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Are you dependent on your (laser) rangefinder?

fupresti said:
Yep. And It's made me a better golfer, as well as help overcome my depth perception issues, especially on shots under 80 yards.
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The depth perception issue for me is where it's helped the most - especially on a hole that has a rolling fairway, or holes that are uphill. There are a couple holes at courses that I've played at that go all the way uphill until just short of the green. You'd swear the pin was right at the top of the hill, but it would be a good 15-20 yards past.
 
I keep trying to talk my buddies and my brother in to buying a rangefinder so I can compare using it versus my Bushnell gps watch before I purchase one. I know I have had incorrect yardage on my watch before and it would be nice to be able to check yardage to hazards, doglegs, etc but I can't get myself to drop the coin since I already have the gps.
 
I was addicted to mine, until it started giving wonky yardages a couple months ago. Having to re-shoot a yardage multiple times has become a pain, so I am really just shooting on par 3's and between the 150 and 100 markers now.
 
braddman19 said:
I was addicted to mine, until it started giving wonky yardages a couple months ago. Having to re-shoot a yardage multiple times has become a pain, so I am really just shooting on par 3's and between the 150 and 100 markers now.
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When mine starts giving funky yardages it's time to change the battery!
 
no, I play a lot with six4three5, he uses a range finder just about every shot from the fairway. I guess the distance when he ranges, I can usually get with in 2-4 yards plus or minus of what the range says.
 
I've used a rangefinder for the last 15 years and I do love the time it saves me in determining yardage. I have a golf GPS app on my Apple Watch that works pretty good but I prefer not to wear a watch and I really like to know the exact distance, not just front middle back.
I did somehow survive without either of these just fine over the 2,000+ rounds I played between 1977 and 2000.
 
I have made a grandiosa / Hoganesque style swing change this season. The range finder has been a must for me and had helped me with the change more than the camera at times. My distances have changed so radically that without it I couldn't break 80 anymore. Short iron distances were the biggest change and thru a lot of range practice I'm now able to have a consistent yardage for my short clubs. The markers on the range are always wrong, but thankfully the range finders helped me. I do admit that I had to shoot a few times and have been getting some funky numbers lately. But than I found that early am golf really plays havoc with it from condensation build up on the lens
 
I'm a pretty bad judge of distance so am heavily dependent on mine. The thing I value most with it is being able to shoot hazards or landmarks. I don't necessarily think it's going to make me a dart-shooter at the pin, but if I know what yardage I have to carry to clear a greenside bunker, or some other hazard, that helps my club selection a lot
 
Dependent .. No
Does it make it easier.. Yes
 
Maddog701 said:
no, I play a lot with six4three5, he uses a range finder just about every shot from the fairway. I guess the distance when he ranges, I can usually get with in 2-4 yards plus or minus of what the range says.
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I can usually do the same. It really takes very little time to learn, and as long as the course has 100, 150 and 200 yard posts, it doesn't take great depth perception or some special skill, just takes a little more effort for a couple of rounds. And any way you look at it, it's faster than doing like one of the above posters said, taking 3 or 4 sightings for every shot, or shooting with laser and then verifying with the GPS... no wonder we have 5 hour rounds.
 
Is a laser/rangefinder necessary for every shot? Absolutely not! However...

The technology is USGA legal, therefore, I simply don't understand why so many golfers don't/won't purchase a tool that will give them distances to pins/greens/bunkers/lakes/creeks/trees/OB/begging and end of fairways/etc. This is all valuable information on any course, regardless of how many times it's played.
 
Fourputt said:
I can usually do the same. It really takes very little time to learn, and as long as the course has 100, 150 and 200 yard posts, it doesn't take great depth perception or some special skill, just takes a little more effort for a couple of rounds. And any way you look at it, it's faster than doing like one of the above posters said, taking 3 or 4 sightings for every shot, or shooting with laser and then verifying with the GPS... no wonder we have 5 hour rounds.
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You check the GPS first and then verify with laser, not the other way though. Verifying with the least accurate is not the way to do it!

And not playing ready golf is why we have five hour rounds. Slow golfers are slow golfers, regardless of anything else.
 
this is the first season i've had a rangefinder. i'm 100% dependent on it now. i think it's one of the best inventions for the game.

here's an interesting thought. what if the usga deemed these legal for professional play on tour, but reduced the allowable time between shots. would that speed up the pace of play on tour? these guys would be able to shoot distances, instead of the caddies doing all of the math on the fly.
 
Fourputt said:
I can usually do the same. It really takes very little time to learn, and as long as the course has 100, 150 and 200 yard posts, it doesn't take great depth perception or some special skill, just takes a little more effort for a couple of rounds. And any way you look at it, it's faster than doing like one of the above posters said, taking 3 or 4 sightings for every shot, or shooting with laser and then verifying with the GPS... no wonder we have 5 hour rounds.
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so you think walking around to find a marker, pacing it off to your ball, then starting your club selection routine is faster than pulling out the rangefinder, getting the number, shifting your eyes to the cart to get a quick glance at gps, then pulling a club? how about those times you look for a marker and it's an unmarked sprinkler head and you have to start the process over? or how about cart-path only days? you're crazy.

we played yesterday as a foursome we played in less than 4 hours. and none of us was rushing. your 5 hour round complaint has NOTHING to do with rangefinders.
 
I would be, if I had one. lol
 
caeleric said:
so you think walking around to find a marker, pacing it off to your ball, then starting your club selection routine is faster than pulling out the rangefinder, getting the number, shifting your eyes to the cart to get a quick glance at gps, then pulling a club? how about those times you look for a marker and it's an unmarked sprinkler head and you have to start the process over? or how about cart-path only days? you're crazy.

we played yesterday as a foursome we played in less than 4 hours. and none of us was rushing. your 5 hour round complaint has NOTHING to do with rangefinders.
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I don't walk around to find anything and I don't pace off yardages. Did you read my post, or just pick what you wanted to argue about? I use the visible markings - posts or plaques in the fairway - I've almost never used things like sprinklers because on many courses they are too hard to find. When course doesn't have easily visible markers, a 2 second glance at my GPS does the trick.

I just can't see making myself that dependent on electronic rangefinders. 5 years ago less than half of the players I knew had one. 10 years ago I don't think I'd ever seen one on a golf course. I've played courses where the only marking was a bush planted at about the 150 line, and not always that accurately. I made do and didn't play any worse for the lack of absolute certainty.

Almost anyone above a 10 handicap misses more greens than he hits (and many at 10 and below have the same issue), even when he knows the distance with absolute certainty, so a bit of fudging on the yardage isn't going to do much to change his score. The key to scoring is more in making sure that you have factored in the wind and elevation and lie once you have an approximate yardage, then making a confident swing, even though you know that the odds are still against you actually hitting the green.

DMD's are great tools, and I will almost always carry my GPS and use it when I need it, but I don't consider it an indispensable part of the game. They aren't legal in competition unless a local rule is imposed. Just because we see them everywhere now, many make the assumption that they are allowed under the rules, and that isn't so. The USGA allows them for handicap reporting even without the local rule, but that is because using one isn't likely to cause the player to shoot a higher score, only lower, so it can't help a sandbagger.
 
Fourputt said:
I don't walk around to find anything and I don't pace off yardages. Did you read my post, or just pick what you wanted to argue about?
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of course i read your post. i'm not looking to argue about anything. we are having a discussion on a golf forum designed to discuss golf. i mentioned that i shoot the flag a few times (because i have shaky hands), so your post that i quoted seemed to be directed at me, and blaming this on 5-hour rounds is just not accurate based on my experience.

Fourputt said:
I use the visible markings - posts or plaques in the fairway - I've almost never used things like sprinklers because on many courses they are too hard to find. When course doesn't have easily visible markers, a 2 second glance at my GPS does the trick.
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i mean this with all sincerity, no sarcasm: i'm glad that your gps works great for you. for me, i don't have enough fingers and toes for the times a gps has been wrong by at least 1 club. hell, it happened many times yesterday. but in all the times i've had rangefinders as an assist, i've only seen it be wrong two times, and both of those times were user error by shooting something in the foreground or background instead of the intended target. in both of those instances, a simple glance at gps would have identified the error. so FOR ME, rangefinders are far more accurate. and as bad of a putter as i am, missing by 30' (10y per club) can add a stroke by converting an easy 2-putt to an easy 3-putt.

Fourputt said:
Almost anyone above a 10 handicap misses more greens than he hits (and many at 10 and below have the same issue), even when he knows the distance with absolute certainty, so a bit of fudging on the yardage isn't going to do much to change his score. The key to scoring is more in making sure that you have factored in the wind and elevation and lie once you have an approximate yardage, then making a confident swing, even though you know that the odds are still against you actually hitting the green.
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i think i'm tracking with you. although i'd say a lack of consistent contact accounts for missing greens for anyone over a 10 cap (probably over a 3 cap) more often than misjudging lie, wind, elevation. so missing greens by making inconsistent contact would not be fixed by having pinpoint accuracy vs 5y (15') accuracy. but i'll say that all things being equal, i'd rather pull off a shot exactly like i want to and have it rewarded than be 15' off.

Fourputt said:
They aren't legal in competition
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fortunately for me, i don't play in any competitions. i play golf for fun, and rangefinders make golf eminently more fun than gps. i like gps that shows me the layout of a hole, and if i can't visually tell where a pin is on a green, knowing front/middle/back can be a good help instead of just knowing distance to pin.

either way, i've enjoyed the discussion with you. that's what makes thp great. dudes and dudettes having fun, respectful conversations.
 
I am not addicted in that I don't get the shakes if I don't have it, but I use mine on almost every shot. Helps me choose the right club, then I just have to make a good swing (easier said than done for me).
 
I like my laser a lot, although I don't really need it on my home course aside from a few holes with very deep greens; the pin could be 100 or 125 and you can't always tell where the placement is until you get much closer.

I played a new course this morning and the fog was thick enough that my laser didn't work for the first 5 holes. I had to guess the yardages based on the 100/150 markers in the fairway. I don't think I lost any strokes as a result but I didn't like the feeling of uncertainty. I also drove my ball too far on a couple doglegs which wouldn't have happened if I'd been able to shoot the trees and pull the appropriate club.

Dependent? Nope. But I certainly don't regret getting one and put it to good use.
 
Suprfli6 said:
I like my laser a lot, although I don't really need it on my home course aside from a few holes with very deep greens; the pin could be 100 or 125 and you can't always tell where the placement is until you get much closer.

I played a new course this morning and the fog was thick enough that my laser didn't work for the first 5 holes. I had to guess the yardages based on the 100/150 markers in the fairway. I don't think I lost any strokes as a result but I didn't like the feeling of uncertainty. I also drove my ball too far on a couple doglegs which wouldn't have happened if I'd been able to shoot the trees and pull the appropriate club.

Dependent? Nope. But I certainly don't regret getting one and put it to good use.
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I certainly agree. When I am playing a course I have played a lot, the laser is nice but not necessary for a lot of shots. When I am playing a course for the first time or one I haven't played a lot, it is particularly invaluable.

BTW - I grew up in Endicott and still have some family in the Triple Cities. Left in '74 to go to college.
 
My last round my GPS watch was telling me I was 55 yards to the center of the green, the flag was pretty close to center. My rangefinder was in the cart and my buddy took that over to his ball. It didn't look like 55 to me but I'm an older guy whose eyes aren't quite what they used to be. For me 55 yards is about as far as I hit my 60. I get no roll with that so I hit it and it went 20 yards over the green (likely landed on the backslope). It was a good hit, didn't skull it or anything, it went high and just too damned far. So, either my watch was wrong and I needed my rangefinder or I pulled my 50 (again, those old eyes). Could have been a combination of both.
 
Can I play golf without my laser? Yes
Do I want to play golf without my laser ? Oh hell no !

Judge me if you must.
 
I love my laser. After playing with it for 18 months or so, I use it every hole unless I'm somewhere that has GPS on the carts.
 
I've never used one. I'll use cart GPS if the course has it. Otherwise I just look at the scorecard or signs for distances off the tee. Once in the fairway (hopefully) I judge from the 150 marker (hopefully there is one) or markers if they're around. The only time I get lasered distances is if I'm playing with a friend who wants to be helpful and shoots it for me. I never ask them to.

None of this is for any real strategic or philosophical reason...it's mostly just because I'm too cheap to buy one.
 
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