What’s the Best Garmin Golf Laser Rangefinder for You?
Tired of guessing which golf club to use because you can’t tell where the pin is on the green? What if you could account for wind and uphill or downhill shots? What if you could understand where the hazards are with a quick glance at a screen?
With Garmin, you can.
Now you’ll know if you should or shouldn’t hit a driver. You’ll know how to avoid different hazards.
It’s time to upgrade your golf game with a rangefinder. We’re here to help.
Why should you buy a golf rangefinder?
Rangefinders tell you how far away the pin is, helping you choose your golf club and plan your path to the hole.
Garmin rangefinders — such as Approach® Z30 or Approach® Z82 — use a laser to calculate the distance, ensuring greater accuracy. For example, while a golf watch can give you the distance to the front, middle and back of the green, a rangefinder gives you the precise distance to the pin (and several other features designed to bring out the best in your game, but we’ll get to those below).
What’s the best Garmin golf rangefinder for you?
Garmin offers two laser rangefinders: Approach Z30 and Approach Z82. Both include an adjustable eyepiece that allows you to focus the screen, PlaysLike Distance and six times magnification. Both also come with a carrying case and a carabiner so you can clip them to your bag. Approach Z30 also has a magnetic cart mount, so you can snap it to your golf cart.
If you lose your rangefinder on the fairway (or anywhere, let’s be honest), you can use Find My Garmin through the Garmin Golf™ app to locate it. And your rangefinder can withstand incidental water exposure of up to 1 meter for up to 30 minutes — meaning it can withstand splashes, rain or snow.
Plus, the PlaysLike Distance feature will adjust your yardage based on whether your target is uphill or downhill.
Tournament mode, which disables the PinPointer and PlaysLike Distance features, is shown by an external indicator light and can be turned on and off. This means you can still take your rangefinder to tournaments.
Here’s how a few of the different rangefinders’ features break down.
Laser range arc: The Approach Z30 rangefinder offers the Range Relay feature, which sends distances to your compatible Garmin smartwatch or the Garmin Golf app. On Approach Z82, your arc will appear through your viewfinder. The laser range arc shows everything in play at the laser-ranged distance — even hazards.
Viewfinder built-ins: Approach Z82 has built-in GPS with more than 43,000 preloaded courses, the green view feature with distance to the front, middle and back of the green, hazard view, and PinPointer — all in the viewfinder. When paired to your compatible phone, Approach Z82 also displays wind speed and direction in the viewfinder.
Battery life: Approach Z30 has a replaceable CR2 battery that can last up to one year. The Approach Z82 battery is rechargeable with up to 15 hours of battery life in GPS mode.
Accuracy: The laser range to the flag on Approach Z30 is 400 yards, with accuracy within 1 yard. Approach Z82 can measure distances from up to 450 yards and will give you a reading within 10” of the flag.
To get the distance to the pin from up to 400 yards away — and the perfect companion to your Garmin golf smartwatch or handheld — go for Approach Z30. If you want the most accurate reading within 10” of the flag, plus built-in GPS with more than 43,000 pre-loaded courses right from your viewfinder, go for Approach Z82.
Ready to take your best shot and improve your golf game? No more misjudging the distance and launching your golf ball into a water hazard or bunker. Browse our collection of launch monitors, rangefinders and smartwatches.
