Bushnell Neo Ion Review

The Bushnell Neo Ion has been retired. Check out our current recommendations for today's best golf rangefinders..

Our Bushnell Neo Ion Review is based upon lots of user feedback. We look for common themes, whether they are praise or complaints and summarize our findings.

Although there are golf watches that do much more than the Bushnell Neo Ion, this is the golf watch that we believe most golfers should buy! It is simple to use, provides distances to the front, middle, and back of the greens, as well as hazards. In our experience, that is the information that most golfers need and want on their golf watches.

Don’t get us wrong, we love the Garmin golf watches that have smartwatch features and fitness trackers built in, but for the basics, the Bushnell Neo Ion is our top pick!

It’s also available in white and usually it’s much less expensive than other colors. Check it out!

• Pre-loaded with 35,000+ courses from 30 countries
• Outstanding Battery Life will last three full rounds
• Auto course recognition and auto hole advance
• Up to 4 Hazard/Layup distances per hole
• Shot distance calculator
• Comfortable dual injected silicone sports band
• Round odometer
• No membership or download fees

Let’s just say the ratings on this golf watch are excellent – among the best we’ve seen for a golf watch. Bushnell doesn’t get fancy with a touchscreen or graphics, but they continue to make significant improvements with each new golf watch they release.

The best part of the Bushnell Neo Ion is the battery life. This was the most talked about feature and users loved they could play three full rounds before charging it.

Accuracy in golf GPS devices is often misunderstood and very difficult to compare. The reason is that there are multiple factors that determine the accuracy of the distances, which means that each user’s experience in any given situation may be different. Therefore, most of the time we’ll find both positive and negative comments regarding accuracy. Amazingly, we haven’t heard anything negative about the accuracy of the Bushnell Neo Ion’s accuracy. We’re not saying it will always be perfect, just that there were lots of positive comments and zero negative comments in the feedback we reviewed.

Besides battery life, we think “ease of use” should be the biggest factor in choosing a golf GPS. There was no shortage of positive comments on the subject and again, not even one negative. With that said, there were several users who complained that there were only two hazards or layups listed per hole. Most likely the reason for the complaint is that these users didn’t know how to scroll down to the second page. (FYI: the button on the bottom right of the watch will do it!)

Users really like the look of the Bushnell Neo Ion and felt it improved their games. They overall felt great about the value and also the number of courses.

There weren’t all that many complaints about the Bushnell Neo Ion, but several people did mention that the Auto Course Recognition was slow. After it found the course, there no complaints about the responsiveness.

A few users had defective units and a couple of those users were unhappy with the customer service. There were also a few complaints about the durability of the watchband. Several users also struggled with getting the charging clip connected. I don’t believe any of them considered that a deal breaker, but rather were wishing it was a little easier.

Keep in mind that 80% of the user feedback was positive. We think this is an excellent choice and as of this writing, are putting it at the top of recommended golf watches list.

Bushnell Neo Ion
Course Download Fees	No
Pre-loaded with Courses	33,000
Full Hole Views	Yes
Slope / Elevation	No
Battery Life	16 hours GPS
Battery	rechargeable
Size (Width x Height x Depth)	.59 in. x 1.77 in. x N/A in.
Measure Shot Distance	Yes
Screen Size	.91x.91
Resolution	N/A
Display Type	monochrome LCD
Weight	1.8 oz.
Rainproof	Yes
Touch Screen	No
Touch Targeting	No
Manual Pin Positioning	No
Stat Tracker	No
Digital Scorecard	No
Computer Analysis Tools	No
Ground Verified	No
Alternate Targets	Yes
Green Rotates to your shot angle	N/A
USGA Compliant (local rule)	Yes
Notes	-
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User Manual for Bushnell Neo Ion