GPS vs. Laser

[KevCarter]

[quote name='biscuity' date='13 March 2010 - 08:44 AM' timestamp='1268491449' post='2313213']
I played yesterday on a course that had GPS built into the carts, the nice GPS with green view and the actual pin location. I compared it to my laser every hole. There were 5 pins that were off by more than your 1-2 yard claim. Two were off by 4 yards.

That's acceptible accuracy for me. However, I don't think anyone can get that level of accuracy [u]to the pin[/u] on a handheld GPS that only gives you F/M/B.

Don't get me wrong, I think GPS is great for lots of people. I'm just saying my laser gives me the exact pin yardage quickly & easily, and my real world comparison indicates GPS is frequently off by more than 2-3 yards.

Kev, what brand/model laser do you use?
[/quote]

I'm not sure yet. I am getting an iPhone, so I will start with GolfShot or GolfLogix and see how it goes...

Kevin

[Bucken77]

Kev he asked what laser you are using

[The Hawkeye]

[color="#1C2837"][quote]I'm not sure yet. I am getting an iPhone, so I will start with GolfShot or GolfLogix and see how it goes...[/quote][/color]

[color="#1C2837"]Tried these, they are very inaccurate because the smart phone technology is not up to a dedicated GPS unit. Not even close. I use a Bushnell laser Tour V2 and in a perfect world people would have both a laser and a GPS. I love the ease, and yes, the accuracy of my uPro though and hardly use my laser anymore. I use a laser only in unusual situations, like a very large green where I don't have a pin sheet and cannot see how far up or back it is with the naked eye. The great thing about a more advanced GPS like the uPro is you get a top view of the hole, it provides context. And it is a satellite image, not a drawing which is much more precise as you can see tree overhang and figure out blind shots. In a drawing you cannot see trees for example. If you are playing the same course for 90% of your play, or maybe two courses repeatedly, then a uPro is minimized as most of the features will not be useful over time or at all since you will know it in your head from having played so often. But I play in Myrtle and Florida, new courses, and new courses near my home or courses I don't play but once or twice a year, and that information at the touch of a button is very useful. I also can measure my clubs at the start, middle and end of each season so I know my length on each club due to the measurement tab. A GPS should be, and a uPro is, much more than just yardage to front/back/middle. It is like a caddie at a top flight course. It is giving you all kinds of information that is useful to your decision making and doing it instantly and accurately. As accurate as if a caddie walked off your yardage from a reliable sprinkler head...as on the PGA tour.[/color]

[MCCA]

[quote name='fairways4life' date='10 February 2010 - 11:26 AM' timestamp='1265819177' post='2241147']
GPS provides much more info than a laser --- like clearing a hazard, bunker, etc. Also on par 5's, it tells you how far you have to get ot a 100 yard layup or 125 layup or whatever your favorite wedge number is. On a dogleg, a GPS can tell you how far it is to drive it through the fairway or how far it is to cut the corner. Also, a GPS gives you distances not just to the pin, but also to the front and back of the green which is very helpful in my opinion. For an average 80's shooter, knowing a range makes hitting greens so much easier. I look at my GPS and see that I have 134 to the front and 152 to the back for example. So I know I just have to hit something inside of that range and I'll be on the green.

In terms of GPS, I'm not sure what the SkyCaddie buzz is all about. For one, it doesn't come with any courses. You have to download those yourself (and pay a fee for each download if I'm not mistaken, correct?) And second, you have to pay an annual fee.

I have a GolfBuddy and this is what I recommend because it comes with 20,000 courses already loaded into it. I've played with it for 3 years now and only once I played a course that wasn't in there. In that situation, I went to their website and downloaded it in about 2 minutes for free. Additionally, there is no annual fee. The GolfBuddy costs more off the rack than a SkyCaddie does but if you do the math, it will only take a few years with a SkyCaddie to be paying more than what you will pay with a GolfBuddy. I never have to pay another dime to use my GolfBuddy. With a SkyCaddie you're paying every year and after a few years of annual fees and downloads you're paying more than what a GolfBuddy costs.

Just my two cents of course.
[/quote]




+1 Agree 100% i also have a golfbuddy tour, I wanted to go with the skycaddie but as mentioned you have annual fee,only holds 40 courses.

[phil75070]

I'm not sure that all cart-based systems are truly GPS. I believe some are RF or use a combination of RF and GPS. I could be wrong. If they are trying to provide distances to the pin then I suspect that someone has to "map" those pin locations and there is probably a disconnect between where the guy maps the pin and where the grounds staff actually cuts the hole that would account for the error you see. That is, strictly speaking, a mapping issue not a GPS accuracy issue.

Getting a yardage to the pin with a GPS that only provides FMB is definitely a problem, as you state. It is one of the reasons I have only used those that have a way of approximating the pin position, such as can be done with the SkyCaddie and Golf Guru products. I have gotten to be pretty good at it! With the pin sheets provided at the club where I play I could be within 2-3 yards of the reading my buddy would get using his laser.

On the other hand, I bet most people would actually score better if they just aimed for the center of the green all the time instead of being "pin bound". Except for courses where the greens are huge, you would generally never be that far from the pin if you are in the center of the green.

[KevCarter]

[quote name='Chunkylover77' date='13 March 2010 - 08:58 AM' timestamp='1268492334' post='2313229']
Kev he asked what laser you are using
[/quote]

Oops, sorry guys, what a Dork I am!

Bushnell Pinseeker. It's not the lasers fault, too shaky from many adult beverages in my middle aged years...

Actually, I highly recommend the pinseeker, without it's technology I wouldn't be able to use a laser at all.

Kevin

[FATC1TY]

[quote name='Buddyjay' date='08 March 2010 - 05:53 AM' timestamp='1268045581' post='2301241']
[quote name='biscuity' date='07 March 2010 - 09:24 PM' timestamp='1268015059' post='2300532']

One other thing that isn't discussed much as a benefit of lasers is the ability to use them to see what's ahead. They are basically telescopes. It's nice to have a 7X zoom to look at the green to see undulations, pin placement on multi level greens etc.
[/quote]


That's a good point that I never thought of. I own a Sonocaddie V300 and am very happy with it for all the reasons that GPS's are known for, but I just ordered a Laser for the other reasons discussed.

I like the fact of using a Laser at the range and the courses I play, do NOT give out pin sheets or do they have pin locations marked (Colored flags, etc.). My eyes for distance perception are not that great and I can't tell you how many times I thought the pin was near the front of the green and it was more towards the back. So I'm hoping that the Laser will be able to help me to see the pin location a little better.
[/quote]

Thats the exact reason I like my laser.. Sometimes on the uphill shots, or a false front, I can't tell how far back the pin is.. Now I hit the hit, and I hit the green in the very front, and I can check the yardage and figure out how deep the pin is from anywhere in the fairway( or rough! )..

My GPS is quicker for a yardage, but I find the laser to be just as quick, and more accurate. I like scanning and hittin' the bunkers and such. Allows me to plan for a miss, or if I need to lay up. I've been out on LONG par 5's, and obviously needing to lay up on a 585 yard hole, and play it for a legit birdie/par... If I want lay up to a specific yardage for a wedge or something, I'll hit something on the ground or a bunker or something and aim in that direction. 265 out, and I want to be 100 yards out, so I know I'll take a 7 iron, and be right on it.

[JofZ]

The only problem with laser is the ability to stop the shake. Locking on to the pin is actually easy if you have a steady hand or a new laser with assist.

When I got the first Iphone, I used it for 2 days and sold it on Ebay, the technology was cool, but it wasn't dependable. I eventually bought a 3G and gave it another shot and I have been happy for over a year.

I believe that GPS will get better in time, it has to assuming some of the money these companies are making goes into product development

As of today, I still treat it like that first Iphone, it is neat, it has some tricks, but it's not dependable for ME at the courses I play.

The people I play with share this opinion, except for one friend who couldn't hit the broad side of a barn.

[B_Rod]

I would love to see one of the laser vendors build in a simple gps(front, middle, back) into one of their laser units. I would buy that in a second!

[spacecowboy]

Here's my two cents...
I have been watching the rangefinder forum for what seems like forever. Going back and forth between GPS and Laser on which one to get.
Last season I grabbed a Bushnell Tour V2 through a friend that is a pro. Found it to be easy to use and very accurate. What I didn't like was that first time out with it I played with a friend who had a GPS. Every time I reached for the laser, he would call out the yardage to me before I could get the laser to my eye. I was (temporarily) sold on the idea of GPS.

I researched GPS units to the point of obsession! I ordered a Golf Guru based upon all of the hype on this site. First time out at one of my regular tracks though, I was disappointed that it took forever to lock on a yardage. Sometimes I would stop, wait, get a yardage and choose a club. If I glanced back again, the yardage was different. Bye Bye Golf Guru. What sense is a unit that gives you no confidence in the yardage?

Next I bought a SkyCaddie SG3. It seemed to work well most places, but there were a few spots on the course I play most of the time that were mis- mapped. Decent unit, correct most of the time, but again, I wanted confidence. BTW, sold it on the BST and the new owner seems very happy with it.

I went through the remainder of last season with no gps or laser. Through the winter though, my constant surfing of the net for the latest golf news, gear, etc...got me thinking again. Ended up picking up a deal on a Skycaddie SG3.5. I was very impressed with the quality when I received it. Once I synced it up, I took it outside to try it out. I went to an open area, let the unit lock in on the satellites, and created a fake green. I marked the front, back, and center of the fake green and changed the mode to "play". I walked to the exact spot that I had used as the front of the green....off by 4 yards. Walked to the back and off by 2. Walked about 100 yards away and returned to the spots. Off by between 3-5 yards each time.

Now I will admit that my distance control is not always within 12-15 feet, but the way I look at it is that you may as well take the margin for error and double it. If my distance control varies by up to 1/2 club, and the unit is off by up to 1/2 club, then a) they could offset each other and I am dead on, or b) both are wrong and I am a full club off.

To me, it is all baout being able to confidently choose a club and swing away. At this point I am deciding between continuing to step off yardages, or taking the plunge on a Bushnell 1600 TE.

[jkro]

I have both but never take them at the same time. Invariably there is always an occasion where I wish I had the unit I left at home. The GPS scoring/stat tracking is a good feature. A great feature really. The GPS can be hard to navigate (Skycaddie SG5) and it seems to get hung up on some screens. I agree that 120 yards in is not the strong point of the GPS unit. I was in the middle of researching which GPS to buy when I was given the Skycaddie as a gift. Not sure I am sold on it but it may not represent all GPS units out there.
If I had to choose one and the stakes were high I would bring the laser.