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How did we ever play golf before the invention of......

TLuke

TLuke

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GPS watches, laser range finders, course yardage books, Medicus swing trainer, training aids, etc. The first time I saw a laser range finder I thought the gentleman was using binoculars to find the pin because his eyesight was poor. My home course does a lousy job with yardage markers/painting fairway sprinkler heads.
 
TLuke said:
GPS watches, laser range finders, course yardage books, Medicus swing trainer, training aids, etc. The first time I saw a laser range finder I thought the gentleman was using binoculars to find the pin because his eyesight was poor. My home course does a lousy job with yardage markers/painting fairway sprinkler heads.
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Those were simpler times is the easy answer.
 
We thought for ourselves i guess.

If a course is marked well I wont usually use any devices. I'll trust them. If it's not very well marked, i will have my phone out to get distances. Just depends. But anything 100 and in, I'm just going on my eyes and trusting my practice.
 
We were hitting greens with our 6 irons before realizing we were actually at our 9 iron distance, but it didn’t matter because we were out there enjoying ourselves.
 
20 years ago we stepped of the yardages
 
The double strap carry bag is a huge one for me. I remember playing a course with the sprinkler heads marked being a revelation compared to stepping things off from the 150 yard tree or post.
 
Also, the mindset of modern life is "Win,win,win.", not "Have fun playing an admittedly goofy game.". So, we do whatever we can to satisfy that mindset.
 
I'd imagine there were a lot more marks on the course, small colored stakes along the fairway for 200, 150, 100 and then near the green you would walk it off.

I play with a guy who just bought his first GPS last year, he's been playing for decades and never used one, good player too.
 
MrDC said:
I'd imagine there were a lot more marks on the course, small colored stakes along the fairway for 200, 150, 100 and then near the green you would walk it off.

I play with a guy who just bought his first GPS last year, he's been playing for decades and never used one, good player too.
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That’s how my home course growing up was. Little 6-10 inch plastic stakes showing 200, 150, and 100 in the center of each fairway. A lot of times I just look at one, turned around and looked at the other and just guessed.
 
TLuke said:
GPS watches, laser range finders, course yardage books, Medicus swing trainer, training aids, etc. The first time I saw a laser range finder I thought the gentleman was using binoculars to find the pin because his eyesight was poor. My home course does a lousy job with yardage markers/painting fairway sprinkler heads.
Click to expand...

None of this witch craft. I use my eyes and a 150 marker. I guess that’s why my game isn’t improving... I am trying to use gps on my phone.
 
When I began playing golf in the early 70s, some of the courses I played were not marked for distance in any manner. I used my eyes . I learned to determine distance and club selection by sight and by experience.

Today, I primarily rely on GPS (Garmin Watch) and course markers / sprinkler heads. But, I still find myself able to look at the shot I'm facing and able to determine distance by sight.
 
r80rew said:
None of this witch craft. I use my eyes and a 150 marker. I guess that’s why my game isn’t improving... I am trying to use gps on my phone.
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My old technique exactly! Yep, looks like 30 yards to the 150 marker. Fancy golf courses had the yardage on the sprinkler heads. They were fancy because they had sprinklers. LOL


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You would wonder around to find a sprinkler head with a yardage on it, then pace it off. It worked ok.
 
Playing with people that have never used sprinkler heads or yardage posts...

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MonroeBob1955 said:
My old technique exactly! Yep, looks like 30 yards to the 150 marker. Fancy golf courses had the yardage on the sprinkler heads. They were fancy because they had sprinklers. LOL


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Click to expand...

Your comment about how being fancy meant that they had sprinklers made me laugh to myself. I grew up playing the game on courses without sprinklers. Marked sprinkler heads, on the fancy courses, were a treat.
 
Markers in the fairway and pace things off. Scorecard yardage math. Play the same course over and over and recognize you need to hit x iron instead of y.

Just think of how many people use course management now knowing how far it's to a hazard vs just hitting driver off every tee.
 
^ All the above. Marked sprinkler heads or the 200, 150, 100 markers and a guesstimate.

Using a range finder and GPS now, I find that even the sprinkler heads aren't all that accurate.
 
Snowman said:
^ All the above. Marked sprinkler heads or the 200, 150, 100 markers and a guesstimate.

Using a range finder and GPS now, I find that even the sprinkler heads aren't all that accurate.
Click to expand...

Question is... If you end up near a marker or sprinkler, do you still gun the flag ? Does the answer change if you are at the 200 blue stick? 150 white? 100 Red?
 
Snowman said:
^ All the above. Marked sprinkler heads or the 200, 150, 100 markers and a guesstimate.

Using a range finder and GPS now, I find that even the sprinkler heads aren't all that accurate.
Click to expand...
Same here. When I was a kid, I remember the one course making a deal out of it when they got wooden yardage markers installed by volunteers.

Although I think my priorities were slightly different then.
 
Gman79 said:
Question is... If you end up near a marker or sprinkler, do you still gun the flag ? Does the answer change if you are at the 200 blue stick? 150 white? 100 Red?
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I shoot it. Honestly, I don't even look at sprinkler heads anymore. And our 150 markers are more of a 'suggestion' than anything else, I've stood there and lasered a middle pin at everything from 140 to 165 yards. One thing I do though, is always come up with a visual estimate before I shoot it, to try to keep my eyeballs calibrated.
 
I admit, I am co-dependent on my laser rangefinder. The battery died on the 3rd hole this weekend and I really struggled for the rest of the round.
Am I good enough to need to know right to the yard on how far the pin is? Nope, but I have really become dependent on that thing. I bought 3 batteries for it yesterday.
One for the laser and 2 extras to go in my bag. :rolleyes:
 
Nowadays, when I inevitably forget my ShotScope watch, look for markers and blindly guess.
 
Related to golfing, really...

From the early 90's to about 2012, I bowhunter with a longbow. Maximum effective range about 40 yards. All those years, I could estimate anything under 50 yards pretty damn close. Close enough for my golf game. So with that ability, and using the stakes on the course, I estimated the distances fairly accurately.

I then started bowhunting out West. Bought a compound bow, peep sight, sights, all the accessories. Including a rangefinder. Maximum effective range, 60 yards or so.

But since I got that rangefinder, my ability to estimate ranges as close as I did in my longbow days was declined a bunch.

I haven't purchased a Golf Rangefinder, but I carry my hunting one in my bag incase my phone ever craps out on me.

I used to mock the guys using a rangefinder on every shot. Now that guy is me.
 
Drumdog said:
I admit, I am co-dependent on my laser rangefinder. The battery died on the 3rd hole this weekend and I really struggled for the rest of the round.
Am I good enough to need to know right to the yard on how far the pin is? Nope, but I have really become dependent on that thing. I bought 3 batteries for it yesterday.
One for the laser and 2 extras to go in my bag. :rolleyes:
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I have my Garmin watch to fall back on, but I always, always carry spare batteries for the rangefinder in the bag. I'm not good enough to need to know exact yardage either (as if I could make an adjustment between 130 vs 126 yards!), but it just feels like something is missing if I don't have it.
 
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