Anchored Putters Rules Change (Effective January 1, 2016)

[Fourputt]

Originally Posted by mp33 man

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fourputt

This^^

Using "math" to figure yardages on courses is useless - holes are mismeasured or changed after the card is published, hole lengths are deliberately inflated, and holes aren't usually measured in a straight line.

GPS is the most accurate, and measuring on Google Earth at high zoom is a good second choice (can get you within 3 or 4 yards if you are careful and honest with your measurement points).

I don't think this would help my already slow play :)

Obviously GPS is easy and doesn't take any extra time.  On my Garmin I tap one button wherever I hit from, then just read the number when I get to my ball.

[mp33 man]

Obviously GPS is easy and doesn't take any extra time.  On my Garmin I tap one button wherever I hit from, then just read the number when I get to my ball.

Sorry, was talking about the "google maps" option.

[Rulesman]

Originally Posted by Fourputt

GPS is the most accurate, and measuring on Google Earth at high zoom is a good second choice (can get you within 3 or 4 yards if you are careful and honest with your measurement points).

Laser is the most accurate.

[bplewis24]

Originally Posted by Rulesman

Laser is the most accurate.

You can laser the ball?

[Fourputt]

Originally Posted by bplewis24

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rulesman

Laser is the most accurate.

You can laser the ball?

I've owned 2 lasers (Nikon and Bushnell) and neither could pick up a ball lying in the fairway, nor could they pick up a tee marker shooting back from the ball.  I've measured with laser and GPS side by side and the GPS was the most dependable.

With the laser, it was often hard to tell just what I was measuring to.  Shooting a flag or a tree was quite accurate (although usually no more than a yard or two different from the GPS), but shooting a hump in the fairway or a ragged bunker lip was inconsistent and less precise than a GPS.  I carried both for several years, but once I bought my Garmin Approach G5, the laser was redundant.

[mp33 man]

I've owned 2 lasers (Nikon and Bushnell) and neither could pick up a ball lying in the fairway, nor could they pick up a tee marker shooting back from the ball.  I've measured with laser and GPS side by side and the GPS was the most dependable.   With the laser, it was often hard to tell just what I was measuring to.  Shooting a flag or a tree was quite accurate (although usually no more than a yard or two different from the GPS), but shooting a hump in the fairway or a ragged bunker lip was inconsistent and less precise than a GPS.  I carried both for several years, but once I bought my Garmin Approach G5, the laser was redundant.

This thread has taken a really odd turn... I would definitely agree that gps is generally more accurate on the course but it is useless on the range which is where most of us dial in on our yardages. If you don't know how far you hit each club than it doesn't matter how accurate your range finder/gps is.

[mp33 man]

Gps also seems to be allot faster on the course

[dave67az]

As off-topic as this discussion has been, it's certainly entertaining with comments like "Unless you are using a GPS to measure your drives, your distances are over fabricated."

So, how much fabrication is allowed before we cross that boundary?

Are we allowed to lie about our scores, make up stories about amazing shots we hit, or just how well we hit certain clubs?

[Golfingdad]

Originally Posted by dave67az

As off-topic as this discussion has been, it's certainly entertaining with comments like "Unless you are using a GPS to measure your drives, your distances are over fabricated."

So, how much fabrication is allowed before we cross that boundary?

Are we allowed to lie about our scores, make up stories about amazing shots we hit, or just how well we hit certain clubs?

LOL ... I don't think the word "over" refers to "too much" fabrication.

("I don't over-fabricate anything ... I fabricate exactly the right amount.")

I think he is, instead, referring to the direction of the fabrication.  Inscinuating that if you are using math on the course, you are wrong and you are always wrong on the inflated side of things.  I don't actually agree with either of those comments, though.  You cannot do math on dogleg holes for the aforementioned reasons, but if the hole is straight and you make a point to note where you teed it up in relation to the placard on the ground, why can't you do math to judge your distance?  Obviously, this would not apply to mismarked courses, but other than that, seems like it would work fine to me.

(I had one drive I wanted to measure a couple of weeks ago and I used google earth after the fact because it was a double dogleg hole.)

Wait, wtf?  This is the anchored putters thread??  Whoops!

On-topic:  Again, kudos to Carl Petterson for using a standard putter this week at the Open ... and proceeding to miss the cut. ;)

[dave67az]

Originally Posted by Golfingdad

LOL ... I don't think the word "over" refers to "too much" fabrication.

("I don't over-fabricate anything ... I fabricate exactly the right amount.")

I think he is, instead, referring to the direction of the fabrication.  Inscinuating that if you are using math on the course, you are wrong and you are always wrong on the inflated side of things.  I don't actually agree with either of those comments, though.  You cannot do math on dogleg holes for the aforementioned reasons, but if the hole is straight and you make a point to note where you teed it up in relation to the placard on the ground, why can't you do math to judge your distance?  Obviously, this would not apply to mismarked courses, but other than that, seems like it would work fine to me.

(I had one drive I wanted to measure a couple of weeks ago and I used google earth after the fact because it was a double dogleg hole.)

Wait, wtf?  This is the anchored putters thread??  Whoops!

On-topic:  Again, kudos to Carl Petterson for using a standard putter this week at the Open ... and proceeding to miss the cut. ;)

I hear ya.  Still sounded funny.

I don't seem to have a problem remembering where I hit the ball to or from, so I do the same as you...use Google Earth's measuring tools after a round.  I've used Google Earth to map out my usual course, too, because the pro shop doesn't have yardage maps and yardage markers on sprinkler heads are few and far between for some reason.

Here's an example (this is the front nine at Palm Valley Lakes Course (Goodyear, AZ).  Yardages are from the center of the green.

[Rulesman]

Originally Posted by bplewis24

You can laser the ball?

When you get to the ball, laser back to the tee. That'll tell you what you hit in real life not on the range.

GPS will only tell you how far you are from a fixed point that it knows about.  A laser will tell you how far you are from any point it can register.

http://laserisbetter.com/

I'm only talking about accuracy of measuring not usefulness on the course.

[Fourputt]

Originally Posted by mp33 man

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fourputt

I've owned 2 lasers (Nikon and Bushnell) and neither could pick up a ball lying in the fairway, nor could they pick up a tee marker shooting back from the ball.  I've measured with laser and GPS side by side and the GPS was the most dependable.

With the laser, it was often hard to tell just what I was measuring to.  Shooting a flag or a tree was quite accurate (although usually no more than a yard or two different from the GPS), but shooting a hump in the fairway or a ragged bunker lip was inconsistent and less precise than a GPS.  I carried both for several years, but once I bought my Garmin Approach G5, the laser was redundant.

This thread has taken a really odd turn...

I would definitely agree that gps is generally more accurate on the course but it is useless on the range which is where most of us dial in on our yardages. If you don't know how far you hit each club than it doesn't matter how accurate your range finder/gps is.

There was apparently nothing more to say about anchored putting, so someone turned a corner into a dimensional warp.

I learned the game and established my club distances for many years before there were lasers or GPS.  I didn't do it on the range, I did it on the course in normal play.  I still do it that way and it seems to serve me quite well.  The only time I measure a shot now is out of curiosity when I've hit one that sparks discussion or is unusual in some other way.

[geauxforbroke]

Originally Posted by Fourputt

There was apparently nothing more to say about anchored putting, so someone turned a corner into a dimensional warp.

I don't see what the big deal with anchored putters.....

Oh, now we're on GPS?

[dave67az]

Originally Posted by Golfingdad

On-topic:  Again, kudos to Carl Petterson for using a standard putter this week at the Open ... and proceeding to miss the cut. ;)

He may have missed the cut, but according to him it wasn't because of putting.  Again, evidence that the ban will end up a non-issue very soon I believe.

“Since this rumor of the ban came out last year, I grabbed a couple of regular putters — regular length — and put my hand on it and gripped down on the shaft,” he said. “And it felt pretty good. It was not serious practice, but I hit a few. It’s essentially the same grip with the right hand, so I just had to change the left hand. It’s the same motion I’ve been doing with a long putter. It’s just not anchored.”

A week after the U.S. Open, Pettersson was at the Travelers Championship when he saw a bunch of putters and thought about changing.

“We always have a Tuesday game, a gambling game, and I used it in that and made nine birdies,” Pettersson said. “I was going to put it in at Hartford but I didn’t have the [guts] to do it.”

Pettersson first used the conventional putter in the final round of the John Deere Classic, where he was at the bottom of the pack. He shot 70 and tied for 54th.

“It was nerve-racking at the John Deere,” he said. “If it hadn’t gone well, I would be back to square one. But I did nice. I holed all the putts you’re supposed to hole. I didn’t run the tables, but it was nice.” (http://jacksonville.com/sports/golf/2013-07-18/story/carl-pettersson-puts-anchored-putter-away-first-time-british-open)

[Golfingdad]

Originally Posted by Rulesman

When you get to the ball, laser back to the tee. That'll tell you what you hit in real life not on the range.

GPS will only tell you how far you are from a fixed point that it knows about.  A laser will tell you how far you are from any point it can register.

That sounds so simple in theory, but what are you lasering?

Seems like standing on the tee and pressing a button on the GPS (turning it into a "fixed point that it knows about") is as accurate, if not more, than a laser.  (Simply because there usually isn't anything on the tee that stands out (and up) enough to be confident you are hitting your spot.

Originally Posted by dave67az

Again, evidence that the ban will end up a non-issue very soon I believe.

Not sure why this hasn't been a more prominent topic on this thread than it has.  IMO, it's absolutely dead-on accurate.  Nobody (unless they want to sabotage their career just to be a martyr) is going to wait until the last minute to switch, and most will probably find similar results to Petterson.

[bplewis24]

Originally Posted by mp33 man

This thread has taken a really odd turn...

I would definitely agree that gps is generally more accurate on the course but it is useless on the range which is where most of us dial in on our yardages. If you don't know how far you hit each club than it doesn't matter how accurate your range finder/gps is.

I've never used the range to dial in my yardages.  One, because a lot of ranges move their range boxes every week, while the yardage markers never move.  And two, because a lot of ranges use practice balls that aren't indicative of how far you can hit the ball you play with.

Originally Posted by Rulesman

GPS will only tell you how far you are from a fixed point that it knows about.  A laser will tell you how far you are from any point it can register.

For GPS, that's all I need (a fixed point that it knows about).  I click on my starting point and my ending point, and that's that.  I have no doubt that if a laser hits the intended target, it will be more accurate, but some are better than others at picking up targets and letting you know which target it has picked up.  Also, I imagine it's only better by a handful of yards, which for measuring driving distance, isn't all that important to me.  I generally round my driving distances up/down to the nearest multiple of 5.

Oh yeah, ban anchored putters!!!

[Rulesman]

Originally Posted by bplewis24

Oh yeah, ban anchored putters!!!

A novel idea. It might ruffle a few feathers though.

[dave67az]

Originally Posted by Golfingdad

That sounds so simple in theory, but what are you lasering?

Seems like standing on the tee and pressing a button on the GPS (turning it into a "fixed point that it knows about") is as accurate, if not more, than a laser.  (Simply because there usually isn't anything on the tee that stands out (and up) enough to be confident you are hitting your spot.

Not sure why this hasn't been a more prominent topic on this thread than it has.  IMO, it's absolutely dead-on accurate.  Nobody (unless they want to sabotage their career just to be a martyr) is going to wait until the last minute to switch, and most will probably find similar results to Petterson.

Originally Posted by bplewis24

I've never used the range to dial in my yardages.  One, because a lot of ranges move their range boxes every week, while the yardage markers never move.  And two, because a lot of ranges use practice balls that aren't indicative of how far you can hit the ball you play with.

For GPS, that's all I need (a fixed point that it knows about).  I click on my starting point and my ending point, and that's that.  I have no doubt that if a laser hits the intended target, it will be more accurate, but some are better than others at picking up targets and letting you know which target it has picked up.  Also, I imagine it's only better by a handful of yards, which for measuring driving distance, isn't all that important to me.  I generally round my driving distances up/down to the nearest multiple of 5.

Oh yeah, ban anchored putters!!!

Originally Posted by Rulesman

A novel idea. It might ruffle a few feathers though.

I think a laser would be plenty accurate to measure a tee shot.  Just stand at your ball, wait until the next group is on the tee box waiting patiently for you to hit, and take some time to bounce your laser off of them to measure the distance.  They probably won't mind waiting.

As for banning anchored putters, I don't think they'll ever do it.  There's no proof that there's any advantage.  Oh...and the equipment manufacturers would sue if they did.  Oh...and everyone would quit golf and all the golf courses would go broke.

That's all the idiotic comments I can think of off the top of my head.