Testers Announced: Shot Scope Pro ZR

[MattF]

11 hours ago, Off Map Oscar said:

One think I want to ask my fellow reviewers. Please use your ZR into the sun and let me know what you experience. My round ended at about 615 today and the last few holes were into the sun. I don't want to taint your perspective so I won't say what I experienced but I'm curious if you notice anything not necessarily unusual but different than shots not with the sun in the background.

I'm fairly sure I know what you're talking about because my opponent in yesterdays match mentioned it. Specifically in situations where the sun is low in the horizon in front of you.

[Off Map Oscar]

29 minutes ago, MattF said:

I'm fairly sure I know what you're talking about because my opponent in yesterdays match mentioned it. Specifically in situations where the sun is low in the horizon in front of you.

Exactly. 

[MattF]

5 minutes ago, Off Map Oscar said:

Exactly. 

I'll be trying to test it and report on it.

[MattF]

My intro post is up.

[Josh Parker]

Great intros and unboxings

[Rico_de_Gallo]

@MattF I've got the Precision Pro NX 10 as well ... looking forward to following the test and see how it compares

[Off Map Oscar]

Added this to the original post as well but here are some parting thoughts on the Pro ZR

 

Final Review of the Shot Scope Pro ZR

After using the Shot Scope Pro ZR for five rounds, I feel confident in my assessment of its performance. There are some clear advantages to this rangefinder, but it also comes with a few limitations. Here’s my detailed breakdown:

Pros:

Lightning-Fast Performance: The Pro ZR is incredibly fast at acquiring distances—noticeably quicker than the two other rangefinders I used for comparison. It’s so fast that sometimes the slope calculation takes an extra moment to display, but this minor delay is worth it for the overall speed. In fact, I’d say it’s roughly three times faster than my other rangefinders. For those who, like me, double-check their range to ensure consistency, this speed really adds up, making it a big advantage. The budget Amazon rangefinder has flag lock, but it takes much longer to lock in a distance compared to the Pro ZR.

Strong Magnet: The magnet on the Pro ZR is significantly stronger than the budget model. Normally, I keep my rangefinder in the pouch on my bag rather than on the cart pillar to avoid losing it. For this test, I placed both rangefinders on the cart pillar for the entire round, and it became clear that the cheap model slid down the bar with each hole. While it never fell off, I’m confident that a strong impact would dislodge it, whereas the Pro ZR remained securely in place.

Superb Lens Clarity: The clarity of the Pro ZR’s lens is excellent. It’s much easier to distinguish details with this device compared to the budget rangefinder, and it even surpasses my Nikon in this regard. The Pro ZR provides a crisp, clear view that enhances usability, especially when locking onto distant targets.

Top-Notch Build Quality: The Pro ZR feels solid in hand, with a heft that gives it a premium, durable feel without being overly heavy. Although I haven’t dropped it or experienced any rough handling, I’m confident it would hold up well. In comparison, the budget rangefinder feels like it’s made from thinner plastic, and I wouldn’t trust it to survive a fall from a cart onto a hard surface.

Cons:

Battery-Driven: The Pro ZR is powered by a replaceable battery, and mine, along with another tester's, arrived with a dead one. After about eight holes, I saw the low battery warning. I would much prefer a rechargeable option, like the one included with the Amazon budget model. While the Pro ZR claims to support up to 40,000 ranges per battery, I’m personally more inclined toward rechargeable devices for convenience and environmental reasons.

Direct Sunlight Issues: The Pro ZR struggles with lens washout when aiming towards a flag with the sun in the background. This wasn’t an issue with the Nikon or the budget rangefinder. The larger lens or the chrome around the objective lens could be contributing to this problem. Additionally, I noticed that when shooting into direct sunlight, the rangefinder would occasionally provide inaccurate distances compared to my GPS watch. I’m not sure if this is due to the sunlight affecting the laser or if I was mistakenly locking onto the wrong target.

Aiming Reticle Size: A friend who helped me test the Pro ZR mentioned that he found the aiming reticle too large, making it difficult to lock onto the flag. While he appreciated the bold, easy-to-read distances, the reticle size was a drawback for him. He isn’t someone who ranges every approach shot like I do, so this feature may be less of an issue for more frequent users.

Overall Thoughts:

The Shot Scope Pro ZR is a fantastic rangefinder with impressive speed, strong build quality, and excellent lens clarity. However, it does have some limitations, such as being battery-driven and the issues with direct sunlight. These might not be deal-breakers for everyone, but they’re worth considering depending on your playing conditions and preferences.

Would I buy this? Absolutely. My experience with Shot Scope has been nothing but positive, and I believe they’re on par with major brands like Bushnell and Garmin in terms of product quality. At its MSRP, the Pro ZR is competitively priced, and if you have a budget in the $300 range, I think it’s a solid investment. If you’re looking for a more budget-friendly option, there are other choices, but you should be prepared for some compromises, which I’ve outlined here.

Will It Stay in My Bag?

I’ll leave that up to the Golf Spy leadership. I’m more than happy to pass it on to another reviewer for further testing. Maybe one of the reviewers of the other range finders would want to swap ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
The cheap Amazon rangefinder has already found a new home with my buddy, so if this one goes to another reviewer, I’ll be back to using my trusty Nikon. That said, after using a high-quality rangefinder like the Pro ZR, I’ll definitely be investing in a premium model—whether it’s this one or something else remains to be seen. But I can confidently say the Pro ZR is a strong contender for my permanent golf bag spot.

[Gravenor]

On 9/14/2024 at 11:55 AM, Rob Person said:

Awesome intros !  

Couple of questions lurking in my mind already.

Lens clarity, ease of adjustment for focusing with or without glasses/sunglasses, screen layout and marking designations simple?

Hi Rob!

I haven't quite finished my testing of the ShotScope Pro ZR just yet (would like to get a few more rounds in before I give it my final thoughts), but I think I can help here.

1). Lens Clarity: The overall lens clarity is fantastic - definitely as good as other rangefinders I have tested in the past. However...  shooting flags into the sun is an issue. This has already been referenced and discussed by other testers both publicly and privately, and will also be included in my upcoming review, but it is worth mentioning. I have tried relentlessly to figure out what is causing this problem, and my only conclusion is it is something to do with the chrome finish encasing the lens. I have included an image of the front casing below to show what I mean;

Whilst the chrome finish is beautiful and is made of high quality materials, it does seem to mark easier than other parts of the device and as stated above, seems to cause an issue with the clarity of the scope when shooting flags into the sun. Either that or it's the lens, but it is very hard to tell. It's worth noting that the rangefinder is still usable into the sun, but you get this hazy reflective effect when looking down the lens which seems to end up giving you incorrect distances from time-to-time. I don't know quite how to describe it, but I will touch on this further in my final review.

2). Ease of Adjustment: I will keep this brief as I don't think it requires much explanation. The adjustment of the Pro ZR is very straightforward, although it does feel a bit fiddly to operate when your eye is pressed up against the scope. To adjust the rangefinder you twist the bezel surrounding the scope (i'm sure you have experienced similar with other rangefinders in the past). All in all, very easy to adjust. With regards to adjustment with/without glasses, I have had no issues at all. My experience has been seamless, and I don't have to change my settings when i'm using glasses. That being said I suppose it depends on your sunglasses and the lenses you have, but I can't say i've had any issues there.

3). Screen Layout & Marking Designations: The screen layout is as busy or as simple as you'd like it to be. This is because the Pro ZR has two modes (M1 & M2). M1 shows extra info (yardage, angle, slope) and M2 shows yardage alone. If you don't want all the complexities M2 is going to be your go to mode, but it is nice to have the option of M1 if you are someone that can utilise or requires the extra data.

Hope this helps! 

Edited Tuesday at 07:40 PM by Gravenor

[Off Map Oscar]

2 minutes ago, Gravenor said:

Hi Rob!

I haven't quite finished my testing of the ShotScope Pro ZR just yet (would like to get a few more rounds in before I give it my final thoughts), but I think I can help here.1). Lens Clarity: The overall lens clarity is fantastic - definitely as good as other rangefinders I have tested in the past. However...  shooting flags into the sun is an issue. This has already been referenced and discussed by other testers both publicly and privately, and will also be included in my upcoming review, but it is worth mentioning. I have tried relentlessly to figure out what is causing this problem, and my only conclusion is it is something to do with the chrome finish encasing the lens. 

Thankfully, you noticed it, too. I thought maybe I was being nuts about the into-the-sun issue. 

[Gravenor]

14 minutes ago, Off Map Oscar said:

Thankfully, you noticed it, too. I thought maybe I was being nuts about the into-the-sun issue. 

Haha, not just you mate! I was the last one out on the course Sunday evening and coming down 17 & 18 I started to struggle more and more the lower the sun got. I really tried to diagnose this because I want my review to help ShotScope as well as the other forum members, but I just can't work out what it could be other than the chrome encasing.

It's not the end of the world though, and overall my experience has been positive and ShotScope seem to have smashed it with the Pro ZR. 

Edited Tuesday at 07:59 PM by Gravenor

[Off Map Oscar]

I thought about maybe covering the chrome around the lens with some painters tape. see if that aleviated the issue. 

for those reading this its not as big a deal as it sounds. it is a minor niggle in an otherwise fantastic product. 

[Gravenor]

11 hours ago, Off Map Oscar said:

I thought about maybe covering the chrome around the lens with some painters tape. see if that aleviated the issue. 

for those reading this its not as big a deal as it sounds. it is a minor niggle in an otherwise fantastic product. 

Thats exactly what I was thinking of doing this weekend. I've always got some electrical tape because of my job, so i'll maybe try that this coming Saturday.

And yes, @Off Map Oscar is right, if you're reading this it isn't a deal breaker! Just something we've noticed.