PLAYING WITH … PRECISION PRO NX7 LASER RANGEFINDER

Cost: $329. Tested by: Jimmy Emanuel, Golf Australia Writer (GA Handicap 9.4)

The NX7 might not have all the bells and whistles of some of its top-of-the-line competitors, but it keeps up in the most important areas of performance, writes Jimmy Emanuel.

FIRST IMPRESSIONS: Straight out of the box the NX7 showed it was the whole package.

The robust hard case features a clip to easily hook onto your bag. An easy access cord locking system means you don’t have to zip the case up each time you use the laser and makes getting the unit in and out extremely simple and quick, never slowing down play.

While the NX7 itself fits perfectly in one hand and is lightweight but durable. HOW IT PERFORMED: Once adjusting the eyepiece to suit my eye I was away and extremely impressed by the performance of the NX7. Unlike other laser rangefinders I have used, where the button is held down to lock onto the target, a simple press of the power button to turn the unit on, then another press and release with the crosshairs on the target quickly produces a yardage in either yards or metres, depending on preference. The unit of measurement is quickly and easily changed with a simple push of the mode button when the unit is on.

The distance was precise, measuring to one tenth of a metre, which helped to make club selections when numbers were on a borderline stock club distance, although unfortunately my distance control proved not as accurate as the NX7.

Precision Pro claims the NX7 is accurate to plus or minus one yard and the unit did vary on occasion when the same target was measured twice by up to a metre. Not a huge difference perhaps, but as all golfers know, a metre can be the difference between carrying a hazard and having a putt for birdie or dropping another ball from short of the water.

Compared to other older, larger laser rangefinders that require two steady hands to shoot targets the ability to use the NX7 with one hand was a welcome change. The ergonomic design felt as if the rangefinder was designed personally for my hand.

The display once dialled in is clear and easy to read, the magnification and clarity was great from any distance. The ability to adjust the brightness depending on vision and time of day would take this rangefinder to the next level as the distances became harder to read in fading light.

The laser was extremely quick to lock on and produce distances. The flag symbol that indicates hitting the target makes it obvious when you had hit the flag or tree you were measuring and during my time with the NX7 it was extremely rare to get a distance to anything but the target I was shooting for.

Overall, the NX7 doesn’t have all the bells and whistles of some of its top of the line competitors but it keeps up in the most important areas of performance, easily and clearly measuring distances. At the price it is a great option that doesn’t disappoint and is easy enough to use that even the most non-tech savvy golfers will be able to point and shoot their way to accurate distances and hopefully lower scores.