Rangefinders, and Distance

[camper6]

I played the game a very long time before rangefinders came into use and in fact even before yardage markers were used.

I am just wondering.

How many out there use rangefinders and how has it affected your game?

A long time ago we had no markers at all on the course.

Not even markers on sprinkler heads.

You just estimated distance and the club to use.

Mostly just the club to use.  The distance didn't seem to matter.  You just knew how far you could hit a club.

I didn't think rangefinders had a chance of becoming part of the game.

I thought they would be banned.

[iacas]

It's sped up my game.

I came into the game when courses were pretty well marked so I see it as no advantage at all except for being able to be a) more precise b) more quickly.

I can understand a little that the golfer's skill is reduced but my argument to that is two-fold:

a) there are a lot of other variables which affect distance which are not accounted for in a distance measurement (wind speed and direction, temperature, the lie, how you're swinging that day, what kind of shot you intend to play, the humidity, etc.).

b) is "being able to accurately estimate a distance" really a core skill in golf? I would say that it's not.

[boogielicious]

Back when courses had caddies, they would tell you the distance because they had stepped it off.  Now we don't have caddies and use rangefinders and GPS instead.

I got a lot more consistent knowing the distance and it saves strokes and time.  I don't always use it either.  Maybe on one shot per hole, usually the approach for par 4 and 5 holes and the tee on par 3.

[camper6]

Don't quote me on this but I don't think caddies stepped off the distances and recorded the distances till Jack Nicklaus came along.

[glk23]

I have had mine for a season and a half and love it. It speeds things up and knowing exact distances has helped a lot. I also know my distances for hard/dry summer as well as cold/soggy fall/winter.

[iPutt]

Also, I feel like an underrated aspect of the range finder is being able to shot distances to hazards, bunkers, doglegs, etc. I like knowing that the fairway ends at about 240 because the tree right behind it is about 250. I also like knowing that the front of the green where the water hazard is is at 176 exactly, even though I'm just past the 200 marker on the course. I really think that the benefit of the rangefinder is being able to get those abstract yardages that you wouldn't have without a caddie (Also with the use of the rangefinder I've found that par-3 yardage can sometimes vary GREATLY than what's on the card/yardage plate).

[Fourputt]

Originally Posted by camper6

Don't quote me on this but I don't think caddies stepped off the distances and recorded the distances till Jack Nicklaus came along.

You are correct.  Nicklaus is credited with "inventing" the caddy book.

I started play also before you could count on a course even having 150 yard markers.  Then they added the 200, 150 and 200 yard markers.  Then they started marking sprinklers.  The more stuff they marked the slower the game became.  Now with GPS, the game is actually faster than when half the players were pacing off distances from sprinklers and yardage plaques.  I find that not only does it help with distances to the hole, but the right types of GPS or laser is a huge help with distances to layup points.

[sean_miller]

Originally Posted by camper6

Don't quote me on this but I don't think caddies stepped off the distances and recorded the distances till Jack Nicklaus came along.

This sounds like an internet myth.

[Kobey]

Originally Posted by sean_miller

This sounds like an internet myth.

Can't be, the internet wasn't invented until after Jack came along.

[Fourputt]

Originally Posted by sean_miller

This sounds like an internet myth.

No it isn't.  Do some research and you'll find that it's fact.

[boogielicious]

How about this for research.  My father in law was a scratch golfer and caddie in the 1930s.  He always knew the distances because the caddies, himself included, had paced the distances from items on the course to the front of the green and middle of the green.  They paced tee to hazards, etc.  It was their job to know.

[zeg]

Nicklaus may have invented (or, imo more likely, been the first prominent golfer to use one) the yardage book, but I'd be surprised if caddies hadn't been memorizing distances for their home courses.

[michaeljames92]

Golf is hard enough to stick it close with the correct yardage, let alone being off by possibly a couple of clubs at a time.....

[sean_miller]

Originally Posted by Fourputt

Quote:

Originally Posted by sean_miller

This sounds like an internet myth.

No it isn't.  Do some research and you'll find that it's fact.

Should be easy to find, so how about link?!?

[camper6]

Oh ye of little faith.

Excerpt:

Nicklaus then popularized the books on Tour when he left the amateur ranks in 1962. Although it took awhile.

"Jack led the way, but players were slow to adopt the practice," Beman says. "It took about five years before more players and caddies were using some sort of yardage notes than those who weren't. Part of the skill of golf was figuring out how far it was and then hitting the proper shot. A lot of players felt that the books took away from the skills.

"That changed, because there's no question in my mind that the yardage books had a major impact on scoring, a major, major impact."

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/golf/2010-05-31-golf-yardage-books_N.htm

[bridgeview]

no doubt if you know how to use it, it will speed up your game.

[camper6]

Originally Posted by boogielicious

How about this for research.  My father in law was a scratch golfer and caddie in the 1930s.  He always knew the distances because the caddies, himself included, had paced the distances from items on the course to the front of the green and middle of the green.  They paced tee to hazards, etc.  It was their job to know.

They knew the distances at their home course and memorized them.

But.  They couldn't tell you what club to use until they were familiar with your game.

That's what caddies did.  They handed you the club they thought you could reach with and sometimes argued with you when you refused to listen.

[sean_miller]

Originally Posted by camper6

Oh ye of little faith.

Excerpt:

Nicklaus then popularized the books on Tour when he left the amateur ranks in 1962. Although it took awhile.

"Jack led the way, but players were slow to adopt the practice," Beman says. "It took about five years before more players and caddies were using some sort of yardage notes than those who weren't. Part of the skill of golf was figuring out how far it was and then hitting the proper shot. A lot of players felt that the books took away from the skills.

"That changed, because there's no question in my mind that the yardage books had a major impact on scoring, a major, major impact."

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/golf/2010-05-31-golf-yardage-books_N.htm

I'm not disputing that Nicklaus was one of the pioneers in using yardage books on the PGA Tour. That's not exactly what you said though.