Tournament Do's and Don'ts

[Fourputt]

Originally Posted by wadesworld

Quote:

Originally Posted by bigwave916

It's not the worst $500 I ever spent, but on golf equipment it's a new personal record for "stupid"

It's still useful for casual rounds and perhaps even club tournaments (check with your club pro).  Just can't use it for serious tournaments.

You can't use it for any tournament played under the rules of golf.  In my experience, that includes any club tournament I played in the last 20 odd years.  I've never played anything but a corporate or charity scramble that wasn't played by the rules (that's all of the rules, not just what's convenient).

[Golfingdad]

Originally Posted by Gridiron

Do

Use Google Earth to plan your round.  The measuring tool on Google Earth combined with the satellite imagery allow you to pre-plan what clubs you want to hit to give you preferred yardages into greens.  You can also find your aiming points ahead of time.  For me, this takes a lot of thinking out of the equation as on every tee I know what I want to play and why.  I might have to make small adjustments based on the wind direction/speed for that day but it was so much easier to walk up to the tee and look in my yardage book to see my notes "3 wood at 2nd bunker on the left" know that it was the right club/yardage and just proceed to confidently hit the shot.  A lot less thinking of "how far is that bunker? will I reach it? how far will that leave me to go....3 wood...driver...."

Of course the other part is once you make the plan, stick to it.

Originally Posted by jgreen85

When you say "look at my yardage book", what does your yardage book look like. I took your advice and mapped out my next tournament (this Sunday). I was just going to write the info down on a notecard and stick it in my pocket. Do you have something more than just a list?

Originally Posted by Fourputt

Also a plan has to be dynamic.  You can't make a plan written in stone because golf doesn't work that way.  Even the pros don't hit every shot as planned, and the rest of us certainly don't.  You have to be ready to modify it on the fly.  That is why I prefer my Garmin GPS.  I can get that same info, just as fast, and revise the plan even faster when my tee shot doesn't go anywhere near in the direction of that bunker.   And unlike your book, it's just as effective on a course I've never seen before.

I did this as well.  I agree that the Garmin or Skycaddie GPS would probably be the best option, but I don't have one and I don't really want to spend the money on one right now.  So I'm going old school.  I played a practice round the other day for my Sunday tournament and got one of their colorful yardage books and put some notes on there.  It's a course with a lot of target golf, so I just marked which club to use for tee shots depending on which tee box I'll be playing from on those particular holes.  I also marked a couple of spots to avoid, a couple of lay-up distances, stuff like that.

I was also thinking of throwing a few swing reminders on there.  I am taking lessons and have been working on a lot of different things for the past few months.  When things go awry sometimes its because of something stupid that I forgot to keep focusing on, like "keep your heels planted," or "left shoulder under chin, or "tilt your head," or whatever.  This way if I hit a couple of bad shots, I mean, when I hit a couple of bad shots, maybe I'll be able to turn it around quicker.

I, too, will have my aimpoint chart handy as well.

[turtleback]

Originally Posted by Fourputt

You can't use it for any tournament played under the rules of golf.  In my experience, that includes any club tournament I played in the last 20 odd years.  I've never played anything but a corporate or charity scramble that wasn't played by the rules (that's all of the rules, not just what's convenient).

Can you even use it for a round you intend to post for handicap purposes?  For some reason I thought that if they gave more than distance you couldn't post for handicap.

[Gridiron]

Originally Posted by turtleback

Can you even use it for a round you intend to post for handicap purposes?  For some reason I thought that if they gave more than distance you couldn't post for handicap.

You are correct.  You can't use it for any round you intend to post for handicap purposes.

[Fourputt]

Originally Posted by turtleback

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fourputt

You can't use it for any tournament played under the rules of golf.  In my experience, that includes any club tournament I played in the last 20 odd years.  I've never played anything but a corporate or charity scramble that wasn't played by the rules (that's all of the rules, not just what's convenient).

Can you even use it for a round you intend to post for handicap purposes?  For some reason I thought that if they gave more than distance you couldn't post for handicap.

Technically speaking, that would supposedly result in setting a vanity handicap, since in theory you would score lower that if you used one which was legal.  But it is still not allowed.  What it can be used for is a non handicap practice round to record and take notes as in a yardage book, which can then be used in a competition or for handicap.  Seems like a lot of hassle to me though.  Just get a legal one and be done with it.

[bigwave916]

Originally Posted by wadesworld

It's still useful for casual rounds and perhaps even club tournaments (check with your club pro).  Just can't use it for serious tournaments.

Yeah, I hear ya, but my casual rounds are usually played on courses that I know so well that a rangefinder isn't much use. My purpose for buying the thing was for tournaments on courses I may have never seen before or only played once or twice.

[bigwave916]

Originally Posted by Fourputt

Technically speaking, that would supposedly result in setting a vanity handicap, since in theory you would score lower that if you used one which was legal.  But it is still not allowed.  What it can be used for is a non handicap practice round to record and take notes as in a yardage book, which can then be used in a competition or for handicap.  Seems like a lot of hassle to me though.  Just get a legal one and be done with it.

Yep, that's where I'm at now and my Leupold 4GXi will be on eBay this weekend.

[JasonK88S]

Im actually brand new to the site and actually was thinking about playing in a tournament just to get the feel of competitive high pressure golf and see what its like. Im a pretty high handicapper and have never played a tournament before. Course management is the biggest thing for me IMO. If i can settle down and just execute shots then i think i could shave some strokes. This is all good advice for someone like me btw keep it coming.

[phan52]

Originally Posted by Fourputt

Also a plan has to be dynamic.  You can't make a plan written in stone because golf doesn't work that way.  Even the pros don't hit every shot as planned, and the rest of us certainly don't.  You have to be ready to modify it on the fly.  That is why I prefer my Garmin GPS.  I can get that same info, just as fast, and revise the plan even faster when my tee shot doesn't go anywhere near in the direction of that bunker.   And unlike your book, it's just as effective on a course I've never seen before.

The problem with just getting exact yardage to a pin is that it doesn't tell you the trouble surrounding a particular pin if you are unfamiliar with the course. I suspect that at least a third of tournament pins are sucker pins, maybe more. How many times have you hit a shot pin high to a back pin, only to find yourself with an impossible up-and-down? I'll take a book every time on a course I don't know.

[phan52]

Originally Posted by wadesworld

It's still useful for casual rounds and perhaps even club tournaments (check with your club pro).  Just can't use it for serious tournaments.

14-3/0.5

Local Rule Permitting Use of Distance-Measuring Device

Q. May a Committee, by Local Rule, permit the use of distance-measuring devices?

A. Yes. A Committee may establish a Local Rule allowing players to use devices that measure or gauge distance only (see the Note to Rule 14-3 ). However, the use of a distance-measuring device that is designed to gauge or measure other conditions that might affect a player's play (e.g., gradient, wind speed, temperature, etc) is not permitted regardless of whether such an additional function is used.

In the absence of such a Local Rule, the use of a distance-measuring device would be contrary to Rule 14-3 .

I have yet to play in a tournament over the last two years that didn't allow rangefinders.

[Fourputt]

Originally Posted by phan52

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fourputt

Also a plan has to be dynamic.  You can't make a plan written in stone because golf doesn't work that way.  Even the pros don't hit every shot as planned, and the rest of us certainly don't.  You have to be ready to modify it on the fly.  That is why I prefer my Garmin GPS.  I can get that same info, just as fast, and revise the plan even faster when my tee shot doesn't go anywhere near in the direction of that bunker.   And unlike your book, it's just as effective on a course I've never seen before.

The problem with just getting exact yardage to a pin is that it doesn't tell you the trouble surrounding a particular pin if you are unfamiliar with the course. I suspect that at least a third of tournament pins are sucker pins, maybe more. How many times have you hit a shot pin high to a back pin, only to find yourself with an impossible up-and-down? I'll take a book every time on a course I don't know.

This is a distinct advantage of the way the G5 works.  It shows all hazards and bunkers, many trees and mounds, and helps to make intelligent shot decisions even on unfamiliar courses.  Any feature which isn't assigned a yardage in the software can still be instantly measured just by tapping the screen to bring up the target circle, then moving the target to the feature you want to measure.  The unit will give the distance from your position to the target, and from the target to the flagstick.  The flagstick is also movable as needed.  It is one of the best tools ever for planning a layup to a specific distance.  I've used books, and they are much more cumbersome to use.  Hit a ball very far afield and they become almost useless.  I guess it's a matter of preference, but having used books, lasers, and a couple of different GPS units (including SkyCaddy), I'll take my Garmin over anything else I've seen.

[Gridiron]

Originally Posted by phan52

14-3/0.5

Local Rule Permitting Use of Distance-Measuring Device

Q.May a Committee, by Local Rule, permit the use of distance-measuring devices?

A.Yes. A Committee may establish a Local Rule allowing players to use devices that measure or gauge distance only (see the Note to Rule 14-3). However, the use of a distance-measuring device that is designed to gauge or measure other conditions that might affect a player's play (e.g., gradient, wind speed, temperature, etc) is not permitted regardless of whether such an additional function is used.

In the absence of such a Local Rule, the use of a distance-measuring device would be contrary to Rule 14-3.

I have yet to play in a tournament over the last two years that didn't allow rangefinders.

You missed the point that we were speaking specifically of the GX-4 which also measures slope, so it isn't legal at all.

[phan52]

Originally Posted by Gridiron

You missed the point that we were speaking specifically of the GX-4 which also measures slope, so it isn't legal at all.

Never even heard of it. All I've used is rangefinders.

[phan52]

Originally Posted by Fourputt

This is a distinct advantage of the way the G5 works.  It shows all hazards and bunkers, many trees and mounds, and helps to make intelligent shot decisions even on unfamiliar courses.  Any feature which isn't assigned a yardage in the software can still be instantly measured just by tapping the screen to bring up the target circle, then moving the target to the feature you want to measure.  The unit will give the distance from your position to the target, and from the target to the flagstick.  The flagstick is also movable as needed.  It is one of the best tools ever for planning a layup to a specific distance.  I've used books, and they are much more cumbersome to use.  Hit a ball very far afield and they become almost useless.  I guess it's a matter of preference, but having used books, lasers, and a couple of different GPS units (including SkyCaddy), I'll take my Garmin over anything else I've seen.

I fully understand how a Garmin wiorks. What it won't show you for instance is slope. If you are looking at a back pin it won't tell you if the green slopes away, or if a front pin is near a false front. Books have that kind of info and it is perfectly legal.Perfect for sucker pins.

[Fourputt]

Originally Posted by phan52

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fourputt

This is a distinct advantage of the way the G5 works.  It shows all hazards and bunkers, many trees and mounds, and helps to make intelligent shot decisions even on unfamiliar courses.  Any feature which isn't assigned a yardage in the software can still be instantly measured just by tapping the screen to bring up the target circle, then moving the target to the feature you want to measure.  The unit will give the distance from your position to the target, and from the target to the flagstick.  The flagstick is also movable as needed.  It is one of the best tools ever for planning a layup to a specific distance.  I've used books, and they are much more cumbersome to use.  Hit a ball very far afield and they become almost useless.  I guess it's a matter of preference, but having used books, lasers, and a couple of different GPS units (including SkyCaddy), I'll take my Garmin over anything else I've seen.

I fully understand how a Garmin wiorks. What it won't show you for instance is slope. If you are looking at a back pin it won't tell you if the green slopes away, or if a front pin is near a false front. Books have that kind of info and it is perfectly legal.Perfect for sucker pins.

One more comment, then I'll let it go.  Not all courses offer that option.  I've only ever played 2 or 3 courses where you could buy a book, and I'm not that worried about it to try and make my own.   I played a lot of unfamiliar courses back in the 80's with no more information than the scorecard and my eyes.  Sometimes that leads to trouble, but that's golf.

Such things as yardage books didn't exist for 300 years, but players still managed to muddle through.  Sometimes I think we've gotten too serious about the gear and lost sight of the game, and I'm as guilty of it as anyone.

[bigwave916]

Originally Posted by Fourputt

One more comment, then I'll let it go.  Not all courses offer that option.  I've only ever played 2 or 3 courses where you could buy a book, and I'm not that worried about it to try and make my own.   I played a lot of unfamiliar courses back in the 80's with no more information than the scorecard and my eyes.  Sometimes that leads to trouble, but that's golf.

Such things as yardage books didn't exist for 300 years, but players still managed to muddle through.  Sometimes I think we've gotten too serious about the gear and lost sight of the game, and I'm as guilty of it as anyone.

Amen to that.

I started playing in the early 70s and I guess I'd forgotten the fact that we didn't have yardage books back then. Come to think of it, I can only remember having the 150 markers with no other stakes or markers. Yardages on sprinkler heads wasn't in use either if I remember correctly.

Now I remember how I learned to judge distances, and how to recognize elevation changes and why the architect put bunkers where he put them.

[JasonK88S]

Originally Posted by bigwave916

Amen to that.

I started playing in the early 70s and I guess I'd forgotten the fact that we didn't have yardage books back then. Come to think of it, I can only remember having the 150 markers with no other stakes or markers. Yardages on sprinkler heads wasn't in use either if I remember correctly.

Now I remember how I learned to judge distances, and how to recognize elevation changes and why the architect put bunkers where he put them.

I was just thinking that the other day when i was playing a round at our local course. Bunkers.... I'm guessing these guys spend alot of time judging where to place them because it seems like in some cases they are very hard to miss... or is that just me?

[phan52]

Originally Posted by Fourputt

One more comment, then I'll let it go.  Not all courses offer that option.  I've only ever played 2 or 3 courses where you could buy a book, and I'm not that worried about it to try and make my own.   I played a lot of unfamiliar courses back in the 80's with no more information than the scorecard and my eyes.  Sometimes that leads to trouble, but that's golf.

Such things as yardage books didn't exist for 300 years, but players still managed to muddle through.  Sometimes I think we've gotten too serious about the gear and lost sight of the game, and I'm as guilty of it as anyone.

I can't argue with anything you say, I am talkng strictly about a tournament. Books are legal and they can describe nuances on the greens that rangefinders can't.

Without a book I would prefer to trust my instincts instead of a rangefinder that gives me exact yardage to the pin. I usually try to trust the yardage to the middle of the green on sprinkler heads and gauge visually where the pin is in relation to that. If I can see a forward pin in a narrow area between some bunkers, I may not want to know the yardage to that pin and I'll go past it to the middle. Same with a back pin. If I know it's 145 to the middle, I may not want to know that it's exactly 155 to the pin,which may be dangerously close to some unknown trouble. Plus, when I play in tournaments I usually have a caddie anyway and they should know where all the trouble is.