Do you have to be good to use lasers?

[BuckeyeNut]

Every golfer will benefit from knowing the distance to the target.....and how far they hit their clubs.

[kleraudio]

Every golfer will benefit from knowing the distance to the target.....and how far they hit their clubs.

With that said is there much benefit to a laser over a 2 dollar gps app? Besides ungodly phone battery drain. I'd like to know distance to water and bunkers etc off the tee but is it worth that much more to have that info?

[mailman]

I guess the value comes in what you place upon it. Id like a laser range finder (and would never turn one down if one was offered to me for free :) ) but don't have a need to splash out nearly £300 for one at the moment and am happy with my Garmin GPS which gives me distances instantly.

Regards

Mailman

[kleraudio]

I understand that. I don't either but they're offering 6 months no payments no interest. Makes it VERY affordable :)

[late347]

Why wouldn't you have known the distance to the tree? The Garmin GPS I have allows me to get a distance to anywhere I touch on the screen so I don't see how this is an issue to you?

I think at the end of the day it just comes down to preference. I enjoy the GPS, while others enjoy the LRF.

But as I said earlier, at my level it really doesn't matter what I use as the differences between devices makes no difference st all to my score :)

Regards

Mailman

Commercial access GPS are more inaccurate. Because, military and restricted access GPS technology is used for smart bombs

[flopster]

I understand that. I don't either but they're offering 6 months no payments no interest. Makes it VERY affordable :)

For 6 months then "WHAM", you do realize if you do not pay the balance in full before 6 months they then get to charge all that interest, if you don't have the cash to plunk down for one of these now then you will be better off waiting unless you are 100% sure your going to pay it.

[kleraudio]

Definitely sure I'll pay for it.  I'm not new at this game.  I just like taking advantage of offers like this.  No interest is where it's at :)

I've always paid em before the term period, hell i'll pay it within 2 months.  Just nice to not pay it in one lump sum.

[kleraudio]

Well screw it, I've always wanted one so why not?  Just ordered it :)  Pretty excited now!

[mailman]

Commercial access GPS are more inaccurate. Because, military and restricted access GPS technology is used for smart bombs :smartass:

That hasn't been the case for nearly 15 years now. Regards Mailman

[David in FL]

That hasn't been the case for nearly 15 years now.

Regards

Mailman

Absolutely right.

They're predicting one meter accuracy in the near future.  Amazing.....!

[mailman]

Hopefully by then my game will benefit from such accuracy :) Regards Mailman

[kleraudio]

So I've played 2 rounds with my Tour v3 and absolutely LOVE it.  Super fast at acquiring pins and I've shaved strokes off my final score.  Pin high so many times.  4 looks at birdie yesterday.  (most I've ever had!)  This thing is paying for itself! :)

[Pretzel]

So I've played 2 rounds with my Tour v3 and absolutely LOVE it.  Super fast at acquiring pins and I've shaved strokes off my final score.  Pin high so many times.  4 looks at birdie yesterday.  (most I've ever had!)  This thing is paying for itself! :)

My favorite part of a laser over a GPS is being able to use it for more than just distance to the center of the green. I can use it to find out how far it is to the lip of a bunker, or how far to carry an obstacle, or how far to drive it through the fairway. I'm sure some GPS devices may have a couple of these features on them, but I just find them to be overall less versatile.

Plus, you can use a laser rangefinder for hunting as well as golfing.

[COBRAboy]

I recently got a v3 and first round with it I loved it . And my dad shot his best game in maybe 5 years. It's pricy but I would totally recommend it

[Zeph]

No, you don't. Since getting mine, I'm never leaving it out of my bag. Ran out of batteries once and had to play a few rounds without it. That made me realize how useful it is, and how much faster I can play. No need to study the course guide, look for distance markers and walk off distances. Also very useful to check distances to clear bunkers, creeks, trees, hazards etc.

A high handicapper may not get as much out of it as a mid to low, but if you want to lower your scores and find it a good investment, I say go for it. Of all the golf related stuff out there, a rangefinder is definitely one of the more useful tools.

[Seniorhacker]

I agree Zeph and I keep 2 spare batteries in my golf bag. Although I am happy at how long the battery lasts, not hard on them at all.

[Topper]

IMO, the answer is "maybe."

I generally regard lasers as being for low handicappers who really benefit from the accuracy because their ball-striking is consistent.  For most mid/high handicappers (myself included), a gps is more than accurate....most of the time....especially since many devices provide layup and hazard distances as well as to the green.  I can "fine tune" my club selection based on pin position relative to the center.

Your question leads me to one of my own relative to GPS database accuracy which is relevant to the gps vs laser discussion.  I use a gps device based on the iGolf database and it periodically has holes that are significantly off.  Not all the time, but enough that I have to be aware of the possibility.  How many different gps databases are there and is anyone aware of any independent evaluation of gps database (not device) accuracy?

[cfritchie]

I've found I now use two methods and when done correctly is pretty quick, I use the Busnell to tell me exact distance to the pin. My first look is at the app on my phone that tells me distances to front, middle and back, also it tells me distances to hazards and wide areas of the fairway. Having this knowledge I never walk around the course looking for a sprinkler head. I can make all the decisions right from my ball very quickly.