Bushnell Phantom GPS Review

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The Bushnell Phantom GPS makes knowing your distances easy and affordable.  Bite Magnetic Mount makes it perfect for all kinds of carts.

Introduction

As great as rangefinders and shot trackers are, sometimes you just want a simple GPS.  The Bushnell Phantom GPS is made for those days.  With a bright, easy-to-read display and virtually no input required from the golfer, it makes getting your yardages easy.

Check out the Bushnell ION ELITE GPS Watch HERE

Ease of Use & Set Up

The Bushnell Phantom is as easy to use as any GPS we’ve tested.  Once you turn it on, a menu of the courses near you will come up.  Select the right one and play golf.  Over 36,000 courses are pre-loaded, so you don’t need to do anything to get it up and running.

If you want distances to hazards, the Phantom gives you up to four per hole with the press of a button.  You can also measure shot distances with a tap.

Accuracy & Performance

I brought the Phantom to the course along with my Bushnell Pro X2 laser and a couple other GPS devices, including one built into the cart.  I found the Phantom was consistently within a yard of the laser and cart GPS.  In short, the accuracy is excellent.

The big addition to the new Phantom is the Bite Magnetic Mount.  This strong magnet can attach to the belt clip (above) or directly to a motorized or push cart.  For pace of play, having a GPS visible to both players in the cart is hard to beat.  Just be sure to take the Phantom with you when you leave!

The App

When you buy the Phantom, you get access to Bushnell’s golf app.  It’s one of my favorites.  I really like the arcs at 100, 150, 200, and 250 yards, and you can tap the map to get the exact distance to any given point on the hole.  Perhaps the best feature is the flyover view of the hole.  This is particularly valuable when you’re playing a hole for the first time.  Finally, the app allows for score keeping and shows you all the data you could otherwise find by scrolling through menus on your watch.

Value

The Bushnell Phantom retails for $100 (support PIG, buy it HERE).  If you need a GPS and want something easy to use, this is impossible to beat.

Conclusion

Bushnell continues to maintain their position as an industry leader by taking a great product and making it even more convenient to use.  The Bite Magnetic Mount makes the Phantom easier to use regardless of how you move around the course.

Buy the Bushnell Phantom GPS HERE

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Matt Saternus

Founder, Editor In Chief at PluggedInGolf.com
Matt is the Founder and Editor in Chief of Plugged In Golf. He's worked in nearly every job in the golf industry from club fitting to instruction to writing and speaking. Matt lives in the northwest suburbs of Chicago with his wife and two daughters.

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15 Comments

  1. What is battery life like and/or how many hole can you get in before you need to charge the unit?

    • Matt Saternus

      Wally,

      That depends on speed of play, of course, but I think you could get two rounds in between charges based on what I saw in my testing.

      Best,

      Matt

  2. If you can’t play the game using your own skills, then you should not be playing.

  3. Have had the Bushnell Ghost for several years and have consistently been given same yardage as much more expensive range finders.

  4. Steven Bernier

    After I turn on my Bushnell Phantom GPS it will not change to play golf when I press the “play golf” select button.
    Thanks
    Steve

  5. Jeff Haltenhoff

    I purchased a Bushnell Phantom. I play in leagues where you may start on a hole other that #1. The Bushnell phantom will not change automatically to the hole your playing and still thinks you are on hole #1. It there a way to manually change the hole number?

    • Matt Saternus

      Jeff,

      It’s been a while since this review so I don’t remember off hand. I would assume there is a way to do this. Have you contacted Bushnell?

      -Matt

  6. Let me get this straight, you must push buttons on every hole to make this gadget work, Correct? My golf buddy just always has the yardages showing on the unit without pushing any buttons, if that’s the case with this unit, I would not want to own one.

  7. Don Banks

    how do you measure distance you hit the ball, not yardage BEFORE hitting but measure how far you hit your drive, etc.

  8. nothing but problems with this model from the day I purchased it. trouble trying to charge the first time, it switches off during round and today it would not switch on at all. I’m over it

  9. Blue Tees Golf

    This little GPS unit works great. Yes, It’s simple and easy to use. Acquires course quickly. The numbers are large so I don’t need my reading glasses to use it.

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