range finder rant

[Sandwedge74]

Just want to throw this out to the forum to discuss/bitch about. I played a round with a guy that had a range finder. the kind you line up with a flag and look thru for a yardage.
I find that these gizmo's are slowing play and it's annoying. Now, in addition to his multiple practice swings he is looking thru this thing to find exact yardages on everything making every shot a 5-8 minute ordeal. I asked what his cap was thinking maybe he is a 2 or something and trying to stick it to the pins on every shot. He replied saying he was a 19 - and please understand I am not trying to say a handicap should matter - I was just annoyed I guess cuz it seems like foolishness and excessive time waste at the expense of other's game . It definitely screwed up the round and I finally just left him on the 12th hole and ran ahead to find another group. In addition I think these things also do a dis service by not allowing you to develop a keen sense of what a 7 iron or 8 iron distance really looks like and even more so..an in between yardage where instinct really comes into play. bottom line he was screwing up other peoples rounds by taking so long just to duff a shot.
am I being to harsh??

ok end rant

[winders]

Sandwedge74,

Don't blame the range finder. Blame the idiot using it!

For me, a range finder speeds up play. I don't have to look for sprinkler heads and I don't have to walk off distances.

No Tour player ever has to estimate yardage so why should I have to? I see a range finder, properly used, as a great tool and a way to speed up the game.

S-

[titaniummd]

Just want to throw this out to the forum to discuss/bitch about. I played a round with a guy that had a range finder. the kind you line up with a flag and look thru for a yardage.

If he is not a consistent ball striker and he still takes a lot of time to just duff his shot, then he has no business using the finder.

I zap my distance, take one practice swing and hit it. It speeds me up.

[907golfer12]

If he is not a consistent ball striker and he still takes a lot of time to just duff his shot, then he has no business using the finder.

I am the same, I get the distance, get the club, visualize the shot from behind the ball, half swing, and hit it.

[Harry Longshanks]

I am the same, I get the distance, get the club, visualize the shot from behind the ball, half swing, and hit it.

Ditto. Speeds up my routine considerably.

No hunting for markers or sprinklers, no pacing off distance. Just point and shoot. 5 seconds max. (and I'm doing that before it's even my turn to hit, the green is clear, etc. so it doesn't add any time at all). And once I get a number, there is no guessing about the club.

[Blades4me]

I have Bushnell Medalist range finder and really like it. It has sped up my pace of play especially from 150 and in. I have to agree with the folks who said, its not the range finder, its the clown using it.

[joshtpa]

Just want to throw this out to the forum to discuss/bitch about. I played a round with a guy that had a range finder. the kind you line up with a flag and look thru for a yardage.

I agree with you. I chose a GPS after I purchased a Pin Seeker and it just slowed down too much. The GPS just offers me a quick glance down and then hit.

[shortgame85]

Just want to throw this out to the forum to discuss/bitch about. I played a round with a guy that had a range finder. the kind you line up with a flag and look thru for a yardage.

You may not be too harsh, though harsh you are, however, your frustration is simply misplaced. I don't think it is the use of a rangefinder that was so maddening to you but, rather the manner in which it was used. In your circumstance, it was the indian fumbling with all his arrows that caused delay.

Properly used, as stated above, a rangefinder is an extremely useful tool and used correctly, can speed up play. I own a Pinseeker 1500 Tournament Edition. I find it easy to use, fast and helpful. As for distance gauging, it has actually helped me to recall exactly what some distances do look like because I measure them so often with the pinseeker.

[Smallville]

I played a round with a guy that had a range finder. the kind you line up with a flag and look thru for a yardage . . . I find that these gizmo's are slowing play and it's annoying.

Birdieman: I think he means the old kind of rangefinder where you put the flagstick against a line and it has notches in it that show how far you are based on how tall the flag is in the rangefinder, NOT a newer, laser rangefinder that you can check to see how far that tree, sand trap, edge of the water, etc. is away from you. I HAD one of those old ones and they were just worthless. But the one I have now (Bushnell Yardage Pro) is a lifesaver sometimes (well, maybe I'm giving it TOO much credit, but it doesn't slow me down). I've played on courses with GPS on the cart, and they are the Shiznet, but the one I would want to carry with me costs a lot more than I paid for my Bushnell, so I'll wait for the cost to come down some. Too rich for me right now. Sandwedge, please correct me if I am wrong about what you meant.

[Dub]

The real laser rangefinders are great.

I don't think I could have the patience to play with someone using one of the "guesstimator" type that the 19 hndcpr was using. It'd drive me nuts. You should be able to use markers and such and calculate yardage much faster than using that contraption.

I have a laser rangefinder that I used for bowhunting. The thing is aggravating because it drains batteries in just a couple of days....something wrong with the unit. I simply need to get some rechargeables of that size and deal with.

One of the guys in our group yesterday uses one and it is really fast. He was shooting yardages on all the holes and gave them to our groups when we were teeing off on the par 3's....really saved time for everyone.


Great tools.

[joshtpa]

I dont think he is talking about the guesstimator. I believe he is talking about a laser range finder.

[Sandwedge74]

Sandwedge, please correct me if I am wrong about what you meant.

actually guys believe it or not - it was one of the NEW fancy lazer ones. I played a course this summer called Coyote Moon in Lake Tahoe - fancy as all heck - GPS in the carts and it was bomb diggity for sure. I can really understand why these devices are used and heck even see how they can shave a stroke or two. I can also see how they can speed up play - all I have to do is recount the numerous times I am walking around a fairway cursing the greenskeeper looking for a red dot in the ground.

Clearly I was frusterated with the pace of this guy and his methods. He walked slow, took about 3 to 5 practice swings plus a 3 minute range finding explorations session. Clearly, its the Indian not the arrows. I guess thats public golf for you - it's really too bad that people can be that clueless.... here we are up at the green already and he is 150 yards back playing with his range finder - the other guy in my group wanted to kill him - and this guy clearly did not give a shit

[Smallville]

OK, sorry, you threw me with the description in your OP. In that case, he needs to figure out how to use it better. Do you think he knew it probably had a "SCAN MODE" to make it easier to hit the pin? Mine is set on that all the time.

[Harry Longshanks]

I agree with you. I chose a GPS after I purchased a Pin Seeker and it just slowed down too much. The GPS just offers me a quick glance down and then hit.

I have both a GPS and a Pinseeker, and I don't think one is significantly quicker or slower than the other. The Pinseeker goes in the valuables pocket of the bag - unzip, point, shoot, rezip, done. The key is getting the routine down and learning to get your yardage during the "down" time - when it isn't your turn to hit.

(Clarification: I don't use both at the same time.)

[J_Bone]

I played with a guy who had a GPS range finder. He would drive up to our ball and give us our distance. Sweet! Grab the club I needed and hit the ball. Not only was it the fastest round (Group of 4 and waiting for the group ahead of us) but it was my best round! It was just one GPS in the group and it still helped. I'm asking the wife for one for my Birthday!!

[Harry Longshanks]

I'm asking the wife for one for my Birthday!!

J,

Which one are you thinking about getting?

[Cheez-It]

J,

Was looking around for one myself. Any of you ever tried this?

http://www.callawayrangefinders.com/lr550y.aspx

[Lefty39]

I am the same, I get the distance, get the club, visualize the shot from behind the ball, half swing, and hit it.

I do a same thing.