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Laser Range Finder - Short Game Strategy

Wyzyguy

Wyzyguy

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I have had a laser range finder for about 5 rounds or so this year. I have been shooting the pin and the front of the green.. Adding them and dividing by 2.. So if I have 90 to the pin and 75 to the front I have been playing for 82 carry. The greens have been firm and this has worked out pretty well for bounce and roll so far.
This led me to wonder what other strategies people are using out there. Lets hear them...
 
I just got one not too long ago as well. Not sure how I lived with out it. I pretty much shoot everything outside 25 yards. Love them for flops over the bunker since you can't walk in a straight line to count. The greens I play a softer then your it seems, anything over 60 stops where it lands. For shorter shots with the lop wedge I do similar to you shoot front pins and the front of the green and get the area I have. My low hop and stop wedge shots seem stop in the 20% of the distance depending on slope so 30 yards to pin and 8 yards off room would be close to the minimum without landing off green. That was a long ramble mostly, I just shoot everything for the most part. Either way so much easier to know it is 43 yards and how much room you actually have rather than the I guess it looks like 50 yards hopefully it will stop if I land it at the pin
 
if it's outside 50 yards, i'll shoot it. inside, i don't see the point. i don't know what my 30y pitch vs my 25y pitch swings look like. inside that distance it's all about feel for me.
 
Personally I love it on the tee box, I can zap it and see exactly how far out hazards are. That lets me know if I have to worry about them. Also doing the same as you have stated, and that has helped a lot.
 
This is such an open ended question, based of years of playing a handicap. I am 33 and have been playing since age 13. I played ALLLLL the time as a kid from 13-18, and then quite a bit in college too. To this day, I can step up to a ball, visualize my shot and club selection, and can tell you within 3-5 yards on how long the shot is "playing". The only time I really use a buddies range finder is to confirm places I need to carry off the tee.

That all being said, I am obviously a "feel" player. I visualize each shot and find the trajectory and landing spot I need to execute. Once I find the spot I need to hit my under 50 yard shots to, that is all I concentrate on. The rest will take care of itself.
 
I usually laser everything. I have about a 40 yard shot with a LW, inside of that it is all about how much I choke down on the grip and how much to open the face.

As far as what distance to play it, that really depends on the shot you plan to hit. If you play shots to release a decent amount then the strategy you are going with seems pretty smart. I often am trying to get it in the air and hopefully stop with in a bounce or two with a LW.
 
ntanygd760 said:
I just got one not too long ago as well. Not sure how I lived with out it. I pretty much shoot everything outside 25 yards. Love them for flops over the bunker since you can't walk in a straight line to count. The greens I play a softer then your it seems, anything over 60 stops where it lands. For shorter shots with the lop wedge I do similar to you shoot front pins and the front of the green and get the area I have. My low hop and stop wedge shots seem stop in the 20% of the distance depending on slope so 30 yards to pin and 8 yards off room would be close to the minimum without landing off green. That was a long ramble mostly, I just shoot everything for the most part. Either way so much easier to know it is 43 yards and how much room you actually have rather than the I guess it looks like 50 yards hopefully it will stop if I land it at the pin
Click to expand...


Carry area between the back edge of the bunker and the pin has been pretty helpful. Not sure how I got along without one as well. GPS watches or apps are nice but I like the flex to shoot what I can see. A laser ranger finder with a gps incorporated would be nice... Sure someone is working on that now.. Thanks for the feedback..
 
Wyzyguy said:
I have had a laser range finder for about 5 rounds or so this year. I have been shooting the pin and the front of the green.. Adding them and dividing by 2.. So if I have 90 to the pin and 75 to the front I have been playing for 82 carry. The greens have been firm and this has worked out pretty well for bounce and roll so far.
This led me to wonder what other strategies people are using out there. Lets hear them...
Click to expand...

Firstly let me offer praise that you can hit 82 yrd carry at will. :alien:

I use a GPS but fwiw I don't have a specific system. Its can depend how firm the greens are that given day. But usually for a rear pin I look to the mid because of fear of being long and most my greens are elevated so going off the rear is usually not good news. A mid pin a then may look front or mid depending on whats surrounding the green and also again..how firm they are. On late august dried out days with a front pin I will look for distance to the apron and roll up.

I played with someone last year and I recall this player was hitting greens like crazy but they were firm and dry and nothing was staying put. Finally at about the 13th (and after becomming more than friendly enough) I said to him that maybe you should start going a club shorter because your hitting a ton of greens but running through. He actually agreed and still ht a few more greens in front and did now manage to stay on them without running all the way through. So sometimes we just need to use whatever is working that day and adjust accordingly. But a system? I don't have.
 
rollin said:
Firstly let me offer praise that you can hit 82 yrd carry at will. :alien:
Click to expand...

Not to sound too finite.. But I need have to have a specific number in mind.. I have spent a ton of time on 100 yards & in over the winter and that is one part of my game that benefited... If I follow my technique from a decent lie for partial wedges..the results have been pretty good in my book. That is why I bought a laser range finder.. I figured if I was controlling the distances better I might as well know what the exact distance is. Now if I just made more putts off those good wedge shots in!!!!
 
I love my laser rangefinder. That said, if I know a course, I don't take it out that much as I pretty much know the distances and things like wind, green condition, etc. are just as important as yardage. If I don't know a course, the rangefinder gets a lot of use.
 
I have been surprised how useful it has been in close.. Like 30 yard or so. The other has been getting a better idea of how much green I have in front of the pin. I think I has been more useful inside of 100 that outside.. But I am just getting used to it.. Most of the time I just have to remember its there...
 
Wyzyguy said:
Not to sound too finite.. But I need have to have a specific number in mind.. I have spent a ton of time on 100 yards & in over the winter and that is one part of my game that benefited... If I follow my technique from a decent lie for partial wedges..the results have been pretty good in my book. That is why I bought a laser range finder.. I figured if I was controlling the distances better I might as well know what the exact distance is. Now if I just made more putts off those good wedge shots in!!!!
Click to expand...
As they say, aim small, miss small.
 
c.a.eleric said:
if it's outside 50 yards, i'll shoot it. inside, i don't see the point. i don't know what my 30y pitch vs my 25y pitch swings look like. inside that distance it's all about feel for me.
Click to expand...
This is my philosophy exactly.
 
I'll still laser things in the short game. Distance still is determined by what type of shot is required, club, lie, pin placement and other factors. If I hit a 3/4 wedge from a clean lie I'll try and hit the exact distance as they will stop quickly. the same shot from the rough I will plan for more rollout. If I am hitting a pitch shot I will plan for more rollout with each longer club. A 30 yard pitch with a 60º wedge will roll out far less than a shot with the pitching wedge.

If the pin is all the way in the back I may aim a little further short as missing short is better than missing long. The opposite for a front pin. The closer to the green I am the more likely I am to go at a pin instead of simply being safely on.

That's the plan at least.
 
My use of the rangefinder on short shots depends on the situation. The rangefinder distance is a baseline, then I account for elevation, wind and speed of greens.
 
I shoot basically everything...

Knowing my exact distance is helpful.
 
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