Earlier, I wrote how I went about deciding to purchase Precision Pro’s R1 Smart Rangefinder. I played six rounds with the R1. The laser shots are great–quick, accurate reads, with a vibrating buzz confirmation. The smart features–giving front-of-the-green and back-of-the-green numbers in the viewfinder–are just okay.
Ultimately, I sent the R1 back under Precision Pro’s 90-day return policy because the R1 runs the risk of not complying with the Rules of Golf even when the slope switch is off. This is detailed below.
My current rangefinder is from the Obama years. It is the Bushnell Tour V2 and has served me well until recently when it started not finding pins and giving me readings from around the green of hundreds of yards out. I would get numbers from the SkyCaddie app on my phone when this happened, but there are many times on the range and on the course where a rangefinder and an exact number are crucial. It is time for a new one.
Thoughts I had going in were these: my old rangefinder had a strange CR2 3V battery. It would be nice to have a AA or AAA situation or rechargeable finder.
I play in a handful of stroke-play events or qualifiers each year, plus I play by the Rules of Golf even when not in a tournament. I wanted to double-check the rules on rangefinders that measure slope so that I didn’t accidentally buy an illegal rangefinder.
I usually walk when I play. I want a rangefinder that has a good case that hangs on the bag and that is secure so that the rangefinder won’t fall out.
Finally, I want to spend around $300. I’ll spend more, but that’s the goal. Spending $300ish seems appropriate for some reason, but $600 and you’re thinking, I could have a new driver for this. And the new driver will be a lot more fun.
My lovely wife gave me a Yeti Tundra Haul a few years ago for Christmas. It’s the Yeti with wheels. It’s a beautiful cooler. But it’s also big and heavy, and I was unsure I wanted it. I went back and forth, thinking about the amount of room it takes up in our house (we won’t be keeping a super-expensive cooler in the garage with all the spiders and heat and whatever else, will we?) versus hearing stories about how long it will keep ice (“and three days later . . . !”). I was also concerned that it wouldn’t fit in my tiny Chevy Bolt.
The Yeti Tundra Haul
Well, I kept it, and I have been very happy with it. It holds a lot of stuff. This makes it ridiculously heavy when full, but it really does seem to keep ice for a long time. And it fits (barely) in my tiny Chevy Bolt.
One of the other reasons I kept it was that I had seen friends with Yeti coolers, and they all had a wire dry goods basket in the inside of the cooler. Yeah, it comes with the cooler, they would say proudly. Awesome. When we go camping, I’m usually worried on day two about seeing a half-used bacon package bobbing up and down in the mix of water and semi-melted ice, contaminating the beer. I looked at these friends with their dry goods baskets, and I was envious.
Hence, I was excited about having a metal rack in my new Yeti cooler. Yet, the Tundra Haul not only doesn’t come with a wire basket, Yeti doesn’t even make a wire dry goods basket for the Haul.
We were in need of an outdoor table on which to eat. It seems like outdoor furniture is expensive and rarely gets used. Ugh. Then we found the Joola Berkshire Indoor/Outdoor Table Tennis Table. Also expensive, but with a table tennis option. Yes.
We decided to make it the big family Christmas gift this year. It has been a hit. We’ve played a lot of games; everyone has improved, and now we frequently watch YouTube videos by Adam Bobrow to see amazing table tennis play.
For some reason, when we ordered it, I halfway thought it would be assembled by the delivery people or that it might be mostly assembled upon arrival. The day the delivery truck arrived, and there was one person in the truck, I immediately knew this was going to be a project. And in retrospect, I have no idea why I thought it would be assembled or someone would assemble it for us.
The woman driving the truck used a mechanical lift to bring the massive two-box combination into our garage. The bill of lading described the shipment as being 500 pounds. I don’t think it was quite that much, but this thing is heavy.
The gargantuan two boxes after just being opened.
What follows are photos of the assembly and final product. It took five or six hours to put together. I took my time to ensure I didn’t screw anything up and to make sure things were nice and level. My wife helped me carry the heavy halves of the tabletop, but most of the assembly can be performed by one person. If you have two adults working together, you could probably assemble it in two hours or less.
