The early portion of PGA Championship week has been defined by a single product: rangefinders.
At this week’s PGA, players will be allowed to use rangefinders in competitive play for the first time in major championship history, ending the long-standing practice of walking off yardages by foot. While the change will last only for this week’s event and has come with significant criticism from those within the professional golf world, it marks a significant shift in the usage (and yes, visibility) of these crucial pieces of golf tech.
These tiny, distance-measuring lasers are the key to so much of what the recreational golfer does on a daily basis, and now, they’re taking the leap into the digital age.
Precision Pro, a company best known for its variably priced line of lasers, announced Tuesday the release of its R1 Smart Rangefinder. The company is touting the R1 as its most advanced product to date, and is among the first in its class to incorporate smart technology to help enhance performance.
The R1 utilizes “MYSLOPE” technology, a proprietary system Precision Pro says allows the laser to communicate with the company’s free app to provide a broadly encompassing picture of the distance required to hit each shot. MYSLOPE helps the device to take readings for personal ball flight data, altitude, temperature, humidity, wind and slope.
Once the app and laser are connected, the device will show all the attached information through the viewfinder, meaning it’s quite alright to leave your phone in the cart or bag during your round. In addition to all the incorporated distance information, one click of the viewfinder displays yardages to the front, middle and back of the green.
The R1 Rangefinder, which retails for $329, is available for purchase through Precision Pro at the link below.
