GPS/Laser Improve Your Scores?

[wrx_junki]

Not sure if this has been beaten to death or not but couldn't find it through a search. For those of you that have purchased one of these, has your scores been dropping due to the use of the GPS/laser? I've been thinking of getting one for my birthday which is in a month since most of the muni's in the area have horrible yardage markers if any. Should get a GPS since I can't see the flag a lot of the times on the course that I play at most often.

[Danattherock]

Go for it man. Just awesome to see the actual yardage from any location on the course. Some are fancy, I don't want it. I got the Golf Logix. Order from Amazon as they are cheaper than the Golf Logix website. Be sure to read the reviews on Amazon for the Golf Logix. Tons of reviews there. Some 277 four star reviews. The price is good too. $238 at this time and it is sold on the Golf Logix, The Golf Warehouse, etc.. for $299. It is made by Garmin, is tough, waterproof, and easy to use. Just turn it on and that is it. I bought an accessory bag for mine that holds it on my golf bag. I just look at it when I pull my club. Could not be simpler. For $29.99/year, you can download any course you want, some 23,000 to choose from. The unit holds 20 courses at a time. Wish I had bought one years ago.

See it here...

http://www.amazon.com/Garmin-GPS-8-G...2805753&sr;=8-1

Good info on the Golf Logix site below...

http://golfgps.com/



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[wrx_junki]

Go for it man. Just awesome to see the actual yardage from any location on the course. Some are fancy, I don't want it. I got the Golf Logix. Order from Amazon as they are cheaper than the Golf Logix website. Be sure to read the reviews on Amazon for the Golf Logix. Tons of reviews there. Some 277 four star reviews. The price is good too. $238 at this time and it is sold on the Golf Logix, The Golf Warehouse, etc.. for $299. It is made by Garmin, is tough, waterproof, and easy to use. Just turn it on and that is it. I bought an accessory bag for mine that holds it on my golf bag. I just look at it when I pull my club. Could not be simpler. For $29.99/year, you can download any course you want, some 23,000 to choose from. The unit holds 20 courses at a time. Wish I had bought one years ago. Below is a link...

So let's say that I download the 20 courses I want in the first year. If I don't want to add any additional courses can I cancel my subscription?

[Danattherock]

Absolutely. When those 20 courses are put in the gps unit, they are in. You are just paying that subscription for the ongoing right to download what you want. I am in the same boat you are. I can download 20 courses and be set. I don't play on that many to be honest. And in the rare event that I play out of town somewhere, I can play the good ole fashioned way

Also, if you only play one course all the time, you can download one course for free without ever activating a membership. This would work for some folks.

[iacas]

Should get a GPS since I can't see the flag a lot of the times on the course that I play at most often.

I almost always recommend a laser over a GPS just for the ease of use and "portability," but what kind of course are you playing where you can't see the flag a lot of times? Surely you don't mean for most of your approach shots - seeing the flag doesn't matter on the tee of a par 4 or 5...?

My scores didn't drop appreciably but I've had a laser for a long time, so I can't really say if they dropped. The year I got my first rangefinder I went from an 8 to a 3... but that really wasn't due to the rangefinder.

[wrx_junki]

I almost always recommend a laser over a GPS just for the ease of use and "portability," but what kind of course are you playing where you can't see the flag a lot of times? Surely you don't mean for most of your approach shots - seeing the flag doesn't matter on the tee of a par 4 or 5...?

It's about 6 holes where I can't see the flag on the approach shot.

Just curious, do people with laser whip it out on approach shots under 100 yards?

[mdvaldosta]

I prefer a laser as well; it's fast, simple and easy. Takes just a few seconds the get the yardage to the pin, sand or whatever. No downloading anything, doesn't drain batteries every month, no downloading anything etc. Plus, you get distances to the PIN, not the front/center/back of green.

As for scoring, well I didn't drop 5 strokes the first time I gamed it (my course already uses GPS on the carts), but I'm pin high now more often for sure.

It's about 6 holes where I can't see the flag on the approach shot.

Maybe GPS would be better for you then. I don't have any blind holes on approach shots, unless I don't hit it where I'm supposed to. I'm suprised you have so many...

Just curious, do people with laser whip it out on approach shots under 100 yards?

Yep, I do. Depending on hills, etc. a 50 yard shot can look alot like 75 yards sometimes.

[deronsizemore]

I almost always recommend a laser over a GPS just for the ease of use and "portability," but what kind of course are you playing where you can't see the flag a lot of times? Surely you don't mean for most of your approach shots - seeing the flag doesn't matter on the tee of a par 4 or 5...?

I agree with what Erik said here. I personally would go for a range finder over gps. It's more money initially but there are no subscription fees, no worrying about if your course is available to download, nothing that is out of your hands because of a computer crash, etc. I can take my range finder to any course and any driving range and get distances which is what I like most about it. I dropped a couple strokes off my game on average since getting the range finder, although I've had the best rounds of my life since purchasing it. I can't say if it's all because of the range finder, but knowing exact yardages is valuable. I'm hardly ever a club long or a club short these days and if I do miss, it's either left or right but pin high which makes it a lot easier generally around the greens.

I was going to ask the same thing about the courses you've been playing. Are there just a lot of hills or what? I hear the argument of not being able to see the flag all the time from the gps crowd and my response is always that majority of the courses you play won't be that hilly and if you've hit a shot that far off the fairway into the trees that you cannot get a clear line of sight, you probably shouldn't be going for it anyway. On the occasion that I do find myself not having a clear line of site to the flag because of a hill, here's what I do to get around it. I park the cart close to my ball or stand my golf bag up next to the ball. I walk up the hill so that I can see the flag. Get a yardage to the flag from there, turn around and get a yardage from there to the cart/golf bag and add the two together. That should give you a close enough figure to make your decision on what club to hit. Hope that helps.

Just curious, do people with laser whip it out on approach shots under 100 yards?

I do. I use my laser on pretty much anything outside of 30 or 40 yards. I practice those types of shots a lot on the range and have gotten a lot better (since purchasing my range finder) at gauging how big of a swing I need for a 50, 60, 70, etc. yard shot with my 56 degree wedge. So, I like to know how far I'm out even if it is only 60 yards.

[PiKapp23]

My scores have not really dropped much (because I can't drive or putt at the moment), but I definitely have seen improvement. The biggest difference is with shots inside 100 yards, which is something I had not expected. Knowing distances to front, middle and back of green from those yardages has really helped me hit better wedges to the correct yardages.

I strongly considered Laser rangefinder instead of GPS but in the end 'line of site' and 'ease of use' were the determining factors for me. I know GPS is not as accurage, but then again, I'm not consistently accurate enough to hit that 5 yards of inaccuracy anyway. I found GPS much easier to use. I'm not sure if it's the fact that I do not have a steady enough hand or what, but I had a LOT of trouble locking onto targets with the laser. Others say they do not have this issue, but I couldn't do it when standing very still let alone when I was moving (and I was using a new Bushnell that was pretty expensive when I was testing this). GPS is much simpler and plenty accurate enough for me.

[lumpuckeroo]

I have a laser and have for 10+ years, one of the first items I ever bought off of eBay. I rarely use it on a course I have played a lot as it just takes away from concentration.

On a new course I use it, especially on par 3's to make sure distances are accurate.

[PiKapp23]

One nice thing about a laser is that it can be used at the range to help get yardages to targets or help you figure out exact yardages for your clubs.

[Hokie2k5]

I just got a laser rangefinder last year, it helps on par 3's and wedges. Hasn't help my handicap any but I don't think anything is except quitting my job and playing golf everyday, all day. Any I don't think I'll ever get that lucky.

[mdvaldosta]

One nice thing about a laser is that it can be used at the range to help get yardages to targets or help you figure out exact yardages for your clubs.

For sure! That was the most beneficial thing for me, because like most ranges where we hit from changes every day and the yardages posted are never accurate unless you hit from where they were measured (maybe a few days out of every month).

[iacas]

Just curious, do people with laser whip it out on approach shots under 100 yards?

Yes. I have my 1/4, 1/2, and 3/4 wedge swings all marked off, so I know my distances. The difference between "57 yards" and "about 60-ish yards" is confidence.

[deronsizemore]

Others say they do not have this issue, but I couldn't do it when standing very still let alone when I was moving (and I was using a new Bushnell that was pretty expensive when I was testing this). GPS is much simpler and plenty accurate enough for me.

Odd that you had that problem. Maybe the Bushnell you were using didn't have "pinseeker" mode or possibly just didn't have it turned on?

With pinseeker mode turned on, I don't even have to get the cross hairs over the flag. If I'm in the general vicinity of the flag it will pick up the distance instantly. Without pinseeker mode turned on, yes it's a little more difficult to get a reading on a flag especially if it's windy or something.

[Mr3Putt]

Reason #3 why I prefer a laser over a GPS.

Yesterday I got hooked up with a guy who was sneaking in a round during a business trip . He was asking me for yardages to pins and bunkers. He kept telling me how he liked his skycaddy. I asked why he wasn't using it and he said he couldn't get onto the course he had preloaded into the unit prior to leaving on his trip. That, and his "wire" was at home...

As far as score improvement, I would say having the correct yardages for approaches and hazards has to save a few shots a round. "About 90 yards" just doesn't cut it.

In any event, either method is better than pacing/guesstimating from yardage markers.

[andy]

I'm a new golfer and a high handicapper, so I'm not good at judging distances by the eye and always overshot or under shot my hits. So I got an iGolf Neo gps unit for $110 brand new on ebay. It's very simple, and tells you front, center, back of green. It does not tell you how many yardage to a particular hazard nor does it tell you how many yardage to the apex of a dogleg hole. I would think this would be relevant when I can learn how to really take dead-aim or shape my shots...but until then I don't have a need for it

Since then, my last four scores were 105, 102, 98, and 92. For me, I can confidently hit the ball and not worry about distance but focus on my swing. Also around NYC the white tee markers as noted on the scorecard almost never matches what it actually is, particularly on PAR 3's. For ex the scorecard says its a 167 yd par 3, and my gps says it's 146. It's probably temporary tee placements since it's the beginning of the season but this helps in club selection

Andy

[goblue107501]

I have been using a rangefinder for a few years now and I would have to say it has helped my game. By how much, not really sure. In that same timeframe I have gotten better so it is hard to tell. I can say I am pin high or at least 'around' the hole much more than before. Most of the courses I play are well marked and some have GPS on the cart. It was still always a guessing game. I can see that I am 150 to the middle and the flag is towards the back, but by how much? Is it 155, 160, 165? If the greens are big it can be a guessing game and you could be a club or two off, especially if the green is a little elevated and you can't see the surface to know where the flag is. Not anymore. I might not hit the ball exactly the 158 to the pin, but at least I know the pin isn't at 140.