Golf GPS vs Rangefinder

Occasionally, I get a question from someone wondering which is better, a golf GPS or laser rangefinder. If the question had to do only with accuracy, then the clear answer would always be the laser rangefinder. Lasers are always accurate to within a couple of yards of whatever target you hit. Although golf GPS devices are generally fairly accurate, they’re going to let you down once in awhile. Besides that, they can’t give you distance to a flag, only to set points that do not move.

Does that make a laser rangefinder “better” than a golf GPS? Not entirely. Laser cannot measure a target that can’t be seen. If you have an elevated green and can’t see the flag, you’re out of luck. GPS on the other hand, will be able to give you distance to the front, middle and back of the green and maybe additional hazards and layups as well.

Besides that, there is less opportunity for human error with GPS. Some people really struggle to hold a laser rangefinder steady enough to acquire an accurate distance. If you hit the wrong target, you’ll get the wrong distance. Today’s rangefinders do a good job of locking onto the flag, but I know plenty of people who haven’t had much success with using a laser.

So in the battle of Golf GPS vs Rangefinder, well it depends on your needs and ability. If you have fairly steady hands, I would recommend laser over GPS. Even better though – the best of both worlds can be found in the Bushnell Hybrid. It’s a laser and GPS all built into a single unit and it’s still tournament legal when distance measuring devices are allowed.

If your not confident in your ability to hit the right target with a laser and the Bushnell Hybrid isn’t in your budget, then let us help you choose the best GPS for your style of play.

GPS or Laser, either way is definitely better than no distance measuring device at all.