Preference for Judging Distance?

[TarDawg]

I've played several courses recently that don't have yardage markers other than the 100 yard maker/stake. I've been debating on getting a GPS. But everytime I play a course that has GPS on the cart I definately use it. But at the same time i love the guessing part and seeing how right/wrong I was. I'm just so conflicted. Maybe i'll get a GPS but set it up to only give me measurements in Metric since I have no idea how long a Metre is :) Best of both worlds right there!

[Pinseeker81]

I just kind of guess at it. My course only has yardeges in 3 spots, and I'm never near one.

[DavidFehertysBike]

Course markings, my eyeballs, and gut instinct seem to work for me, so why change it?

[30Below]

I think it really doesn't matter... it's what you get used to. For instance, I personally go by the course markers. When I go to a course with gps carts, I'm always way off with my club choice. Meaning, you get accustom to picking your club based on whatever method you use to judge distance. yeah, my manual judgment is off from actual, but my club choice is consistent and correct. As long as you work on accurate club choices from the 200, 150, 100 and in, you shouldn't need anything else (imo).

-mark

[Kltdefer]

Course markings, my eyeballs, and gut instinct seem to work for me, so why change it?

I would happen to agree with post above.

IMHO, it's important to keep in mind that your precision in which you measurement the distance be tempered by the accuracy of your shot making My golf game is usually very precise but not always accurate I have been on courses that with GPS in the carts which is nice to provide an overview of the hole with distances to certain features.

[mikelaw]

Course markings, walking yardages off and seeing/knowing where the pins are...are all fine by me. :)

[DJYoshi]

Course markings, walking yardages off and seeing/knowing where the pins are...are all fine by me. :)

I tend to shoot better when I have GPS

[i-Guy]

I have both but I did not buy them for the purpose of judging how far I hit a club but how far it is to the target...I bought the range finder and was not real happy with it so I bought a Skycaddie and use it while playing...I do find value in the range finder when practicing on the driving range for knowing how far a target is so I know what club to hit...However, I have been working on a swing change for about 4 months now and my yardages have changed so recently I started using my Skycaddie on the golf course to mark my yardages hit with each club and I am keeping a record of it to figure out my average yardage. I figure once I have a couple of clubs honed in I can calculate the yardgae for the rest of my clubs by figuring out the gap per degree of loft...kind of like this website has spelled out at http://home.earthlink.net/~maxhamt/Yardage.htm

[Long_Ball_Bogey]

I have a rangefinder. Bushnell 1500 Tournament Edition--works great for those situations where no course markers are available & takes the guesswork out of club selection. I play many different courses, so local knowledge sometimes isn't there. -LBB

[mphsglf]

I was given a skycaddie and find it very helpful. While I got along just fine using course markings I find gps helpful as there are not very many markings in the rough (which is where I tend to find myself). I think a laser would serve the same purpose but I am not really at the point where I am aiming at flags. I've got more of a get it on the green type of game and for that the front/middle/back yardages provided by gps work just fine.

[La Costa Golfer]

All the above...as each provide valuable and varied information. For precise readings...it has to be rangefinders as it provides the most accurate measurements (gps might be off because how the course was sampled) Stakes the least accurate as if you are off-center from the fairway...it is no longer accurate...especially on dogleg holes.

I personally carry a rangefinder...which is especially helpful if you are near or in the rough. Will provide a more accurate reading of distance not only of the green...but where you can go into 'scan mode' where you can survey the various points of interest (front/back of green...distance to traps and to clear...etc) that the GPS or stakes will not provide.

[beung]

I wish I had a caddie, then they can just tell me the distance :P

I have a lazer range finder, I went with lazer because I like the idea of it telling the distance to anything I can get a sight line on.

I like knowing how far a fairway runs out when there is a dogleg or how far something is like a bunker or water.

There are only two downsides to them, one is the size, its a little on the big side and the other is that even if it's accurate to 1 inch, you still have to make the shot

[CG031]

I am fine with course markings generally. If I think I'm about 120 out I'll check the pin placement and wind and then can make a pretty good guess on what club to hit...I am usually pretty good at that because I play in a lot of tournaments and matches because I'm in High School so I really have to be good at judging my distances and "feeling" them inside of 100 yards.

[HansMoleman]

I think those rangefinders are pretty sweet, but I think a GPS is just over doing it. Distance to the pin is all I need really.

Then again, I am at the point of my game where I am still trying to "feel" the distance when I swing specific clubs. So maybe they wont be so useful at this time.

[mkrolewski]

I have a GolfGuru gps. Really love it.

Most of the courses are really under marked -- 200, 150, 100 at most. Worse yet, I have seen the only markers off by 25 yds. Given distance right or left of any given marker, I am often guessing.

I have a hard time judging distances. Is is 50, 55, 60 yds to the pin?

With the gps, a glance at the device and I have distance several points on the green; with a little math, I know what to club to pick.

Similarly, it helps track distances. Rather than estimating, I get good information on the distances I am hitting clubs using the gps.



I still have to hit the ball, and pick a spot, etc.

[Fourputt]

gogolfing . . . I would say both have their advantages. With the SkyCaddie you have to download or delete the courses (holds max of 10) but with the V2 you can play anywhere at any time. What happens with the V2 when you don't have line of sight to the pin . . . with the SkyCaddie that's no problem, you can be down in a gully, or behind mounds or trees, you always can get accurate distance. Also SkyCaddie can be mounted on cart or push cart and yardage can be seen at a glimpse, no need to pull out the V2, look, focus, etc. so it's easier to use.

The trouble with a GPS unit is that it is limited to what you put in it. Most only hold 10 courses at a time, and Sky Caddy requires that you download directly into the unit... you can't even save the courses on a PC or SD card. So you take a golf trip, and after you get there, your buddies decide to play a couple of different courses than planned... you now have a $300 or $400 paper weight.

My Bushnell Pinseeker Tour V2 rangefinder is still good regardless. I've played courses with little or no yardage markings, and I've also played them where the markings are way off. And I'm not tied to a computer with an internet connection, I don't pay a subscription fee, and one battery will last an entire season, no changing or constant recharging. No startup time either, just aim it at the target, press the button and sweep across the flag or whatever other target you're after. The Pinseeker technology eliminates the background clutter and gives you the closest target every time. Or turn off the Pinseeker feature to deliberately scan for an intermediate target. I can read a tree (any tree, not just one the programmer thought might be important) from more than 400 yards away (handy for determining layup distances if your next shot has to be over that tree). I've used both types, and I'll take the laser over a GPS any day. I can live with the rare times when I don't have line of sight to a desired target. I still have a good sense of distance, and on a course that is properly marked, I can get by if necessary on the course markings just fine. But it's usually faster to to use the laser than to find a marker and pace it off. These days it's all about pace of play, and both the GPS and the laser are faster than pacing. And regardless of whether you actually think you need accurate information, having the info lets me make a much more confident swing because I know that I have the right club in my hands.... no inner doubts to creep into my swing. As to legality, if the course or club or tournament has invoked the Local Rule for measuring devices, then they are completely legal as long as they only measure distance , not slope or wind, etc. After all, information about distance has always been considered public knowledge, so how it's obtained shouldn't be a factor. And if one person in the group has a measuring device, all can use the information obtained with it without penalty. Although the PGA Tour and other major tournaments don't allow the use during any competition round, the caddies are all out there before the tournament begins with their Pinseekers checking and verifying the yardage books, adding any features that they think their player might need. To those who are such "traditionalists" that you look down your noses at those of us who choose to avail ourselves of this technology, are you still using hickory shafted clubs? Or a persimmon driver? Gutta percha ball?

[joshtpa]

I am the exact opposite as you. I started out with the laser and went to GPS. 10 courses at a time is plenty for me. It gives me distances without line of sight which my laser could not do. But in the end, the two biggest issues for me with the laser were quite simple. Number 1: I didnt want to have to pick the thing up each time and have to focus on an object, everytime I wanted to hit. It got to be a pain. Number 2: I didnt want to have to deal with being able to focus on a pin and mistakingly get a tree 10yds behind it or anything else. I had a pinseeker, and it was still a pain getting it right on the flag.

With the GPS, all i do is glance down and see my distance, and I am ready to go.

[Lemay427]

Bushnell Yardage Pro works great for me. Getting mutliple yardages for bunkers, front of greens, etc is what I like.