How Critical Is Distance Measuring?

I only added a rangefinder to my bag this past summer, before then it was the same as its always been. Pace off from the fairway markers, or eyeball it. I'm pretty comfortable working off scorecard and markers, but on a new course there is absolutely no question a rangefinder is the way to go. Familiar course, no problem winging it.

The biggest problem I have is I must not be very good at using a rangefinder, because it takes me a few shots to be confident I've got the picture dialed in, and even then I'm not always more sure about the lasering outcome than if I paced it off. Anyone else have trouble getting locks on pins?
 
At my home course, I could honestly easily live without any devices and it would not be detrimental to my game. At other courses, it is much more critical to me.
 
I am generally pretty good judge of distance inside of 70 yards, but I would still prefer to have the #. I know the 150 and 100 yard tree markers on my home course so it makes it easier that way also.
 
I feel like a lone wolf & am just find stepping off distances from a fairway marker. I tend to leave the rangefinder in the bag quite often. Must be my old age...
 
Oh, and I can not do GPS from a phone app. Don't trust it.
Takes too long, and that dot dances around a lot more than I like before it finds the correct location.
 
I am somewhat lost without one. I can manage without the rangefinder. The GPS though. I need it.
 
I'm obsessed too, not necessarily because I think Im that accurate, but because I want to see how for off I am on each shot so I can adjust for the round
 
I mean who am I kidding, even with a laser in my bag, GPS in the cart and an approach in the cart, I won’t hit the number half the time so it’s not quite as imperative for me and my game.

If I see a course marker and the flag looks relatively in the middle I will pull my club that matches the marker without looking at the GPS/rangefinder.
 
Since I'm not that good, numbers don't really help me most of the time. The only exception is wedges. I'm pretty accurate with a wedge, so the data helps. On my home course I don't need anything because I kinda know the distances by now.
 
Something about knowing exact yardage to the pin gives me huge confidence.

I’m comfortable walking off yardages though.
 
My home course put GPSs into all of the carts. Touch screen to any distance. I played another course, private, that did not have that feature, while I had a GPS watch and a laser, I felt wildly unaware of where the hell I was on the course.

I don't know if I could play without a distance measuring device.
 
I have a goofy way of figuring yardages that was shown to me.

Although I carry both a gps, and lazer range finder I seldom use them when playing. If I do use one, it's usually the lazer to identify a carry yardage.

Since I dont hit my clubs consistent carry yardages, precise yardages are not usable for me. This is another reason I aim for general landing areas.

What I do is this. I get to my ball, and see what's in front of me. If I see a 6i distance, I pull my 5i. I always pull the next longer club based on what I see. I learned a long time ago that by just looking at yardages, most of the time I would under club myself. My eyes would trick my brain. Now days my brain corrects what my eyes think they see.

Doing this may cause me to be long on the shot sometimes. However, I am never short on the shot either.
 
I grew up playing without any kind of measuring device. All we had were plates in the fairways or yardages on sprinkler heads. I have thought about trying to play that way for a round just to see what the result would be. I really don't think I would see much of a difference. I'm a really visual golfer and need to see the whole picture. That's one reason I suck on the simulator, I can't see 30-75 yard shots in person and it's hard for me to just make a setting for a specific yardage like that.
 
you are an animal.

no no no I didn’t mean it that way. I meant it in the fact that it’s rare for me to hit an exact yardage!!! Lol

say I’m at the 150 marker and I don’t know it’s exact 156 yards, just can see the pin is past middle so I’m gonna club up and play it longer.
 
How else would I know which club to mishit? I definitely need some kind of measuring device. I’m partial to the GPS on my phone, close enough to accurate.
 
My depth perception sucks. Every now and then I get excited thinking an approach shot is 3-4 feet from the pin only to get on the green and find it is more like 20 feet.

So I think I’d struggle without a distance measuring device.
 
My distance judgment is terrible so I need to have a number in my head whether I laser it or step it off from a sprinkler head. Whether I hit it or not is a different story, but it's good to have a starting position other than it's somewhere between 150 and 200.

I can't judge distance at all. Depth perception sucks & I've never been good. So lasering gives me confidence that I've got good data & I think that helps me put a better swing on the ball. Now, I don't hit that yardage nearly often enough, but last year I worked on distance control with irons and I noticed that I started getting closer & hitting my greens from distances that in years past were just wishful thinking. Not enough data to put actual % increases, but that's my overall impression.


I don't use a rangefinder under ~80 yards. I like to feel my way there. I can get too mechanical if I am trying to hit a specific shorter distance. But for longer distances, I struggle to estimate them even with 150 and 200 yard markers to middle of green. A rangefinder or GPS is very helpful for me. Following up on jb's post, I can get in trouble with rangefinder numbers to the pin if I can't see or figure out where the pin is on the green.

And I feel like I might use it the most from inside 100 yards, because of two factors:
1) I seem to be the worst at judging these shorter distances (can't figure that out, but it's true)
2) I've worked a lot on partial wedge shots (Pelz method - swing to clock hour hand positions, etc.), and I made a lot of improvements here, so I feel the most confident that if I laser a distance of, say, 67 yards, I immediately have an idea of what my swing needs to be to hit close to that distance.

It's a work in progress, but I think it helps me.
 
After I got away from using the stakes or markers, I couldn’t go back. I’ve tried but I love the precision for in between club situations
 
I can survive without the range finder using on the course markings. It's nice to have exact yardages but my game isn't precise enough to take full advantage of the information.
 
I’ve never owned or used a range finder. I do use a GPS app on my phone, though I often wonder how accurate it is.
Maybe this is the year I’ll try a range finder... I’ve been looking at the PrecisionPro models.
 
I have my watch that gives me F/M/B yardages and that is enough for me as it stands

There have been times when I have played courses that didn't match up with my watch and it was trickier, but the course had 150yd markers so I was able to guesstimate my numbers
Prior to getting my watch I used to be better at judging yardages, but since getting my watch I have obviously become more reliant on it
 
I am not the best at judging distances and do not like to play without something to assist me in it. I have and will do it if necessary, mostly when my rangefinder battery dies without warning mid round and I don’t have a spare with me. I still have not found a solid GPS for my phone that I like and trust. And of course I usually have music on from my phone which is a PITA to switch back and forth. All in all, not much fun without my rangefinder.
 
Pretty much lost without some sort of digital measurement. Courses up here are real lacking in marking the distance. Most only have a 100yd marker and that can be off by 15yds one way or the other. Use my phone gps most of the time and just picked up a NX9 to shoot flags.
 
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