For years, I’ve been dreaming of a device that combines a rangefinder and GPS unit that actually works well. Bushnell tried it back in 2018 and it never stuck. Garmin have had a go too, and it was way too complicated. This is exactly what the Bushnell Tour Hybrid rangefinder promises, but does it actually live up to its billing?
I’ve carried out accuracy testing, used it at my home course and a range of courses I’ve never played before. Here’s what I found.
What the Tour Hybrid actually does
One laser, one GPS, one viewfinder.
You get the lasered distance to the pin in the middle of the display, and above it the GPS front, centre and back yardages to the green you’re playing. No phone, no signal, no subscription — the GPS is built into the unit.
Turn slope on and it compensates both numbers. Turn it off with the switch on the side and you’ve got a tournament-legal device. That last part matters more than it sounds: most hybrid attempts have made slope and legality a menu problem, not a switch.
Accuracy
How accurate is it? We tested the Bushnell Tour Hybrid on a pre-measured range against three targets, three reads each, from the same mat and aiming at the same point on each target sign vs the most accurate rangefinder we’ve found over the past 8 years (Cobalt Q6 – it measures to 0.1 yards).
Bushnell accuracy test — measured results
Three reads per target, three targets, same mat, same aim point
| Device | Short | Mid | Long | Mean deviation | Spread |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cobalt Q6Reference | 101.7 / 101.6 / 101.5 | 150.2 / 150.3 / 150.3 | 199.8 / 199.7 / 199.8 | — | 0.2 yd |
| Tour HybridReviewed | 101 / 101 / 101 | 150 / 150 / 150 | 199 / 199 / 199 | 0.55 yd | 0 yd |
| Tour V7 Shift | 101 / 101 / 101 | 150 / 150 / 150 | 199 / 200 / 200 | 0.32 yd | 1 yd |
| A1-Slope | 102 / 102 / 102 | 150 / 150 / 150 | 200 / 200 / 200 | 0.30 yd | 0 yd |
The Hybrid came in around half a yard under the Cobalt reference. That’s well inside Bushnell’s ±1 yard claim and considerably inside the error in your own aim point at 200 yards.
The number I’d actually pay attention to is the spread. Nine reads, nine identical answers. Not one variation. Again, this is impressive when manually trying to zap a target at 200 yards…
The GPS yardages
This is the real reason to buy this device over any other Bushnell.
As a golfer, I want to know the exact distance to the pin from inside 200 yards, but it is so handy to also know the distance to the front and back, so I can figure out how much room I have short and long of the flag.
It’s good to great about 97% of the time. Front and back numbers land within a yard or two of what I’d measure myself, allowing for the fact that “front of the green” is a judgement call anyway.
Now and again in testing I got a funny number, but this tends to be when you’re approaching a green from a funny angle, or on a dogleg, where the front and the back of the green aren’t always lined up with the flag.
It works brilliantly bar the odd issues above.
Pin lock
Classic Bushnell. Strong JOLT when it locks, a red ring flashing to confirm, and false readings are rare. You can still pick up the background if you’re careless, but Bushnell is still the best of the market with locking onto the target.
Usability and setup
The thing I expected to be poor, based on past testing of these hybrid rangefinders, but Bushnell have nailed it. When you first try to zap a target, the GPS kicks in and starts to work out what course you are and what hole you are on.
On your first zap it may take 10-30 seconds to pick up your course, so it’s worth zapping something down the 1st as you wait on the tee.
As you move round the course, it even keeps up with what hole you are on (95% of the time), and if it get the hole number wrong, you can quick-tab back and forth using the buttons on top.
10/10 for building this rangefinder and making it so simple to use. I was expecting a lot of faff with downloading courses, manually setting it up etc.
I play golf with a carry bag rather than a cart/buggy, and it lives in the elastic pouch on my bag — in and out one-handed, no fuss. The BITE magnet is very strong if you do use a cart.
Optics and display
Superb, as you’d expect. The only criticism is that the display is busier than a standard laser, because there’s more information in it. But that’s the tradeoff of the features and it’s far cleaner than previous attempts at this hybrid approach.
Build and battery
This comes with Bushnell’s two-year warranty, and it feels really solid (I haven’t dropped it yet). It runs on a replaceable CR-123 — they last for years, and they cost very little. There’s a chance they’ll burn through energy quicker, since this has a combined GPS, but I’ll report back if that is the case.