Rangefinders are being legalized, which one to buy?

[Augster]

Here is the link to Van Sickel's article:

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/200...olf/index.html

It seems the R&A has finally come off its high horse and is finally allowing these.

Anyone have any that work real well? I think I read a thread a couple weeks back that mention a few. Like, "buy the hunter's version".

Since it seems these will be legal for 2006, which is the best for the price?

Thanks!

[Kilted Arab]

Oh please no...

So instead of someone looking at a fairway marker or a course guide, courses will be clogged with techno geeks trying to take a steady aim with a range finder? "Hey man, hold steady y'all, I need to take a distance reading...oh heck, lost it...was that 250 yards or 252...heck, this could screw my whole round...maybe if I lie on the ground..."

Spare us.

I believe it was Bobby Jones who said something like "play the shot, not the yardage".

What next? Golf carts with wind vanes on them and on-board calculators determining wind speed variance allowing for the green slope, precipitation over the previous three weeks and whether the greens were watered this morning?

[Augster]

1/2 full eh?

I see it as grab it from my bag, shoot one of the guys putting up ahead, grab my club. Easy.

Instead of walking around wondering where the hell the yardage marker is, I just shoot the distance.

BTW, Bushnell has the 1500 that will allow you to take the slope into consideration for your shot. It's almost $500 though. Yikes.

[Kilted Arab]

Originally Posted by Augster

I see it as grab it from my bag, shoot one of the guys putting up ahead, grab my club. Easy.

American tourist: "Hey y'all good buddies, it's great to be at St Andrews! My Bushnell Pro V1 Mk4 laserrangesooperfinder tells me it's 141.5yds to the flag so I'll take me my lil ole 7 iron. Aw gee heck dangnabit it must be busted i'm in that lil ole gorse bush 30 yards thru the green".

Scottish Caddy: "Aye, weel, Mister Wilderbeast III, ah wiz trying tae tell ye aboot the wee breeze..."

American tourist: "Aw heck, I just shoot the distance"

[Loop]

KA, I have a laser bushnell range finder, and it's quite useful.
Yardage markers are never accurate, and can be off to 10-20 yards.
And people also get cheated by optical illusions.
And imagine a 50 yard long green....

[Kilted Arab]

Originally Posted by Loop

And people also get cheated by optical illusions.
And imagine a 50 yard long green....

Those are the very elements that bring skill and judgment more into the game. And, to me, they are essential elements. Technology, to me, is ruining the game by removing the need of the player to make on-course decisions about distance.

As for optical illusions, thats part of the art of the course designer. Built into the course to make it more difficult, to catch out the unwary. Hey, but hell to that, eh? Let's run roughshod over the great design - we can cheat that with a rangefinder! Well, whoop-de-whoo, aint we clever?

I don't need to imagine 50 yard greens..! You must visit St Andrews...

[IrishGolfer]

We may need a rangefinder to see how far Kilted is up on his High Horse about this topic.

I do agree "play the shot, not the yardage", especially on links golf. Knowing that you have 132.5 yards into a gale doesn't really help much when it comes to club selection.

Having said that I'm all for improving the speed of the game. Playas tend to slow down pacing out yardages from the 150 yard marker or even trying to find points of reference (ie the marker) from the rough. Anything that gets them a quick yardage so that they can go ahead and hit is good by me.

I can't see myself getting one, but I have an interest to see where all this technology goes.

[Slingblade61]

The pros have no such yardage restrictions.
Days before a tourney the caddies are out on the course (measuring wheel in hand sometimes) marking yardages, obstructions and whatall......the pro wastes no time hunting up sprinkler heads and trying to determine whether or not they are accurate.

Sky caddie is an interesting device. GPS, no fiddling with lasers.

Technology may help you find the correct yardage but you still have to hit the shot.

[P_102]

How many that want to know the EXACT yardage are capable of hitting each iron (or fairway wood) the same distance every time? Give me the yardage to the center of the green (or to clear a hazard) and if the pin is front or back I'll adjust a bit....no way I can be accurate enough to need to know down to the .5 yard range.

That said, I've been told the Sky Caddie is very accurate using GPS. Expensive though.

P_102

[DaveE]

Originally Posted by Kilted Arab

What next? Golf carts with wind vanes on them and on-board calculators determining wind speed variance allowing for the green slope, precipitation over the previous three weeks and whether the greens were watered this morning?

There were plenty of people who thought steel and then grahite shafts would ruin the game. And there are plenty now who believe the new hotter balls and big drivers make the game too easy. But we all use them anyway.

Giving the average Joe the same advantage the pros have with their caddies won't ruin the game. It'll just remind us that we still can't hit green even when we know the exact yardage.

[ualtim]

Originally Posted by Augster

BTW, Bushnell has the 1500 that will allow you to take the slope into consideration for your shot. It's almost $500 though. Yikes.

I am not sure about getting the 1500 as I if I recall correctly from a different article I read that only distance finding devices will be allowed at the discretion of the tournement committee and such devices that determine slope and other calculations are still banned.

As far as prices go, I got a great deal on a Bushnell Yardage Pro Tour back in the spring for around $200 at Amazon.com. Best price I could find. Thought about the hunting ones, but when I found the deal at Amazon for a golf one at a similar price, I pulled the trigger.

FYI, I have found yardage markers to be a lot further off than I ever expected now that I have a laser. GPS is even better, but still a bit pricey at this time. Definitely get one if you can afford it.

[Don]

I'm the one that posted you should check out the Hunting versions. I've talked to the Bushnell people, and the hunting version are pretty much the same as the golf versions, only cheaper. Bushnell didn't have a good reason for this, but I figure it's because hunters have been using laser range finders for a lot longer and the prices have come down. And we all know that golfers pay too much for things they could get in the hardware store for a lot less. Like those small nylon brushes they sell to golfer to clean the grooves. They sell in a golf shop for $3.00 or some such nonsense, you can buy one at Harbor Freight for 50 cents. If you really want a laser, go to the Bushnell website and check out the specs for the golf and hunting versions, and pick the one that has the features you want and at the price you are willing to pay. I've got a Bushnell Yardage Pro 500, works fine, and I paid $150 on sale at Gart Sports, in the hunting department. It will read a flag to 175-200 yards, depending on the wind. If the flag in hanging straight down, no wind. it's on the 175 yard end of that range. Can read the yardage to a tree or bunker to well over 500 yards. If you need more distance than that, you'll have to spend more money.

Some one mentioned that knowing it's 132.5 yards in a gale force wind doesn't help much. Well, if you "THINK IT'S 95 YARDS, AND IT'S REALLY 132.5", what good would it do to have the right club for the conditions, if you don't know the correct yardage? Sorry guy, it works both ways. You have to know the yardage, and you have to know how to play the shot with the wind conditions. You can play the perfect shot for what you THINK is 95 yards, but you'll still be off some 40 yards if it's really 132.

P 102: You're correct, I can't hit my irons well enough to need the yardage down to .5 yards, but I can hit them well enough to make use of knowing the yardage to within 5 yards. And the laser will give me the yardage I need to carry the bunker guarding the front of the green, within 1 yard. And on some holes, you can't see the pin placement on the green, you can't tell if it's front or back. Not from 180 yards out, to a raised green when you can't see the cup. Depending on your yardage gap between clubs, knowing the exact yardage, can mean hitting the correct club from 165 yards, be that a 8 iron or a 7 iron for you. For me, if it's 150, I hit 9 iron, if it's 157, I choke down on my 8 iron. I can make use of that knowledge. If someone else can't, then they might not want to spend the money on a laser rangefinder. But it's their choice, not mine or your's. I have a laser rangefinder, and I use it on every hole, and when I play in a foursome, it's not long before the others are asking me for the yardage on their ball. Happens all the time. And it is faster than lookiing for the sprinker head, and it's to the flag, not the center of the green, so it's more usefull for those that aim for the flag, not the center of the green. But, that's just my experience with using one for the last year. You can make your own choice.

[obagain]

I have a bushnell. If you are going to buy one be prepared to pay $200 +. The cheaper ones are just that.

I very rarely use mine anymore, it was a novilty. If I am playing a tourney and get a practice round in I will use it when the distance and what I see don't match up. Remember that the distance from the marker is not a straight line to the green but follows the fairway.

[Silver]

why is it that you don't use it anymore ob? a novelty is one thing, but if it's still helpful...? do you just use the markers instead?

[Augster]

I went to Wal-mart and bought the Yardage Pro they had for $180. I'm looking forward to seeing how far off the markers are at the range.

I can see how it'll become a "novelty". If you play the same course a lot, you won't need it as much I'm sure.

I think it'll help me immensely inside 100 yards. I can't eyeball the difference between a 30 yard chip, and a 50 yard chip. Pacing it off is TIME-CONSUMING. Especially when I think it's a 50 yard shot, and it's really 75. If I don't pace it off, I hit it 50 and am pissed I'm 60 feet away on a well hit shot. If I do pace it off, I end up walking an extra 150 yards and take the time to do it. So I don't usually walk it off, and I usually play like shit.

Now I'll be able to shoot the front of the green, and the stick, and hit the shot. I have all the shots, 30, 40, 50, 60, 75, 90, but I just can't SEE the yardage. I know how far those shots go because I pace them off when I practice. Unfortunately, it's quite a bother and wastes a bunch of time to pace it off while playing.

Now when I have a 40 yard flop over a bunker, I'll be able to shoot the top of the bunker, and the flag, and know how far it has to carry, and how far I have between dumping it in the hazard and the flag. Sometimes on those, it looks like you have 5 yards when, if you walked up there, you have upwards of 20 between them.

I will finally know how far I actually hit shots, and the device I measured that yardage with will be doing the same measurements out on the course. It really should speed up and simplify the game. At the range, if it's 100 yards to the stick with the laser, and you hit 10, 20, 50 balls to that stick and get a feel for the exact yardage, when you step on the course and the same laser reading says 100 yards, I can't imagine it not giving you more confidence.

End of the day though, you still have to take the club back.