Best Rangefinders for Golf
Our Top Picks
When rangefinders first began to gain popularity, I had a real purist (elitist?) outlook. I remember telling people that used them it was cheating to do so. No, “real golfers” spent minutes looking for a sprinkler head or other yardage marker, then estimating how much farther or closer they are, only to be completely wrong and overshoot the green by 10 yards. My attitude has completely changed.
You never see pro golfers using digital rangefinders on tv. They’re not allowed to in PGA tournament play. But they, along with their caddies, spend hours tracking and noting distances to all greens, hazards, trees, and from every angle leading up to tournament play. And what do they use to track distances? You guessed it.
A golf yardage finder. This is so they can be pin point accurate with their distances durin the competition. Range finders have come a long way since they first came out. There are a whole ton of brands to choose from, with varying price points. Some are laser, some are GPS, some calculate slope, some are non-slope, etc. We tested over 60 different rangefinders and will lay out for you our top 7 picks and why.
Rangefinder Reviews
Our Top 7 Picks for Range Finder Golf Tools
Best Golf Rangefinder for the Money
Bushnell Tour V4 JOLT
Review
Bushnell is probably the biggest name in golf rangefinders. It’s the brand most used by pros and caddies when gathering distance data. As the leading manufacturer of these golf distance finders, it is one of the most dependable brands on the market.
The Bushnell Tour V4 JOLT offers their well-known Pinseeker with Jolt technology which provides vibrating bursts to verify it is locked onto the flag. The Tour V4 provides ranges within 1-yard accuracy from 5 – 1,000 yards, pin yardages of up to 400 yards, and 5x magnification. This tool is well built, easy to use, and suitable for all skill levels.
Category | Score |
|---|---|
Optics/Display | 4.9 |
Accuracy | 4.9 |
Battery Life | 4.7 |
Durability | 4.7 |
Value | 4.8 |
Overall Score | 4.8 / 5.0 |
Cell | Cell |
Top Golf Rangefinder with Slope
Callaway 300 Pro
Review
Callaway is obviously one of the biggest names when it comes to golf clubs, but how do Callaway's rangefinders fare? Surprisingly well. Callaway’s 300 Pro offers 6x magnification and can calculate yardages from 5-1000 yards within 1 yard accuracy. It can lock onto a pin from up to 300 yards away and offers what they call a Birdie feature, which means it does an audible chirping noise when locked onto the pin (we actually didn’t like this feature as it could potentially annoy other golfers).
The 300 Pro also offers a slope feature which takes into account the angle of incline or decline before providing the slope adjusted distance. This feature can be turned on and off, so it is still legal to use in a tournament setting.
Category | Score |
|---|---|
Optics/Display | 4.0 |
Accuracy | 4.9 |
Battery Life | 4.8 |
Durability | 4.6 |
Value | 4.7 |
Overall Score | 4.6 / 5.0 |
Cell | Cell |
Best Budget Rangefinder (without Slope)
TecTecTec VPRO500
Review
The TecTecTec VPRO500 offers a max-range of 540 yards, and can lock onto the pin within 1-yard accuracy from up to 300 yards out. The VPRO500 is a solid tool. It isn’t up to the quality of some of its more expensive competitors and doesn’t have a slope feature. Which for some may be a deal breaker. But it offers more than enough quality and features for the price point to make it our top pick for budget rangefinder without slope.
Category | Score |
|---|---|
Optics/Display | 4.4 |
Accuracy | 4.9 |
Battery Life | 4.7 |
Durability | 4.4 |
Value | 4.8 |
Overall Score | 4.6 / 5.0 |
Cell | Cell |
Top 2 Laser Rangefinder
Leupold GX-3i2
Review
Leupold is widely known for their world-class scopes and binoculars. You’ll find the same quality and precision in their rangefinder offerings. The Leupold GX-3i2 offers 6x magnification, and is the second (second to the Bushnell Pro XE) most accurate rangefinder we tested. It can measure yardages from 5-1000+ yards within 1/10th of a yard accuracy and can lock onto the flag at up to 450 yards.
The OLED display was also the best that we tested. Another great feature of the GX-3i2 is its fog mode. It is able to cut through the fog so you can still get extremely accurate distance readings, even in thick fog. The GX-3i2 is as good of quality a rangefinder that you will come across. It has a real solid feel, is extraordinarily accurate, and comes with a lot of great features.
Category | Score |
|---|---|
Optics/Display | 4.9 |
Accuracy | 5.0 |
Battery Life | 4.8 |
Durability | 4.9 |
Value | 4.7 |
Overall Score | 4.9 / 5.0 |
Cell | Cell |
Best Budget Golf Rangefinder (with Slope)
TecTecTec ULT-X
Review
The TecTecTec ULT-X is a legitimate competitor in the higher end, slope range finders. It’s also significantly less expensive than some of the big names in the market, making it the preferable choice to many of you shopping for a rangefinder. The ULT-X offer 6x magnification, is very accurate, and is able to provide yardage of up to 1000 yards within 1 yard accuracy. It can catch pins at up to 450 yards. For distances up to 300 yards, it is accurate within an impressive 0.3 yards. At distances of up to 600 yards, it is accurate within 0.5 yards.
This tool is loaded with features. It has a slope feature to calculate distances taking into account elevation changes from the shot to the target. It has a vibrate feature letting you know when the target is locked. It has a scan mode to check multiple distances quickly, one after the other. It is also rainproof and moisture resistant. With all of its features and lower price point, this is our pick for best budget slope rangefinder with a slope feature.
Category | Score |
|---|---|
Optics/Display | 4.6 |
Accuracy | 4.9 |
Battery Life | 4.8 |
Durability | 4.6 |
Value | 4.8 |
Overall Score | 4.7 / 5.0 |
Cell | Cell |
Best of the Best Golf Range Finder
Bushnell Pro X3
Review
The Bushnell Pro X3 is simply the best rangefinder on the market. Amazingly accurate, ridiculously high quality, and steep price tag…it has it all. The Pro XE offers industry leading 7x magnification. It can handle distances of up to 1300 ft and can pin seek at 500+ yards. A really cool feature is what they call the BITE Magnetic Cart Mount – you can stick it right to the cart bar for easy and convenient storage and retrieval.
The Pinseeker with Visual JOLT feature causes the tool to vibrate when the pin is locked in, and also puts a red ring around the pin in the optics, which are very clear. This device is also waterproof, something not many other range finders can claim. Offers a slope feature with a switch to easily turn it on for practice or off for tournament play.
And the new Slope with Elements Compensation feature takes into account the temperature, barometric pressure, and the slope to calculate and provide the most accurate distances available. If you’re a seeker of the best in quality and features, regardless of the price, this rangefinder is for you. It truly is an excellent piece of equipment and the top choice for those who aren’t concerned about the price.
Category | Score |
|---|---|
Optics/Display | 4.9 |
Accuracy | 5.0 |
Battery Life | 4.8 |
Durability | 4.9 |
Value | 4.7 |
Overall Score | 4.9 / 5.0 |
Cell | Cell |
Top Entry Level Rangefinder Golf Device
BOBLOV LF600AG
Review
The BOBLOV LF600AG was easily one of the lowest priced range finders we tested. The reason it made our list is because it has surprisingly good features for a very low price point distance finder. The LF600AG offers 6x magnification. Its yardage range is from 6.5 yards to 650 yards. It is very accurate when pin seeking, within 1-yard accuracy at up to 200 yards.
This extremely well-priced finder offers several great features. The tool vibrates when it locks onto the flag. This feature comes with an on/off switch, which we thought was a nice touch. It also has a slope feature that can easily be turned on or off. A built-in, rechargeable battery means it can be recharged in your car or anywhere else you have a USB outlet.
This device falls short in quality and features compared to the other finders on this list. However, it offers plenty of good features for how low-priced it is. The combination of the low price point and solid list of features put this on our favorites list. If you are the frugal, penny pinching type, but still want some good features in a distance finder, the BOBLOV would be a great choice for you.
Category | Score |
|---|---|
Optics/Display | 4.6 |
Accuracy | 4.2 |
Battery Life | 4.9 |
Durability | 4.1 |
Value | 4.6 |
Overall Score | 4.5 / 5.0 |
Cell | Cell |
FAQ
In a word, yes. It only takes playing golf a few times for most players to begin to be concerned with distances. Most courses provide poor and inaccurate distance markers, if any, so you are always guessing the distance, and therefore unsure of which club to use. A golf rangefinder is a relatively small investment that allows you to never have to guess the distance or which club to use.
Some less-expensive rangefinders are surprisingly good; others are terribly bad. Look at our pick for best rangefinder on a budget (without slope) higher up on this page, or our pick for top entry level range finder device.
This largely depends on which features you want in your distance finder (e.g. do you want a slope feature?). Our two picks are the Bushnell Tour V4 Jolt (higher end) and the TecTecTec VPro500 (lower end). Reviews for both finders can be found higher up on this page. Both provide really good value at their respective price points.
The slope feature provides more accurate distance measurements on uphill/downhill shots. If you play a lot of hilly or mountainous courses, then yes, you will probably need a slope feature. If you play primarily flat courses, you definitely do not need a slope feature. Skill level is also a determining factor. More beginner players will get by just fine without slope. Intermediate to advanced players will likely benefit from having slope.
The best yardage device in golf, hands down, is the Bushnell Pro XE. You can find our review of the Pro XE higher up on this page, but there is no better golf distance tool for range, accuracy, and extra features. This is why an estimated 97% of pros and their caddies use Bushnell.