Do GPS systems and Rangefinders really help?

[Bite Bite]

I'm just curious here guys and girls. There has been a lot of talk lately about GPS systems and Rangefinders and I want to know what people really think. The devices can range from $10 to $600 with the majority of purchased systems settling in around the $350-$400 price range. Are these devices really helping average players though?

 

I for one know my approximate yardages with each club and gauge distance by eye and with the use of on course markers. Even on a course that I have never played before it is still relatively easy to gauge distance and make a club selection. *Hitting it pure and at my target might be a different story though...

 

Are people finding that rangefinders/gps are beneficial while they are playing their home course? Or when they are playing unfamiliar courses? Or both? I am curious to know if people buy these without even knowing their club yardages (my guess is yes).

 

Anyway, tell your rangefinder/gps story ... whether it has helped, or was a waste of money, and anything in between.

[xtremeinaz]

I use a laser range finder and wouldn't want to play without it. It works great not just to get flag yardage but also bunkers and such. Which unless you have a yardage book they don't give you those yardages on sprinklers. The only problem is everyone wants me to give them a read and I end up having to go to everyones balls.

[totally_addicted]

I absolutely love my 1500 Bushnell rangefinder. I now know all of my club distances +/- 1 yard and it speeds up the pace of play. I use it to get exact yardages to flags, hazards, the ends of fairways and estimating lay ups. I wasn't a big fan of the GPS because there were yearly fees and courses had to be constantly downloaded if you play different venues a lot. They didn't have all the courses I was playing so I had to mark them out myself and if they weren't a top rated course they didn't have all of the bunkering info. It just seemed easier to get the info by pointing and shooting. A draw back to the rangefinder maybe needing a steady hand if you get one of the less expensive models.

[WCD]

A laser rangefinder is extemely beneficial for determining distances to hazards and other unmarked landing areas. I prefer the rangefinders to the GPS devices as I like to scan different targets. I also have my yardages dialed in but find that I sometimes misjudge front and rear pin placements on my home course. The device definitely saves me a few strokes every time I play. Well worth it IMO.

[scotton]

GPS and rangefinders don't help that much. Knowing what distance you hit your clubs and knowing the exact yardage to the pin or other parts of a hole is a huge benefit. It's not the tools, it's the knowledge the tools provide. If you can get the same knowledge from a yardage book or a caddy, so much the better.

 

I use my gps outside of 100 yards because it's accurate to within 2 or 3 yards and it gives me an instant number it a glance. The GPS is also handy for marking the distance I have hit a shot.

 

I use my range finder 100 yards and in because I like to know a precise number for my wedge shots and the range finder picks up the flag much better at 100 yards.

 

My rangefinder is the Bushnell Yardage Pro Tour.

GPS is the Sonocaddie.

[The Duck]

If you already knew what distance of each club and your swing never changes and knew the distance to each hazard, green, tree on any course then no it is not useful.

 

Otherwise, I use mine all the time and mad at myself when the battaries are dead.

[phil75070]

I think it depends on the course and how familiar you are with it. After a while, if it is a course you play all the time, you don't need a yardage of any kind, you know what clubs to hit from where. If it is the kind of course where everything is right there in front of you, where the designer doesn't play any optical tricks such as hills and valleys and swales to disguise the yardage and put doubt in one's mind or to "hide" features, then they have minimal impact. However, if the course is one you play infrequently or the design is more "high end", then their value increases.

[d0n]

I like my Rangefinder (Bushnell 1500.) I've used the GPS's in the golf carts too but I don't like them as much. I'm always guessing to see if the course changed the pin location or not in the GPS. With the range finder I simply point at the object, press the button, and I know how far away it is.

 

I don't necessarily thing the range finding devices make you a better player. They simply let you confirm yardages. There's a lot of different information that goes in to each shot. The range finders just gives you one of those pieces of information so instead of 20 things to consider you now only have 19...

[sanddog28]

I know my distances pretty well but when my fiancé started to play as well it was the extra kick to go ahead and purchase a rangefinder to help her with her yardages at the range because as we all know they are so inaccurate at most places, well one of those things you find out is how inaccurate a lot of smaller courses are.... The time it saves and the ability to be 100% sure of the distance you need to hit is immeasurable.

[blkdiamond]

I have found my GPS to be beneficial in that I don't have to search to find a sprinkler head, then walk-off the distance so in that it is a time saver. Second, the distance to hazards is a huge plus (can I carry that fairway bunker?). Finally, being able to measure the distance of my drives is a great feature. I really don't see myself playing without one.

[OrangeBlood]

If you need to train your eyes better to determine distance, check E-bay for an item called the "stintz". I have one and it has helped me tremendously.

 

You'll laugh when you see it.....I did at first

[Yardbeatles]

Speed of play is a HUGE FACTOR. I know the exact distance to the hazzard, front of the green, middle of the green, back of the green, etc. in the time it takes me to set my bag down/get out of the cart with my GPS (SKYCADDIE). I can, LITERALLY, get out of the cart while glancing a the SKYCADDIE, and know exactly what club to grab from the bag.

 

Range finders are a little more time consuming but keep you from hunting and trianulating yardages.

 

I use my GPS on anything outside 60yds and, after using them you feel naked without it. i know, and feel a TON more comfotable with my club selections every time.

[nebatty]

I got a skycaddie for christmas and love it. :wacko: I thought I knew my distances, but the GPS helps alot. The distance markers of my home course are not always very accurate. :shok: With the GPS, I can have confidence in what club to hit. Execution is a completely different matter! :shok:

[OpgForce]

They are great at the driving range also. Most of the times, depending on where your standing, they yardage marker can be +- 10 yards off as indicated. Great for dialing in your yardages for each club also.

[Ronzo]

IMO, my rangefinder is a tremendous help, and it would be even more of a help if I had the daylight hours and a well-kept, empty grass range available to me for about 3 hours. I need to REALLY ascertain my distances, both carry and rollout, for every club in the bag. Work pressure and heavy play in my area has not allowed me to do that yet this season.

 

Even working from approximate distances for each club, knowing the distance required to clear a bunker or water hazard makes the minimal amount of time using it on the course worthwhile. My only regret in buying it is that I didn't spend the extra cash to get a Bushnell 1500TE. The Bushnell 450 I bought takes a lot of effort and a relatively long time to pick up the flag at distances greater than 100 yards.

[klpra]

I used my iGolf neo GPS unit for the first time last Sunday as I wanted to see if the yard markers on the course were accurate because as we all know, they aren't in most cases. The yardage markers from 200, 150 and 100 were almost spot on. I attribute this to course I was playing which is a municipal course but hosts a Champions Tour event every year so maybe thats why? I will be playing a different course this weekend so we'll see how close the yardage markers are to the GPS. My feeling is there will be a discrepancy. What I found helpful was the distances to the front, center and back as most of the flags were way back and I had up to a 2 club difference on these holes (very large greens) I really liked it. The shot distance feature seemed right on to the yardages I hit my driver. I chose the GPS over the rangefinder for ease of use on the course. No fumbling around trying to line up the flag. It's more compact and I can stick it my pocket without even knowing it's there. I was impressed!

[Ronzo]

I used my iGolf neo GPS unit for the first time last Sunday as I wanted to see if the yard markers on the course were accurate because as we all know, they aren't in most cases. The yardage markers from 200, 150 and 100 were almost spot on. I attribute this to course I was playing which is a municipal course but hosts a Champions Tour event every year so maybe thats why? I will be playing a different course this weekend so we'll see how close the yardage markers are to the GPS. My feeling is there will be a discrepancy. What I found helpful was the distances to the front, center and back as most of the flags were way back and I had up to a 2 club difference on these holes (very large greens) I really liked it. The shot distance feature seemed right on to the yardages I hit my driver. I chose the GPS over the rangefinder for ease of use on the course. No fumbling around trying to line up the flag. It's more compact and I can stick it my pocket without even knowing it's there. I was impressed!

 

Eisenhower Park Red Course?

[masterli]

If you always hit it in the fairway and your greens are small circles they don't help :p. Honestly though, I just got one and have played a few rounds so far. I would say, given my situation, it has shaved off a few stokes and certainly quicker than stepping of my yardages. The courses I regularly play do not have yardage books (well, one does but only if you cart it) and do not mark yardages on sprinkler heads. All I have to work w/ are 200,150,100 yard markers. This is all well and fine when I'm in the fairway and the pin is in the center. Stepping off yardages works fine for me and the gps unit hasn't really helped me there. Where it helps in the fairway is for back pins on bean shaped greens. It gives me the confidence to commit to a distance and shot. The gps is even more helpful for me when I'm off the fairway and far from a yard marker. 50 yards and in i use my eyes and feel it out. Lastly, it probably makes the biggest impact when playing courses for the first time. Played a new course last week and it made it so easy to commit to a shot. It was spot on as opposed to some of their sprinkler head markers.

 

given the price people are willing to pay for clubs, i think they are worth it. i'm not saying they are cheap. walking off yardages is as accurate as i need for my game, just not always an option where i play. i'm very happy i finally pulled the trigger.

 

ps: bought a GPS Golf Guru and love it. only one that lets you map your own greens. you can edit the courses they provide and no annual fees. highly recommended.

[blade_man]

If knowing the exact yardage is not important why do pros have caddies that spend a tremendous amount mapping each course they play? With that being said it won't do you much good if you don't know how far you hit each club, an "about this far" (you hit each club) isn't much good. Won't play without it!

[atlanta golfer]

I play a lot of different courses and find both my rangefinder and skycaddie extremely useful. If I had to pick only one, I would use the rangefinder. It is simpler, lower tech, and more versatile.

 

My game is on an improvement trend, and I also have upgraded clubs in the past year, so as my distances increase, it is very useful to help me learn more quickly the yardages I hit. Also on windy days, cold days, etc. I can adjust more quickly to the conditions.

 

A huge benefit also is the faster pace of play. Another benefit is within 100 yards, even down to 60, 50, 40 etc. it helps me quickly understand the type of wedge shot to play.

[cornbred19]

personally, i think it's debatable whether gps and range finders speed up play...i consistently see one cart go to every single ball in the group so the players can get yardages via gps or rangefinders...unless everybody has one, i'm not sure there is that benefit...

 

buddy has a skycaddie (model unsure), but it's extremely slow at giving accurate yardages...plus, when it's cloudy, or we reach a low point on one of the courses we play surrounded by tall pines, he loses the signal at times...also need to check to see if your courses have been mapped out...if i were to get gps or a rangefinder, i'd probably go w/the rangefinder...

[transientgolf]

I tell anyone that will listen that the Bushnell is the only golfing product that I have ever purchased that immediately made me a better golfer. It allows me to think about the situation in more clarity (knowing the true details of the shot). Now I can consider how I want to play a 150 shot with a front pin vs. a 150 shot with a back pin. I think this would help anyone who can hit reasonably repeatable shots (mid-handicap or better is my guess).

[atlanta golfer]

personally, i think it's debatable whether gps and range finders speed up play...i consistently see one cart go to every single ball in the group so the players can get yardages via gps or rangefinders...unless everybody has one, i'm not sure there is that benefit...

 

buddy has a skycaddie (model unsure), but it's extremely slow at giving accurate yardages...plus, when it's cloudy, or we reach a low point on one of the courses we play surrounded by tall pines, he loses the signal at times...also need to check to see if your courses have been mapped out...if i were to get gps or a rangefinder, i'd probably go w/the rangefinder...

 

Personally, I will give yardages to other people if they are very near me and they ask. But I do not go running around to give out yardages and I have not seen others do this either. At least half of the people I play with these days have one or the other of these devices already for themselves. And the real benefit is time savings to ME. Instead of wandering around looking for a sprinkler head or pacing off distance from the green, I can get pin distance and front and back of green, in about 30 seconds. Then I have a little time to think about my shot, select a club, and make an unhurried stroke. One less thing to be thinking about when you SHOULD be focussed on executing the shot.

[Play10s]

Having a range finder (GPS or otherwise) should help the average golfer much more than the accomplished one...

 

First, as we are more often off the fairway than on, getting actual yardage to the center of the green is good. Since there aren't sprinkler heads where I tend to hit from (or the sprinkler head is for a different fairway ;) , I NEED my GPS.

 

Second - Knowing the distance to hazards (reach and carry) theoritically will give me the info I need for proper course management... provided of course, I recognize when I should lay up and not try to carry the hazard.

 

Third - Speeds up rounds for reasons one and two, and therefore makes the average golfer more confident that they won't be hoding up the group behind them. Less stress is always good on the course.

 

Fourth - Human eyes stink at accurate distance measurement beyond about 50 yards. Compound this with that course architects make every attempt at tricking our eyes with deception in field of vision, depth perception, scale, slope, etc., it makes sense to get facts, not estimated distances. Course architects make the easy shot look difficult and the heroic shot look like "the right thing to do". That is their job - to make the course difficult and to make a course that lasts the test of time, technology, and familiarity with continued use. If you read "Golf By Design" by Robert Trent Jones, Jr. you will understand this much more.

 

The real bottom line is that both the USGA and the R&A have approved the use of range finders for play. Both organizations recognize that this is a technology that can shave strokes and make the game more enjoyable. All good!

[iCollector]

I think it depends on the course and how familiar you are with it. After a while, if it is a course you play all the time, you don't need a yardage of any kind, you know what clubs to hit from where. If it is the kind of course where everything is right there in front of you, where the designer doesn't play any optical tricks such as hills and valleys and swales to disguise the yardage and put doubt in one's mind or to "hide" features, then they have minimal impact. However, if the course is one you play infrequently or the design is more "high end", then their value increases.

 

Pretty much on point. I play a course frequently and while I could almost recite the clubs I'll use hole by hole. I still use my GPS. They are particularly useful when you hit a wayward shot and don't have an accurate yardage. I've just gotten in the habit of using it - even on my usual course.

 

On those infrequently played courses they really do help.

[HeadonaStick]

It always helps me to know my yardage.

 

Knowing exactly where I want to lay up, whether to lay up even, and exact yardage to the pin is very beneficial. I am not all that good, but I do play choked clubs to vary my yardage (when hit properly of course :) ) as little as 3-5 yards. I don't pull off the shot that precisely very often, but it is comforting to know the distance.

 

As mentioned, on my regular courses I know virtually all the yardage I need without looking. On tracks less frequently played I like the yardage - whether it comes from an old fashioned book or high tech GPS.

[macglock]

Awesome tool, great for speeding up play and having your distances dialed in

[Calif_Mulligan]

Laser rangefinders are useful for me as many GPS are not "dynamic" (gives yardage to the front and back of the greens if you are hitting from the very center of the fairway. However...I actually want to know the distance to clear a hazard...the readings will be to a different point than what you need to clear. Doesn't consider contours).

 

I also like rangefinders as measurements can be made to points of interest that aren't mapped on a GPS. Really like the 'scan' mode where I can hit multiple targets.

 

Where I think rangefinders are most useful is not working on the long game...but short game. Especially in my backyard...which hasn't been GPS mapped :) . I will put out a target...scope the distance...and pitch/chip to the spot knowing the exact distance. Able to really hone my distance control.

[Cwing]

Had a rangefinder. Have a GPS (Igolf). Yes they speed play, yes they help. The biggest help is 1) you will learn your distances, 2) after learning your distances you will know what club to hit. You hit your drive and you think you can clear the pond with your 3 iron only to put it into the drink because you don't hit your 3 iron 220 yds.

 

You will know the carry of hazards, front center, back of green.

 

The Igolf is cheap and lets you mark an additional 11 points on each hole. You get your membership once and down load all the courses you want. The course are now yours and you only renew if you want/need additional courses.

 

The Skycaddie may be the best with the moving greens etc... but for the money --- I Golf.

[Dukefan1]

I have the Bushnell Scout 1000, and since getting it, my scores have improved, for the pure and simple fact that I am hitting the ball closer to the flag. If I hit a wayward tee shot, rangefinders help tremendously. Here is a good example of how my rangefinder helped me the other day. Playing a course I don't play that often. Come to a par 3 that the card said was 180 yards. It was hard to tell if pin was on back or middle of green(it was on the back). Anyway, pull out rangefinder, check distance and it was 196 to pin. If I didn't have rangefinder, I would have hit 6 iron and come up about 15-16 yards short, with a forty five foot putt, instead pull out 5 iron, hit it about 18 feet for birdie, didn't make it, but I had a better chance of making a 18 footer than a 45 footer. I just think everyone could benefit from a rangefider, and is probably the best money I have spent while playing golf.