Accessory Review: Bushnell PinSeeker 1500 Tournament Edition Laser Rangefinder, by Jeffrey Reed

There’s a strong case to be made for the importance of correct yardage to accurate shotmaking. Take Sergio Garcia, for instance. El Nino is a self-professed “feel golfer,” yet he is also a pitchman for the Bushnell PinSeeker 1500 Tournament Edition laser rangefinder. I’m also a feel golfer (although obviously not in Garcia’s class), and rely more on experience and gut instinct for shotmaking. However, nothing beats accurate yardage when choosing a club and posting low numbers.

Enter the decision of golf’s governing bodies – the United States Golf Association, Royal and Ancient Golf Club, and Royal Canadian Golf Association – to permit the use of distance-measuring devices by local rule. I’m all for this decision – it will speed the pace of play. As Bushnell president and CEO Joe Messner says, the USGA, R&A and RCGA decision “shows awareness and acceptance of technology’s role in improving the game. Measuring distance with a laser rangefinder device is inherently no different than pacing off yardage from a sprinkler head or consulting a yardage book, and provides greater accuracy in less time.”

I play with many partners who religiously refer to sprinkler heads for accurate yardage. Of course, it helps their game, but let’s be honest: when you can point a device such as the Bushnell PinSeeker 1500 at the flag and get instant, accurate yardage while speeding play, doesn’t it make sense to attach one of these high-tech products to your bag?

Now legal for tournament play and posting of scores for handicap purposes, the Bushnell PinSeeker 1500 laser rangefinder is a premium digital golf laser rangefinder with selective targeting modes and superb optical quality. I’ve owned Bushnell binoculars over the years, so I’m familiar with the Bushnell promise and delivery of high-quality products. In my books, the PinSeeker 1500 is at the top of that list, for a number of reasons.

Accuracy to +/! one yard from 5 to 1,500 yards, the PinSeeker 1500 is an absolute gem. It ranges directly to the flag – not the objects behind it. There are two Selective Targeting modes. The PinSeeker mode allows easy acquisition to the flag without inadvertently getting distances to background targets like trees that have stronger signal strength. The Standard mode boasts Automatic Scan, and allows targets to be distanced up to 1,500 yards.

Here’s an innovative product: the new PinSeeker 1500 Slope Edition even allows you to factor in elevation changes. For example, if you have 125 yards to the pin, and 7 degrees of slope, then in realty you must hit a shot of 136 yards.

The PinSeeker 1500 offers yardage on pin distance of up to 400 yards. There’s a 5-yard minimum – just in case you wish to use your PinSeeker for other purposes, such as measuring the construction of a backyard fence. But make no mistakes about it: this product appears to have no limitations out on the golf course. It’s lightweight, waterproof, and needs only a 9-volt alkaline battery for operation. Best of all, I found the PinSeeker 1500 to be incredibly easy to use.

“Now that distance-measuring devices will be allowed, we expect a significant change in the way golf is played, particularly in terms of pace of play,” says Messner. “Through modern technology, golfers will now obtain exact yardages instantaneously, reducing indecision and the amount of time needed to prepare for their next shot.”

Bushnell advertises the PinSeeker 1500 as the No. 1 laser rangefinder in professional golf, and it’s easily discovered why: try it for yourself, and you’ll find it to be a solid product, even for feel golfers like Sergio, and for folks who write about the game for a living.

Visit www.bushnell.com to learn more about the PinSeeker 1500 and other laser rangefinders from Bushnell.