When many of us golfers think of rangefinders, often the first brand we think of is Bushnell – I know I do anyway. In fact, when I think of the best golf rangefinders, the first one that pops into my head is one of the best and most popular of all time, the Bushnell Tour V6 Shift. There was something about that white, black and orange color scheme that just stayed with me, in addition to the obvious top-tier performance.
Part of the reason I am in charge of rangefinder testing here at Golf Monthly is my 12+ year experience as a caddy at Royal County Down. In that time I used many rangefinders from those I caddied for, but the one that I saw in most people’s bags was the Tour V5, then the Tour V6 and then the Tour V6 Shift. It is the most widely-known Bushnell laser, and following the arrival of the new Tour V7 Shift, I don’t expect it to be any less popular.
Given the success of the Tour V6 Shift, the V7 is evolution rather than revolution. There was no need to rip up the manual for the sake of it and Bushnell knew this, so there aren’t many new massive, game-changing features to shout about here – instead, we have small quality of life improvements pretty much across the board.
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(Image credit: Future)
The first one you’ll notice is the look. If you told me you couldn’t care less what your rangefinder looks like, I’d accept it. However, I’d then point you in the direction of the V7 Shift, which I think is the best looking rangefinder I’ve ever seen. The new black and orange color scheme looks fantastic, as do the shiny metal details. The build is also IPX6 waterproof, so you’ll be protected from unexpected rain showers, plus a two-year warranty is included for peace of mind.
Using this rangefinder feels like a premium experience and a lot of that is through how lovely it is to hold. It has a robust build that is the perfect weight – not too heavy but not flimsy or light either. Once you bring it to your eye line and look through the lens you’ll be met with a crystal clear OLED display – press the shoot button and the display lights up like a Christmas tree. The numbers are clear and concise, with the literal yardage displayed in orange and the slope-adjusted one (if you have it on) shown in green to clearly differentiate the two.
(Image credit: Future)
One of the new features is Pinseeker and Visual Jolt, which now flashes an orange ring around the lens in addition to vibrating once you’ve shot the pin for extra confirmation. Having tested this over two days at Royal County Down in which the sun didn’t appear for either, the clarity of both the display and the Pinseeker feature provided peace of mind I’d successfully shot the yardage I wanted.
The same slope switch from previous Tour V models on the side of the device remains and provides both you and your partners a clear indication of whether the mode is turned on and off, another green tick on my report card. Bushnell’s Bite magnetic mount is on the opposite side to the slope switch and will be used a lot by those who ride in carts.
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(Image credit: Future)
(Image credit: Future)
As someone who has the memory of a goldfish, I appreciated the yardage recall feature, which allows you to obtain your last ranged distance by simply pressing the Mode button on the top of the unit in case you’ve forgotten your yardage. Speaking of yardages, Bushnell has now joined forces with Foresight Sports to offer LINK-Enabled technology, using your stock club yardages to give you personalized club recommendations right in your rangefinder’s display.
The one nagging thing about the Tour V7, for me at least, is the price point. I would divide rangefinders into three categories in terms of price – premium, middle-tier and budget. The V7 is probably the best ‘middle-tier’ rangefinder there is but it comes at a not insignificant cost of $399.99.
Last year we tested the Bushnell Tour Hybrid, a device I’d consider in the premium tier, and it was superb – most notably thanks to the built-in GPS functionality which gives yardages to the front, middle and back of each green. It is priced at $499.99. Personally speaking, I think it’s worth paying the extra $100 for the Tour Hybrid, more so as a compliment to that device than a critique of the Tour V7.
However, if you want to save $100 and reinvest it into a different part of your game, that’s absolutely fine too – you’re still getting one of the best rangefinders on the market in the V7 Shift.