Bushnell or Nikon? reviews please

With my skycaddie subscription up for renewal at the end of October I'm considering a move to laser dmd. The V2 and the Coolshot seem to offer more or less the same as one another at the same price - reviews of each would be welcome.
Thanks

I've had the v2 for a while, frankly I'd be lost without it. It does what it's supposed to do, record distance accurately, as well as pins you can fire it at bunker lips, trees etc so you can easily scope out your landing areas.
Downsides?? Battery life (always carry a spare CR2 in your bag!!) I go through about 4 to 6 in a year.
Wet weather, both rain and heavy mist can distort or make readings difficult.
Difficult to get readings over 250 yds (admittedly not a frequent demand of the user)
Back to wet weather, if it does get a soaking it can take a day or 2 to fully demist.

I just bought a Nikon Coolshot a couple of weeks ago and it is excellent.
I've just switched from a GPS which had broken and I don't know whether it's coincidence but I'm getting closer to the pin since I bought it.
It measures distance constantly on pressing of the button and so my preferred method is to hit "Go" and drag it across the flag so that you don't only pick up a bush and you can see what. Pretty easy to get used after a few holes.

I'd agree with Jas that it is worth carrying a spare battery as my mates bushnell ran out yesterday although as a previous Nikon user I never had to replace more than once a year. Perhaps the Bushnell's "buzz" technology rinses the battery a bit more.

I don't think you'd be disappointed with either Barra.

Get a different GPS. Garmin G3 and G5 are excellent - no annual subscription and rarely have to update the course file. Frankly, I don't think it makes enough difference to anyone except the top Tour players whether something is 180 yards or 180.3 yards so a GPS is more than good enough. No worries re. blind shots with a GPS either.

Tend to agree with you navy, until a recent round as a guest at another course. One of the hosts was correcting my yardages throughout the round and the difference was often half a club or more either way. Might even keep the SC til it bites the dust as front and back yardages are every bit as handy, and £30/pa isn't too taxing.

navyblueshorts wrote:Get a different GPS. Garmin G3 and G5 are excellent - no annual subscription and rarely have to update the course file. Frankly, I don't think it makes enough difference to anyone except the top Tour players whether something is 180 yards or 180.3 yards so a GPS is more than good enough. No worries re. blind shots with a GPS either.

Courses are changing all the time though. New bunker here, green moved slightly there. I don't know about Garmin, but some GPS systems are hopelessly out of date (like the order of the holes has changed five years ago), and the plot is taken from GoogleEarth.

Also a lot of these proprietary (non subscription GPS just use georeferenced satellite or aerial images using an inappropriate projection and coordinate reference system.
Two different GPS from the same point can give vastly different readings. Most of the time they are fine, but occasionally they give misleading readings.

I've more faith in a laser now.

super_realist wrote:Also a lot of these proprietary (non subscription GPS just use georeferenced satellite or aerial images using an inappropriate projection and coordinate reference system.
Two different GPS from the same point can give vastly different readings. Most of the time they are fine, but occasionally they give misleading readings.

I've more faith in a laser now.

Me too and I used to have a GPS and thought it was great but yes, did get the odd "interesting" reading. With blind shots a wee bit of prior research is all thats needed e.g. at Carnoustie the 2nd (or 3rd) shot to the 14th (The Spectacles) is blind. All that needs doing (in the practice round) is to scope the distances from the bunker lip to the front of the green. When on the fairway the following day, scope the bunker lip then add on the distance measured the previous day, then what the Pin sheet says the flag is on...simples. A lot of blind greens have a pole behind them (again the 1st at Carnoustie is an example). On the practice day when you get to the front of the green scope the pole, note the number. On the fairway the following day, scope the pole and subtract your noted number to get the front of the green then add what the pin sheet says. Yes...angles may distort exact distances slightly but as Navy says, we're not Pros, a yard or 3 wont make that much difference.

JAS wrote:Me too and I used to have a GPS and thought it was great but yes, did get the odd "interesting" reading. With blind shots a wee bit of prior research is all thats needed e.g. at Carnoustie the 2nd (or 3rd) shot to the 14th (The Spectacles) is blind. All that needs doing (in the practice round) is to scope the distances from the bunker lip to the front of the green. When on the fairway the following day, scope the bunker lip then add on the distance measured the previous day, then what the Pin sheet says the flag is on...simples. A lot of blind greens have a pole behind them (again the 1st at Carnoustie is an example). On the practice day when you get to the front of the green scope the pole, note the number. On the fairway the following day, scope the pole and subtract your noted number to get the front of the green then add what the pin sheet says. Yes...angles may distort exact distances slightly but as Navy says, we're not Pros, a yard or 3 wont make that much difference.

OR

Look at it, say "that looks about 150" and rip an 8 iron.

Hmmm .. wonder why I'm off 12.

I've spent just slightly more than the cost of a V2, but I have a GPS and a laser. They're both from Shotsaver, both came with lots of accessories and both seem to be very good vfm. The GPS has no images but comes preloaded with thousands of courses here and abroad. The laser cost me less than £100 and came with 3 batteries (the first one is still going 4 months in) and a carry case and karabiner. They were also willing to send me one of those mumbo-jumbo wrist bands but I told them where to stuff it. Part of me thinks there must be something dodgy about the brand, the kit being so cheap, but it works and as far as I can tell is as accurate as any other. As far as the getting wet is concerned, I played on Thursday of last week and the case of the laser certainly got soaked. I dried it out and then used the laser at Chart Hills on Sunday. The 3rd there is 135 yards on the card, but I was getting a reading of 148 where a friend's gps watch said 133. I was ready to believe that the water had somehow buggered the workings but sure enough when we got down there, the green was a lot deeper than it appeared on the till and the pin was at the back.

George1507 wrote:Courses are changing all the time though. New bunker here, green moved slightly there. I don't know about Garmin, but some GPS systems are hopelessly out of date (like the order of the holes has changed five years ago), and the plot is taken from GoogleEarth.

Not sure I buy that George. Some courses may be changing "all the time" but I can't say I've come across many - only one in the last few years cf. the GPS. Then again, I can't afford Muirfield or similar places. Only issue I had with my Garmin was it not having a second course at a venue near me that has two - odd, but the map database upgrade I installed afterwards has fixed the problem.
My Garmin G3 is completely water- and shock-proof. Not had a single issue and distances have been spot on so far. In fact, last time out at a Society on a par 3, had a guy in our group with a laser swearing it was ~100 to the pin (over water) where my GPS gave me ~115. He hit it in the water short and I made a 2. Ahh well.
I never completely rely on it 100% in any case and will always have a healthy bit of scepticism while I assess the other distance cues that are kicking around.

JAS wrote:Me too and I used to have a GPS and thought it was great but yes, did get the odd "interesting" reading. With blind shots a wee bit of prior research is all thats needed e.g. at Carnoustie the 2nd (or 3rd) shot to the 14th (The Spectacles) is blind. All that needs doing (in the practice round) is to scope the distances from the bunker lip to the front of the green. When on the fairway the following day, scope the bunker lip then add on the distance measured the previous day, then what the Pin sheet says the flag is on...simples. A lot of blind greens have a pole behind them (again the 1st at Carnoustie is an example). On the practice day when you get to the front of the green scope the pole, note the number. On the fairway the following day, scope the pole and subtract your noted number to get the front of the green then add what the pin sheet says. Yes...angles may distort exact distances slightly but as Navy says, we're not Pros, a yard or 3 wont make that much difference.

What a palaver! To be fair, blind shots are a minority but I can't see the above working well in a Society or similar.


At the end of the day, does it matter that much what anyone uses? It doesn't make that much different and we can't hit it consistently enough for minor variations to be important.

My V2 is starting to have issues with its pin seeker function as it will not lock on like it used to. Up until that point it was amazing.

McLaren wrote:My V2 is starting to have issues with its pin seeker function as it will not lock on like it used to. Up until that point it was amazing.

That's the shakes...You must be getting nervous

It's not really a palaver Navy in the grand scheme of proper preparation. It's certainly easier than pacing out the whole distance. If it's just a one day Society thing then it doesn't really matter anyway and you can still get a decent idea using a combination of the course planner and scoping a feature that's marked on there.

Whilst perhaps we can't scope at 151 and consistently hit it to 151, to me there is a comfort factor standing over the ball knowing the distance and knowing you have the right club. How far away you end up also gives you feedback on how far you're hitting it in the given conditions. (Probably the most unappreciated aspect of having accurate distance measuring). That goes for both GPS and lasers btw.

I am sure I have told this story before, but it is relevant and means I will never deny that I am a bottler. I was playing in the final of a pretty big junior matchplay event and while all square down the last I shanked it into the clubhouse patio area from the middle of the fairway.


The shakes with the v2 are probably from a lack of coffee on the course if I forget my flask.

I've got the V2. It's my second one after by trolley brake broke and my trolley up ended upside down in a ditch. The original was seen floating away (I can confirm it does float) however 6 months in a bag of rice (apparently a good way of drying electronics) it failed to work and as there is no way of getting these repaired in the uk I had to buy a new one. It has knocked off about 6 shots of my handicap since I got it. I would say this is due to accurately measuring from 100 yards in, at the moment I feel I'll get up and down every time (stats don't bear this out!). There are some heated arguments among the lads about which is better, GPS or laser...

JAS wrote:...Whilst perhaps we can't scope at 151 and consistently hit it to 151, to me there is a comfort factor standing over the ball knowing the distance and knowing you have the right club. How far away you end up also gives you feedback on how far you're hitting it in the given conditions. (Probably the most unappreciated aspect of having accurate distance measuring). That goes for both GPS and lasers btw.

Both very good points there.

Barrigan. If you have your heart set on Bushnell or Nikon then they are both quality bits of kit. I was after the same thing until my mate showed me his Hawkeye 800s.. Nice looking bit of kit and when I tried it alongside my other mates V3 it read exact same yardages to all the different flags that day, the display was clearer also. The real bonus is that this unit is on sale at £127 in Argos. Had mine 6 moths now, love it, and 3 of my other golf buddies have since bought it and they were originally only considering the more expensive Nikons or Bushnells. Just maybe worth a look and saving yourself well over £100+ into the bargain.

There are also some really nice Lasers by Leica and Leupold too.

Looked at Argos and the one review that's there is

"the hawkeye 800-S does not give the distances in yards so for a golfer its pretty bad ."

Although he does go on to say "Yes, I recommend this product."

While it's not that complicated to work out and note your yardages for each club in metres it might put some off (although saving £100 sounds pretty good to me). Matelot - as you have one, is there a m/yd switchover button somewhere that the reviewer missed? Also, does it have the pinseeker (or equivalent) stuff in it?

I'm happy with a GPS at the moment as my home course has been static for years but never underestimate the amusement* that having a laser dmd would allow you by constantly using your fingers as quotation marks whilst saying laser as per Dr Evil.

*it is not necessarily amusing

It's slightly freaking me out that Super has made 11111 posts at this moment in time

The oil industry must be working at peak efficiency at the moment - not easy to keep those tiny profits going

MustPuttBetter wrote:It's slightly freaking me out that Super has made 11111 posts at this moment in time

why it's no different from any other number.

I'd spotted that and wondered whether it meant any stupid hopping on one leg antics a la cricket.

matelot golfer wrote:Barrigan. If you have your heart set on Bushnell or Nikon then they are both quality bits of kit. I was after the same thing until my mate showed me his Hawkeye 800s.. Nice looking bit of kit and when I tried it alongside my other mates V3 it read exact same yardages to all the different flags that day, the display was clearer also. The real bonus is that this unit is on sale at £127 in Argos. Had mine 6 moths now, love it, and 3 of my other golf buddies have since bought it and they were originally only considering the more expensive Nikons or Bushnells. Just maybe worth a look and saving yourself well over £100+ into the bargain.

I'll say again, since we're talking about cheaper options; the Shotsaver 400 cost me £99, with loads of extras, has yards or metres, really lightweight, looks identical to the V2 at less than half the price. They also do a 500 model which can give you a pin yardage up to 300 yds or trees etc 800 yds where mine is 250 and 400 (more than enough!) and that's £150.

Roller, yes, I read that review and he is mistaken. It has a mode button to switch from metres to yards. It also has modes for less than 150 yds, over 150 yards, fog, rain and reflective mode. As I mentioned, I tried it up against the top models and it is as accurate to the yard as they are. The lads with Nikons/ Bushnell have also commented that the LCD readout is clearer in my Hawkeye 800s unit. It does not have the pinseeker mode or vibrates but if you press the button twice it goes into a permanent scan mode and you can sweep it across the flag to get the range from background clutter. I and my mates all very happy with them and saved some serious dosh in tp the process. Any further Q's then happy to answer. If you look at it online you'll see it's stylish, handy and fairly well ruggedised!! It futureproof also as it measures upto 800 yds I believe but have not come across a hole that long-yet!!! 

Thanks for all the feedback. Still undecided and going to sit on it for a bit. Hopefully my better half will take note of my clumsy hinting.. 
One thing, having looked at many reviews etc. online, I've not seen mention of a case for the Nikon whereas Bushnell and others nearly fall over backwards singing praises of their 'premium' cases. Maybe s_r can clarify?

Barra,
Do you mean the case as in what the laser itself is made of or what it comes with to protect it?

I would say the Bushnell one is probably more robust as it seems to be a hard sort of clam shell protective case, where as the Nikon comes with a press stud, firm, but not 100% rigid case like you get with a similar size digital camera. Works perfectly well for me.

thanks s_r,

success with the hinting... coupled with a 20% off voucher for DG knocking nearly £50 off the cost... the nikon arrived earlier this week. early b'day present - all the family have chipped in.  

took it out for its first proper test this afternoon.

1st - 4(Par5) - Poor drive. Layup short of bunker 175 away. Gap wedge 96 yards to 2ft. Tap in birdie.
2nd - 2(3) - 150yards, soft 7iron to 5 feet. Birdie.
3rd - 4(4) - Excellent drive (measured 280 back to tee). Gap wedge 85 yards to 10 feet. Two putts.
4th - 5(5) - Poor drive right. Layup over trees and burn, but short of bunker - landing zone between 140-170. Solid 7 iron bang in the centre. Lob wedge, 62 yards - 20 feet short (dissapointing). Two putts.
5th - 4(4) - Solid hybrid up middle. Gap wedge 95 yards to 6 feet. Two putts.
6th - 3(3) - 167 yards to pin on front left, poor 6iron short and left. Chip with 8iron to 2 feet. Par.
7th - 4(4) - Poor drive up RHS to rough. Slightly hampered with edge of trees on line. 120 yards to flag at back of green. Soft 9iron with slight cut, pin high - 8 feet. Two putts.
8th - 4(5) - Solid 3 wood up middle. Lay up 5 iron. Gap wedge 98 yards to 3 feet. Birdie.
9th - 3(4) - 4 iron lay up. Gap wedge 88 yards to 15 feet. Birdie.

my best front 9 around duddingston to date - admittedly only off the yellows, but still very pleasing. nikon was great. very simple to use and got all readings very quickly. obviously i was striking the ball unusually well for me with the exception of some poor drives (on 1,4 and 7, and iron on 6) but the nikon definitely gave me the extra confidence to hit my wedge shots aggressively as i was confident in both distance to hit and what i could get out of the club. lay up distances were good on the whole, except on 9 where i underestimated my 4 iron run out a little. final medal of the season tomorrow. should go in with some confidence, hopefully i can pick up where i left off today and go mid to low 70s...easier said than done!