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Rangefinders? Seriously?!?

SuperStroke
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It's not rangefinders that are the problem on the course but it's the guys who think they are on tour and take 5 minutes to figure out their shot.


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Are you just trying to say that a guy who can't tell he's 10 yards from the 150 stake won't be able to hit a 140 yard shot anyways because he won't be good enough? If so, I don't think those two 'skills' go dependent on each other.

~Rock
 
Rusty Casino said:
It's not rangefinders that are the problem on the course but it's the guys who think they are on tour and take 5 minutes to figure out their shot.


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Enough said! Exactly my point!
 
McRock said:
Are you just trying to say that a guy who can't tell he's 10 yards from the 150 stake won't be able to hit a 140 yard shot anyways because he won't be good enough? If so, I don't think those two 'skills' go dependent on each other.

~Rock
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Not exactly, but you're in the neighborhood of my original thought. But, as I said a page ago, or so, enough points have been made in the favor of rangefinders, my mind has been changed.
 
Where is this 'large ball mark' thread? I couldn't find it with a search.
 
Not all course have a 150 pole, nor do they have yrds on sprinkler heads ... range finder/GPS are a must on a lot of todays golf courses.

You don't get any extra points for having an internal range finder ... I certainly don't, but I golf with friends that are just as accurate as my GPS most of the time.
 
Used to think rangefinders were pretty unnecessary. Now I hate playing without one. Nice to know exact yardage to pins, bunkers etc and it also speeds up play imo.
 
I use mine for putting.......come at me
 
Evok said:
I use mine for putting.......come at me
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Unless you're taking one reading to the apex, and a second to the hole from the apex, you might just as well be chasing rainbows.
 
Just found this thread - what fun to read! Crazy times, these...

bulldog said:
It does boggles me people taking shots inside 75 yrds. You should be able to judge that with your eyes.
Edit to add: yes I play courses with huge greens
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I can't tell the difference between 56 and 64 yards, but those are two different clubs for me. I find my rangefinder most important from that range than anywhere else, because I'm accurate to within a couple yards on those shots. Inside 40 yards it starts to become less valuable again for me.

awass17 said:
I doubt Tour players are going to change what they already do. It may help every once in a while, but I don't think it would make a big impact. Some Tour players have said it would slow play down. I don't agree with that either.

I'm not sure there is an issue here that needs to be addressed by allowing rangefinders. Guys are finding their numbers and they are still going to have to walk yardages off in order to feel good about how far it is to certain ridges on the greens, so I'm not sure it will really save time.
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There would be some that won't change, but most would use them. That said, I don't know that they'd save a ton of time because the tour plays so slowly there is usually time to get the yardage while waiting for the group in front to clear...

PetuniaSprinkle said:
Fast players will use rangefinders, etc., to speed up play, slow players will use them as yet another tool to further their passive-aggressive reigns of terror.

I forgot about one thing - triangulation (and just as I said that in my head, someone on TV said 'triangulate'). I never learned how to do it and there would be pacing.
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Now I'm confused.

JRod said:
I shoot everything I have the worst depth perception in the world.
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It's less about depth perception for me and more about the fact that, outside of my home course I know well, many other courses are challenging to estimate based on visual design. Why not just shoot everything quickly and be done and certain? Makes sense to me (and you, obviously!).

Rusty Casino said:
It's not rangefinders that are the problem on the course but it's the guys who think they are on tour and take 5 minutes to figure out their shot.
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Preach!

PetuniaSprinkle said:
Where is this 'large ball mark' thread? I couldn't find it with a search.
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Show me the way...this sounds amazing.
 
Mulligan9111 said:
There are quite a few posts in here that just crack me up. It takes about 5 seconds to pull out my rangefinder, shoot the pin, and get an accurate yardage (not just an estimation). The rangefinder in my opinion has been one of the single most helpful golfing aids I've ever bought, and yes I will sometimes use it when under 50 yards. I can play by feel and estimations, but I prefer to know my exact yardages.
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Yeah, I use a GPS watch most of the time and don't quite understand while people on here wouldn't keep using the tool of their choice inside 100 yards.
 
Den60 said:
Yeah, I use a GPS watch most of the time and don't quite understand while people on here wouldn't keep using the tool of their choice inside 100 yards.
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If nothing else, it should help people figure out what it feels like to hit a shot 65 yards vs. 75 yards... even if it's after the shot has already been hit.
 
The company that bought my course scraped all the yardage numbers off the sprinkler heads when they took over. I guess they want people to pay for carts with GPS instead of walking.
 
awass17 said:
If nothing else, it should help people figure out what it feels like to hit a shot 65 yards vs. 75 yards... even if it's after the shot has already been hit.
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After reading this thread I just bought a better rangefinder. Sometimes my watch and my buddy's watch don't agree. Would be so easy to just lase the pin when we drive up to the ball.
 
awass17 said:
If nothing else, it should help people figure out what it feels like to hit a shot 65 yards vs. 75 yards... even if it's after the shot has already been hit.
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Yep. I have no doubt that most people here would improve their partial wedge game if they worked on what precise distance they hit different types of shots and then use that information on the course. Too many of us play by "feel" at these distances. Some people are really good at it, but most, especially if they travel to other courses, would be better with actual distances. The pros want to know exactly their distance here, we should too.
 
PetuniaSprinkle said:
I just bought X2 Hot irons about 2 months ago, so no, or I would've stuck to my old blades. Admittedly, I didn't make the point very clear, at all, but it was more like 'is your swing really finely calibrated enough to warrant a rangefinder, blah, blah, blah...' That was sort of the original thought and it was based on a limited experience with people who were more in need of a swing than a rangefinder. In the meantime, lots of good points have been made in their favor, including my own realization about how they might eliminate triangulation.
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Ah, gotcha. The answer, as my coach put it:

1. Buy decent clubs
2. Buy a rangefinder

Golf is all about knowing how far you are from things. Do you need a range finder that goes to the tenth of a yard? Probably not. Most of us could probably play decently with ranges rounded to the nearest ten (i.e. you're 80 yards, or 90 yards). But the fact is, you have to know something about how far you are from everything. How far to the dogleg? How far to the creek? How far to the bunker? How far to the center of the green? How far to the pin? If you don't know how far away things are, how do you know which club to hit? Whether you're looking and guessing, pacing it off, using a yardage book, checking a GPS, or shooting it with a laser, you're somehow trying to figure out how far you are from things so you know which club to play.

Rangefinders (GPS or laser) just make that whole process both faster and more accurate. What you do with the quickly acquired, accurate distance is entirely up to you.
 
I have my rangefinder ready when I pull up to the ball and have the distance before I even get out of the cart. If a flag is colored (to mark what section of the green it's on), then I know if it's a back pin the number I lasered is my max distance. Front pin, that number is the minimum distance. etc etc etc. It doesn't take any more time with a rangefinder, if anything it speeds up play.
 
Unless I am within about 20 yards of the green, chances are...I break out the range finder. It doesn't take long, especially with these "jolt" featured finders.
 
This thread is awesome. I dont have a rangefinder mostly because I dont have extra money to buy one yet but it is on my list. I use a gps app on my phone and I have noticed that it helps me play faster and with more confidence. Knowing a number to shoot to is such a big deal for me and helps me more then anything. Now if it would only swing my clubs for me so I could always hit that number.

I also play a lot of cheaper courses and the yardages that are marked are never close to accurate. That is a huge frustration to me and would drive me nuts. I would know that it isnt 100 yards as marked, but it would mess with me mentally about what it actually is. With my gps I have a better idea and it makes me a better golfer.
 
Before this year, never used GPS or a rangefinder. Started using GPS to track how far I hit shots. I am not convinced GPS is all that accurate in judging the 'next shot' distance on some of the courses I play, but I do believe it can be reasonably good at judging shot distances after the fact.

Recently, I picked up a rangefinder, and have to admit, it can have its benefits. Not every short nor every hole would I use it. I have been playing long enough to be able to figure out reasonable distances based on what the course gives. Part of me likes not knowing exact distances and just playing.

Time-wise, i see no difference in speed of play. Ranging the pin / course feature takes all but 5-10sec, and if done efficiently, can be easily handled before anyone I am playing with has hit their shot or before i am 'up next' to play my shot.

For scrambles, very beneficial. However, I have played with people who are much better distance estimators than I am, and often enough get within 5 yards of the rangefinder. Congrats to them, not so easy for me to achieve that.
I find its useful on tee shots with doglegs / required carries on creeks, water, bunkers; plus anything 50-120 yards. Anything outside of that range I am fine without ranging. I still want to enjoy my round without getting exact yardages on every single shot. I am not playing competitively in tournaments, where considering every shot may be required.

I find it nice on range practice. Some ranges I frequent, I do not trust their yardages, always nice to see exactly how things are distanced there.

rangefinding on putts?? yeah....uh...no....

I think it comes down to how everyone feels when they play, how much technology and info they want at their disposal.


fun thread, like seeing the perspectives here
 
I use a rangefinder so I can make shots like this one from this morning many times more than I can without one.

20150901_101907_zpszwjriiqk.jpg
 
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