How A Budget Rangefinder Can Transform Your Game

The Shot Scope PRO L2 laser rangefinder has comfortably become my favourite new bit of kit in 2025.

Some experts suggest using both a GPS and a laser to cover all the angles, but it's all very dependent on the individual. I'm time restricted and lazy and I just want a couple of pieces of info.

Half the time I have no need for the yardage at the back as I generally under-club everything and I play on a course (Moortown) where there are very few blind shots and everything is there in front of you.

So I will zap one or two bunkers and the pin and that's all I want. When I play elsewhere that will stay the same. It's horses for courses, but the PRO L2 is pretty much unbeatable, both for ease of use and, especially, price.

For six months I played without a rangefinder due to my previous one finally giving up. In that period I would irritate playing partners by constantly asking for yardages or just have a guess at what lay ahead.

It would then niggle me as, although I'm not consistently good with my irons, you're missing a huge trick if you're not using one.

Let's start with price as this will be many of our pre-requisites when looking for a rangefinder. Firstly, you need a rangefinder or GPS if you want to give yourself a better chance to play well, but many of us won't want to pay excess of £300.

The PRO L2 costs £149, which is incredible value, and it's certainly one of the best budget rangefinders out there.

It has a range of 700 yards, which is as impressive as it is unnecessary, but it is spectacularly easy to use. I have done some caddying this year, and if ever you want a quick and precise yardage, this is the time for that.

When you are asked for a yardage to clear a ditch or what the lay up is, the PRO L2 is absolutely spot on. It’s also a very neat size so can sit in any pocket in your bag and there is also a magnet if you are using a buggy.

'It's hard to find a negative'

I have a bit of a checkered past with rangefinders – I often get yardages wrong and am generally unconfident over whether I have hit the flag or a tree beyond. This is down to pilot error but also using sub-standard equipment.

This model features a target-lock vibration, which sounds like something from Top Gun, but is a virtual guarantee that you have correctly located the flag.

It also has 'adaptive slope technology' which, if you haven't used this for whatever reason, is a game-changer. We're generally terrible at adjusting our yardages to take into account of going up or downhill.

In a recent trip to the coast we played a links course with plenty of elevation changes and, in my head, this would account for 5-6 yards of difference – the reality was at least twice that.

For ease of use you simply slide a catch forward and, when it's green, the slope is on.

Of course, you can't use this in tournament play, but given most of us play the same course week in, week out, it's very worthwhile logging how the approach to, for example, the 14th is affected by the slope.

It's hard to find a negative for the PRO L2. The usual first port of call is the price, but this is impossible to knock. It has a two-year guarantee and my battery is now 10 months into weekly use and I've not had to change it.

This has been a brilliant addition to my bag. Around the same time that my previous laser perished, my trolley also went the same way, so I've happily resorted to a half set of clubs and a pencil bag. And this rangefinder is so light and compact that it adds virtually nothing to the weight of everything.

I'd really recommend a budget rangefinder like the PRO L2 – it's laser accurate, compact and foolproof.