Over the years, I haven’t exactly been easy on Shot Scope products.
My experience with them has been a mixed bag, but its been clear over the past year or so that they’re really putting a lot of effort into the brand and their products.
For instance, while the Pro L2 rangefinder still has its issues, it is much better than the previous Pro L1.
And the X5 watch and sensors are definitely a big leap ahead over the previous generation H4 sensors which still require you to tap between shots.
But new for this year is the Shot Scope Pro ZR laser rangefinder. They’ve marketed it as their best yet, and spoiler alert, it is.
Right now the most challenging segment of golf rangefinders is at the $300-ish price range.
There are a lot of good products between $250-300 – but I’m not sure there’s one that really ticks all of the boxes.
So deciding what your trade-off is going to be, can be a bit of a challenge.
If you want to go “name brand” you can get a Bushnell V6 – but for $299, you’re not getting the slope mode. You’ve gotta step up to the V6 Shift to get that for an extra $100.
The Precision Pro NX10 is wonderful, but you don’t get super robust waterproofing and the vibration alert isn’t the most useful.
The Cobalt Q-4 might be the best of the bunch, but the auto ambient light is a little finicky and it doesn’t have a built-in magnet.
So where does the new Shot Scope Pro ZR fit in? And is it better than these other products?
Well, let’s find out.
First Impressions of the Shot Scope Pro ZR
Shot Scope has always had no-frills packaging, in line with their goal of being a value-oriented brand.
The Pro ZR, while certainly not anything overly special, is packaged very nicely and feels representative of it’s price point.
In the box you’ll find the Pro ZR rangefinder, a sturdy case, a microfiber cloth, and an instruction book.
The device itself feels great. You immediately notice, as it’s the most well built Shot Scope rangefinder they’ve ever made, and the weight and proportions are very nice.
It’s slightly heavier than the Pro L2, which I enjoy and prefer.
It feels good in the hands, and the prominent slope switch is both functional and easy to use. Each iteration of Shot Scope device has significantly improved this design feature which is nice to see.
The “hardshell” casing feels robust. In fact, I would have guessed it was waterproof based on the way it feels. However, it’s only listed as “water resistant”, with no official IPX rating – if I had to guess it’s IPX 4, which is perfectly sufficient for 99.9% of uses on the course.
This is also in line with most other competing rangefinders in this price range with the notable exception of the Cobalt Q-4, which is one of the only waterproof IPX7 rated devices under $300 that I know of.
The three-button layout on top makes it easy to get it to do whatever you need it to.
The first button is for ranging distances.
The second is for switching modes.
The third is for switching between a black and red display.
Personally, I’d remove the mode button (and mode feature), but we’ll get to that more in a minute.
Overall the Pro ZR looks and feels great and represents a solid step up when compared to any of their previous rangefinders.
That said, at $299, it’s also over double the price of the Pro L2, which you can get for $127 using the Shot Scope coupon code “BREAKINGEIGHTY.”
So, you’d expect it to be much better.
A perfectly functional and feature-heavy rangefinder, that also has a lot of solid competition at this price point.
How Does the Shot Scope Pro ZR Perform?
Build quality and ergonomics will only get you so far.
If it doesn’t perform accurately and consistently, then it’s not going to be worth your time.
So how does the Pro ZR perform?
Mostly good.
The 6x optics on it are fine and on par with similar devices in this price range.
But if you put it up against a 7x device like the Cobalt Q-6 you’ll see night and day difference in terms of quality.
It’s nice that it has the option to switch between an illuminated red display and a black display.
That said, it’s not necessarily one of the better red LED displays I’ve used. It never felt like a super crystal clear red, and I always wanted a bit more contrast when in the red mode.
That said, under cloudy or low light conditions it is a nice feature to have. The button on top makes it easy to switch back and forth between the two options.
The text on the display is also fine, although the layout feels a bit dated. It still feels similar to mid-tier rangefinders from 5 years ago.
There’s quite a bit going on within the display. I’d love to see them remove the “M1/M2” for mode, and making the angle adjustment less prominent could help as well.
There’s a regular range mode (M1) and then also a “scan” mode (M2) that lets you move from target to target in real-time.
I know there are golfers out there who appreciate this, but I’ve just never found scan modes to be that useful or work all that well. There’s a reason you won’t find this mode in most of the best rangefinders on the market.
I think removing that option would have made for a simpler and ultimately better device. Doing that would allow them to remove a button from the top of the unit, while also removing the mode icon in the display.
The Pro ZR isn’t the fastest device I’ve used, but I’ve found it to consistently give very accurate readings. The only issue I’ve found is it sometimes shows a number behind the flag, and then will quickly switch to the flag number and give me the flag lock – as opposed to catching the flag immediately on the first go.
Despite that one minor critique, overall I’m really pleased with the flag lock feature.
Nearly every brand will advertise the vibration function, but many will vibrate when any target is hit – not just the pin. So while the tactile feedback is nice, it kind of defeats the purpose of the feature.
The good news is that the Pro ZR seems to work they way you would hope it would. It only vibrates when it’s genuinely hit the target you’re aiming for. It also gives a visual flag symbol in the viewfinder when it hits it as well.
This is probably the most noticeable area where the Pro ZR exceeds similar competition.
The built-in magnet is very strong and doesn’t have any issues securing to a cart.
Is it Worth Buying the Shot Scope Pro ZR Rangefinder?
Honestly, this is a tricky question for me to answer.
This is absolutely the best rangefinder Shot Scope has ever built – so I applaud them for that.
But at $300, there is a lot of really good competition.
Overall I think the Cobalt Q-4 is probably the objectively best rangefinder in this price range. It feels the most accurate, and build quality is top notch with it being fully waterproof. But I don’t love using that one nearly as much as its big brother the Q-6.
The Precision Pro NX10 doesn’t have the quality of flag lock as either the Q-4 or Pro ZR, but I find myself just enjoying using it the most out of the other sub-$300 products. Something about the display, optics, and ergonomics just click for me.
The Pro ZR feels very similar to the Blue Tees Series 3 Max – only with better build quality.
The problem is you can get the original Series 3 now for under $200. And the updated Series 3+ is only $242 with our Blue Tees coupon code.
The Pro ZR has a solid array of features that all, mostly, work well. I just don’t enjoy using it as much as some other similar devices due to the cluttered display that feels smaller to my eye than even some other 6x magnification models.
But the biggest problem here I think comes down to the price.
The Pro ZR is a totally capable rangefinder, but so are many of the others I mention in this review.
So at $299 I don’t think there’s anything that really sets it apart or makes it better or more appealing than those other models (except its very good flag lock system).
I think in order for the Pro ZR to succeed, it’s going to have to do what the brand has always done best: compete on price.
I think if you were to find this at $250, it becomes much more compelling.
Get it down under that, and that’s where it becomes super solid value, and a strong recommendation.
The current price just feels a little high given the strong competition in the market.
But, if you’re looking for a golf rangefinder that has solid ergonomics, a nice feature set, and good build quality – the Pro ZR will absolutely do the job and is one worth considering.
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A perfectly functional and feature-heavy rangefinder, that also has a lot of solid competition at this price point.
The Pro ZR is Shot Scope's Best Yet. But is it Good Enough?
The Shot Scope Pro ZR is a solid rangefinder. But at $300 there is a LOT of competition in the market, and many competing products are at least as good, if not slightly better in some regards. That said, this is a great device that does everything pretty well and is a safe bet if you want an accurate rangefinder for years to come.
The Good
- Very well built
- More reliable and accurate than previous Shot Scope rangefinders
- It ticks all the boxes in terms of major features
The Bad
- Optics and viewfinder are average
- Minor issues with immediately locking on to flag
- Feels expensive for what it is
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Presentation
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Performance
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Price
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Personal Affinity
4 Comments
FYI, with the new sale price AND the BreakingEighty Discount code (15%) off, I was able to get it for $212. Thanks for the discount code. It is replacing my old Bushnell Pro X2.
Nice!! Yeah with the Father’s Day special going on, it’s a pretty insane deal.
Update. Buyer’s remorse. You get what you pay for. This rangefinder must either have a defect or has the weakest magnet of any rangefinder with one. It falls off 5-6-8 times a round. After a handful of rounds, both ends of it are scuffed up pretty good (it sometimes fell and tumbled on a cart path). the viewfinder now falls off unit every time it falls, even on grass as it’s been loosened after tumbling so many times. At first, I stopped attaching it for fear it won’t survive all these drops. But that feature is one reason I bought it. So, I use it. The drops from the cart are random- it just drops whenever it feels like it and tumbles across the ground (no rhyme or reason – such as big bumps or driving crazy- that would be understandable for it to fall off). I tried to return the unit, when I complained to ShotScope, but I missed the 30-day window for the refund by a little. I asked about the 2-year warranty (what does it cover?) as I do NOT see this lasting anywhere close to 2 years at this rate. They offered to replace this unit. I am sending it back. We will see. I really hope this was a defect (magnet). Nice unit, but clearly not worth buying IF this unit is indicative of all of them. If they send a new unit and it is different, I will write a follow up comment.
Fwiw, I did get a 2nd unit shipped to me from Shot Scope under warranty. The second unit has the same issue with a weak magnet- always falling off (4-6 times per round and one of the bounces on a cart path knocked off the viewfinder piece never to be found. It also has a consistency problem finding correct yardages. I sometimes have to shoot 3 or 4 times to get a reasonable yardage that concurs with a playing partner. I am not even bothering to deal with another replacement. I bought original ZR in June (Father’s Day Sale), got replacement in August. Just chalking it up as a sunk cost as I don’t want to constantly be dealing with sending a bad product back for a new bad product. It is a good device on paper (nice description) but is basically low build quality. Going back to either Bushnell V6 Shift or trying the PP Titan Elite.