Bushnell iON Edge GPS Watch

We give our verdict on the Bushnell Golf iON Edge GPS watch

Bushnell iON Edge GPS Watch Review
Golf Monthly Verdict

We found its usability to be a bit of a hindrance and the lack of instructions also made it difficult to get the most out of the features, especially early on. However, for those used to Bushnell's touchscreen or who are able to master it quickly, this will be a very solid and affordable GPS watch.

Reasons to buy
  • +

    Shows hazards, allows you to mark pin locations, and the scorecard and stats function comes in handy during and post-round. Front-middle-back yardages are clear to read and highly accurate.

Reasons to avoid
  • -

    Usability is less than ideal. In particular, the touchscreen is temperamental and requires a good bit of practise to get on top of. Also doesn't come with an instruction manual.

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In this Bushnell iON Edge GPS watch review, we test it out on the course to assess its functionality, usability and overall performance

Bushnell iON Edge GPS Watch Review

Almost all golfers nowadays will put their trust in a laser rangefinder or some sort of GPS device to help get them from A to B on the course. And among the premium brands in the distance-measuring-device market is Bushnell

With that in mind, we were keen to test the company’s iON Edge GPS watch and find out how it stacks up against some of the best golf GPS watches available right now.

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We’ll begin with the style and while it isn’t a knockout, it was a decent-looking addition to our wrist that wasn’t overly bulky or heavy. 

It’s black and sleek and felt quite soft and didn’t interfere with our swing or cause any discomfort, so all good in that department.

bushnell-ion-edge-gps-watch-side

Moving onto the functionality and we’ve experienced better. For starters, there wasn’t an instruction manual included in the box so we were left to guess a little as to its operation. It wasn’t rocket science, thankfully, but could have been made easier. 

There is one button on the side which we correctly figured would boot it up, and from there, one swipe to the right gives you the option to begin your satellite search for the correct course. 

For the first few rounds, we weren’t able to get the most out of the watch because we simply didn’t know how to and we didn’t want to spend ages on the course figuring it out. 

Even now, after using it between five and ten times, we aren’t 100 per cent confident we’re maxing out its potential.

bushnell-ion-edge-gps-watch-review-hazard-screen

However, we did enjoy utilising the front-middle-back yardage function in conjunction with the moveable flag function (seen below), that allows you to cycle through the different pin locations and select to get a more precise distance to the flag.

Additionally, we decided to input our scores and some basic stats into the watch as we played. It’s something we haven’t really done in the past as it can focus the mind too much on the score instead of trying to treat every shot on its own merit.

But we may have turned a corner on that. At the end of each round - unless it’s been a total disaster - quickly seeing how many fairways you’ve missed and how many putts you’ve hit is quite handy. 

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It is nowhere near as in-depth as strokes-gained analysis, but we think these stats still have their place.

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Being totally honest, we were disappointed in the touchscreen. It really is quite unresponsive, while at the same time being annoyingly sensitive to a misplaced finger. 

On more than one occasion each round, swiping up and down or left and right either took multiple attempts to complete or navigated us to another menu entirely. 

If you're able to master this temperamental aspect, Bushnell’s iON Edge watch is a solid product that has the ability to point out hazards, move the pin position and help guide golfers round the course on the route best trodden at a very competitive price. 

Andrew Wright
Freelance News Writer

A lifelong golf fan, Andy graduated in 2019 with a degree in Sports Journalism and got his first role in the industry as the Instruction Editor for National Club Golfer. From there, he decided to go freelance and now covers a variety of topics for Golf Monthly. 

Andy took up the game at the age of seven and even harboured ambitions of a career in the professional ranks for a spell. That didn’t pan out, but he still enjoys his weekend golf at Royal Troon and holds a scratch handicap. As a side note, he's made five holes-in-one and could quite possibly be Retief Goosen’s biggest fan.

As well as the above, some of Andy's work has featured on websites such as goal.com, dailyrecord.co.uk, and theopen.com.

What's in Andy's bag?

Driver: Callaway Mavrik Sub-Zero (9°)

3-wood: TaylorMade Stealth 2 Plus (15°)

Driving iron: Titleist U500 (17°)

Irons: Mizuno mp32 (4-PW)

Wedges: Titleist Vokey SM9 (50°, 54° and 58°)

Putter: Titleist Scotty Cameron Newport 2.5

Ball: TaylorMade TP5x