Distance/actual distance illegal?

[Strömsborg]

My last range finder, a Nikon Laser 800s, went AWOL so I'm in the market for a new one, or rather a used one.

I prefer Nikon but can't seem to find another 800S, I think they first came out in 2011, so I'm looking at other models built for hunting, rugged and waterproof. Problem is the hunting models have two modes. One for horizontal distance to the target and one for actual distance, which means that if the target are uphill or downhill you get a slightly longer read.

Now, is that illegal for golf?

 

Edit:

Actually I think it's the other way around. If your target is above or below you the horizontal distance mode gives the shorter, horizontal distance. For example, pointing the range finder upwards and measuring at a tree top in horizontal mode gives the distance to the tree trunk. Not useful for golf.

[ckay]

You can have Slope feature on your rangefinder, but it is not legal for tournament play or GHIN posting. I would look at your personal golf experiences and make the call. Golf doesn't have to be about maintaining handicaps and playing tournaments. I post GHIN and try to play a few tournaments a year so I don't invest in that feature, but don't see why you shouldn't if your golf enjoyment does not entail maintaining an active GHIN or playing events.

[davep043]

> @"Strömsborg" said:

> My last range finder, a Nikon Laser 800s, went AWOL so I'm in the market for a new one, or rather a used one.

> I prefer Nikon but can't seem to find another 800S, I think they first came out in 2011, so I'm looking at other models built for hunting, rugged and waterproof. Problem is the hunting models have two modes. One for horizontal distance to the target and one for actual distance, which means that if the target are uphill or downhill you get a slightly longer read.

> Now, is that illegal for golf?

>

> Edit:

> Actually I think it's the other way around. If your target is above or below you the horizontal distance mode gives the shorter, horizontal distance. For example, pointing the range finder upwards and measuring at a tree top in horizontal mode gives the distance to the tree trunk. Not useful for golf.

 

As I understand the Rules (4.3a), you are allowed to **use** a device to get distance information. You are NOT allowed to get elevation change information. If the device takes a measured distance, as you say on an angle, and calculates something (actual horizontal distance) from that based on the sight angle, I'd say that in essence is using elevation change, so would not be legal to use. Note that the rule prohibits **using** a device to get elevation change, it doesn't say that the device must not be capable of getting that information. So if you turn that off, and use only the direct distance, you're legal.

 

As an aside, very few shots in golf are steeply uphill or downhill enough to make much difference between true distance and horizontal distance. Take a 133 yard shot (400 feet, measured horizontally) that is 40 feet uphill. that's a 10% grade, which is pretty dang steep. Your laser would measure 134 yards to the flag, when its 133 yards horizontal.

[Strömsborg]

> @ckay said:

> You can have Slope feature on your rangefinder, but it is not legal for tournament play or GHIN posting. I would look at your personal golf experiences and make the call. Golf doesn't have to be about maintaining handicaps and playing tournaments. I post GHIN and try to play a few tournaments a year so I don't invest in that feature, but don't see why you shouldn't if your golf enjoyment does not entail maintaining an active GHIN or playing events.

 

But this isn't slope feature as we golfers know it. It doesn't show slope in % or feet/yards, what it does is calculate what the distance would be to an object if it was exactly level with the range finder. As davep043 was on to the difference is negligeble. If you have a flag at 150 yards and 10 yards uphill, the range finder shows 150 yards with horizontal distance off. Turn it on and it shows 149.67 yards (actual numbers!).

If you measured 150/149.67 yards and were Rainman you might get something useful out ot it but the rest of us might just as well turn it off.

[davep043]

> @"Strömsborg" said:

> > @ckay said:

> > You can have Slope feature on your rangefinder, but it is not legal for tournament play or GHIN posting. I would look at your personal golf experiences and make the call. Golf doesn't have to be about maintaining handicaps and playing tournaments. I post GHIN and try to play a few tournaments a year so I don't invest in that feature, but don't see why you shouldn't if your golf enjoyment does not entail maintaining an active GHIN or playing events.

>

> **But this isn't slope feature as we golfers know it**. It doesn't show slope in % or feet/yards, what it does is calculate what the distance would be to an object if it was exactly level with the range finder. As davep043 was on to the difference is negligeble. If you have a flag at 150 yards and 10 yards uphill, the range finder shows 150 yards with horizontal distance off. Turn it on and it shows 149.67 yards (actual numbers!).

> If you measured 150/149.67 yards and were Rainman you might get something useful out ot it but the rest of us might just as well turn it off.

 

It doesn't matter if this is a slope feature as we understand it, or whether the information is really useful. As you have described it, this unit takes a specific real distance (eyeball to flag, for a golfer). It also takes a measurement of slope, and uses that to calculate a different distance (horizontal component of distance to flag). I believe that is not allowed under the rules. the first, the real distance is allowed, but the second calculated distance is not. If you can turn off the calculation feature, you can be OK.

 

And for @ckay , you're allowed to have the slope feature, you're simply not allowed to use it. I could see a competition having an additional requirement that would disallow any device that has the capacity to measure slope, but that's not the way 4.3a reads.

[ckay]

> @davep043 said:

 

> And for @ckay , you're allowed to have the slope feature, you're simply not allowed to use it. I could see a competition having an additional requirement that would disallow any device that has the capacity to measure slope, but that's not the way 4.3a reads.

Yes I know that, didn't know I had to actually type out every specific of the rule.

 

[davep043]

> @ckay said:

 

> Yes I know that, didn't know I had to actually type out every specific of the rule.

>

My apologies, but the bold bit made me think you were referring to the rangefinder being not acceptable, rather than the use of the Slope feature. At one time, that's what the approved local rule said, you couldn't use a device that had the ability to measure slope. I think that wording was changed in the 2016 version of the Rules.

 

> @ckay said:

> You can have Slope feature on your rangefinder, but **it is not legal for tournament play** or GHIN posting. I would look at your personal golf experiences and make the call. Golf doesn't have to be about maintaining handicaps and playing tournaments. I post GHIN and try to play a few tournaments a year so I don't invest in that feature, but don't see why you shouldn't if your golf enjoyment does not entail maintaining an active GHIN or playing events.