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Do you have to be good to use lasers?


kleraudio
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I've been toying with the idea of getting that Bushnell V3.   Problem is, I don't hit many greens......  My up and down game is phenomenal because of it though :p

Would it be a waste of money to get the laser rangefinder?  Should I just stick with my iPhone app (GPS smartphone app eats batteries like crazy)

Thanks


Jim

In my Ogio Blade Stand Bag:
 

TaylorMade Burner 10.5*

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I've been toying with the idea of getting that Bushnell V3.   Problem is, I don't hit many greens......  My up and down game is phenomenal because of it though :p

Would it be a waste of money to get the laser rangefinder?  Should I just stick with my iPhone app (GPS smartphone app eats batteries like crazy)

Thanks

Jim

I recently switched from a handheld GPS to the Bushnell v3 and I really really like it, what I found out is that sometimes the GPS could be 7-8 yards out and in some cases a club less or more.

That being said though I would not say it's mandatory to have, at my level I don't think it's saving me many shots compared to a normal GPS. What it doe's give me though is more confidence knowing the yardage is bang on though and not doubting the GPS yardage.

The more consistent you are with your iron distances and the better you can judge the wind will make this a lot better than a normal GPS.

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I golf a lot with a chap who uses a laser range finder while I have a GPS unit and generally our distances will be with 5 to 10 yards of each other. However given I'm a 25hcp I don't believe the difference makes any material difference to me hitting GIR's. What I have found though is my playing partner has started to ask me questions about distances to obstacles to double check his reading or check blind shots etc :) In fact I'm quite enjoying playing with my GPS and see myself getting a few years use out of it before I'll have a need to "upgrade". Regards Mailman

Mailman

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I don't think range finders are a waste of money. If you get one, make sure it has some sort of pin seeker tech that lets you know you hit the lenses on the pin. I am on my second range finder. When I miss the green, it's pin high so my short game is easier because I'm scrambling pretty much the same way most of the time. Also, I have playing partners who always ask for distance and it helps them make a decision quicker. Lastly, if you buy one, hit 20 balls with the same approach club at the driving range. Watch where they land, then laser in the center of them. Now you can pick a club more or pick one less club to avoid sand traps, water hazards, and false fronts. GPS aren't very useful at the driving range so the laser helps you practice and play. Good Luck.

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I've been toying with the idea of getting that Bushnell V3.   Problem is, I don't hit many greens......  My up and down game is phenomenal because of it though :p

Would it be a waste of money to get the laser rangefinder?  Should I just stick with my iPhone app (GPS smartphone app eats batteries like crazy)

Thanks

Jim

Lasers are more accurate, at least I've found. I prefer them because I can shoot what ever I want. Yesterday for example I was on a par 5, behind some trees, no way to curve it to the green. So I saw a tree in the distance across the fairway. I though, ok closer to the green is better. So I scoped the tree, and it red 230 yards. I was like, Ok I can take my 4 iron, and rip a low punch shot over towards that tree with out worrying about being behind it. I was in the rough, but that was Ok. I was only about 100 yards from the green.

Now if I had GPS, I would never have known that distance, and probably punched out softer to the fairway some 150 yards away from the green. From 100 yards I put it to about 12 feet and made birdie.

For me, that is the advantage of laser that I like.

Matt Dougherty, P.E.
 fasdfa dfdsaf 

What's in My Bag
Driver; :pxg: 0311 Gen 5,  3-Wood: 
:titleist: 917h3 ,  Hybrid:  :titleist: 915 2-Hybrid,  Irons: Sub 70 TAIII Fordged
Wedges: :edel: (52, 56, 60),  Putter: :edel:,  Ball: :snell: MTB,  Shoe: :true_linkswear:,  Rangfinder: :leupold:
Bag: :ping:

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Why wouldn't you have known the distance to the tree? The Garmin GPS I have allows me to get a distance to anywhere I touch on the screen so I don't see how this is an issue to you? I think at the end of the day it just comes down to preference. I enjoy the GPS, while others enjoy the LRF. But as I said earlier, at my level it really doesn't matter what I use as the differences between devices makes no difference st all to my score :) Regards Mailman

Mailman

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Are you good enough that you find it helpful to know how far away your target is? If the answer is yes, then you would benefit from a rangefinder.

In David's bag....

Driver: Titleist 910 D-3;  9.5* Diamana Kai'li
3-Wood: Titleist 910F;  15* Diamana Kai'li
Hybrids: Titleist 910H 19* and 21* Diamana Kai'li
Irons: Titleist 695cb 5-Pw

Wedges: Scratch 51-11 TNC grind, Vokey SM-5's;  56-14 F grind and 60-11 K grind
Putter: Scotty Cameron Kombi S
Ball: ProV1

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I have the garmin S3 gps watch! Gives distance to front, middle and back of green at a glance! I find it accurate to within a few yards, which is good enough for me! But also, it lets you add lay up spots, so if you play the same courses regularly, you can add upto 5 water/sand hazard distances, per hole! as you play so there locked in for the next time! It's a Good feature! Plus you can measure your shots as you walk to them! But, The thing I like the best is that it's on your wrist, quick glance and choose ya club!

Gaz Lee

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I think a GPS app or something like that is very beneficial to everyone out there. Quick, gives you general yardage, no need to look for sprinklers.

Laser, only if you take your game seriously and practice.  What good is it knowing the exact yardage to the flag, when you can actually hit that yardage only 1 out of 10 times, or less?

Bettinardi Golf Kuchar #2 Cobra Bio Cell+ Callaway Razr Hawk 3W TaylorMade SLDR 19H Mizuno JPX 825-Pro 4-AW Scor 55 & 60 (Wedges)

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The way I look at it is, the more inaccurate my GPS is, the better.... If I know that it's inaccurate, then that gives me confidence. I know my shots are inaccurate, and now know my distance may be 5 yards off... So everything may align and I may hit the green. Joking.... But only slightly. For my fellow high HC'ers... When does the 2-3 yards of extra accuracy come into play? From 200, 175, 150, 125, 100, 75, 50 yards out? I play with a 5HC'er regularly and he only believes it adds anything to him from 100 yards and in. Personally I think they should be only allowed for low single figure golfers. I don't appreciate being held up by a fellow high HC'er who spends 30-60 seconds "finding the pin" from 200 yards out.... Only to hack it 50 yards after all the fuss... Rinse and repeat from 150yards and on most holes.
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The way I look at it is, the more inaccurate my GPS is, the better....

If I know that it's inaccurate, then that gives me confidence.

I know my shots are inaccurate, and now know my distance may be 5 yards off...

So everything may align and I may hit the green.

Joking.... But only slightly.

For my fellow high HC'ers... When does the 2-3 yards of extra accuracy come into play?

From 200, 175, 150, 125, 100, 75, 50 yards out?

I play with a 5HC'er regularly and he only believes it adds anything to him from 100 yards and in.

Personally I think they should be only allowed for low single figure golfers.

I don't appreciate being held up by a fellow high HC'er who spends 30-60 seconds "finding the pin" from 200 yards out....

Only to hack it 50 yards after all the fuss... Rinse and repeat from 150yards and on most holes.

It's not really that I think I am getting 2-3 yards accuracy, I just like laser better.

Oh, it takes me like 5 seconds to find the pin from 200 yards. Its not that big of a deal. Majority of the time I beat GPS because by the time the cart stop, the guy has to fish it out of his pocket, wait for the numbers to stabilize, I already got my number. Laser is way quicker than GPS. I owned a GPS.

Matt Dougherty, P.E.
 fasdfa dfdsaf 

What's in My Bag
Driver; :pxg: 0311 Gen 5,  3-Wood: 
:titleist: 917h3 ,  Hybrid:  :titleist: 915 2-Hybrid,  Irons: Sub 70 TAIII Fordged
Wedges: :edel: (52, 56, 60),  Putter: :edel:,  Ball: :snell: MTB,  Shoe: :true_linkswear:,  Rangfinder: :leupold:
Bag: :ping:

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I think it depends on the tendency of the pace of play for an individual. I golfed 45 holes Saturday in just over 6 hours. I'm not all that great a player by any means, but I know basically how far I hit each club. If I know the distance to the pin it speeds up my club choice instead of guessing the distance and could lead to being closer to the green which saves strokes. I haven't bought a range finder yet, but it's something I've been putting thought into. Also, sometimes having a process/routine before a shot helps clear the mind. So, even if you duff a shot, taking the time to go through this routine can sometimes help you recover your composure. This could help to hit a quality shot because you didn't dwell on the previous mistake.

KICK THE FLIP!!

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:tmade: Aeroburner 19* 3 hybrid
:ping: I e1 irons 4-PW
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Quote:

Personally I think they should be only allowed for low single figure golfers.
I don't appreciate being held up by a fellow high HC'er who spends 30-60 seconds "finding the pin" from 200 yards out....
Only to hack it 50 yards after all the fuss... Rinse and repeat from 150yards and on most holes.

Personally, I don't think it's my business to decide what is "allowed" for others to use and buy.

And, the only people I've ever seen take 30-60 seconds finding their distance weren't the ones with  range finders....they were the ones without

So, alternatively, I don't appreciate being held up by a golfer without a rangefinder that can't find the yardage marker and decides to hit his 150 yard shot when he's actually 200 yards out....rinse and repeat (I'm not hacking on you, just demonstrating that the argument goes both ways.)

That said - I only found it useful once I had a bit of consistency hitting my short and medium approach distances within +/- 10 yards or so....and for larger distances, +/-25 (just for quicker club selection)

IMHO - use what you like, don't sweat other people's choices - it's none of my business what they use or not

Bill - 

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It's not really that I think I am getting 2-3 yards accuracy, I just like laser better.

Oh, it takes me like 5 seconds to find the pin from 200 yards. Its not that big of a deal. Majority of the time I beat GPS because by the time the cart stop, the guy has to fish it out of his pocket, wait for the numbers to stabilize, I already got my number. Laser is way quicker than GPS. I owned a GPS.


+1. I have a pin-lock laser and love it. Only thing I miss is having to look up the greens 'map' etc., to see how much distance off the green edges to the pin in each side to estimate the better miss. Most courses don't even have it anyway. I think the quickie GPS watch which tells this would be helpful addition.

Vishal S.

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I would say the first requirement is that you hit your various clubs a fairly consistent distance, and that you know what that distance is. I hit a 7 around 150, for instance. It may go 155 (not likely) or it may go 140(more likely) but maybe 7- 8 times out of 10, it will be between those numbers; the other 25% may be tops or pull hooks or power slices. If a golfer has 25% within the expected range and 75% wacky, then he should spend the money on lessons and/or range balls until he gets there. Secondly, the use of any device should not slow up play. My handicap is about the same as yours, and I feel like I benefit sometimes. I don't own one, but some of my playing friends do, and a few times I have pulled a different club based on it, and it worked out. I think on long shots where you are not necessarily going for the green, but want to avoid hazards it would also be helpful.

Don

In the bag:

Driver: PING 410 Plus 9 degrees, Alta CB55 S  Fairway: Callaway Rogue 3W PX Even Flow Blue 6.0; Hybrid: Titleist 818H1 21* PX Even Flow Blue 6.0;  Irons: Titleist 718 AP1 5-W2(53*) Shafts- TT AMT Red S300 ; Wedges Vokey SM8 56-10D Putter: Scotty Cameron 2016 Newport 2.5  Ball: Titleist AVX or 2021 ProV1

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I love my rangefinder. However, mine doubles as a rangefinder for bowhunting and that is actually what it was originally purchased for so it does not have any type of pin-seeking technology. If you were to buy one, I highly recommend getting one with this technology. I can hit the flag if the wind is blowing it from about 140 yards and in, but anything beyond that I have to aim at the base of the flag and just try to hit the ground. I'll usually take a few measurements and they'll vary by a couple yards because I'm not hitting the same spot, but I'm not accurate enough for 2 or 3 yards to matter. The problem with mine is that if the green is slightly elevated then shooting the base of the pin isn't an option, so if I can't hit the flag then I have to shoot the front of the green and estimate the yardage from the front to the pin.

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Don't forget, it is very helpful on the driving range to verify distance. I practice at a couple different ranges, mostly depending on wind conditions. I don't trust the markers they have and besides from different angles it helps to know the exact yardage. This will help you develop your iron game when practicing as you will know exactly how far you are at least hitting crappy range balls.

Taylormade SLDR 10.5

Ping Anser 4-PW

Ping Anser 52,54,60

Ping G25 3 Wood 15

Ping I20 4 Hybrid

Scotty Cameron GoLo 7

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It's not really that I think I am getting 2-3 yards accuracy, I just like laser better.

Oh, it takes me like 5 seconds to find the pin from 200 yards. Its not that big of a deal. Majority of the time I beat GPS because by the time the cart stop, the guy has to fish it out of his pocket, wait for the numbers to stabilize, I already got my number. Laser is way quicker than GPS. I owned a GPS.

My post was not really directed at you or players of your ability.

My post was addressing higher handicappers and their quest for improved accuracy from a laser when in fact, that additional accuracy and that level makes no difference.

And unfortunately, it's my experience that guys that suck at golf (like me) also suck at using a laser.

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Note: This thread is 3584 days old. We appreciate that you found this thread instead of starting a new one, but if you plan to post here please make sure it's still relevant. If not, please start a new topic. Thank you!

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