Bushnell Pro 1600 Slope Edition Review

What is the measure of success? It is range adjusted to the elevation of the target.  The Bushnell Pro 1600 Slope Edition Rangefinder is accurate, fast, stable, adjusts elevation and is waterproof.

The Pro 1600 Slope Edition doesn’t just give you the measurement, it displays how far you need to go even with an incline or decline in front of you. The Slope Edition calculates the elevation and gives a “play as” distance with elevation factored in.

With this additional knowledge the Bushnell Pro 1600 Slope Edition golf range finder will arm you with a new confidence and you will know accurately which club to choose.

Go to this link at Amazon to get the best price for the Bushnell Pro 1600 Slope Edition.

In Depth Review

Features Vs Benefits

Although the Bushnell Pro 1600 Slope Edition cannot be used during tournaments the benefits are present when playing golf on a casual basis. (If you need the Bushnell Pro 1600 Tournament Edition for competitions go to this link.)  The crucial data for the elevation of the target ahead of the lie is what makes the difference between exact distance and being short or long.

The waterproof Pro 1600 Slope Edition comes with Rainguard HD protection on the optics which keeps the lens’ from fogging up and/or becoming blurry.  The maximum range for the Pro 1600 is furthest for all golf range finders in which can measure a distance from 5 – 1,600 yards / 1,463 meters.  Of course there are environmental factors in which will be described further down this report.

Even if it is the cream of the crop for golf range finders it is also one of the bulkier ones as well.  Sizing up at 1.7″ X 5.1″ X 3.7″ with a weight of 12 ounces it will take two hands to steadily hold when gunning for measurements especially at farther distances.  In some cases it is better to be more compact but if you want accuracy and distance the Pro 1600 is purposely designed to be more of a handful so that your hands can wrap around the horizontal optics, like binoculars and easily take a look around at the differing targets desired.

Also included is a 2 year warranty. Nice.

Fast, Easy and Accurate

The measurement accuracy for the Pro 1600 Slope Edition is plus or minus one yard / meter.  This is case for all Bushnell golf range finders however the maximum distance is what separates the Pro 1600 SE and TE (Tournament Edition) from the rest of the pack.  So I’ve told you that maximum range is 1,600 yards / 1,463 meters however this depends on the type of object as well.

Remember that all range finder technology has really advanced this past 10 years where measurements used to be difficult to receive unless there were some type of reflective objects available it would be difficult to get a consistent and quick reading. So with that there are generally 3 different types of ranges which will be listed below with the distances included:

1.  The maximum range to the flag is about 400 yards.

2.  The maximum distance to most other objects is about 1,000 yards.

3.  The maximum distance to highly reflective targets is 1,600 yards.

Remember, the Pro 1600 is what most PGA tour professionals use so you really cannot go wrong with these capacities.

Moving on ,like previously stated a few paragraphs above, environmental factors are a factor to put it redundantly. The maximum distance will vary depending on a number of variables like:

• Color (red is better, black is worse)
• Surface Finish (the more reflective the better)
• Shape and size of the object being targeted
• Angle of the target (The target surface being perpendicular to the laser is best)
• Lighting conditions (overcast is better and too much sunlight lessens the max. range)

Ease of Use

Because of the adjustable eyepiece the Pro 1600 can be used with your glasses/sunglasses on or off whatever you choose.  The Diopter Adjustment is +/- 2 which allows to focus the LCD display relative to the view through the optics. Just rotate the diopter to focus.

The optics are 7X (which is the highest amongst all present day golf range finders) and make it easy to measure those longer distances on the Par 5′s.

It is quick and accurate which is what the Pro’s need and the average golfer can enjoy (of course with the side benefit of the Slope feature).

Target Modes

Now we’re getting to the good stuff. There are 3 modes of operation for the Pro 1600 Slope Edition.  They are:

1.  Scan Mode – is where the “trigger” power button is continuously pressed as the golfer slowly pans the horizon amongst different targets where the LCD will also continuously display the differing distances measured.  This mode allows the maximum amount of distance measurement to 1,600 yards with the right type of target.

2. PinSeeker Mode – is a proprietary mode designed by Bushnell to specifically target the flag in which the golfer would briefly press the “trigger” power button  slightly back and forth between the flag and the brush behind.  The Pro 1600 calculator would automatically choose the closer distance and display it.

3. Slope Mode (with or without PinSeeker) – is where the angle of attack is considered into the calculation of range measured.  The hillier the golf course the more helpful the slope mode will be.  The golfer must stay very still when pressing the “trigger” power button for the Pro 1600 to calculate the correct angle.  After calculations are completed the LCD will display two distances. The measurement above the lower measurement is the actually distance.  The measurement displayed at the bottom of the LCD viewfinder has an ” ” indicator which means to “play as” factoring in the elevation.  So basically go with what the bottom measured distance displays otherwise you could end up short or long depending on the lie.

Pros and Cons

Pros are the size which attributes to the stability of the device when aiming for targets.  The maximum range is one of furthest in the industry and the Bushnell Pro 1600 Slope Edition is accurate and easy to use. Of course being the Slope Edition gives an even more accurate distance when choosing the right club for the shot.  Also note that the battery is a 9-volt type which is cheap to replace and the Pro 1600 is considered to last a long time (meaning 1 year) before a replacement battery is needed. Having an extra battery while running through the course wouldn’t hurt either.

Cons are you don’t have a map like a GPS rangefinder so you can’t get a birds eye view of the hole.  This is really one of the top golf range finders so it is difficult to pinpoint anything wrong with it.

What Other Golfers Say About The Pro 1600

Buddy “It Is The Best”
“When making comparisons I take forever when researching the product I want especially when buying through mail-order… The Bushnell has large optics which are very bright and clear especially comparing it to the Leupold GX 1 where there is a yellowish tint which I don’t like…  Although I wanted the Leupold GX 1 because it was about half the size of the Pro 1600 the performance of the Pro 1600 easily outshone the “smaller” benefit.  I first tested it with my neighbor’s house and then at the golf range and sometimes the Leupold gave me differing readings or no readings at all while the Pro 1600 continued to read everything…(This review has been paraphrased and condensed.  To see the original review go to Amazon at the link here.)

To see more opinionated reviews of the Pro 1600 go to Amazon here.