Say NO! to gps/yardage computers

[iWALK18]

Getting your own yardages is a major aspect of the game IMO.

I do get my own yardages... using my Bushnell...

The same way some people get it from pacing off yardages from markers which someone else no doubt lasered...

[wolverine_man]

I could care less if people use new technology such as gps and range finders as long as they don't slow down the pace of play. And I don't have any evidence or believe that such equipment does slow down play.

Will I ever use that stuff, no. I can't help but think of Rodney Dangerfield in Caddyshack when I see someone pull out one of those doo-hickies. Plus, I am pretty sure that such equipment is deemed illegal according to the USGA and is not permissible for any amateur competition. I don't think we will be seeing High School teams and Colleges players using them any time soon.

I don't currently compete in any tournaments, but I always carry 14 conforming clubs; I would never accept a prize which would ruin my amateur status, and I always play by the rules. Now my cousin, who beat me by two strokes yesterday, with 15 clubs in his bag, he is a different story.

[Topanga]

Pro or Con on gps/rangefinders there have been good points on both sides. Choose your weapons and enjoy the game!

[whip_it_out]

I see where a lot of people are arguing against the use of GPS from, how finding a yardage is part of the game, but I have to disagree.

I want to improve. Taking guesswork out of distance = easy improvement. Why add another difficult element to an already difficult game?

Neither do I believe the ability to guess an exact yardage separate a player from his competition, his playing abilities should do that.

And to it being against how the founders of the game wanted the game to be played, they didn't have GPS back then. The (most likely) didn't know it would ever come, there would ever be satellites in the sky that could pinpoint exact distance in seconds. They might have embraced that idea, who knows?

[Fat Slice]

Some groundscrew guy stands on a sprinkler head and uses a laser to zap the flag, then puts a label on the sprinkler head. 150 yards. A player looks at the label, picks a club, and takes the shot.

I stand next to the same sprinker head, use my laser rangefinder to zap the flag, get my distance, pick a club, and take the shot.

Somehow, the first guy is true to the game of golf, and I am ruining it with technology?

Seems like a whole lot of complaining about nothing.

[sean_miller]

Like it or not, GPS is here to stay.

Like it or not, guaging distance by sight and pacing is a valuable skill that would be nice to have when your GPS battery dies.

[Big_M]

Like it or not, GPS is here to stay.

not to worry... I always carry an extra set. And I can change the batteries while walking to the next shot, without holding up play.

Also, 70% of people I play with ask me for yardages and are interested in my GPS, 20% have thier own, and 10% usually just don't play well enough for it to matter, or don't care. I am never too busy playing with my GPS to interact with the group I am in... this argument doen't really hold water from my experience. I guess we'll all have to agree to disagree... just don't ask me to put my GPS away when you get paired up with me, and don't bother asking me for a yardage to the dogleg or creek.

[flopdarock]

all i can say is i want one...
the guy that is slowing down play using one... is the same guy that played slow when he didnt have one...
in my experience... ive never seen a person that had a gps unit slow down pace of play... it might slow down the other guys in the group that dont have one cuz they are always asking the one who does what distance theyre at...
the only reason i havent gotten one yet is expense...
heck ill try anything that will help me improve my game thats within the rules

[schigara]

Phew! I just read all 9 pages. The OP sounds like he is just drunk and ranting. Maybe because he got caught behind someone who was moving slow and just happened to notice the person was using a GPS.

My GPS on my phone takes right at 3-5 seconds to pull up a yardage to the center of the green. At most, I use it once per hole and usually every third whole or less. So, at most, that adds a whopping 90 seconds per round if I used it every hole.

If I hit a bad tee shot that comes up short and I'm kinda far from the 150 or 100 sticks, I'll use it to know if i'm say....230 out(3 wood), 210 out(3 hybrid) or 195out(4 hybrid).

I have played some courses where there was no course file created for and I shot about the same and didn't even miss using it. I still like using it but it's not a necessity.

To say it wastes time or puts one in a technological "bubble" and incapable of having time to enjoy the game or the people you play with is utterly ridiculous and close to a retarded statement. Also, I am not just playing golf to have fun with friends. I am seriously trying to improve so, when playing, I very rarely cut up and joke around with my playing buddies anyway. I don't think 5 seconds per hole would be a factor.

If you can hit close to the pin without a GPS, that's great cause I can too but sometimes I'd rather take out of the equation the added time it takes to find yardage markers, since my GPS takes no more than 5 seconds.

I get so tired of waiting for pokey, non-techy's to figure their yardage out....heh

[Fourputt]

I'll say it again, but I think the judgement of where the flag is makes the game more challenging. I think this judgement or guess is along the lines of "How much will the wind/lie/elevation/etc. effect this shot." If you guess right, then you'll be better off than if you guess wrong...same as wind, elevation, lie, etc.

This has to be the silliest rationalization yet. Why guess when you don't have to???? On a hole where you can't see the surface of the green, estimating the hole location by guesswork is a pure crapshoot. Using your paced yardage all you get is a distance to the center of the green.... useful??? Certainly, if all you ever want to make on that hole is a par. I want to be more precise in my club selection, and thus give myself more opportunities for realistic birdie putts. You just keep guessing.... have fun with that.

Huh???? What cave have you been hiding in? They have been legal for competition under an almost universal local rule for nearly 2 years now. See Decision 14-3/0.5. I'm currently playing in my club championship and nearly everyone in the tournament uses one or both types because the club and course have instituted the specimen local rule.

From The Rules of Golf - Appendix I - Section B

9. Distance-Measuring Devices If the Committee wishes to act in accordance with the Note under Rule 14-3, the following wording is recommended: "Distance-Measuring Devices: For all play at this course, a player may obtain distance information by using a device that measures distance only. If, during a stipulated round, a player uses a distance-measuring device that is designed to gauge or measure other conditions that might affect his play (e.g., gradient, wind speed, temperature, etc.), the player is in breach of Rule 14-3, for which the penalty is disqualification, regardless of whether any such additional function is actually used."

[golfbarefoot]

Yardage is public knowledge.
GPS/rangefinder helps you obtain the public knowledge faster.
That's why the USGA allows them.

Most of us mortals cant quite get a tour caddy to step off the yardages and plug them into moleskine yardage books and have them ready for every shot...so we use GPS to get the yardage..

Most good players do not solely go off the GPS yardage every single shot anyway. Sometimes you have a feel and have to consider wind, elevation, past experience, how your'e currently swinging it etc, but it always helps to factor in the true yardage.

I actually never look at the skycaddie until I have looked at the shot and gotten an idea of what I think it is first, then look at the yardage..

[Fourputt]

Yardage is public knowledge.

I do much the same with my laser, especially when I think that I'm in between clubs. I get the precise yardage to the flagstick, then I can make an intelligent decision on whether to go with the club that's a half higher or the one that's a half lower, depending on front - middle - back hole, location of worst trouble, wind, elevation, etc. Still takes human intervention to make the correct decision.... I just have better initial input than the guy who's just guesstimating.

[wolverine_man]

"Based on the new Decision 14-3/.05, the USGA stated the high-tech devices would be permitted by Local Rule. That meant that golfers could use golf range finders in rounds counting for handicap tabulation, should their local club or course allow it, or in any tournament competition where local officials have given their sanction.

On a global basis, the USGA, PGA TOUR and other major pro tour groups are not allowing the devices in competition, although they are all right in practice rounds."

What I take from this, is that range finders are not allowed in USGA sanctioned tournaments. I still don't see why it is so hard to count off from a fairway sprinkler head.

[mattrice]

I'm not sure if 32 is old or young in the game of golf right now, but there are some things I like about the technology, and some things I like about tradition. I like the GPS units because pace of play is faster (most of the time), and you get a more accurate read for your yardage. One thing I wish more courses would encourage would be no carts. I think walking is such an important aspect of the game and I try to walk every course I play. I know I'm kind of contradicting myself about pace of play, but it's just what makes the game more enjoyable for me.

[CalBoomer]

The original poster wants to play the game like the founders. So put away metal woods, and metal shafts for that matter. And go back to balata balls. And no caddies to help you. Have fun.

[minteqjohnson]

Maybe it's me, but I always get stuck behind someone who is always playing with his GPS, for most people it seems to make play slower. I feel the fun is looking at the 150 yard marker, and figuring out what to do, upwind/downwind, uphill/downhill, etc. I am not against the GPS, just people who use them and take forever.

This is my first post, I recently found this site, so far I enjoy it.

[Cussin hacker]

I wonder how many miles a GPS would tell you this thread has gotten?

[kfowler]

When ever I see threads like this it reminds me of this old Monty Python skit.