Simmons LRF 600 Laser Rangefinder

I bought this range finder after reading many reviews that it is good value for the price but this couldn't be farther from the truth.. I had a VERY hard time picking up pins even within 150 yards.. Typically it would pick up the trees or objects behind you which makes this effectively useless for confidence. I tried at both a standard golf course as well as one that has enhanced pins with reflective pieces (mirrors) on the top of the pins and even then nothing reliable. Finally, it is not built with any type of ruggedness, it is a hard plastic case that I'm sure is very susceptible to damage. All in all I can't even close to recommend this product and I'm moving on to try something else.

I got this for golfing for about a year and a half ago. Used it on over sixty or seventy rounds, at least. It was a bargain purchase, to start with, so I never thought it'd perform like a $400 Bushnell or what not. The aiming reticle is large, so it can be confused by the background behind a flagstick, but I found, if you hit the base of the stick, you'd get a pretty good idea of what you were after. At some point ... probably eight or nine months after I bought it, I noticed the distance it'd reach was decreasing. Instead of 280 or so, I couldn't get any reading at all beyond 220 or so, now. Which is weird. I've changed batteries as necessary ... and the battery life is just fine--no complaints there ... but if I'm after a target more than about 220, the thing--more often than not--just won't register, no matter how bright or big or reflective the target is. That's the only really disappointing thing about this rangefinder. I never expected it to outperform others costing three times as much, but the deterioration of performance was surprising. That said, it's still in my bag and I use it a lot inside the 190 or so ranges. Outside that distance, anyway, I rely more on luck and the good favor of the golf gods to get it there accurately. So, this thing is decent ... a real value, considering the cost compared to others, but its accuracy and consistency are its weak points.

After some research I ordered the Simmons LRF 600 for the price I figured it was a fair price. Upon Arrival I noticed a black spot on the LCD , just below the reticle. I figured that something found its way inside the unit during the manufacturing process. Reading the instruction manual which is only 7 pages but offered in 6 languages, on page 4 I find the information that I was looking for , under " Specification" it talks about the optical design of the unit. The 3rd sentence states " Inherent in the manufacturing process are small black spots that appear in the optical system.These are a natural characteristic of the LCD and cannot be fully eliminated in the manufacturing process.They do not affect the distancing performance of the unit." Well that is a flaw in my opinion but for the price I will learn to live with it. I have used the unit for a few minutes and think that it is a good buy at just under $80.00 shipped but don't feel that it is worth $119.00 as I have seen in a brick and mortar store. I did test the unit out to 407 yard or 372 meters as well as some much shorter known distances, the unit is accurate. One last thing to mention is that it is powered by one 9v battery which is labeled on the bottom of the box.

Most of the golf specific rangefinders have extra nifty features, and allow for pinpoint accuracy of flags, markers, and other smaller objects you'd find on the golf course out to 1000 yards. The Simmons LRF 600 is a no frills rangefinder suitable for targets out to 600 yards, and does not have weather info nor does it have tilt/angle capabilities. I use it mainly to gauge distances for my drives, or to estimate the distance to the center of the green. I don't really have a need for the high-end golf specific range finders. I verified that the LRF600 is precise to under 1 yard compared with Google Maps data (which is based on GPS but is static). I know the laser is definitely more precise than GPS as GPS relies on numerous satellites and its accuracy changes based on conditions. The benefit to using a GPS device or smartphone app is that you can see the overlay of the course. However, I intended to use the LRF600 as a tool for gauging distance, and it does the job perfectly well. The LRF600 uses a standard 9V battery, which is my only complaint. The 9V battery clamp is tight and it was hard to swap batteries. The battery door also requires the use of a coin to loosen the screw. I wish it used AA or AAA batteries which are more common and I could at least use NiMH rechargeables. The 9V NiMH rechargeables don't seem to be made as well. The eye relief is actually long enough for you use while wearing glasses or sunglasses. I found this to be important because my other golf rangefinder required me to remove my Oakleys every time. In moderate to heavy fog, the laser rangefinder only projects a distance of 6-7 yards as expected. For the early morning tee times, the laser rangefinder may not help you out if there is any mist or fog. This is a situation where GPS is more useful. Overall: 5/5 stars. Easy to use, just insert a fresh battery, aim and click the button to find the range. Use large objects as reference points if needed. The 4x optical magnification is CRISP, about as good as the Trijicon ACOG riflescope although the exit pupil is a tad small, which means it won't work as well in low-light conditions. But for a golf course, it is perfect.

I am retired and play golf 3 or 4 times a week. I have used 3 different GPSs and i finally tried a range finder. It works ok on flags that have reflectors and are not in the shade. The 9 v. batterys I used lasted several weeks. The Range Finder lasted about 14 months.