Bushnell has long been trusted by both amateurs and tour professionals, earning a reputation for producing the most reliable laser rangefinders on the market. This year, the brand has launched three new models, but in this review we’ll be focusing on the Bushnell Pro X3+ Link.
If you’re wondering why it has been called the ‘Link’, it’s because it hooks up with Foresight launch monitors whilst using a mobile device to help dial in your golf game. The app has been designed to help dial in your distances even further and give you club recommendations too.
Who Is It Aimed At?
Having tested the Bushnell Tour Hybrid out recently, the Bushnell Pro X3+ Link is the much bigger brother. Although it doesn’t feature GPS yardages to the front, middle and back like the Tour Hybrid does, it does however pack a bunch of cool features.
As you’d expect with any ‘pro’ model this is Bushnell’s top model in the range. It offers an ultra premium waterproof design, and a large scope with adjusted slope yardages that also gives you wind direction!
So if you’re a deadly serious about your golf then the Bushnell Pro X3+ Link Golf Laser could be what you’ve always wanted.
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The Tech
Let’s dive deeper into the technology behind the Bushnell Pro X3+ Link laser:
The idea behind the Pro X3+ Link is that it will provide a true ‘plays like distance’ when adjusting yardages. It’s not just about slope adjustment here – they have also taken into account temperature and altitude too.
Alongside this, you can now put in your home elevation to reflect the slope with the elements to get compensated distances at the elevation where you play your golf.
Dual Display – Allows users the ability to easily toggle between the bright red or crisp black display settings based on lighting conditions and user preference.
Pinseeker with visual Jolt – A red ring now flashes as Jolt vibrates, to give you even greater feedback and confidence to know that you have locked onto the flag.
The Pro X3+ Link features Bushnell’s integrated Bite magnetic mount. This allows you to easily mount your laser right onto your buggy or trolley.
Pro X3+ Link is the most powerful golf laser rangefinder ever made, as it will give you consistent yardage readings within a yard to flags at 600+ yards.
The Pro X3+ Link comes with rubber-armoured metal housing and is IPX7 fully waterproof.
Bushnell Pro X3+ Link Golf Laser Review
Looks & Feel
I’ve been a fan of Bushnell lasers since I first tried the Tour V2 way back in 2009. My current laser is a Bushnell Tour X (Slope) from 2015 which does feature slope adjustment.
As a result, I was really interested to compare the two and see what difference ten years can make. I’ll also be comparing the Pro X3+ Link against the Bushnell Tour Hybrid that I recently tested.
First of all the Pro X3+ comes in some really premium packaging with a carry case and a CR2 battery included. From taking this out the box for the first time you can instantly tell the value of the laser in hand.
There was quite a bit of weight to it, feeling like one solid item. My old Tour X from 2015 is made purely out of plastic and you could definitely tell the difference between the two of them.
The laser comes in all black itself with some hints of orange in the branding and around the front where the slope switch is. Around the sides is Bushnell’s trademark feature button that lets you toggle between different modes. On the top and bottom is a dual featured grip that does feel really premium in the hand with no slippage.
The laser itself is quite weighty compared to the Tour Hybrid which I did find really useful for trying to steady my hand. When looking down the Tour Hybrid I did have issues with not being able to hold the laser against my eye while shooting. This was because the scope almost felt too tight for the eye. However the Pro X3+ seemed to be a much wider scope and I’d probably say it was a much clearer picture too.
Overall, the Pro X3+ feels and looks great especially when looking down the scope. Just having a large and high quality image to look through made me instantly want to buy one without even turning it on!
Performance
To test this out properly we took it out onto the golf course to test out all its functions. Obviously the big selling point of this laser is adjusted yardages and being able to read the elements such as the wind direction.
The R&A rules suggest that you can’t use slope adjusted yardages during competition, nor have wind direction to help you. So if you are wanting to use these features then I’d suggest only using them in practice rounds, and for serious golfers this could be very helpful during tournament preparation.
To access these wind directions and speed features – first you must set up the Bushnell golf app so that the Pro X3+ can link up to it. Here comes the tricky part. Once you manage to enter the rangefinder’s settings, you’ll need to enter a pairing code. The calibration procedure requires you to turn the device around a few times. Only then will the laser know which way it’s pointing in accordance to a compass.
Once that fiddly process is complete it did run quite seamlessly. The wind direction combined with factoring in distance, slope, temperature, and barometric pressure (elevation) did make me think – has this been designed to make Bryson DeChambeau’s life a lot easier?
The day of testing was quite cold and blustery which was probably a good time to test these distances out in comparison to my summer yardages.
There was adjustments on the day of around six-percent making the playing yardages much longer. For example at 150 yards the adjusted yardage was 159 yards with another 15-18mph of wind to take into consideration.
Personally having played at altitude a number of times in South Africa I would’ve found this an amazing feature to have in my own tournament practice. It made me wish I could go back in time and have this as another piece of artillery.
During the 9 holes of testing, the actual scope was really satisfying to use – the jolt function flashed red every time it locked onto the flag too, which I thought was a nice addition.
One thing I did find strange having tested the Tour Hybrid – I loved having the front, middle and back yardages all inside the scope. However this was missing in the Pro X3+ and I did kind of miss it knowing that the technology is there. Yes you can get those yardages on the app, but I don’t think many golfers are going to be on the golf course wanting to use two types of GPS devices at the same time.
Bushnell Pro X3+ Link Golf Laser Verdict
Almost perfect!
This was probably the best laser I’ve ever tested. If only it had the same functionality of the Tour Hybrid then I would’ve given this five stars easily.
Overall this is an elite golfer’s dream, and if you have always wondered what’s going on inside Bryson Dechambeau’s mind before hitting a golf ball, then this laser does all of that for you.
Obviously this is Bushnell’s top level laser on the market so it’s going to come in at a very expensive price. However at £579 for the amount of features that it has to offer could actually make this price point worthwhile.
Only serious golfers are going to be looking into buying this Bushnell, and as far as tournament preparation goes, the advantage its brings could far outweigh the initial cost of it.
Would I Use It?
Yes absolutely, I will 100% be upgrading.
