In its attempt to go from scrappy underdogs to serious players at the big table, Blue Tees has gone all out in 2026. As part of its new ‘ecosystem’, it is releasing two lasers, the Playmaker + GPS Watch, the Player+ GPS Speaker and a budget launch monitor, the Rainmaker.
To dine at the big table, it has to deliver some of the best golf rangefinders and best golf watches to do so, and having already reviewed the bigger brother of the two new rangefinders, the Captain Pro, the brand is off to a great start. Now it is time to see how the little brother performs.
Like the Captain Pro, features are plentiful with the Captain Air, which is also a ‘smart’ rangefinder. This means you have to connect it to the Blue Tees app and start your round on there before you tee off, but it is worth it.
Once connected, you get GPS yardages to the front and back of greens in addition to your yardage for shooting the flag. You’ll also get aerial views of the hole ahead of you on the app as well as green maps with the Advanced Analytics Package subscription (more on this later), plus shot tracking, club recommendations, shot dispersion and accuracy data and additional app features.
We’re not done there. You’re treated to a good (but not amazing) x6 LCD display, IP65 dust and water resistance build and a high-quality carry case that both looks brilliant and, in my opinion, is far better than the one you get on the Captain Pro.
As a simple ‘pick up and shoot’ laser, the Captain Air does all the things you would want. Although the display isn’t as good as the Captain Pro’s OLED x7 magnification, it’s still very solid and is helped by the contrast of the fairly dull but effective red/black detailing.
The build quality is excellent, similar to previous Blue Tees interactions like the Ultra Series 4 and Series 3 Max, plus it passes the eye test as a genuinely attractive-looking laser, if that is of any importance to you.
Switch on, connect to the app and things get really fun If you’re changing elevation, most rangefinders will account for that with a ‘slope-adjusted’ yardage, but Blue Tees take this feature and inject it with steroids using ‘True Distance Adjusted Yardages’.
Through the app, your yardage is automatically adjusted with factors like slope, wind, elevation and even temperature to give you a true number that takes everything into account.
I’m always a little skeptical about lasers that factor in weather conditions, but the Captain Air seemed bang on the money during my testing.
I must make you aware that these bells and whistles require a subscription, but the cost is fairly reasonable. I too tend to roll my eyes at subscriptions, but at $49 a year or $99 for three years, the cost is modest for what you get.
Even when you factor in the base cost and add the subscription price to it, the Captain Air is exceptional value compared to similar models at this price range. The likes of the Bushnell A1-Slope, Shot Scope Pro L5, Vistaget Golvia Pro and the Motocaddy Pro 5000 linger around the $250, and the Captain Air is superior to all of them in terms of features.
Where I am left confused is the price compared to the Captain Pro. The Air is only $50 cheaper, so is the difference worth paying the extra that is needed? In short, yes.
Although I prefer the Air case to the one you get with the Pro, the Pro is better against the elements with its IP67 protection compared to the Air’s IP65 protection. As mentioned, the display on the Air is good, but the Captain Pro’s OLED display is much brighter and x7 magnification is a lot better. These two things alone are worth the extra investment in my eyes.
There is one thing that is holding back both rangefinders however - I mentioned it in my Captain Pro review - the app needs work. It’s fairly slow and I experienced connectivity issues with both rangefinders during testing.
If you’re marketing your whole ecosystem through an app, it best be a good one. We aren’t quite there with the Blue Tees app yet, but I’m confident it will be improved as time goes on.
So there you have it, yet another very impressive release from Blue Tees. Of the two members of its cutting-edge ecosystem we’ve tested, it has gone two for two in terms of winners. Even with the slightly confusing price tag compared to the Captain Pro, the Air (£199.99) is an excellent option and a positive sign of things to come from the brand in 2026. Watch this space.
