Range Finder vs Golf Watch

Kong and Godzilla, Alien and Predator, Tiger and Phil. They're all rivals who often have startling differences and try to overthrow their opponent. However, I think of range finders and golf watches to be more like Batman and Superman. Heroes who are different, yet work together for the common good. Now starts the debate: which one is Batman?

Often golfers have both a range finder and a golf watch (I am also including other non-wearable devices in this category). In this article, I am going to compare my NX2 and my Garmin Approach S12.

I would love to do a full in-depth review of my NX2 range finder from Precision Pro. However, I recently discovered that Precision Pro discontinued the model, offering the NX 9 and 10 instead. I do love my NX2, it is simple and easy to use. There is no slope option on this model, and to be honest I don’t play courses with enough elevation changes to take advantage of this feature (it is Arizona, so not by choice). What attracted me to Precision Pro was their partnership with No Laying Up. I heard Soly mention their range finders on the podcast multiple times, so I decided to look the company up and see what they had to offer. The free lifetime battery replacement was a huge selling point for me, and the discount code I used allowed me to get one for both my wife and me for the same price as a single range finder from other brands. I was attracted to the NX2 for its simplicity and have continued to love it for its durability. If you are in the market for a new range finder, check out Precision Pro here. I am upset that they don’t have a “barebones” model like the NX2 anymore, but I am sure newer models hold their own just fine.

Now the NX2 is all well and good, but I wear glasses. I hate walking up to my ball, taking my glasses off, snapping the yardage I need, and then putting my glasses back on. It's inconvenient. I will often smudge the lenses or sweat will drip on them. I have even dropped them and then stepped on them before. I got so sick of it that I decided to buy a Garmin Approach S12 watch. It is a very simple design compared to others that Garmin makes. Check those out here. They're nothing flashy or fancy, but do their job very well, much like the NX2. The watch has over 42,000 courses pre-downloaded, and I have never had an issue finding the course or downloading the yardage. It has a very long-lasting battery that charges quickly. The watch will provide front-middle-back yardage to the green and will also have yardage for the bunkers and water hazards. It is quick in updating so you can come up to your ball, get a look at the green, and look down and know your yardage is accurate. As a watch itself, it is comfortable, but it does get a little hot in the summer (I'm in Arizona though). So I often put it in the golf cart or my pocket. One small issue I found was that I don’t know for sure how often it updates the courses. One of my local courses went through a redesign a few years ago and switched the front and back 9. So when you come up to the #1 tee, you need to change the watch to hole #10. It isn’t a huge deal, and it is the only course I have found in the area that has that problem. However, someone who's never played it before would obviously get a hugely inaccurate read.

So when do I use the watch vs the range finder? Well, it depends on the round of golf for me. When I wear my glasses, I exclusively use the watch. I don’t want to mess with my glasses at all during a round unless I am cleaning them. I don’t wear sunglasses very often with my contacts, but when I do I have a hard time shooting the pin with my sunglasses on as well. It isn’t as big of a deal taking off and on sunglasses, but to me still annoying. Now during tournaments and league play, I will use both on almost every hole. I do think that having as much information as possible has helped my handicap improve, especially in my approach shots. For example, the range finder will tell me that I have 150 to the green, which is a stock 8-iron for me. On the other hand, the watch will tell me that I have 155 to the back of the green and that there is water all around the back. With this information, I will choose to hit the 9-iron instead to take the back danger out of play. Since using both of these yardage tools, I do feel that I am not in nearly as much trouble around the green (bar from making a horrible golf shot) as I was in the past.

To sum it up, I encourage you to have both a range finder and a golf watch (or another front-middle-back device). There are golf apps that be downloaded onto your phone that provide this information, and they can range in price. Those apps also can drain your battery, so if you are texting, snapchatting, and/or listening to tunes on your phone, you risk your phone dying before the 18th with a chance to shoot your career low. I have noticed some golf clubs are starting to include those on the golf carts now. I think that is an awesome addition and really helps golfers, yet you can’t always be sure the next course you play has one. You don’t need to get the fanciest, shiniest, most up-to-date model. I suggest something simple and easy to use that will help to lower your scores and make you better at the game of golf.