Poll on Range Finders

[clearwaterms]

I picked up a basic GPS on woot.com when they had one on sale. All it does is front, middle, and back. But it has sped up play and for $40 shipped it was well worth the money. The brand is Celestron coursepro elite. It makes selecting a club very easy.

[flintcreek6412]

I use my Upro and prefer it to my laser.  It's much faster, shows traps around green and green contours.  As long as you aren't using the Pro Mode it's super fast and gets yardage in less than a second with a push of a button(no aiming required).  Since I'm also a hunter I have a Leica range finder and I keep it in my bag in the event the battery dies on the Upro or it just decides to go nuts on occassion. I much prefer the GPS for speed of play.

[TourSpoon]

My Bushnell has done more for my game than any new driver ever has. Dollar for dollar, it was the best investment I have ever made. Period. http://thesandtrap.com/t/37388/i-love-my-bushnell-tour-v2-rangefinder

[dfreuter415]

Originally Posted by RobbyDuzak

I just wanted to see how many of us use range finders. I bought one awhile back, kind of a impulse buy while shopping and find it pretty handy.

I use a Bushnell Yardage Pro Sport 450 Laser Rangefinder when I caddie.  I get to the ball before the golfer and shoot the distance to the pin.  I can also shoot distances to bunkers, water hazards, and other areas a golfer might like to know. The Bushnell is consistently accurate and speeds up play considerably.

Personally, I'm pretty much old school and do not use a rangefinder when I play golf. I grew up golfing in the 60's and 70's when all you had were the 150 yard markers, and that is all I really need.

I tried using a rangefinder when I first bought a Bushnell and I found that I would have used the same club 99% of the time. So, but by the time I took the rangefinder out of the bag, shot the distance, and put it back in the bag, I could have hit the shot and been on my way to find the ball.

[Mac62]

I have a Bushnell Tour v2 and love it.  Also have Golfshot GPS on my iPhone, but very seldom break it out - my phone is usually muted and stuffed in my golf bag.  When using the Tour v2, I always make a quick visual estimate of the yardage, then confirm it with the scope - helps develop my estimation skills.  I don't use it on every shot, but I don't find that using it slows down my play at all.  We're required to use power carts on my home course, so I take it out of the case as I'm driving to the ball and visually estimating the distance, then shoot the distance as soon as I come to a stop.  Takes all of a second or two.  I'm hyper-conscious about pace of play, so I don't screw around when it's my turn to hit.  Shooting a quick reading with the laser is eons faster than traipsing around looking for a sprinkler head distance.

[AmazingWhacker]

I have an older bushnell without the slope but I absolutely love it and wouldn't want to play without it. I don't use it on every shot or even every hole - but it comes in very handy at least a dozen times per round. I am a very poor judge of distance. I am the guy you see searching for his ball 20 yards away from where it actually is. I just have crappy depth perception. The more consistent I get with my distances, the more I am using the range finder. Probably the greatest golf invention since metal drivers.

[sacm3bill]

Originally Posted by flintcreek6412

I use my Upro and prefer it to my laser.  It's much faster, shows traps around green and green contours.  As long as you aren't using the Pro Mode it's super fast and gets yardage in less than a second with a push of a button(no aiming required).

Hmm, I don't notice a difference in speed between basic mode and pro mode. The only difference is if you want to see the pro mode view it's just one extra button push.

[Paradox]

i notice little things like...on an earlier hole, I might of shot the flag at 133yds...so I pull a club for that yardage and make a swing.  Come up on a later hole with that same yardage(roughly), I can judge the kind of swing I need and so forth.  Makes the confidence go sky high.  I also can get a gauge on my distances that particular day by shooting a number, then using my "usual" club and seeing how it fares...(given good contact, of course)

[Rick Martin]

I love my Bushnell. Used SkyCaddy for 3+ years and changed to the laser rangefinder. Much more precise and no subscription fees. Only problem is shooting through trees or getting a pin to stand out amongst trees -  Also sometimes layup distance can be a challenge if you don't have an object to shoot at.....

I'd cry if I ever lost/forgot the rangefinder after my round and would replace it ASAP if I had to.

[zipazoid]

Just wanna post this - I finally bought a range finder.

After doing some research, I was really leaning towards the Bushnell Tour V4 due to excellent reviews. But it was $274...not a bad price, but just thru due diligence I found a TecTecTec V Pro 500 for less than half that price - $130. In checking reviews & various websites, the TecTecTec got pretty good feedback. So I pulled the trigger and got it. Supposed to be here next week. I'm geeked!

https://us.tectectec.com/product/golf-rangefinder/vpro500/

[dennyjones]

2 hours ago, zipazoid said:

Just wanna post this - I finally bought a range finder.

After doing some research, I was really leaning towards the Bushnell Tour V4 due to excellent reviews. But it was $274...not a bad price, but just thru due diligence I found a TecTecTec V Pro 500 for less than half that price - $130. In checking reviews & various websites, the TecTecTec got pretty good feedback. So I pulled the trigger and got it. Supposed to be here next week. I'm geeked!

https://us.tectectec.com/product/golf-rangefinder/vpro500/

I haven't heard of that one.   It does look nice.   I believe you'll be happy with a rangefinder.

[Shindig]

4 hours ago, dennyjones said:

I haven't heard of that one.   It does look nice.   I believe you'll be happy with a rangefinder.

Yeah, a rangefinder was one of those things I "thought" was silly, probably post-hoc because I was in graduate school and didn't want to spend the money.  Then I borrowed a friend's GPS, then bought one on sale, and when I lost it, rushed to replace it.  I'll even shoot a middle pin when I'm near a yardage marker now (and it's amazing how often those things are wrong anyway).

Rangefinders are fun.  Golf is hard enough without having to guess things that are public information.

[zipazoid]

12 hours ago, dennyjones said:

I haven't heard of that one.   It does look nice.   I believe you'll be happy with a rangefinder.

They're kind of new to the market, but getting great reviews. I started researching in earnest a couple of months back after playing a round with an old friend who used his a lot. By the end of the round I was like, "Gimme that thing" and was measuring distances to everything.

I didn't want a GPS thing that tells me length of the hole & front/middle/back yardage. I wanted something where I can aim, click & get the yardage. And I can't wait to use it to determine length to, say, a tree at the corner of a dogleg or the edge of a bunker or whatever. For ex, the first hole at the course I play the most, Palmetto GC in Miami, the first hole has a creek some 200 yards off the tee which is pretty wide. Can't really clear it. So I've just played it by feel - it "looks" like a 4-hybrid to lay up short of the creek, but I've never known the exact yardage. Now I will.

Apparently Bushnell is the main providers of the market, and their products seem to get the best reviews (my friend's was a Bushnell), but the one I was looking at was $300. So while just educating myself on what's out there, I came across TecTecTec & a page that 'ranked' the top 5 range finders. They were listed third, and a lot cheaper than the two ahead of it. 

So it was a value buy, basically. It doesn't have the slope feature, but I live in South Florida - we don't have hilly courses here. Just give me the yardage. If I get to other areas & have an uphill/downhill shot I'll just add/deduct a club for that.

So yeah, I'm really excited. The days of pacing off from a sprinkler or, 'I'm about ten steps inside the 150 pole' are over. 

Edited June 24, 2017 by zipazoid

[No Mulligans]

I have a Bushnell Jolt Rangefinder in my bag and use it on average maybe once a round, on most rounds I don't use it at all.  I also have a Bushnell GPS watch that I probably use about 30 times a round.  The GPS is so much more convenient as it just takes a quick glance, a fraction of a second.  

I use the Rangefinder for approach shots only when it's hard to see what part of the green the flag is at.  That seldom happens.

[Golf Grouch]

I resisted the temptation to buy a rangefinder for the longest time because I couldn't get over how expensive they seemed.  I felt my free GPS iPhone app was sufficient for my needs.  However, after increasingly seeing so many playing partners use them I was intrigued and bought a Leupold GX-2i2 a few months ago for around $170 on eBay.  It works well and I think that it is worth it if you play enough golf (weekly).

[dave s]

I've commented before on range finder threads on where I believe the tool is most valuable.

Third shot on a par-5 hole.  You have a great look at the stick and you must make an important yardage decision.  Pull range finder, shoot flag and confirm you are 78 yards from the pin. EXACTLY 78 yards.  Smooth lob wedge goes 80 yards.  Line it up and hit it close to the hole.

What happens with those who DON'T use the tool is that most of the time actual distance to pin is underestimated.  Any wonder why so many people leave approach shots SHORT with wedges and short irons?  Lack of accurate information.

Start watching your playing partners who don't use a range finder and tally up the times they come up short.  I offer mine up to anyone in that 120 and in range so they can make the right club decision.  Sometimes I'll ask for their estimate before shooting the flag to get accurate yardage.  Nine times out of ten, they underestimate the yardage number.

Great tool.  Glad I have and use it.

dave

[Valleygolfer]

@zipazoid

I checked out the tec3 and if they perform that is great. The fit and finish on the colored ones look half done. Hopefully that isn't a trend in workmanship.

 

[Shindig]

6 minutes ago, dave s said:

Start watching your playing partners who don't use a range finder and tally up the times they come up short.  I offer mine up to anyone in that 120 and in range so they can make the right club decision.  Sometimes I'll ask for their estimate before shooting the flag to get accurate yardage.  Nine times out of ten, they underestimate the yardage number.

 

I agree that lack of accurate information is why they're short and that the rangefinder is valuable.  I disagree that it's the only missing piece:  many people over-estimate how far they hit their clubs.  Prior to getting my Game Golf, I thought I hit my irons about ten yards further than I do.  My GIRs have gone up quite a bit now that I know, for example, that 125 yards out I should pull the 8-iron, not the 9.

But you're right;  even with accurate information on club distances, you still need to know the distance between your ball and your target .