (less yards if you are on a downslope to the pin and more yards if you are on an incline). One of the other aspects that was impressive was how it would differ from the yardage markers on the fairway due to the pin placement on that day, showing me that the yardage markers could be off by 5-10 yards in some cases. It really worked well off the tee, on the fairway, and I hope to use it to my advantage on the driving range.

The others in my foursome were very appreciative of me giving them readings on their lies and I found the readout very accurate, allowing me to choose the proper club each time. I didn't really realize how inaccurate my own estimate could be based on the fairway markers and the pin placements which were not always obvious without the PinSeeker readout. One or two times I was on an incline and the tip of the flag from the pin was just visible over the crest of the hill and it was hard to lock onto it due to my unsteadiness - I just walked a few more yards forward to bring the flag further above the hill's crest, and then it was no problem. It also did not make any difference as to what color the flag was (white, black, or yellow on the course I played).

The PinSeeker is lightweight and not too large at all (not as small as the Nikon), but I would not be trying to put it in my pocket anyway. It easily fits in your bag, comes with a carrying case if you want to use that, too. I put a wide Velcro strip on mine and on my push cart where there is a flat area for a scorecard so that I can mount it to my cart if I want. I found I ended up keeping it in my bag while walking the course on one day, and when I was riding in a cart on the other day, just kept it handy in the cart dash area.

Bottom line: I think this is a very worthwhile investment and quality range finding instrument if you are trying to improve your game in every way, which of course requires optimal club selection based on the yardage to the pin. Based on my experience so far, I would highly recommend it -I have no negatives. For anyone with a tremor or unsteady hand, the PinSeeker software seems to be able to overcome that - if you are really unsteady, just bracing your arm against the golf cart or your bag should help considerably, but I did not have to do that at my ripe old age of 52.