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Where can you get Yardage Books?

Resonance

Well-Known Member
Jul 7, 2009
6
0
Hi everybody

I hope this is the right place to ask this question. A yardage book would be part of your equipment right? =D

I'm relatively new to the game and began watching golf on tv in the last few months. I started wondering where the pros get their yardage books. Do the caddies make it themselves or are they provided by a common source like the tour and the player/caddy add to the yardage book. I follow Camillo on twitter and a while back he posted a picture of his yardage book and all the numbers and the diagram was printed not drawn on.

Im just wondering because
1) Just interested in how these things work on tour
2) Want to see where I can get a yardage book for golf courses in my area

Thanks
 

fisher

Well-Known Member
Nov 16, 2008
1,263
0
I have made my own detailed printed yardage books for a couple of courses that I play regularly. How I do it is I go to bing.com and find the course on their maps. The areal photography is awesome on that site. Use the birds eye view and the rotate features to get a good image of the green on my computer screen. Then I use the PrtScn key to bring the image into paint and save it. Then I open up the image in photoshop to further manipulate and enhance the image. Once I have the images for all the holes I bring them into Word and make a book out of them which I print on cardstock and velobind. Once on the course I map the breaks on the greens and make notes which I add to later revisions of the book. Time consuming but worthwhile winter project.

I primarily use the book to help me aim my approach shots so I know what the ball is likely to do when it lands on the green and to remind myself hole by hole what to avoid.
 

nututhugame

Winter Sucks!
Supporting Member
Dec 29, 2008
4,939
1,351
Southeast Wisconsin
Country
United States United States
I have made my own detailed printed yardage books for a couple of courses that I play regularly. How I do it is I go to bing.com and find the course on their maps. The areal photography is awesome on that site. Use the birds eye view and the rotate features to get a good image of the green on my computer screen. Then I use the PrtScn key to bring the image into paint and save it. Then I open up the image in photoshop to further manipulate and enhance the image. Once I have the images for all the holes I bring them into Word and make a book out of them which I print on cardstock and velobind. Once on the course I map the breaks on the greens and make notes which I add to later revisions of the book. Time consuming but worthwhile winter project.

I primarily use the book to help me aim my approach shots so I know what the ball is likely to do when it lands on the green and to remind myself hole by hole what to avoid.

C'mon Fisher, we all know you don't hit any greens. :laugh:
 

fisher

Well-Known Member
Nov 16, 2008
1,263
0
Here is a screen shot from one of the books I made using the method described above. As you can see the Bing.com maps are very useful. For this course I also grabbed hole by hole pictures off of the club's website.

aimg.photobucket.com_albums_v456_mako224_yardage.jpg
 

nututhugame

Winter Sucks!
Supporting Member
Dec 29, 2008
4,939
1,351
Southeast Wisconsin
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United States United States
Yeah, that's just not right. Why not throw a little pond in there too?

Funny you should say that cause after recent rains my home course (which has fw and greenside bunkers on EVERY hole) had ponds in every one of them. Actually not too funny.......... sucked for over a week.

Fisher, that is actually pretty damn cool. Someday when my game warrants all that I plan to steal your idea or something very similar. One question though, how well do you play on courses you've never played -vs- the ones you know and have done this for?
 

fisher

Well-Known Member
Nov 16, 2008
1,263
0
Funny you should say that cause after recent rains my home course (which has fw and greenside bunkers on EVERY hole) had ponds in every one of them. Actually not too funny.......... sucked for over a week.

Fisher, that is actually pretty damn cool. Someday when my game warrants all that I plan to steal your idea or something very similar. One question though, how well do you play on courses you've never played -vs- the ones you know and have done this for?

I figure using the yardage book saves me 2 or 3 strokes per round. I use it as a course management tool basically to tell myself when to attack a pin and when not to, which side of the pin to aim at and what trouble is where my likely misses will be. Before I had a gps the book was a lot more important...back then it was saving at least 5 strokes per round as I was using the book for yardage and club selection.

As for the tree in the bunker, I believe the bunker has grown over the years so that the tree is now in the bunker. Tom Fazio redesigned this course back in the 80s. That tree actually makes this hole much more difficult forcing you to shape shots to a right side pin position. From the right side rough that tree is a real problem and even the right side of the fairway can be a problem depending on pin position and your favored shot shape.
 

buykrux

Well-Known Member
May 15, 2009
240
0
i use to have one that the courses pro shop gives out
make little notes as to what clubs to hit where on whichs holes
for example we have one par 4 thats 260 in the air to clear the ditch in the middle, 250 on the right with and 270 on the left
240 to lay up to the ditch and 225 to the 150
tees front to middle driver will get me inside 100 yards providing i hit it straight
tees in the back, 3 iron will get to 150
never hit a 3 or hybrid from upfront as i hit the bridge and flew a few into the ditch

another hole is a dogleg par 5, 220 yards out theres a HUGE down then same size slope back up to the green and its a dogleg left
3 iron will roll you to 200 yards out but the green isnt reachable due to the trees
driver is too far and youll go threw the fairway into the ditch along the right side
best bet is to lay up at the top of the hill, hit a 9 or wedge then another wedge

but after playing the same course so many times you dont need those notes any more unless in a tourny to get your game management in check and dont do stupid things
the skins game tends to make you play like an idiot :(
 

MGP

Clubmaking Ho
Supporting Member
Apr 21, 2007
1,996
24
seriously, who uses the PaperClip Word Assistant guy....:ugly25:

Only people who don't know how to turn it off!!

:laugh:

On a more serious note... the yardage book thing is why I have a Skycaddie. It does everything a yardage book does except map green contours. That may be a winter project for me.
 

Wi-Golfer

Golfer on hiatus.
Supporting Member
Jul 25, 2007
8,147
1,474
Madison, Wi
Country
United States United States
That's the first time i've seen a tree IN a bunker.


My home course has one on the 1st hole, big bunker maybe 180 yds out on the right & has a monster oak tree right in the middle of it. Have only been in that bunker once but have hit that tree dozens of times.
 

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