Say NO! to gps/yardage computers

[Termduke]

Having my sky caddie is a must!

[iWALK18]

I have to tell all the GPS/Laser haters one more thing: Many yardage markers on golf courses are not correct. There is a par 3 at one of my local courses which is listed at 169... a back pin lasers to 149.

So while you pace off yardages using sprinkler heads and poles, it is extremely possible that they are NOT accurate. I guess that's just playing the game the way its meant to be played though.

[lobsterzilla]

half you people are bleeping rediculous

oh and for whoever said "it uses the pin as the target!!" you obviously have no experience at all with gps and therefore shouldn't be allowed to comment.

no...

[cody west]

some people know exactly how hard to swing to hit the ball 158 not 160 or 155 they swing to hit it 158. these rangefinders are good for people that work on their swing and knowing their distances. some people arent trying to hit the middle of the green every hole. most of the people i play with truely believe they are going to hole out from 100 yards and it happens alot

[lumpuckeroo]

I have to tell all the GPS/Laser haters one more thing: Many yardage markers on golf courses are not correct. There is a par 3 at one of my local courses which is listed at 169... a back pin lasers to 149.

I tend to agree, if the yardage on the course were accurate or they had 200, 150, and 100 yard markers in plan site I would be less inclined to jump on the GPS/Laser band wagon, but they don't.

I played on a course this summer where the few sprinker heads that were marked were from a different hole so none of the yardages were even close. The course I play a lot actually has a small plastic pliably stake in the middle of the fairway for the 3 yardages, makes getting yardage simple, how much work can that be for a course to install.

[DavidFehertysBike]

I can see his point, really. I think rangefinders and GPS can take some of the human element out of the game. It can also slow down play some. Ive never used a GPS or a rangefinder reguraly and i think im better for it. I think its sometimes better just to feel your club and shot rather than getting all mechanical with a device.

[drewdown]

I have never owned a gps/range finder until I won a Leupold GXii here on thesandtrap.com, when I received it I promptly sold it on Ebay for $350.

[Leftygolfer]

If anything it speeds up play as long as your not an idiot. Come on.. The pros have way better info than we ever can get. This game is plenty hard. You think I have an advantage because I KNOW it is 122 and you guess it is 125 based on the sprinkler. I bet you have a bigger advantage having your custom fit clubs and brand new driver with a shaft that was fit to your swing.

This is a lost argument. You can't say it is out of tradition. The pros caddies have lasers before rounds and have yard books and pin sheets.

[Bug Bunny]

I don't understand the "it slows down play" argument. For me, anyway, I'd spend a couple minutes figuring out the yardage then a couple more deciding if I'm right. With my skycaddie, I just look at the pardage and pick the club. It has been my experience that the yardage markers are off thus making me secing guess my club selection many times. Since getting my skycaddie just this week, I've gained confidence in my club selection!!!

[Fourputt]

If you're using a GPS, don't you have to guess where the pin is anyway? Unless you're using a laser (

Certainly it is. What do you think a laser rangefinder is???

Here's what I think: I think you're extremely inefficient at finding yardage markers then. At my home course, I literally know every single yardage marker on the course. I realize that's not the case for everyone, but it's not that hard to make a point of passing a yardage marker as you walk to your ball. Most people that I've played with don't have a clue of how to get yardage effectively. They'll put down their bags and walk back to the yardage marker they passed walking to their ball.

I've played courses where you can't even see a sprinkler head from 20 feet away. Back in the day I'd spend a minute or more trying to find one then give up and just guess... likely as not guess wrong, and cost myself an extra stroke and the time it takes to play it.

My argument (I'm not sure about others') has been that we should all have to walk off our yardages. It would add one more thing that you'd have to be good at to hit a good shot. Now, many people rely on a GPS or laser to find the yardage. It takes away from the game for me. Let's all use a computer on the course that takes elevation change, temperature, wind, and humidity into account so we know exactly how far the shot is playing. We'd make the game so much easier because all we'd have to do think, "152, 7 iron." If you're bad at walking off yardages, just like if you're bad at figuring weather conditions and how they effect your shot, your game will suffer. And I really think that finding your own yardage based on accurate yardage markers is how the game was meant to be played.

I'm just fine at estimating distances on my home course when I'm in a reasonable position. I'm not nearly so good when I'm playing away from home, or when I'm way out in the rough, a long ways from any markers. Many courses have designed in features which are deliberately meant to be deceptive to the eye. Players who are familiar with the course can account for those in their planning... those who are there just for one round will consistently misjudge such shots.

And by the way, the game was never "meant to be played" in any particular manner other than by the Rules of Golf. Do you play every round strictly by the rules? I do, and using my laser is perfectly within the rules. How are your "accurate yardage markers" any more part of the game as it's was intended than my laser? Those accurate markers are only accurate because they were lasered in...

You probably can but that isn't my point. I have hundreds of golf courses to chose from in my area and I prefer not to play only one. The GPS helps me and many others find their yardages quickly, especially if they are unfamiliar with the course. If it isn't for you, that is ok. I happen to dislike searching for sprinklers on unfamiliar tracks to get yardages.

+1

[Fourputt]

I have never owned a gps/range finder until I won a Leupold GXii here on thesandtrap.com, when I received it I promptly sold it on Ebay for $350.

I wouldn't own a GX-2 either, since it's not a legal device under the Rules of Golf. But I'd take a GX-1....

[lumpuckeroo]

I can see his point, really. I think rangefinders and GPS can take some of the human element out of the game. It can also slow down play some. Ive never used a GPS or a rangefinder reguraly and i think im better for it. I think its sometimes better just to feel your club and shot rather than getting all mechanical with a device.

But I think the human element is hitting the ball the distance that you believe you should it hit, not guessing the distance. If you know the distance is 122 yards, how many times can you hit that distance? IMHO, I think the GPS/Rangefinders supply you with information but they don't hit the ball, hitting the ball is still the human element that does not change.

[Zeph]

some people know exactly how hard to swing to hit the ball 158 not 160 or 155 they swing to hit it 158. these rangefinders are good for people that work on their swing and knowing their distances. some people arent trying to hit the middle of the green every hole. most of the people i play with truely believe they are going to hole out from 100 yards and it happens alot

They can differ a shot with 2 yards? That's impressive. I know my distances and can make adjustments on a club to hit it a bit shorter, but not down to 2 yards difference, especially not by swinging slower. I usually do it by gripping down and/or taking a shorter backswing.

[DavidFehertysBike]

But I think the human element is hitting the ball the distance that you believe you should it hit, not guessing the distance. If you know the distance is 122 yards, how many times can you hit that distance? IMHO, I think the GPS/Rangefinders supply you with information but they don't hit the ball, hitting the ball is still the human element that does not change.

That isnt quite what i meant. Im not talking about knowing a distance or guessing and then hitting a ball. Its using a club and playing a shot based on imagination and feel. Ived used 9 irons from 80 yards before. So what i was trying to get at is not looking at a distance and then mechanically picking a club based on that. It can be detrimental to your more natural game, sometimes.

[sean_miller]

Quote:

Originally Posted by 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 .

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.

Don't be so sensitive and learn to read - I agree with using a GPS. The same people who take too long using one took even longer getting yardages the traditional ways - you're preaching to the choir. Do I wonder why someone would never want to at least learn how to judge distance and conditions by opening their eyes and looking around? Affirmative.

[Leftygolfer]

Knowing your exact yardage is just part of picking the right club. A 9 iron in october will be nothing like a 9 in July. There are so many variables that effect how far the ball will fly. The reason I use mine (it is old and can only get pins to 130 or so) is to take one of the various elements out of the equation. Also the feedback of when I actually hit one how I want (happens rarely) knowing exactly how far it flew.

[denver_nuggs_15]

I consider lasers "yardage computers" and thus part of this conversation.

I got the impression from the original post that he was specifically talking about GPS's. The OP never used the word laser, but instead "yardage computer." To me that sounds like a handheld GPS unit. I know someone brought up a mechanical eye (meaning laser), but I don't think that's what the OP was talking about (meaning lasers).

If anything it speeds up play as long as your not an idiot. Come on.. The pros have way better info than we ever can get. This game is plenty hard. You think I have an advantage because I KNOW it is 122 and you guess it is 125 based on the sprinkler. I bet you have a bigger advantage having your custom fit clubs and brand new driver with a shaft that was fit to your swing.

My bet still stands. Come to my home course with your GPS and I'll get my yardages just as fast and accurate as you do on average. I've used every modern yardage-finding device and I don't think that any speed up play. I'm sure anyone can think of one or two examples of where it sped up play, but I can think of examples of where it slows play. And I know my yardage is right. I don't just think or guess that it's right. I'm almost always +/-1 or 2 yards to the pin when compared to a laser (I have a pin sheet) and I wholeheartedly believe I'm more accurate than a GPS.

For me, anyway, I'd spend a couple minutes figuring out the yardage then a couple more deciding if I'm right. With my skycaddie, I just look at the pardage and pick the club. It has been my experience that the yardage markers are off thus making me secing guess my club selection many times. Since getting my skycaddie just this week, I've gained confidence in my club selection!!!

If you spend a couple minutes (literally 2 minutes) finding your yardage by walking it off,

you are doing something wrong . I guarantee that. And those minutes you spend deciding if you've walked off the yardage correctly (taking into account the angle you're at) is the same as spending time determining if you're gauging the wind correctly. If you're playing at a course where the yardage markers are off, then I suggest you talk to someone in the pro shop or a manager.

I'm just fine at estimating distances on my home course when I'm in a reasonable position. I'm not nearly so good when I'm playing away from home, or when I'm way out in the rough, a long ways from any markers. Many courses have designed in features which are deliberately meant to be deceptive to the eye. Players who are familiar with the course can account for those in their planning... those who are there just for one round will consistently misjudge such shots.

I'm not talking about estimating how far you are away from the center of the green. I never have. The only estimation that I've suggested is determining pin location if a pin sheet is not readily available. Walk off your own yardage

And by the way, the game was never "meant to be played" in any particular manner other than by the Rules of Golf. Do you play every round strictly by the rules? I do, and using my laser is perfectly within the rules. How are your "accurate yardage markers" any more part of the game as it's was intended than my laser? Those accurate markers are only accurate because they were lasered in...

First off, games, when created, were meant to be played a certain way. Do you think the founders would advocate the bomb and gauge system? If you were to ask a founder, I'd bet that he'd say that it's not the spirit of the game. I think the same goes for walking off your own yardage. If you suck at taking angles into account and aren't good at walking off yardage, your game will suffer. Just like if you're playing on a hot, dry day...chances are if you don't club down, you'll go long. Relying on yourself is what makes the game great.

Here's a little hypothetical: if someone invented a machine that took elevation change, temperature, wind, humidity, and any other factor into account to determine the exact number that a shot is playing, would that make the game more enjoyable for you? For me, I would never touch one because it takes a lot of thinking out of the game. You can rely on a computer instead of doing everything yourself. I'll say it again, but I think that if you're not good at walking off yardages, your game should suffer. In response to the "accurate yardage markers" that were lasered in anyway: That's fine with me. You still have to walk off your yardage and if you do a poor job, the most 100% accurate yardage marker won't help you.

[sean_miller]

. . . a machine that took elevation change, temperature, wind, humidity, and any other factor into account to determine the exact number that a shot is playing . . .

I've changed my mind. I'm not saving up for a GPS, I want one of these things - can you provide a link?