2023 Official Member Review: Cobalt Q-6 Range Finder

[tony@CIC]

On 1/22/2023 at 9:42 PM, vandyland said:

So today was a inadvertent test, it was 40 degrees and raining and quite foggy. So foggy in fact that it provided a good test for the cobalt. I tried to get pictures of the conditions but I don't even think this quite captures it. 

 

 

The Cobalt did quite well, though there were some flags I had to shoot a few times to get them but my other rangefinder couldn't even pick them up. Overall a very good day for the Cobalt. 

Dense fog and light precipitation (I don't play in rain), would be a key feature I'd be looking for in my next LRF. My NX9HD is great but when there's fog it has a tough time. 

[DaveP043]

22 hours ago, Tom the Golf Nut said:

The case does hang on one of the bags rings fine. But I’m not happy with the hang down angle. I have some ideas that I’ll work on for better mounting possibilities

I checked today, and the "belt straps" on the back of the case are wide enough that the standard strip on a buggy fits through them.  You may be able to use the straps holding your bag onto the MotoCaddy the same way, which might be a better angle for you.

[Tom the Golf Nut]

I did have the same thought for the Motocaddy, but it would take some finagling to get the strap through. The Motocaddy used a bungee type restraint and the spacers between the bungee cords are wider than the opening on the Cobalt’s case. The bungee itself is flimsy to try to push through the web straps on the case.  If I decided to take a cart instead of walk the process of taking the case on and off would be a pain. 

My thought was a separate strap to put around the bag with a quick connect buckle. I have one that I can try. I’ll see how that all works tomorrow and take some pictures.

 

[GolfSpy_APH]

Mine is still mia. Hoping it gets here this week and the weather looks like it may just be good enough that I can get a round in. Don't get me wrong it is going to be cold! However the courses should be open and thats all that matters. 

[vandyland]

 

Used the Cobalt exclusively on my saturday round and had good results the entire day. Usually gets the target first try without issue AND, I think this is important, gives me the same number each time. My cheaper range finder will jump around a few yards sometimes whilst 95% of the time I get the same number on the cobalt. If it does change it is like .1 or .3 yards different. I also like the rangefinder holder now. Feels very secure and I highly doubt the rangefinder would fall out.

Edited January 30, 2023 by vandyland

[GolfSpy BOS]

21 hours ago, tony@CIC said:

Dense fog and light precipitation (I don't play in rain), would be a key feature I'd be looking for in my next LRF. My NX9HD is great but when there's fog it has a tough time. 

You're bound be find disappointment there.  Foggy and rain days are better suited to GPS.  It's not the fault of any particular unit though.  The laser beam ends up getting scattered by the droplets in the air with fog and rain and can't work well because of that.   

[Tom the Golf Nut]

Mounting update.

I used the ring on the case to attach to the ring on my bag for my golf towels and brush. It's ok and very usable in that location if it weren't for trying to get to the golf brush. See photo. The bag only has one ring so I can't move the brush to another spot. 

 

Then I went with a separate strap with quick connect buckle. This puts it where I want it. I'm sticking with this set up and see how it goes.

 

[Bang60]

5 hours ago, vandyland said:

 

Used the Cobalt exclusively on my saturday round and had good results the entire day. Usually gets the target first try without issue AND, I think this is important, gives me the same number each time. My cheaper range finder will jump around a few yards sometimes whilst 95% of the time I get the same number on the cobalt. If it does change it is like .1 or .3 yards different. I also like the rangefinder holder now. Feels very secure and I highly doubt the rangefinder would fall out.

Is that a Golf course? Not alot of grass can see. Must be tough hitting a ball off of dirt?

[vandyland]

6 minutes ago, Bang60 said:

Is that a Golf course? Not alot of grass can see. Must be tough hitting a ball off of dirt?

I live in the land of dormant bermuda in the rough so all that brown you see in the distance is, technically, grass. As for the leopard spotted fairways, this course (a mid tier private that gets HEAVY usage) does some rye overseeding but lies can be pretty hit or miss. It's not ideal but I will play golf in just about any temps above freezing so here I am haha. 

Edited January 30, 2023 by vandyland

[Tom the Golf Nut]

1 hour ago, vandyland said:

I live in the land of dormant bermuda in the rough so all that brown you see in the distance is, technically, grass. As for the leopard spotted fairways, this course (a mid tier private that gets HEAVY usage) does some rye overseeding but lies can be pretty hit or miss. It's not ideal but I will play golf in just about any temps above freezing so here I am haha. 

I deal with the opposite. All the fairways are dormant. The tee box, rough and greens are the only thing green. I so much hate this time of year. Yes, I can play year-round, but it is depressing seeing all that brown and playing off of tight lies for a few months.  

[sirchunksalot]

2 hours ago, Bang60 said:

Is that a Golf course? Not alot of grass can see. Must be tough hitting a ball off of dirt?

That's the fun thing about playing on an area where the grass goes dormant, we don't see a lot of green until the spring. Like @Tom the Golf Nut said, it's kind of depressing playing off brown grass. Here's my course in October. 

Not to take away from the thread, I want to say you guys are doing a good job reviewing the Cobalt. Any chance we can get a photo of the optics looking at an object? I think this was done a couple of years ago by someone using a cutout of a pool noodle between the phone and rangefinder. 

[Tom the Golf Nut]

3 hours ago, sirchunksalot said:Any chance we can get a photo of the optics looking at an object? I think this was done a couple of years ago by someone using a cutout of a pool noodle between the phone and rangefinder. 

I am actually working on that already. I should have this ready tomorrow. I was doing a comparison photo between units. I have to find tune the camera holding device to get through the rangefinder. But I’m almost there.

[GolfSpy BOS]

4 hours ago, sirchunksalot said:

That's the fun thing about playing on an area where the grass goes dormant, we don't see a lot of green until the spring. Like @Tom the Golf Nut said, it's kind of depressing playing off brown grass. Here's my course in October. 

Not to take away from the thread, I want to say you guys are doing a good job reviewing the Cobalt. Any chance we can get a photo of the optics looking at an object? I think this was done a couple of years ago by someone using a cutout of a pool noodle between the phone and rangefinder. 

If you’re steady enough it can be done by hand! It wasn’t easy but I did it for the Precision pro test that I did! 
 

but yeah, something cut out to take up space between the two helps keep it steady once you get it all lined up.

[vandyland]

17 hours ago, sirchunksalot said:

Any chance we can get a photo of the optics looking at an object? I think this was done a couple of years ago by someone using a cutout of a pool noodle between the phone and rangefinder.

That is a good shout. Sounds like @Tom the Golf Nut is working on it but I am happy to try as well. It might coincide with another test that weather has delayed me from doing also. 

[Tom the Golf Nut]

Here are two shots. One from my older laser which has gray crosshairs to line up. The right side digit is hard to read so there is guesswork until I can get the optics un-foged AGAIN. The other is the Cobalt with the red. There is an adjustment knob to adjust the brightness of the display. You can also see that you get the slope of 1.2 degrees and your yardage goes to the decimal place as well. It also shows battery life. 

  

[sirchunksalot]

3 hours ago, Tom the Golf Nut said:

Here are two shots. One from my older laser which has gray crosshairs to line up. The right side digit is hard to read so there is guesswork until I can get the optics un-foged AGAIN. The other is the Cobalt with the red. There is an adjustment knob to adjust the brightness of the display. You can also see that you get the slope of 1.2 degrees and your yardage goes to the decimal place as well. It also shows battery life. 

  

Thanks for that, Tom! It's interesting to see the differences between your old rangefinder and the Cobalt. It looks like the Cobalt would be easier to read, especially on overcast days. 

[Tom the Golf Nut]

I used the camera mount on the Motocaddy so you can see there is a difference in yardage readings between the two units 40 yards verses 38.4. I left everything in place so I can actually go measure to check accuracy. Another thing I want to check is if these readings compound. Will I be off 3.2 yards at 80 yards, 6.4 at 160? Some par threes are out at 200 yards which would put you 8 yards off. Which is not acceptable. I'm sure it is my old unit that is off. But you know the rule "trust but verify". 

[sirchunksalot]

5 minutes ago, Tom the Golf Nut said:

I used the camera mount on the Motocaddy so you can see there is a difference in yardage readings between the two units 40 yards verses 38.4. I left everything in place so I can actually go measure to check accuracy. Another thing I want to check is if these readings compound. Will I be off 3.2 yards at 80 yards, 6.4 at 160? Some par threes are out at 200 yards which would put you 8 yards off. Which is not acceptable. I'm sure it is my old unit that is off. But you know the rule "trust but verify". 

That's important to know, if you're off by 8 yards over the span of 200 yards, that puts you at 3/4 club difference and could cause issues. 

[chisag]

On 1/30/2023 at 2:55 PM, Tom the Golf Nut said:

I deal with the opposite. All the fairways are dormant. The tee box, rough and greens are the only thing green. I so much hate this time of year. Yes, I can play year-round, but it is depressing seeing all that brown and playing off of tight lies for a few months.  

 

... Haha we are the exact opposite. Fairways are green and the rough is dormant. Not much watering in winter so everything is a tight lie and you get used to it. I did have to change my wedge to a low bounce and almost exclusively use a bump and run when I flew everything in the air back in the soft Midwest conditions so it was a learning curve.

 

... The thing I love about the dormant rough is the ball rolls farther than the fairway and there are several holes with "speed slots" just off the fairway that can generate 300yd drives. Same 225-230 carry but 75yds of roll. The flip side is the last picture is a par 3 and that drop off on the right is much more severe than it looks in the photo, the green has a false front all the way around so anything just on the green will roll off and all the way to the bottom of the hill and you can't even see the flag. 

[GaDawg]

2 hours ago, chisag said:

 

... Haha we are the exact opposite. Fairways are green and the rough is dormant. Not much watering in winter so everything is a tight lie and you get used to it. I did have to change my wedge to a low bounce and almost exclusively use a bump and run when I flew everything in the air back in the soft Midwest conditions so it was a learning curve.

 

... The thing I love about the dormant rough is the ball rolls farther than the fairway and there are several holes with "speed slots" just off the fairway that can generate 300yd drives. Same 225-230 carry but 75yds of roll. The flip side is the last picture is a par 3 and that drop off on the right is much more severe than it looks in the photo, the green has a false front all the way around so anything just on the green will roll off and all the way to the bottom of the hill and you can't even see the flag. 

Beautiful! Also love the mountains in the background.

[chisag]

2 minutes ago, GaDawg said:

Beautiful! Also love the mountains in the background.

 

... 4 winters here now and 3 full years and I never get tired of looking at those mountains. I doubt I will ever take them for granted. 

[Tom the Golf Nut]

21 hours ago, Tom the Golf Nut said:

I used the camera mount on the Motocaddy so you can see there is a difference in yardage readings between the two units 40 yards verses 38.4. I left everything in place so I can actually go measure to check accuracy. Another thing I want to check is if these readings compound. Will I be off 3.2 yards at 80 yards, 6.4 at 160? Some par threes are out at 200 yards which would put you 8 yards off. Which is not acceptable. I'm sure it is my old unit that is off. But you know the rule "trust but verify". 

I actually measured the distance off today and the Cobalt was spot on with an accurate distance reading. I have one of those distance measuring wheels. 

 

Once I get back out on the course, I will check longer distances. I'm confident in the Cobalt after measuring but I want to see if the distance difference compounds on my other unit. Its claim is 1 yard accuracy out to 540 yards. Cobalt claims .5 yards out to 300. So, this will be a distance check against each other. 

[GolfSpy_APH]

Hoping mine arrives this week. Looks like it is all it is chalked up to be, but want to see for myself and see how it works for me and  adapts itself into my game. 

[chisag]

1 minute ago, GolfSpy_APH said:

Looks like it is all it is chalked up to be, but want to see for myself and see how it works for me and affairs adapts itself into my game. 

 

... You are obviously a Playah so would you use the Cobalt to see if your wife is approaching? After eating a "desert" I think I owed you a spelling error. 

[GolfSpy_APH]

25 minutes ago, chisag said:

 

... You are obviously a Playah so would you use the Cobalt to see if your wife is approaching? After eating a "desert" I think I owed you a spelling error. 

Edited... I also didn't call out the desert! 

[chisag]

7 minutes ago, GolfSpy_APH said:

Edited... I also didn't call out the desert! 

 

... Having a dessert in the desert can get confusing but as a Modest, all you guys are the same. 

[vandyland]

I played with a buddy today who has a bushnell v3 pro and the cobalt and bushnell were within +\- 2 yds on every shot up to 200 yds. Interestingly enough, they were ALWAYS different. So one is more accurate than the other. Also, I am loving the zoom feature. That is the most helpful so far as I didn’t have that on my previous model. I do miss the pin seeking vibration though. 

[Tom the Golf Nut]

9 hours ago, vandyland said:

 I do miss the pin seeking vibration though. 

The Q6 has this feature as well. I thought mine was not working at first, but it was. Scope your target, press the trigger and hold it down then move off the target. Then you will get the vibration and buzz sound letting you know that you actually had the target. 

[vandyland]

On 2/1/2023 at 2:10 PM, Tom the Golf Nut said:

I actually measured the distance off today and the Cobalt was spot on with an accurate distance reading. I have one of those distance measuring wheels. 

 

This is an excellent test. This along with the picture of the view finder (I tried in vain for 10 minutes to get that same picture) and I think @Tom the Golf Nutis the star reviewer so far!

[Tom the Golf Nut]

Today was another test day while playing nine holes. In the mix we had a Tectectec laser, a Tectectec GPS watch, and the Cobalt Q6. The "Tec" laser did not have compounding distance readings. But on average there was a 3-yard difference between that and the Cobalt. It was a little tricky since the Cobalt had the slope on, so I had to remember to switch it off to compare correctly.  The "Tec" laser was showing the distance to be further, and it also missed the target a few times, so you had to pay attention.  The Cobalt Q6 never missed one. The GPS watch was doing well when I compared the front middle and back to places that I could shoot with the Cobalt laser. Just when I was feeling confident one of the holes had the mapping off. If I trusted the GPS I would have been in trouble and over the green on a par three. 

At the end of the day the Tectectec laser is no longer going to be in the bag for comparison testing. I'll give it to my son once I get the display de-fogged on the first digit from the right. So, what about the GPS watch. It did well other than the one hole with the mapping issue. I did find I wanted other distance points on dog legs that the watch didn't display. Not its fault but it is a basic unit. No hole overview, just two or three selected distances to something plus the front, middle and back of the green. I have been using this for the last two seasons, but I am finding that I really like the Cobalt Q6 and all its features much better. 

The location on the bag while walking with the Motocaddy was perfect.