Do I need a rangefinder?

[CWHolland]

It sure is nice knowing the exact yardages to greens and hazards. I have become dependent on mine. Definite plus when playing a new course for the first time!!

[sdgolfer]

my wife bought me a golf buddy tour for xmas. I didnt think I would really even use it, but I use it every round now. When I first brought it out this spring i joked with my buddies that my wife isnt very good with the alphabet because I asked for a BJ and got a GPS.....

[Zeph]

Nobody need one, but it is a very useful tool to have on the course.

[etlreams]

Personally, I don't think they are worth it. I have the "Golf GPS" by Swing by Swing on my Blackberry. It's a free app. It just gives you satellite view and yardage distance. I find it to be pretty darn accurate. And I don't find it to eat the battery life too bad.

I use it about 50% of the time. The only time I find that it is helpful is if I'm playing a course I am not familiar with and, most importantly, if the course is not marked very well (no sprinkler head markings, stakes, etc.)

If a course is marked (even if it just has 100, 150, 200 yard stakes), I seem to be pretty good at ballparking the difference between the closest yardage stake.

I'm not a good enough ball striker to realize the advantages of dialing in every club to the EXACT yardage.

[TourSpoon]

I bought the Bushnell Tour V2 and it was probably the best golf investment that I ever made. It has proven to be invaluable in helping me with course management. Knowing exactly how much to cut off a dogleg, to carry a bunker or water, and how far to targets has made a huge difference especially when dealing with unfamiliar courses. It is definitely a stroke saver and has set up quite a few birdie putts this season.

[golfro]

A playing partner of mine has a Leupold GX4, as does my dad, and I have to say... i look forward to golfing with them any time! It's definitely nice to cross off one factor off your list. I hate depending on yardage ball markers and most times they are off. Needless to say, my next purchase will be a Leupold GX1

[sean_miller]

I bought the Bushnell Tour V2 and it was probably the best golf investment that I ever made. It has proven to be invaluable in helping me with course management. Knowing exactly how much to cut off a dogleg, to carry a bunker or water, and how far to targets has made a huge difference especially when dealing with unfamiliar courses. It is definitely a stroke saver and has set up quite a few birdie putts this season.

lalalala I can't hear you my lower average score this year is all me - nothing but my own skill lalalala

[TourSpoon]

lalalala I can't hear you my lower average score this year is all me - nothing but my own skill lalalala

Hey, it doesn't read putts, select clubs, factor for wind, or hit the shots...it is all you!

[The Road Dog]

Personally, I don't think they are worth it. I have the "Golf GPS" by Swing by Swing on my Blackberry. It's a free app. It just gives you satellite view and yardage distance. I find it to be pretty darn accurate. And I don't find it to eat the battery life too bad.

Etireams has it right, if you take the time to learn the markers on the courses you play you can get very good at estimating the distances to the green from where you are on the course. But what if you play new courses or different courses a lot? In that case the Rangefinder is the quick painless way of getting your distances. It saves time and yes it is expensive. And My GX does suggest clubs and read inclines/declines.. Doesn't help putting that much if you don't count getting closer to the pin by having better reads on distance.

[cyclone98]

I bought the Bushnell Tour V2 and it was probably the best golf investment that I ever made. It has proven to be invaluable in helping me with course management. Knowing exactly how much to cut off a dogleg, to carry a bunker or water, and how far to targets has made a huge difference especially when dealing with unfamiliar courses. It is definitely a stroke saver and has set up quite a few birdie putts this season.

+1!

I got lucky and found a new Leupold GX-I Golf Rangefinder about 2 months ago for $240 shipped on eBay. Since using it, I find it extremely useful for getting accurate yardage, especially at courses where I'm not familiar with and when I walk a round. Though useful, you can live without one if you haven't been spoiled by the cart and hand-held GPS'.

[2left]

I only shoot in the 90s, but am decent enough with my wedges that I wished I had one. Poor off the tee is my weakest point, but I also suck at gauging distances. I played with a friend who has one, and I avoided at least three instances where my estimates using course markers and the lame skydroid gps app on my phone were off by 7 to 8 yards on pitch shots. Hit the green on all three.

Sure, $300 in lessons might be more beneficial, but three strokes are three strokes.

[jime]

I strongly recommend a laser rangefinder. It is critical to determine how far your clubs will go, then all you have to do is figure out wind, elevation, how hard the green is, etc. I purchased one several years ago (before they were legal for tournament play) to use for practice, but it quit working after about 8 years. It immediately lowered my handicap by several strokes. I now have one with a pin-seeker mode that makes it easy to use and very fast, and I carry a spare battery at all times.

I think that a serious golfer will have some sort of range finder. I don't like the GPS as I want to know how far it is to the flag, not how far it is to the center of the green. I also have a program on my smart phone - but much prefer the laser for it's accuracy. And it is also great to see how far it is to a fairway bunker, or the corner of a dogleg.

[DannyG5]

I use a skycaddie and it is awesome.. I would recommend it and it is only $30 a year and totally worth it!

[halcon]

Thank you for your opinions guys. I have made my mind: I will invest my money in lessons / education for now (I already bought a few books: S&T;, Utley and Ernest Jones), and I will definitively take lessons. Once I feel comfortable with my game (consistency in particular), my next investment will be a Leupold GX-1. Thanks again.

[bwgolfer]

I find for myself that my bushnell v2 tends to keep me in the moment on each shot I face during the round. Didn't always have this and found my mind wandering(57 1/2 years old) during the round, not so much now. The thing I like most in the compairision between the finder and the golflogix is the ability to shoot not only the flag but hills, bumps, trap lip etc when making up my mind on how I want to attack the shot. See if where you play if they have a demo to take on the course and see if it works for you....Brooks

[Aquaguru]

I have a Bushnell Neo GPS for $150.  It tells me font back and middle to green.  Also has any bunkers or hazards, and custom points.  I love it for the price I don't need the fancy color touchscreen showing how the entire hole looks (I can see for myself).  It has also sped up my game by a lot.  Its nice to look down see the yardage, pull a club, and fire.  Its pretty small too so it doesn't bother you if you want to keep it in your pocket.

[2left]

I use an Android app. Definitely good for me, as I can easily be off 15-20 yards or more when I try to eyeball it using yard markers -- I'm just not good at that. And forget it if I'm shooting from off the fairway. The app cost me $1.99, but if I had the cash to burn I'd upgrade to get a quicker, more accurate gps.

$300 in lessons won't help you when your hitting for 130 yards when the pin is 110 yards away.

[dbwood]

I use BBGPS on my BlackBerry Tour.  I also have a Garman Etrex Legend HCX hiking gps that is considered quite accurate.  I've checked them together on the course and they're always within a yard of each other so I don't think there's an accuracy problem with the BlackBerry Tour.

I wouldn't mind trying a laser but with my gps all I have to do is look at it and know the yardage which I do as I'm getting to the ball so I can just grab my club and hit, with a laser I'd have to point it at the target and get a reading.  If I was going to get a laser, 2 things I'd look at are the magnification, (I don't have very steady hands and I'm afraid a 6x scope would be hard to get on target), and how fast the unit locks on.  I've heard that the Leupold and Nikon/Callaway units are the fastest.  Again I don't own one so I'm speculating.

I did forget my phone last year and had to play the course the old fashioned way, it didn't affect my score.