What Is The Best Golf Rangefinder?

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Have you recently gotten serious about your golf hobby? Or have you been serious for a while and need a way to upgrade your game?

Then it’s likely that you need a golf rangefinder. A rangefinder is designed to do one thing, and one thing only; to tell you how far away you are from the pin by accurately measure the distance between you and the hole on the golf course.

It also gives you vital information that can help you determine the best shot to take. Rangefinders typically have a binocular-like design and are held vertically to allow you to easily aim and measure the distance to your target.

This allows you to be more accurate with your swings, and how powerful you need to be to get close to your next hole in one.

Now, considering that this seems to be a somewhat easy job, you’d be surprised how many different models and price points you need to look through to find the perfect rangefinder for your game.

Let us help you pick the best golf rangefinder!

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What to Look for in a Rangefinder

A rangefinder typically looks like a pair of binoculars, only you hold them vertically, rather than horizontally.

You’ll find the world’s best players and their caddies carrying around different rangefinders during their practices, but it’s only since 2021 that they’ll be able to use the devices during actual tournaments.

Latest equipment doesn’t just tell you how far away you are from the end, but also includes more interesting features. Because of this, it can be hard to know exactly what you need, and important to keep your kit up to date.

So what do you need to look for in a good rangefinder?

Accuracy

For something that’s primary purpose is to measure distance, you want to make sure that you have something that is able to measure distance accurately, otherwise, what’s the point?

With newer models, this isn’t something that is too much of an issue, but still something to keep in mind.

Ease Of Use

The last thing you want in the middle of a game is to be faffing about with complicated screens or buttons. No, you want something that you can pick up, press just one of two buttons on and instantly know the distance to the flag, or a hazard of some kind.

Distance Range

If you’re on a small green this might not be too much of an issue, but if you know that you’re going to be playing on massive courses, then you need to know that your rangefinder is going to be able to reach the flag.

And on that note you need to be able to see what you’re doing, do you need to know the range, but also the magnification so that you’ll be able to see what it’s pointing at.

Price

Surprisingly, there are plenty of models on the market that are over $500, however you don’t really have to go for anything that expensive. The sweetspot for something that’s going to have premium quality but not completely break the bank is around $250.

Rangefinders at this price point are generally going to come with a lot of other features, like slope calculation, pin seeking tech, and 2D hole layouts. 

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The Best Rangefinders On The Market

Although there are definitely other features that you want to kleep in mind before purchasing (things like whether it’s waterproof, what the battery life is like, and what kind of display technology it has).

I’m sure that you’re really just here to find out what the best products available at the moment are.

So with that in mind, here is a brief list of the top 4 rangefinders on the market at the time of writing.

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Our Top Pick: Bushnell Pro XE

This is one of those super expensive ones that I mentioned previously. However, it is one that comes with everything that you could want and is the best one that can be found – if you have the budget for it.

It is not only the most accurate that I’ve come across but also have very bright and clear readouts, and a new magnet feature so it can clip to basically anything.

They’ve even added temperature and barometric elements to the slope calculation to give you an accurate “plays like” distance.

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Editors Choice: Precision Pro NX9 HD

Value here is not necessarily the cheapest, but is instead the product that will get you the absolute best quality of features for the lowest price.

Therefore, this model hits the mark for having the best combination for features whilst not breaking the bank. The

Precision Pro is a very impressive product that has the same distance as the previous Bushnell just as fast, and is also magnetic so it can slip in most places. The only difference (besides being about $200 cheaper) is that the grade of the materials aren’t quite as nice, which I guess is to be expected.

It doesn’t feel as high-end, and the optics aren’t as good, but it gets the job done, and it does it well. 

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Best Value: Busnell Tour V5

Another Bushnells, so you know you’re getting quality (and you know you’re going to pay for it). This product is nice and small so it can easily go in a pocket, it’s fast and accurate, making it perfect for it’s simple job.

The standard doesn’t come with a slope measurement, but if you want to pay an extra $100 you’ll be able to pick up the slope edition. 

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Runner Up: Precision Pro NX7

A very similar model to the previous Precision Pro, this product is pleasantly surprising, considering it is at least half the price of a lot of other models.

If you want something that’s basically like the high end models without going bankrupt then this could be the golf rangefinder for you. Nothing is quite as good in this model as it is in the expensive ones, but that’s totally fair, right? You’re paying a fraction of the cost to get something that is only not quite as good, and I think that’s a pretty good deal.

Not quite as fast, not quite as clear? IF that’s something you can deal with for the price of saving over $200, then the Precision Pro NX7 is the one for you.