How to figure out how far to the hole

[cmarkmyers]

I have a Sky Caddie but many courses are not available so if there is a yardage book I always get it. Actually, even when the course is on Sky Caddie I still look for a book. The Sky Caddie helps me and my partners play quicker and helps me nail down my iron distances. We played the other day and the carts had GPS, which was a first time for me. That was pretty cool and made riding worth it for a change.

[Monty23]

I love beating people who use a SkyCaddie when I don't. I don't know, makes me feel kind of proud. :p

I wouldn't mind picking one up, unfortunatley I don't have $400+ lying around.

[Konrad]

I use a fricken' laser beam.

Like Dr. Evil.

[Juancd75]

range finder. too broke for gps. LOL

[Shindig]

Alright, I'm kicking this argument back to the front, since I have a question.

I'm sick of missing greens due to badly placed markers. In fact, short of a good guess, or a tee-shot on a par-3 where I remember the club I hit the green with that one time, or yardage from a paired-up playing partner, or dumb luck, I'm going to be chipping or pitching onto the green. In addition to it not giving me a shot at birdie, it delays play: I take 3-4 practice swings on chips and pitches, while I take at most two (usually one) on a full shot.

To top it off, the two courses I play the most DON'T have accurate yardage markers, as I discovered when a playing partner gave me yardages from the markers. The 100 yard markers on one hole were as far out as 125 yards from the green! The sprinkler heads aren't marked.

So, I'm going back to the figuring this out. I don't think this fits into any of the various RangeFinder polls, since I'm not looking for the "best".

Simply put, I want my own way of determining the yardage to the green. I don't want any measurements that I couldn't get if the course were set up properly (that is, I don't want wind speed, etc).

At GolfSmith, I saw one for $50 that looked like a small periscope. Anyone have experience with the cheap ones? Are they any good?

If they aren't any good, I'm going to go with one of the top-notch models. I'm able to afford them, so now I'm looking for a model that gives me what I want and not too much more, for simple sake of not spending for extras I don't want.

So, within this critiera, thoughts? I was looking at the Bushnell PinSeeker 1500, especially after reading Erik's review of it. I've also looked at the Bushnell Medalist, which looks to be just the yardage features, and the Bushnell Golf Scope, which is their $25 one.

Any thoughts would be appreciated; I looked at this thread and a few others and didn't see too many that directly spoke to my needs.


Many thanks.

[Fourputt]

Alright, I'm kicking this argument back to the front, since I have a question.

You can get a good laser rangefinder for under $200. That cheap one you looked at is useless, because it depends on consistent flag height to measure the distance, and even then it's only an estimation. You can't use it to measure anything but distance to the flag. With a laser finder, the electronics do the measuring using the laser. The visual optics are just for sighting on the target.

My Nikon 440 isn't the be all and end all but it works for what I bought it for, and it definitely helps my game by at least giving me the confidence that I have the correct club. If you want more you can play closer to $400 and get one like the Bushnell Pinseeker, but all you really get is some added brain power the is supposed to pick the nearest object (i.e. the pin) from background scatter. I haven't found that I miss that feature, although I do at times have trouble picking up a limp flag. In those cases I have found other options - shoot a member of the group ahead tending the pin, or shoot a slope or bunker lip that is about the same range as the flag. Just be sure that you get one with a scanning feature... this I do find necessary. I don't use it a lot on my home course as I know most of the distances there almost by instinct, but I did use to verify the yardage markers and found them to be quite accurate. But when I play away from home, it is invaluable.

[sandtrap]

How about the old fashioned 150 yard marker or sprinkler head or educated guess?

[Thrdroc]

I can usually tell by looking at the 150 yardage marker how far i am. It only starts to get sketchy once I'm past about 220 yards. In that case I always play a club shorter than i think. I learned very quickly that short is always better than long.

[Jeremy517]

There is a good article on this very site about using Google Earth as a golf tool. If your course is viewable on Google Earth, and isn't too out of date, give it a shot. http://thesandtrap.com/extras/tap-in...as_a_golf_tool

[lamebums]

My usual course has pretty good yard markers, measured to the center of the green, and then the flags are color-coded. Sometimes, at lower-budget courses, I'll just guess. I'm not really far off - my problem with iron play is hacking the ball off line rather than being short or long.

I have a really cheap range finder - not reliable because the length of the flag stick, especially at cheaper courses, isn't consistent.

[lhshurdl3r]

fairway markers, and i estimate the distance from there.

[dayll]

A few weeks ago my golfing pal topped a shot on a 210 yd. par three. I was standing next to him as he stood over his next shot. "How the hell should I know how far I'm to the flag from here?" he asked out loud, but kinda to himself. I told him, "Wait, I just got this high dollar yardage scope; let me get the yardage."
I put my two fists together and acted like I was scoping the flag for him.
"Exactly 116 to the flag," I told him authoritatively. He nodded, pulled out some club or other and hit the freaking ball to within ten feet!
Later he searched though my bag looking for my "range finder."
Like it has been said, "Golf is 90% mental - and the other 10% is in your head."

[The Bogey Man]

A few weeks ago my golfing pal topped a shot on a 210 yd. par three. I was standing next to him as he stood over his next shot. "How the hell should I know how far I'm to the flag from here?" he asked out loud, but kinda to himself. I told him, "Wait, I just got this high dollar yardage scope; let me get the yardage."

haha that's pretty funny, I go by markers of course, but if there isn't a marker in site I like to just get a feel so I can tell in my head what club to use then to let the marker decide for me... (if that makes sense

)

[Shindig]

I'm not sure how many of the new posts are referencing my post, and how many are just back on this thread now that they've seen it, so I apologize if I respond to you and you weren't talking to me.

You can get a good laser rangefinder for under $200. That cheap one you looked at is useless, because it depends on consistent flag height to measure the distance, and even then it's only an estimation. You can't use it to measure anything but distance to the flag. With a laser finder, the electronics do the measuring using the laser. The visual optics are just for sighting on the target.

Nikon 440 has definitely been added to my list of those to consider. I like what I read, and I don't think I need the different features for the extra $200 quite yet.

How about the old fashioned 150 yard marker or sprinkler head or educated guess?

I can usually tell by looking at the 150 yardage marker how far i am. It only starts to get sketchy once I'm past about 220 yards. In that case I always play a club shorter than i think. I learned very quickly that short is always better than long.

Two issues with these:

* The yardage markers aren't always accurate where I play - in some cases, off by 2-3 clubs. * When they are accurate, they aren't always accurate to the right green. So I'd love to do it the old fashioned way, but I can't.

There is a good article on this very site about using Google Earth as a golf tool. If your course is viewable on Google Earth, and isn't too out of date, give it a shot.

Looked at tons of courses with Google Earth. I'm pretty much a fan of all things Google, and when I heard Google Earth could be used for golf, I scoped out several courses I play (and some I want to play, but can't) using it.

My usual course has pretty good yard markers, measured to the center of the green, and then the flags are color-coded. Sometimes, at lower-budget courses, I'll just guess. I'm not really far off - my problem with iron play is hacking the ball off line rather than being short or long.

When I believed the yardage markers were accurate, this is what I did, then blamed the miss (short, usually) on myself. Now that I can hit my wedges, at least their full shots, with consistency, I start to wonder if it's me or the yardages. My last two rounds confirmed it's the yardages, at least when I get an estimate after I hit as to what the proper distance was.

fairway markers, and i estimate the distance from there.

A few weeks ago my golfing pal topped a shot on a 210 yd. par three. I was standing next to him as he stood over his next shot. "How the hell should I know how far I'm to the flag from here?" he asked out loud, but kinda to himself. I told him, "Wait, I just got this high dollar yardage scope; let me get the yardage."

Someone telling me the yardage is what helped my confidence, and when I was told the yardage, I hit the green, or at least the area closer to the green than the yardage markers told me to hit.

Most important: For those whose response was aimed at my question, thank you. Especially you, Fourputt; you've probably helped me make this decision much more confidently.

[Fourputt]

fairway markers, and i estimate the distance from there.

I played yesterday with a gentleman from England named Paul. He told me about his experience playing a Scottish course a few years ago. He was having trouble finding the yardage markers from the tee box on the 1st hole (couldn't see any stakes or anything that might be a marker). He asked the grounds chief (who also happened to do pretty much everything there, made the tea and sandwiches, supervised the maintenance crew, ran the golf shop, etc.) what they used for markers and what the distances were. Like a good Scot, he gave Paul a quizzical look and said, "Markers? Ye just use ye're judgment, Laddie."

I thought that sounds about as Scottish as it gets.

[niblick]

I played yesterday with a gentleman from England named Paul. He told me about his experience playing a Scottish course a few years ago. He was having trouble finding the yardage markers from the tee box on the 1st hole (couldn't see any stakes or anything that might be a marker). He asked the grounds chief (who also happened to do pretty much everything there, made the tea and sandwiches, supervised the maintenance crew, ran the golf shop, etc.) what they used for markers and what the distances were. Like a good Scot, he gave Paul a quizzical look and said, "Markers? Ye just use ye're judgment, Laddie."

Wow, that sounds brutal.

I use a Bushnell Yardage Pro Sport. It's a laser rangefinder, works brilliantly, and can be had for less than $200. I find that while most markers on the courses I play are fairly accurate, once you get inside 100 yards the markers become scarce. I use my rangefinder most often from these wedge-shot distances, occasionally from the fairway, and almost never from the tee.

[plus4]

I use and highly recommend the Bushnell 1500 Pinseeker without the slope function. The Pinseeker feature gives you the yardage to the closest object it locates, which is great considering you're trying to pick up a flag at a distance among a backdrop of trees, etc.

I know it was a few pages ago, but I wish people would quit saying things like "using a rangefinder or GPS feels like cheating" - it's not. Now if you're using a rangefinder that has a slope function, something to gauge wind direction, etc. for other than a practice round, well, then, that IS cheating.

Without question, I have found that using a rangefinder speeds up play, boosts your confidence level, and allows you to make a better game plan, all of which can improve your score.

I used to use yardage books for the courses I play, taking notes, etc., and they are still useful for charting greens. But for yardages to hole locations, hazards, etc., if you can afford one, it's a no-brainer to use a rangefinder.

[Buckswin]

I picked up a SureShot GPS about 4 months ago and can't imagine playing without it. The great thing about the SureShot is that you can map a course yourself if it isn't in their database. Obviously, that doesn't help you the first time you play a course... If I remember correctly, you can map up to 15 points per hole (plus front/center/back of each green). I've improved my handicap by 10% since getting it. When I miss now, I'm missing pin high but right or left, instead of missing short/long.