Do you use a rangefinder?

[wolverine318]

There is no difference between shooting the distance with a rangefinder and standing on a surveyed 150 yard marker.

I agree, and if done right its much faster to use the finder than to walk the 15 yadrs to the marker and back.

[irspow]

Im not knocking rangefinders, but you need to know how to use them efficiently for them to benefit the speed of play imo.

I agree. I use the skycaddie and absolutely love it. Just look at the screen and fire away. After playing with a few other people with rangefinders, I now avoid anyone who owns one. It went like this:

Let me pull out my "laser sight 7200xr". Eons later after the kook steadied his hands enough to find his target and making sure he wasn't hitting a tree behind the green. It was time for him to carry the damn camcorder like thing back to his bag and get his club. Absolute agony. Seemed like the rangefinder guys spend more time than those who pace yardages off. I must admit that I myself tried one when they first got popular and found they were pretty useless for my game. What's the point of zapping a tree through a dog leg anyway? Now I know how far I need to hit it through the fairway into trouble...great. Then they were also useless whenever you couldn't actually see your target (or steady your hand enough to actually hit it) which is often for the courses I play. Over trees...useless, around a dogleg....useless, lay up distance...useless, etc., etc. I think I used it for three rounds...thank God for Ebay! Tom

[iacas]

Let me pull out my "laser sight 7200xr". Eons later after the kook steadied his hands enough to find his target and making sure he wasn't hitting a tree behind the green. It was time for him to carry the damn camcorder like thing back to his bag and get his club.

I spend far less time, and since I am hitting the flag and not just blindly guessing about what can be a +/- 10+ yard difference, I get a better yardage.

I've seen people with these unsteady, shaky hands, and I ain't one of them. I can take the range finder out of my bag, get a precise yardage, and put it away inside of 15 seconds. I do this while others are hitting or walking to their shots. It's MUCH faster for me.

[wolverine318]

these unsteady, shaky hands, and I ain't one of them. I can take the range finder out of my bag, get a precise yardage, and put it away inside of 15 seconds. I do this while others are hitting or walking to their shots.

I wish everyone would abide by these rules for a rangefinder. But its like reading the break of the putts. The same people who are doing it after everyone putts and not making the effor to do it quicker are the same who wait until its their turn to use the device and have to do it 5 times to get it right.

[MrKadash]

I personally wouldn't waste my time with one. I feel it takes away from the game. Just my opinion. I, however, don't have a problem with those that use them as long as they do it in a timeless manner.

From what I see on my course, 95% of the people that play aren't good enough to precisely know how far they have to the absolute yard. If I had a nickel for every time I saw someone use one and then hit a horrid shot I would be able to retire early.

[wailtd]

I used to have this little optical monoscope w/ a distance grid on the side as you looked through it. I got it for free from a hunter-buddy. It was great to have in a pinch. When I played competitive golf back in the 70's and 80's, I used to use it all the time, since I was playing different courses all the time. I could get a pretty good read on yardages from the tee to fairways by using the people ahead of me as the "flag stick" to measure on the grid - great on doglegs. Nobody ever told me that it was illegal to use it in tournaments or competition. I played in a foursome with a guy who had an expensive electronic range-finder in the late '90's and I was no more than +/-5 yards off his readings and right on the money for shots 100 yds and shorter. However, I lost the little scope in the "Monty Hall" giveaway of 2000. (My ex-wife sold or gave away all of my stuff). Rangefinders are just another tool that can help you become a better golfer. The fact that a golfer is concerned about "exact yardages" is a step in the right direction for any golfer. Ask a tour pro if he'd hit a shot in a tournament without knowing the yardage and they'd tell you - "no way, I gotta have the yardage, man! Mumma needs a new pair of shoes..."
BB

[golfro]

I recently bought a Leupold GX1 and after playing 2 roudns with it, I returned it.

Its definitely useful to have but I've found distance wise, I can get away pretty accurately going by yardage markers and pacing from the fairway.
Plus, it was actually kind of a hassle to take it out of the bag each time so during the two rounds that I had it, I'd only use it once or twice to get a measure for where a certain hazard or bunker is from the tee box, etc.

[gir]

I love mine. I can get a reading usually in about 10 seconds or so. I found several of my course markers to be off by as much as 20 yards. Others were accurate. I pay the markers no attention any more and just use the rangefinder. I also find at driving ranges that their posted adjusted distances for the day tend to be off as well.

[chilly]

I just received a UPro Go for my birthday and played a few holes with it. My home course is very accurately marked, so I don't necessarily need it there, but it's definitely nice to have. For instance, there are two holes where I land the ball right in the middle of a dogleg. I never know if the marked distance is "as the crow flies", or around the dogleg. GPS took the guessing game out of it. Also had some instances where I now knew distance to the front of the green which helped club selection, versus just knowing to the middle. Definitely sped up my round as well, versus finding sprinkler heads and walking off distances.

And, I laugh at anyone that says that these devices "take away" from the game. Ridiculous, guess they think a caddie is just there to carry a person's clubs?

[srjorion]

To answer the OP's specific question, yes, I use one. I actually use it both on the course and the range. On the range I'm not trying to get super accurate since those balls aren't going to give me accurate distances anyway, but I mostly use it for shorter shots practicing 100 yds and in. While I can't specifically quantify my benefits, I do feel I have benefited from using one. My handicap dropped a couple of strokes and I feel as if having better distances played a part in that. If I hit a shot short or long I don't feel as if maybe I had an incorrect distance from a marker. Plus, it helps me learn my distances better. I have a pretty good idea of my distances, but if I start hitting it farther or shorter I can quickly tell if I'm shooting at the flag and have the distance beforehand.

Also, if you have something next to you on the tee such as a sign, trash can, ball washer, maybe even a predominate tree or bush, you can turn around after your drive and shoot back to that target to see how far you drove the ball (what do you mean I didn't drive it 300+?). You can also use it to tell how far the group ahead of you is in the fairway to tell if you have room to go ahead and tee off or if you need to wait.

SRJ

[TourSpoon]

I don't want this to be a poll, just looking for comments and opinions.

I bought one this summer, the V2. I use it mostly on the course and sometimes on the range as well. The benefits outweigh any non-benefits. I instantly can access the landing areas from the tee box, carry to hazards, distance to pin, measure drives, etc. It has given me the ability to be pin high or below for most shots that I hit taking the guess work out of yardages and eliminating the need to carry a yardage book.

[Fourputt]

I have and use both a laser and a GPS. Both have their place. I never use one at the range. Range balls just aren't anything like a real ball, so anything I learn using them is useless anyway. I use one or the other for almost every every shot on the course (even most tee shots), either to get yardage to problem areas for planning a strategy, or for the distance to the hole on approach shots.

[Macklessdaddy]

To answer the OP's specific question, yes, I use one. I actually use it both on the course and the range. On the range I'm not trying to get super accurate since those balls aren't going to give me accurate distances anyway, but I mostly use it for shorter shots practicing 100 yds and in. While I can't specifically quantify my benefits, I do feel I have benefited from using one. My handicap dropped a couple of strokes and I feel as if having better distances played a part in that. If I hit a shot short or long I don't feel as if maybe I had an incorrect distance from a marker. Plus, it helps me learn my distances better. I have a pretty good idea of my distances, but if I start hitting it farther or shorter I can quickly tell if I'm shooting at the flag and have the distance beforehand.

I'm sure as old as this thread is he has found his answer by now.

[sean_miller]

I'm sure as old as this thread is he has found his answer by now.

Are you suggesting he's not going to check back for our guidance?!?

[out_in_30]

rangefinders are almost a must for me.. i have one on the way. lasers are night and day compared to gps. the info you can attain from them is much better than the the gps. they are accurate to within 1 yard. compared to ~5-8 yards with gps. you can laser anything you want as opposed to getting already programmed yardages. this all IMO of course but its almost common sense. lasers are much better than gps.

[srjorion]

I'm sure as old as this thread is he has found his answer by now.

I actually didn't notice that someone dug up an old thread! But you never know, he may still be pondering the question

[chilly]

rangefinders are almost a must for me.. i have one on the way. lasers are night and day compared to gps. the info you can attain from them is much better than the the gps. they are accurate to within 1 yard. compared to ~5-8 yards with gps. you can laser anything you want as opposed to getting already programmed yardages. this all IMO of course but its almost common sense. lasers are much better than gps.

Many current GPS allow you to point to any location on a hole, so that's really not a disadvantage any more.

[deronsizemore]

I have the Bushnell Pinseeker 1500. Can't stand playing a round without it now. I don't trust course markers, so even when stepping them off, it's still a guess most times.

With the rangefinder, I use it at the range some (not a lot since typically I'm only worrying about contact and ball flight at the range, not distance) and always on the course. When I'm striking the ball well, it's allowed me to get accurate distances and select the correct club for the yardage so that if I miss, I miss pin high left or right rather than left or right AND long or short. It's easier to get up and down (typically) when you're pin high than it is from short or over the green. Also use it to check distances to hazards, trees, etc. This helps determine if I want to attempt to carry them or if I need to take less club off the tee to layup.

I tried one, yesterday. Unfortunately, it was really windy and tough to get a reading. (Stabilizing it in the wind can be a real pain). That said, it was nice to have accurate distance and not worry about club selection.

Get a Bushnell with Pinseeker. No more problems in the wind.