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How does "slope" on a rangefinder work?

SuperStroke
White Rhino said:
Just got back from golf store and I picked up a Bushnell V2 with slope. I got it $100 off list as it was a return but looks to be in perfect shape. Going out tomorrow to play 18 and looking forward to playing around with it.
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Congrats on your purchase, WR!
 
Ole Gray said:
Well the ones without the slope doo hickey or much cheaper too.
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$100 with Leupold and I think it is the same with Bushnell.
 
I used my RedHot for the first time on the course today... I'd spend three minutes on each tee just finding the distances to everything I could see... Tomorrow I am going to use it to find out exactly how big the fiend behind my house is, and I'm gonna find out how long the empty lot in front of my house is to see what clubs I can safely hit balls into it with. I love this thing! But I'm sure after a few rounds it will just become a handy tool and not something I use more than my putter lol.
 
I would also mention, as I learned this morning, for those interested in getting a unit with slope feature but are worried cause they play in tournaments, the Leupole GX-4 has a neat feature where it has a key or a cover that the unit will either provide slope or with the key on the feature is off which makes the unit tournament legal I believe.
 
White Rhino said:
The unit will either provide slope or with the key on the feature is off which makes the unit tournament legal I believe.
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You have that right Rhino. Strait distance is ok by the rule book, anything else is nice but not legal during a round that even counts toward your handicap.
 
Could someone please explain in simple english ( I am a little thickheaded sometimes) why using a rangefinder with slope is "such a bad thing". Why if I use one I can not (or should not) post scores to use for a handicap and why so bad for tournament play? I am more concerned about the handicap part versus the tournament stuff but maybe the answer for one will explain the other. I really at this point do not see what the big deal is but I am sure I am missing something.
 
They aren't allowed in tourneys because I think they consider it "too much" help. It makes it too easy to pick a club on a big elevation change rather than having to gauge it yourself. At least that's the ruling in my high school league (same as many tourneys).
 
I mentioned in the other thread that I don't understand the handicap part, because all that can do is make your handicap better than it really is. Sort of a vanity handicap since slope rangefinders aren't allowed in tournaments. I would love to be paired against someone with a vanity handicap because that would give me an advantage since they will be scoring higher now that they have to follow the rules. I can understand that thay aren't allowed in tournaments because someone could say they will keep the slope feature turned off, but wind up using it during the tournament.
 
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I look at it this way, I am using the slope feature to asset me in reading distances. As I read it on the rangefinder I am looking with my own eye to get a better understanding of how far certain distances look Then over time I will no longer be relying on the device as my eye will be trained to know the distances. The same is true with elevation changes, as I see more anymore holes, my eye will become more trained to know and figure out the true distance. I think it would assist in lowering the handicap but not do so in an improper way. Oh well.
 
If you have a GPS rangefinder, it gives you non slope (flat) distance to the center of the green, then estimate the number of yards the hole is above or below you, (you can come up with a pretty accurate slope adjusted distance by adding the flat distance to the +/- height distance). I think they use feet instead of yards in the Bushnell example for elevation because it would show that the calculation can be done easily with just a GPS unit. Golfers are still on their own for factoring in wind speed and direction, at least until a device comes out for that. For courses that provide the distance from the tee, have markers, and mark sprinkler heads, good slope estimates can be calculated from most spots without the GPS. Some rangefinder manufactures infer that they have incorporated more complex algorithm's but some admit that they are just using the basic right angle math. As some people have pointed out a truly accurate slope tool would need to know the club the golfer used and his normal flight trajectory to come up with the best slope adjusted number possible.
 
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