Golf GPS vs Rangefinder Test

  • last year
In this video, Joel Tadman tests the accuracy of two brand new distance measuring devices using a 50m tape measure. He pits the new Bushnell Tour V5 Shift laser rangefinder up against the SkyCaddie SX400 GPS, but which would prove to be more accurate and what are the pros and cons of each device?
Transcript
00:00 Hello everyone, Joel Tadman here from Golf Monthly and in this video I'm going to try
00:04 and determine exactly how accurate golf distance measuring devices really are, whether that's
00:10 laser rangefinders or handheld GPSs. I've got two brand new models for 2020, these are
00:16 what I would say are two of the most cutting edge, feature packed, best models you can
00:21 buy on the market. We're going to test them up against each other and we're going to be
00:26 using one of these, it's a 50 metre tape measure. I'm going to be measuring out different distances
00:31 using this lovely contraption on a nice flat hole here at Burley Park Golf Club to see
00:37 exactly how accurate these devices are and we'll also touch on the pros and cons of lasers
00:43 and GPSs versus each other to really help you all by a decision so you pick the best
00:47 one for your game and you will know exactly how accurate they are. But first of all let's
00:51 just touch on the different features that I've found in both of these models.
01:03 So the two distance measuring devices I've chosen for this video are the Bushnell TOR
01:08 V5, this is the shift version and I've got the Skycaddy SX400. Starting with the Bushnell
01:14 TOR V5 shift, now this is Bushnell's latest laser rangefinder that features vibrating
01:21 jolt technology as we all know. It also has a flashing red ring now that appears through
01:26 the display to give you extra clarification when it does vibrate and pick out the flag
01:30 that the flag has been detected. You can see here it's got a yards and metres toggle button,
01:36 it's also got the shift feature here which can be disabled and enabled via this button
01:41 here so it's really easy to use. It's got a range of up to 1300 yards so it can go an
01:45 awfully long way and it's got this magnetic bite feature on the side here so you can clip
01:49 it onto the side of your buggy or a golf club or anything metallic other than your trolley,
01:53 it doesn't work on trolleys unfortunately. So I would say this is probably one of the
01:56 most feature packed cutting edge laser rangefinders on the market. The non-shift version comes
02:01 in at £299 which is the same as the Skycaddy SX400. Now the Skycaddy SX500 for me was one
02:09 of the best GPS devices you could buy. It uses ground verified maps so these are maps
02:15 that are verified by a Skycaddy employee on foot so you're getting the most up to date
02:20 yardage information, it doesn't rely on Google Maps or satellites or anything like that. It's
02:24 essentially a scaled down version of the SX500 so you still get all the same features apart
02:30 from a built in camera so you're still getting all the moveable pointers, the really bright
02:35 hole graphics, things like that but it's just a bit more compact, fits easily in your pocket
02:39 and it comes with this nice kind of rubber case with a little clip on the back so you
02:42 can clip it onto your bag and access it really easily. So those are the two devices that
02:47 we're going to compare up against each other and we've got the tape measure at the ready
02:51 so I think it's about time we measured out some distances and see how these stack up.
02:55 Right okay so the way we're going to do this test is I'm going to plonk my golf bag down
03:00 on the exact front of the green so the flat edge of the bag is in line with the cut front
03:07 section of the green and I've got my two distance measuring devices with me both set to metres
03:14 and I'm going to basically slide my 50 metre tape measure underneath the leg of my stand
03:21 bag, there we go so that's nice and secure and basically you're going to walk back 50
03:28 metres and then we'll measure it and then we'll walk back another 50 metres and do 100
03:35 metres and see how accurate these devices really are.
04:00 Right okay that's the end of the tape measure and on here it is exactly, if I pull it a
04:07 bit tight, there we go, 50 metres is exactly there so if I get my, we'll do laser first
04:14 so this is set in metres and to my bag, oh it says 51 metres but it is saying there's
04:22 a very slight downslope, I thought it was a flat hole but actually when you account
04:27 for the slope it is exactly 50 metres so fair play to the laser, it's done a good job there.
04:33 Let's have a look at the Skycaddy SX400, from here it is telling me to the front of the
04:43 green I have 55 metres so there is some discrepancy there with the GPS, I've given it a few seconds
04:52 to update, still saying 55 metres, just zoom in exactly what point that is to, yeah it's
05:01 saying 55 so some discrepancies there with the GPS but the laser finder is absolutely
05:08 bang on, I think it's about time we go further back, we'll go another 50 metres and see if
05:12 the GPS can catch up.
05:21 Ok so we are another 50 metres away, get my pink T to denote that distance, T peg here
05:32 let's find it so we are exactly there, so this is 100 metres to the front of the green
05:39 to my golf bag which is still down there so we do the Bushnell 101 but as we talked about
05:48 with the slight slope it is counting exactly 100 metres so this Bushnell really is or laser
05:55 find range finder is generally very very accurate, it will be interesting to see if the Skycaddy
06:00 GPS has caught up so let's go back on the correct hole because it has moved, right so
06:08 from here if we go on the big numbers mode that will tell us and it is saying in metres
06:12 to the front of the green 106 so it is still a little bit out actually 6 metres is quite
06:20 a lot when you think about how accurate the Bushnell is which has proven we have measured
06:25 it out and it is exactly 100 metres away, it has gone down to 105 now so not perfect
06:32 but pretty close.
06:33 So hopefully you enjoyed that test which was a little bit of fun to see exactly how accurate
06:39 the laser range finder and the GPS was, on the face of it you might think oh well the
06:44 Skycaddy hasn't really come off very well in this test and the laser absolutely has
06:49 but in defence of the Skycaddy there are some mitigating factors there, for example when
06:53 they mapped out the green the cut line might have been very different to what it is now,
06:59 green keepers aren't perfect every time, they might mow a little bit less or a little bit
07:02 more and over time that might increase and depending on when they map this course that
07:06 could legislate for the difference of a few metres here or there.
07:09 So in defence of the Skycaddy generally I have found this to be pretty accurate but
07:14 the laser if you do want that extra level of accuracy the laser range finder does deliver
07:19 that but don't forget I was only able to get distances to the front of the green with the
07:23 laser because I positioned my bag at the front of the green, in reality you are not going
07:27 to be able to do that and that is where laser range finders do have their limitations, yes
07:31 they are great for picking out the flag but if you want other distances front of the green,
07:35 middle of the green, certain hazards off the tee that you can't spot you really are going
07:39 to be left wanting if you have a laser range finder, whereas if you have a GPS like the
07:42 SX500 you have got those aerial hole maps which allow you to move the pointer and touch
07:49 exactly the point where you want to see how far it is to that point and you can get distances
07:53 to it.
07:54 So there are pros and cons of each, for me I have always used a laser range finder just
07:58 because I want distances to the flag, I want that extra level of accuracy and detail but
08:03 with the SX400 especially if you are playing lots of new courses and you want specific
08:10 distances to help you from off the tee and you want distances to the middle of the green,
08:14 a lot of golfers would probably be best served for hitting the ball in the middle of the
08:17 green more often than not rather than chasing tight pins, the SX400 will deliver that.
08:22 So this test has highlighted some differences in certain situations but I think the pros
08:27 and cons of each are pretty even, it all just comes down to which one you find easiest to
08:31 use and what you really want to get out of your distance measuring device.
08:35 So guys I hope you found this video useful, thanks for watching, if you did like what
08:38 you are watching make sure you click the like button of course and comment on the video
08:42 which do you use and why, I would love to hear from you.
08:45 But for now from Burley Park Golf Club here in Stamford it is goodbye from me, I will
08:49 see you next time.
08:51 [BLANK_AUDIO]