The carbon-reinforced plastic body allows the Pinmaster to take the knocks and it’s also watertight for 30mins at 1m depth, if it does fall out of your grip whilst chipping out of the water hazard. There’s also a two-year guarantee, that offers some comfort too, but not as generous as the 10 years Leica offers for binoculars. The targeting range extends to 750m/820 yards, which, at nearly half a mile, could be a challenge to find a flag at that distance.
Gun sight technology for duelling golfers
During tests, some of the figures didn’t add up but that was due to its good accuracy, if anything. On most courses, the distance from the tee to the pin is not what is printed on the scorecard. What you get is the distance is from somewhere on the tee to the centre of the green. Not all pins are in the centre of the green, and tees get hacked up – movement along the surface is good for them. There are also other tees for the ladies/youngsters. So here we have the first real advantage in an approximate world – an accurate distance to the pin. Not just from open play, but from the moment you line up to drive off.
Good for 2000 measurements on just one CR2 battery, the laser is invisible and only measures for a maximum of 0.9 sec. There is a scan mode that – when the single control up top is pressed a second time and held – will repeatedly give a new reading twice a second. This is obviously for when you are on manœuvres.
The caddies' companion?
The Leica Pinmaster is so well made you could see it living on the outside of your golfing bag, without fear of the elements. Yet I suspect it should be round your neck for quick access – perhaps not when trying to swing, as it has to go somewhere – so there is a belt carrying case supplied. Moreover, it’s designed to withstand the rough treatment bags receive when hauled in and out of car boots, but is so discreet that it doesn’t look like you are using anything other than a sight to find your ball.
Verdict
Certainly, a great talking point back at the clubhouse and reassuringly expensive too, but no more than a decent driver. While the Pinmaster’s technology provides an edge for golfers – it simply offers accurate distance readings and no club suggestions – as always, the rest is still up to you. ®
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Leica Pinmaster rangefinder
COMMENTS
A terrible way of spoling a country walk...
As Mark Twain reputedly said of golf. However, that's not the point here. I was drawn to this...
"Now it may seem obvious, but in this country distances on links are measured in yards, which no doubt explains why there is a 'Y' on the end of the name on the box. A metric version is also available, so if you do decide to go shopping for a Pinmaster, be sure it measures in your preferred units."
So in all seriousness, some manufacturer has come up with a near £500 laser range finder that doesn't allow you to choose your preferred units at the press of a button? I have a £15 set of electronic scales that allows me to freely choose, not to mention a £6 electronic thermometer with the same capability.
That's quite apart from the idea of spending that much money on such a gadget, but then, as PG Wodehouse knew, some golfers are beyond any rational help and can only be indulged.
2000 uses per battery.....
That would barely get me to the 9th hole.
Multiplying by 0.9144 would be too expensive
"A metric version is also available, so if you do decide to go shopping for a Pinmaster, be sure it measures in your preferred units."
So, let me get this straight, here we have a £500 gadget that's unable to convert yards to metres?
Can I pay for it in shillings?
Stick to the computers, guys
Just one question, Reg - why are you reviewing this thing as if it's some incredibly exotic, brand new idea, a one-off, sui generis, unique unto itself?
Spend thirty seconds on any golfing equipment web site and it becomes painfully obvious that there are dozens of these things on the market. Hell, Golf Town has a whole *category* for them:
http://www.golftown.com/gtcommerce/stores/1/rangefinders-C562.aspx?lang=en
Laser ones, GPS ones, and boring old optical ones, running the gamut from the most expensive (er, this one) to a princely $25.
So for the review to be remotely useful at *all*, it would have to compare this thing to all the other rangefinders out there, and explain why we might be motivated to shell out such a gigantic sum of dosh for it.
Personally I forked over the princely sum of $15 for the pro version of FreeCaddie, and find that does the job fine. Sure, it's GPS based and the map data comes from Google Earth so it's not going to be accurate to the width of a sub-atomic particle, but it's generally within 10 yards or so, and I wish I could say the same about my 7-iron...
Uroclub
@jeremy 2
That's an, interesting, product. Do you think the guy really thought he'd be able to retire on that idea?
