Range finder instead of a new club?

[coozapalooza]

Hey all, looking for some advice here.

 

I'll try to make a long story short. I am consistently shooting low 80's nowadays, and my most consistent part of my game is my iron play right now. I strike them pretty well, every time. My driver is hit or miss, but my wedges are killing me. I have been so terrible from <120 yards. I usually leave my approach shot short and then have to chip and then putt, instead of putting right away. I wouldn't mind as much, but this is almost every hole.

 

Now, I was going to save up and get a new driver. Maybe a Superfast 1 or 2.0, maybe and R11, who knows. I wanted a change there. I also was going to purchase new wedges. I have two now, One is in okay shape, the other not so much. However, my game has changed a lot since I last got them and my yardages are a lot more impressive, so I just wanted to switch up the lofts. I have 54* and 58* now, with a 47* PW. I got them when I was 16. I am now 19. I want a 52*, 56*, and 60*.

 

However, I had an awful round today. Shot 91. It got me thinking. Should I maybe invest in a laser ranger finder first? I mostly play the same course, but it seems like at this point I don't find myself in the same place too too often. Although I obviously need to practice too, I feel like knowing how far I am exactly when <150 would help a lot. Right now I'm kind of just walking up to my ball, looking for the 100 or 150 and estimating where I am and swinging. Not much consistency at all and I rarely hit the green.

 

Do I have myself convinced of something strange here, or am I on to something? Is this a good idea?

 

Sorry for being so wordy, it's just me. Thanks in advance for any words of wisdom, they're much appreciated.

 

Have a great day.

[highergr0und]

Rangefinder would probably have the biggest instant impact on your game...... I switched to one from GPS a little while back and find myself pin high way more often.

That said, if you can't hit the green from 120 yards, then you'll still be in trouble.

[Blaiser]

Rangefinders seem like so much freaking money, but once you get one you forget about all the cash you forked over and you really do notice a difference. I say go rangefinder, the difference between two drivers is more than likely marginal, but the difference between thinking you are 130 out when indeed you are 115 is huge. YMMV.

[J_Tizzle]

I cannot play without my Bushnell 1600TE. My brother has one and we play probably 80% of our rounds together and it even bugged me when I was in a separate cart from him so I ended up getting one. Absolutely the best thing you could get for your game to see an instant impact.

[coozapalooza]

Thanks for the advice so far guys.

Don't think I am physically unable to hit the green from under 120. I routinely hit in the low 80s comfortably, I am not a hacker. I just have terrible judgement right now. I always hit my wedge shots solid, it's just now I either don't put enough on it, or I hit it over the green...I'm lost out there. I never know what percentage to swing, and I am thinking that a rangefinder would help since I would ALWAYS know my distance, and maybe then it'd be easier for me to establish what my "50% with a sand wedge" shot is, etc.

I could always be wrong though.

[Mr. Biggles]

I have to assume the course(s) you play have adequate yardage markers in the fairway, and if you shoot in the 80's your usually in it or near it, so that should at least get you on the green in regulation. Where the rangefinder is invaluable to me , and I use a Leupold GX series rangefinder complimented with GPS, is zeroing-in the distance. As a 9 handicapper myself, it is a confidence inspiring device for me also.

Like others have been saying...get yourself one.

[kafka01]

Rangefinder is certainly a nice thing to have - but if you dont have the chance to practice those shots from 100y in with proper balls (outside a driving range and from real grass), imo it wont help you that much with these distances, since you will have a hard time connecting a feel to a 60 or 70 yarder. Otherwise its a great tool

[coozapalooza]

I have indeed been having some difficult time zeroing in on my feel this year. I have played 5 or 6 rounds since April, but it just is coming slow this year I guess.

This is why I figured the rangefinder MAY help. I figure, I find that I am 75 yards out and take a half swing with my lob wedge and it works. There we go, I now know approximately what I should be going for from 75 or so.

[flyersfan91]

does anyone have advice on which range finder is good for right now? Brands and models please!?

[Relaxxx]

[quote name='flyersfan91' timestamp='1308535212' post='3320050']
does anyone have advice on which range finder is good for right now? Brands and models please!?
[/quote]

Bushnell 1600.


END THREAD.

[flyersfan91]

really?? my friend just got the v2 and it seems awesome

[Bill_60143]

Is your 120 yard play poor because you dont know the distance or because you are hitting your wedges inconsistently ???

If it is the latter, I might suggest that you want to be less precise on your yardages....e.g. just shooting for the middle and giving yourself the best margin for error.
Once you have confidence in your wedge game and you are hitting 10+ greens in regulation, you might then want to think about pin hunting in green light situations.

But I'd get comfy hitting the heart of the greens first....once you have that then you can dial into the pin for a good birdie chance.

[osu67]

A range finder will help you know how far you are,but if you cant hit that specific yardage its not going to be to beneficial. It would be great for range work seeing how far flags are to get the yardages dialed in then you will see improvement once you learn how hard to swing for say a 85 yard shot. I think you will see the biggest benefit from it in how you practice.

[Relaxxx]

[quote name='flyersfan91' timestamp='1308535679' post='3320088']
really?? my friend just got the v2 and it seems awesome
[/quote]

Anything from Bushnell is top notch.
Leupold is also good.
I'm just partial to the 1600 and Bushnell in general.

If you go with Bushnell or Leupold, you won't be disappointed.

[ThomasM]

I'm in the same situation(somewhat). I'm finally happy and settled on my bag right now and I'm looking at other avenues to improve my play. I played with several in my local Golfsmith over the weekend and I'm wedged between the Leupold GX-3 (or) 4 or the Bushnell V2 Slope (or) Hybrid. I love the OLED on the Leupold's + the high magnification(it just seems it's easier to hold steady because it's much more zoomed in on a flag/object). I realistically want a slope device because I don't play any "flat" courses so it's pointless to not take advantage of the slope if it's offered(which is a strike against the Bushnell Hybrid). I think that's the appeal of the GX-4 since you can technically enable and disable the slope if you don't trust the calculation. I can get a V2 Slope edition about $100 cheaper than the Leupold's but I've always been a "either you're in or you're out" type person so I'd rather spend slightly more money and have no regrets.

My advice would be to go to a store much like I did and physically test some out if you can. I tested them across the store on the same sign to see if I could find any variance in the readings, which most came within a yard or so of all the combined readings. That tells me they are all somewhat accurate but your decision should be based more on the features you think you'll use more often.

EDIT: I'm going to go for a 1600 slope edition. I actually ruled it out based on the 2-hand operation but after doing more research, she'll do the trick. Thanks Relaxxx for even making me look at them once more.

[Pingman222]

if you've got money to spend on something for your golf bag, i would do the rangefinder first. maybe then scour the forum for a used driver and have both for the same cost as a new superfast!

[ThomasM]

[quote name='aznives3' timestamp='1308845073' post='3329916']
if you've got money to spend on something for your golf bag, i would do the rangefinder first. maybe then scour the forum for a used driver and have both for the same cost as a new superfast!
[/quote]

I would agree after using mine for the first time today. We played in a local superball charity tournament today and my whole group loved the exact yardages + slope figures. I found it was great for carrying bunkers to pins that you're not exactly sure how much green you have to work with. Zap the the flag then zap the bunker lip and bam, you know exactly what you're working with. I'm planning on using it tomorrow morning as well but wow, this thing has really made a great first impression.

[Pingman222]

[quote name='ThomasM' timestamp='1308973429' post='3334112']
[quote name='aznives3' timestamp='1308845073' post='3329916']
if you've got money to spend on something for your golf bag, i would do the rangefinder first. maybe then scour the forum for a used driver and have both for the same cost as a new superfast!
[/quote]

I would agree after using mine for the first time today. We played in a local superball charity tournament today and my whole group loved the exact yardages + slope figures. I found it was great for carrying bunkers to pins that you're not exactly sure how much green you have to work with. Zap the the flag then zap the bunker lip and bam, you know exactly what you're working with. I'm planning on using it tomorrow morning as well but wow, this thing has really made a great first impression.
[/quote]



exactly. i used to use golfshot gps on my iphone. it was okay at my old club as they gave pin sheets for each day that i could calculate where the pin was yardage wise, but now at my new club i was only getting distances to the front/middle/back. i did like that it would tell me layup distances, carries etc, but i missed the most important feature of being able to get the flag distance to the exact yard. went to the laser and like it much more. no worrying about having a full charge on the phone prior to round, dont have to worry about battery conservation, sattelite signals etc etc. just point and shoot, and attack the pin. wouldn't know where i'd be without my bushnell!

[gsteitz]

You also have a seven degree gap between 47 and 54. I find it hard to take something off of the PW to cover that gap on full shots of 100-120.

[misterlau]

If a new, fitted driver, helps you hit more fairways, then I'd pull the trigger on that and pick up a GPS (that is cheaper than the rangefinder) to help with the distances. If your problems with wedges is due to inconsistency or you aren't dialed in on distances, then rangefinder won't really help that much. If you're hitting the wedges really well and you can produce the same distances over and over, but just can't figure out how far out you are, then rangefinder or GPS would work. The biggest benefits of the rangefinder are when you're really dialed in and you have line of sight of your target. The biggest benefits of GPS are getting a distance when you can't see the pin (doglegs, in the woods), and depending on the model, being able to see the layout and plan layup shots (great for courses you've never seen before).

I'm also wondering if course management might be an issue here. I notice you say you're hitting your irons really well. If that's the case, why don't you leave yourself a longer more comfortable approach shot (something > 120)? You should be trying to plan out where you want to leave your approach shot instead of just hitting it as far as you can and leaving yourself with distances you're not great with. I'd still get a rangefinder (or GPS) anyway, since they're great to have in the bag, but leaving yourself at an uncomfortable distance isn't going to help whether you know the number or not.

Any Bushnell or Leupold should be good. I know a lot of pros have the Bushnell 1500 or 1600 and that they're reliable, but the Leupold GX feels great in your hand and is so light.

[Raven Logics]

[quote name='gsteitz' timestamp='1308982467' post='3334299']
You also have a seven degree gap between 47 and 54. I find it hard to take something off of the PW to cover that gap on full shots of 100-120.
[/quote]
Grip down a little or play a fade to take it off the PW. I have the same gap, it's less of a problem than you think once you get used to it.

Getting a range finder has been once of the best things I have done - knowing your distances takes out the guessing game. That's one uncertainty out of the equation, and therefore one less thing to think about. The biggest area it has helped me is in the 30-60 yard range - I would often leave chips short in the past, but now I'll pull out the range finder and realise that the pin is further away that I think.