Bushnell Tour V3& V3 Slope Reviewed and Compared To Tour V2

Walk onto the range at any European or PGA Tour event and you’ll find the Bushnell Golf rep, selling and maintaining rangefinders for caddies and players.  In Europe that man is Brian McConnell.

Although not permitted in Tour events, rangefinders do their work during practice and preparation in the days leading up to the first round. Yardages are checked and double checked as player caddie combos plot their way and develop a course strategy.

Bushnell are the market leaders and their latest product for 2013 is the Tour V3 which comes in regular and slope editions. It’s Bushnell’s first product with JOLT Technology, which causes the machine to vibrate when it’s locked in to an exact distance up to 1,000 yards away.

The marketplace is flooded with GPS range finding devices that calculate distances using overhead satellites. However handheld devices with an ocular such as the Tour V3 are still the most popular. Aswell as pins, the V3 can lock onto bunkers, walls, hazards and even people, which is always handy.

The Tour V3 is allowed in club competition for amateurs but the V3 Slope Edition is not. This version is especially popular on Tour and features Bushnell’s slope technology which provides compensated distances for elevation changes between you and the pin. The V3 ranges in price from £269 (approx €300) on www.golfbidder.com with the slope edition at £289.

First Look: Comparing the V2 and V3 Slope

v2v3

The Tour V2 and V3 Slope 

I brought both my Bushnell Tour V2 and the new V3 Slope out onto the course yesterday.  Where the V3 slope edition has a clear advantage is getting measurements to uphill or downhill pins.  For instance, on the iconic downhill par 3 in Dromoland Castle, the V2 gave the real pin distance of 155 yards.  However as well as the exact same real distance, the V3 gave a corrected reading of 138 yards which accounted for 8 degrees of downhill slope.  Everyone in our fourball then went with 8 iron into a slight breeze and all four hit the green.  Without the information from the V3 slope our clubs would have ranged from a six to a nine iron for that shot, so the correction proved all important.  It’s that kind of difference which makes a day out on an unfamiliar course all the more enjoyable.

The jolt technology in the V3 is also very reassuring.  I’m sure the actual vibration causes a little more battery use but it also means you depress the button on the rangefinder that little bit quicker, which does make a difference.

Another nice difference in the V3 versions is the red display which I think contrasts that little bit better than the black of the V2.

v2 casev3 caseIf I were to find any downsides between the V2 and V3 I would say the case for the V2 is better.  The magnetic clip on the case of the V2 has been replaced by a loop of elastic cord on the V3 case.  And though it looks good, it’s not as easy to get the V3 in and out of the case between shots.  And though the V3 unit has a sleeker and more ergonomic design, the V2 with its rubber gripping top and bottom still feels a more sturdy unit. I’m splitting hairs though really as both are excellent units.

Interview With Bushnell Europe’s Brian McConnell

I caught up with Brian at the 2013 PGA Show to find out about the Bushnell Tour V3 models.

 

More from www.bushnellgolf.com and http://www.golfbidder.co.uk/gadgets__gps/10179/bushnell-2013-tour-v3-laser-range-finder.html

 

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