The Quick Verdict
Honestly? These two together is the setup — the V5 on your wrist for full-hole strategy and automatic shot tracking, the PRO X in your pocket for the exact number to the pin. Both are $249.99, so you're looking at $500 total, and neither requires a subscription. That's a genuinely strong two-device setup for the money. Buying just one? Start with the V5 — it gives you more information across a full round and the shot tracking alone changes how you think about your game.
What They Actually Do
The V5 is a GPS watch — it shows you hole maps, hazards, distances to the green, and tracks every shot automatically using 16 included club tags. The PRO X is a laser rangefinder — you point it at a flag or target, press a button, and it tells you the exact distance. Both are legal in tournament play (with slope disabled on the PRO X), and both are Shot Scope products that share the Shot Scope app ecosystem.
The Real Tradeoffs
Precision vs. convenience
The PRO X gives you ±1 yard to whatever you're pointing at. The V5 gives you front/center/back of the green — accurate enough for club selection most of the time, but it can't tell you the flag is tucked 8 yards on from the front. On approach shots where pin position matters, the rangefinder wins. For tee shots, layup decisions, and hazard carries, the watch is faster and arguably more useful — you're not looking for the pin, you're asking "do I go for it?"
Speed of use
The V5 is already on your wrist. You glance down. Done. The PRO X means reaching into your pocket or bag, powering on, finding the flag through the lens, hitting the button, reading the display, putting it away. On a busy course where pace matters, the watch wins every time. But when you need the exact number — especially to a tucked pin or a specific hazard — the rangefinder is the only device that can actually tell you.
What you see before you swing
The V5 shows you the whole hole. On a tee box you've never stood on — say, a 390-yard dogleg right with a bunker cluster at 230 — the watch tells you where the trouble is, how far to carry the corner, and what the green looks like. The PRO X can't help you there. There's no flag to point at from the tee, and it has no awareness of the hole layout whatsoever.
Flip it around: you're 165 yards out, the pin is tucked front-left with a false front waiting to reject anything short. The watch says center green is 168. The PRO X says 157 to the flag. That's an 11-yard difference. That's a full club. That's where the rangefinder earns its keep.
Shot tracking and performance data
This is a V5 exclusive — and it's the reason it's the default pick here. The 16 club tags track every shot automatically. Strokes Gained, 100+ stats, handicap benchmarking, all free. The PRO X is a measurement tool. It has no memory, no app connection, no performance data of any kind. If you want to know why you're shooting your scores and where your game is actually leaking shots, only one of these devices can tell you.
The ecosystem angle
Both are Shot Scope products sharing the Shot Scope app. The V5 plugs into your shot history, stats, and performance dashboard. The PRO X does not connect to the app or relay its measurements to the watch — they're separate devices that happen to share a brand. Worth knowing if you were hoping for watch-display integration the way some Garmin pairs offer.
Tournament legality
Both are legal. The PRO X has a slope switch to disable slope compensation for tournament rounds. The V5 has a tournament mode. No issues on either front.
Battery
The PRO X runs on disposable batteries good for ~5,800 measurements — you might go a full season or more without thinking about it. The V5's battery is rated for "2+ rounds" in GPS mode — so you're charging it every couple of rounds. That's normal for GPS watches, but it's a real contrast: one device you never think about, one you need to remember to charge.
Who Should Get Which
Get the V5 if you want a single device that gives you the most complete picture of your round — hole strategy and shot tracking and performance stats, all from your wrist. If you're newer to course management tech, the watch does more of the job more of the time. It's also the pick if you play a lot of different courses, since the 36,000 preloaded maps mean you're always oriented.
Get the PRO X if you play the same handful of courses and already know the layouts cold. You've internalized where the trouble is. What you want is the exact number to the flag, and you want it to last all season without charging. Simple, focused, precise. The PRO X is also a better fit if you already own a GPS device and just want the rangefinder to fill the precision gap.
Get both if you're a serious student of your game and want the full setup. The V5 for strategy and stats, the PRO X for pin precision. At $499.99 combined before any discount, this is a competitive two-device package — especially with the PARANDPEG discount code taking 15% off at Shot Scope direct.
The Bottom Line
These two genuinely complement each other — one shows you the hole, the other shows you the exact number. But if you're picking one, the V5 is the answer. The shot tracking and stats alone give you something no rangefinder can: an understanding of where your game actually stands. The PRO X is excellent at its one job, but the V5 does its job on every shot of every hole without you having to touch it.
Get both. The V5 on your wrist, the PRO X in your pocket.