Dunce-cap question: What is the science behind rangefinders?

[iacas]

Maybe I'm just a really bad golfer, but I don't think that 2 yards of difference between an actual and a measured distance is going to effect anyone but the very best players.

The point is, that +/- 3 yards becomes +/- 6 yards since you're technically using TWO measurements.

Six yards is at least half a club for just about everyone.

[Fourputt]

Keep in mind that the GPS is accurate within +/- 3 yards to the point which is programmed into it , and you just take it on faith that they did it correctly. If that point is off, then your accuracy is decreased by that much more. Some GPS course layouts are input from info on Google Earth and/or satellite photos, not by walking the course with something like a Trimble GPS (an extremely accurate and costly GPS receiver). That can build in additional inaccuracy to the overall performance of the unit. You also have to guesstimate the true position of the pin on the green, and for a course with large greens, that also adds to the possible error.

The laser is going to hold that +/- 1 yard to anything you can sight it on, and the Bushnell Pinseeker feature means that you can easily shoot a flag and distinguish it from the background clutter. I took a sighting yesterday on a flag from 280 yards just to show the guy I was playing with that he could go ahead and hit before the green cleared. So as far as I'm concerned the only real limitation with a rangefinder is that it is line of sight. And I can usually find a way around that problem on the rare occasion that it is an issue.

[JessN16]

Well, it's called a laser rangefinder for a reason, not just because "laser" sounds cool.

I'm interested in using them to double-check what's printed on the scorecard as much as anything else. I'm pretty good at estimating distance bare-eyed (goes back to doing a lot of target shooting when I was younger), but there are times when I hit a shot, and what I'm seeing and what the scorecard is telling me I should be seeing are way off.

I played a course a few years ago where every hole on the scorecard ended in a zero. Yardages were 350, 360, 400, 190, 270, etc. That's way too coincidental. Then I actually got onto the course and realized there wasn't a single distance marker anywhere on it. No stakes, no numbers on sprinkler heads, anything of the sort. I played decently but I also had some big distance misses going into greens. Jess

[wrx_junki]

Then how would you find the horizontal distance to the pin when you are hitting up or down a hill. I have some par 3's that drop a good amount.

[scooterguitar]

Good info, sounds like a rangefinder is for me since I can easily be all over the course.
What is a good one you can easily find at golf shops, say under $400?
I am clueless on them, but do some actually have green readings or whatnot? I like the aspect I might dog a shot, then be able to judge how far it is to a trap, water, etc. when I know the green isn't within range.
Appreciate it.

[Franco!]

Then how would you find the horizontal distance to the pin when you are hitting up or down a hill. I have some par 3's that drop a good amount.

Slope editions.

[iacas]

Then how would you find the horizontal distance to the pin when you are hitting up or down a hill. I have some par 3's that drop a good amount.

Pythagorean theorem.

But really, if you play a course often enough, you figure it out. A 30-yard drop on a 100-yard hole is not the same as a 30-yard drop on a 220-yard hole. If you don't play the course often enough, you go by feel. Or, if you want to go against the rules, you use one that measures slope, but what's a 5° slope really mean? The ones that suggest "plays like" yardages are guesses based on the trajectory and distance the average golfer hits the ball.

[Fourputt]

Good info, sounds like a rangefinder is for me since I can easily be all over the course.

Bushnell Tour V2 with Pinseeker. Last I saw it was about $350 at Dick's. Might be available a bit cheaper online.

[Fourputt]

Then how would you find the horizontal distance to the pin when you are hitting up or down a hill. I have some par 3's that drop a good amount.

You just learn to feel the difference.... just like playing in wind you learn from experience about how much to adjust. And you learn to identify the safest miss when you are in doubt.