There are a bunch of different GPS units like this on the market and some are great and some are not worth picking up. I’ve been looking at a lot of different rangefinder and GPS units over the past few weeks and in this post, I’m going to be doing a review on the Bushnell Neo Ghost and giving my honest thoughts after testing it out.
The Bushnell Neo was on the lower end in terms of price and in my opinion, it’s not the best option to go with. Even though it was reasonably priced, it didn’t work the best when it was cloudy, you can’t see hazards that are on the course, and it wasn’t the most accurate in my experience. If you’re set on getting a device like this I’d recommend you get the Garmin Approach G10 instead.
Garmin makes my favorite GPS units and the G10 is the best option in this price range. It’s not overly advanced but it’ll give you all the basic info you need. That being said, I’m not saying the Neo Ghost a bad product or not worth picking up. It’s definitely better than nothing, but all I’m saying is that there are better options out there. I’ve done a more in-depth review below so be sure to watch the video or check out the article to learn more.
Bushnell Neo Ghost Rangefinder Review
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My Bushnell Neo Ghost First Impressions
The main 2 reasons I was interested in this GPS is because it was made by Bushnell and the price was on the low end compared to other models. I’ve always been a big fan of Bushnell laser rangefinders (I’ve used them in the past for hunting) so I was curious how the Neo Ghost would perform.
It has over 30,000 different courses already programmed in, so pretty much whatever area you’re in, it will most likely have your course on it. I’ve tried using it in as many places as I could and around 80% of the course were on it. The ones that weren’t were the smaller courses. Here’s a demo video:
I’ve always been a bit against having a rangefinder or GPS on the course because it almost felt like cheating. There were already distance markers at the 100, 150, and 200 yard marks so why did I need one of these?
That was until I started getting sick and tired of constantly hitting great shots only to have them end up way short or way long. Some sort of distance finder is the perfect solution and it’s definitely helped me a lot. I’ve come to the conclusion that anything I can do to help my game should be done.
The Bushnell Neo rangefinder was nice and compact, pretty simple to set up and use, and the price was right. I just had it clipped on my bag and that seemed to work pretty well. That being said, how did it actually perform?
How Did This Rangefinder Perform?
Out of all the devices I tested out, the Bushnell Neo wasn’t my favorite in terms of performance. I’m not saying it didn’t do its main job because it did. All I’m saying is other models were a lot better. The G10 from Garmin is around $10 less and it also comes with over 40,000 courses on it (see the review of it here).
The first thing I didn’t like about this yardage finder is that it didn’t work very well when it was cloudy out. Where I’m at its cloudy 70% of the time, so that wasn’t very convenient for me. I guess the clouds block the satellite reception or something like that. It still worked but a lot of the time it would freeze up or glitch (this wasn’t the only GPS that did that).
The next thing I didn’t like was the fact that it wasn’t as accurate as other devices (in my opinion). Obviously, since the price is on the lower end it’s not going to be perfect, but there were better options on the market. Even if it’s not 100% perfect, it could still benefit a lot of people who are tighter on a budget.
The final thing I noticed was the less than stellar battery life. It would easily last an entire round but the battery life indicator was kind of wonky. I’d finish one round and it had 70% left on the battery and then I went to play another and it sometimes lasted and it sometimes didn’t.
Who Is The Neo For/Not For?
Really simple, if you’re someone who golfs a lot and want a super-accurate device that can give you distances to other hazards such as bunkers, creeks, and trees, I’d recommend going with something different. There are other GPS units out there that’ll be more accurate and give you more info/features. The Neo Ghost is super basic.
If you’re the average weekend golfer who doesn’t want to break the bank with some of the other models out there, I think one of these cheaper units might be worth picking up because it’ll be better than having nothing. Just by knowing the distance to the green and hazards, your distance control should improve.
Is It Worth It?
If you’re someone who doesn’t golf a whole lot or you’re on a budget, it could be worth picking up. It’s one of the cheaper options out there and it does the job reasonably well and it’s better than having nothing. If it was my choice I’d go with the Garmin Approach G10. It’s much more reliable and Garmin makes the best GPS units.
What I ended up doing was getting both a laser rangefinder and a GPS. The laser because it’s the most accurate and the GPS to keep track of my rounds and stats like greens/fairways in regulation. The G10 or Neo isn’t going to do that but the more expensive units from Garmin will.
Let me know your thoughts and any questions you have. Like this article? Feel free to give it a share!
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