Welcome to I Tried It, a GOLF.com series about golf items — apparel, gear, accessories and more — that we’ve recently taken out for a spin. We’re here to give our honest, no-frills takes on the latest and greatest golf or golf-adjacent items. So, scroll down to read about what we love about golf’s newest (or new to us) products.
Motocaddy recently sent me one of their new Motocaddy PRO 5000 Laser Rangefinders to try out. I’ll be honest, I wasn’t thinking of much of the delivery. There’s a TON of rangefinders on the market right now, mostly made from the same factories with the same features and benefits, but Motocaddy did manage to sneak in a little hidden feature. If you’re a Motocaddy push cart or electric caddie user, it makes a ton of sense.
To clear the bases right away; the PRO 5000 has all the features that you expect out of a rangefinder in 2026. 6x magnification to see what you’re pointing at, a slope switch to turn slope math on and off for use in tournament play, the ability to switch between yards and meters with a +/-1 yard accuracy promise, a magnet on the side to stick to a golf cart (which helps to misplace the rangefinder quite often, ask me I would know), a 350-yard pin lock with a 1500-yard total distance capture and an adjustable diopter to make sure that you can actually see what you’re trying to range. It also has USB-C which is a fantastic benefit that every single rangefinder company, I’m looking at you Bushnell, should implement so we can charge our rangefinders in the car on the way to the course.
I also really like the look and feel of the rangefinder. It’s heavy enough to feel like it’s well built and not plastic feeling, but small enough to fit in the hands very ergonomically. The stormtrooper-esque look is cool, and the rangefinder comes off as premium, not cheap. I can’t tell you how many rangefinders there are on the market that feel like they were just made to be made. Those ones are cheap for a reason. It’s clear that Motocaddy made some good decisions with their factory when deciding what was important in their new offering, which brings us to the differentiator: the case.
Motocaddy PRO 5000 Rangefinder
The case would appear to be similar to other cases on the market. A nice hardshell with both a zipper and a bunjee. No matter what terrain you’re battling you aren’t going to lose your rangefinder because of the case. But it’s the backside of the case that makes this the perfect choice for Motocaddy users. There’s a little receiver slot on the back so you can attach the case to the Motocaddy accessory station. The accessory station is the hub of the cart up by the power control and where you hold onto the electric caddy. It’s got several attachment points for sand bottle holders, scorecard holders, phone holders and other accessories which now include your rangefinder case. A very simple way to keep the rangefinder at arm’s reach without having to dig it out of a bag pocket, or grab it off of a bag from a less than ideal position. It may sound silly but I spent a year getting my rangefinder out of it’s case from the position it hangs on the bag, and once the bag is actually on the Motocaddy electric caddy, it’s actually quite annoying to reach the rangefinder. The new positioning right up top is perfect, and it makes this whole thing make sense.
Now, you may be thinking what I’m thinking. The whole selling point of the rangefinder is actually the case. And I can’t blame you for thinking that, I thought it too. This may have been a better $50 accessory purchase for the case than the whole rangefinder itself. But after using the rangefinder for a couple of rounds, there’s no harm in it. It does the job well, and for $250 it’s worth the buy if you are looking to buy a new rangefinder you can trust that’s convenient to use with your Motocaddy electric caddie. Plus, they don’t just sell the case.
