Rangefinder Survey

[dpark]

Do you own an Electronic Measuring Device (EMD)? yes

Laser or GPS? Laser

Which brand? Nikon Monarch 800

If you don't own an EMD, what's holding you back? n/a

Which EMD is more accurate, Laser or GPS? Laser, hand down, not even close

How accurate is Laser, on a scale of 1-5 with 5 being the highest 5

How accurate is GPS, on a scale of 1-5 with 5 being the highest 4

I have never understood the facination with GPS devices. I play golf with a bunch of guys who have them and love them but they spend WAY too much time looking at the darn thing, moving the cursor around etc.

I guess I am just a point-and-shoot kind of guy. Give me the distance to the stick, maybe shoot the bunker in front or behind the pin to help in club selection if I am between clubs and just hit the ball.

[EngGolf]

Do you own an Electronic Measuring Device (EMD)? [b]Yes [/b]

Laser or GPS? [b]both a Leupold GX-4 laser and Golfshot GPS on my Iphone.[/b]

Which EMD is more accurate, Laser or GPS? [b]The laser I own[/b] [b]has slope compensation which makes it more accurate.[/b]

How accurate is Laser, on a scale of 1-5 with 5 being the highest [b]5[/b] [b]with slope compensation, 4 without slope compensation[/b]

How accurate is GPS, on a scale of 1-5 with 5 being the highest [b]3[/b]

[b]Lasers are very nice especially if you're playing an unfamiliar course or courses with elevation changes(we have a lot of those in Utah). The only downside is that you sometimes can't get an accurate distance to some obstacles, mostly streams and flat objects parallel to the ground. A GPS is nice to have for those types of course features.[/b]

[I_HATE_SNOW]

Yes. Golfbuddy and Bushnell 1500 with slope
Laser
very accurate on the laser, sometimes the golfbuddy (or cart GPS) can be off
GPS is not always accurate but great for shots when the flag is not clearly visible, like through trees.

I have both because the wife can't run a laser, golfbuddy is perfect for her. I like having both so I can compare and be sure I hit the flag, not a tree before or after it. Cart GPS is great for all the distances on a dogleg or to a hazard. If I had to pick one, it would be the laser since I can run it and it needs a new battery every 50 rounds, not recharged every 4. Plus it never needs a course download, works just as well in foreign countries and takes a 9 volt battery.

[Libbing]

Laser
Bushnell Pinseeker 1500
Appears to be very accurate (5 out of 5)
Seems to always be within a yard or two of other laser range finders (of course, not sure which ones are right / wrong)

GPS is often very close to the laser, but is often up to 5 yards off, though its often hard to tell if the GPS isn't measured to the pin.

don't own a gps, but the benefit is in measurements for layups, etc. that are sometimes hard to measure with a laser. I would still opt for the laser, but I noticed a laser unit that includes a GPS the other day - best of both worlds.

[Pepperturbo]

[quote name='theshow' timestamp='1318536281' post='3668833']
I have seen the debates before on Laser vs GPS. In the past week I have taken three different surveys on the topic from online publications. Furthermore I have read a couple of articles that show Laser is DOMINATING pro events in 4 different states. Not PGA Tour events, club pro events.

My questions to all of you is:

Do you own an Electronic Measuring Device (EMD)?

Laser or GPS?

Which brand?

If you don't own an EMD, what's holding you back?

Which EMD is more accurate, Laser or GPS?

How accurate is Laser, on a scale of 1-5 with 5 being the highest

How accurate is GPS, on a scale of 1-5 with 5 being the highest

Keep it in the fairway!

Thanks,
[/quote]

Yes
Both - Laser and GPS
Bushnell Pro 1600 Tournament and Skycaddie SG5

Every time I've compared their yardages, its to the pin, and they've been within 1-3yds.
Laser is more accurate, typically to 1yard.
Can't give a 1-5 regarding SG5; just say I use it out of convenience and it gets more use on new tracks.

Good Luck

[Solutions Etcetera]

Had a Nikon laser initially. Having to drag it out of a pocket and sight through it is a pain.

I then went to GPS and never went back. I have had almost every model Garmin has made as I like the company and the product.

I currently have a G5 and an S1. The S1 is the cats meow. Just look at your wrist before pulling a club. I still use the G5 a couple of times a round to get a layup distance, but I could live without it if I had to make a choice between the 2.

As for accuracy… a laser is usually within a couple of feet, but can be rendered almost useless in fog, mist, or heavy rain. A GPS is usually accurate within a couple-three yards, but have sometimes seen discrepancies of up to ten yards depending on atmospheric conditions and tree cover.

[bldolat]

Anyone ever try the Laser Link Red Hot? It's easy to use.

[misterlau]

I own both a Leupold GX-1 and a Upro Go.

Scientifically, laser is going to be more accurate (within a yard) while GPS can be affected by a lot of environmental factors (sometimes up to 10 yards). This doesn't mean the GPS will always be 10 yards off, only that it is possible to be off by that much.

The laser can give you a precise distance to any object, like a tree or the pin, but obviously you need line of sight to use it. The GPS can give you distances to known locations (hazards, greens) and can display many at one time, but obviously can't know the pin placement or where every single object on the course is.

Which one I use really depends on how well I know the course and where my ball is currently sitting. Off the tee, I'm using GPS in hazard mode. Planning to lay up, stuck in the woods, or taking a blind shot? I'm pulling the GPS again. Approach shot, par 3, or a green where I can't see the bottom of the flag? I'm using the laser. Dogleg that doesn't have any landmarks for the GPS to pick up? I'm looking for something near the turn to hit with the laser. Strangely shaped, difficult, or never played before green I can't see all of? I'll use GPS to figure out size/shape of the green, and the laser to figure where on the green the flag is. Course that I know well with pretty reliable markers? I might not pull either.

Neither device is without weaknesses.

If I can't see my target, the laser can't do anything for me. I can shoot bunkers and flags, but the laser can't give me front, middle and back distance for all hazards and greens. The laser also isn't as helpful when planning layup shots; I not only need to find a reliable object I can shoot, but I can only shoot them one at a time.

The GPS can't give me exact distances to the pin, nor can it range a rock, bush or tree that I pick out at random. If a course isn't mapped, or updated properly, or I have some software problem, I'm pretty much out of luck if I'm already standing on the course.

[XLZEUS]

Do you own an Electronic Measuring Device (EMD)? YES

Laser or GPS? Gps

Which brand? SKYCADDIE SG5

If you don't own an EMD, what's holding you back?

Which EMD is more accurate, Laser or GPS? I am 100 confident with my range finder.

How accurate is Laser, on a scale of 1-5 with 5 being the highest

How accurate is GPS, on a scale of 1-5 with 5 being the highest 4.99999 it's usually +- 2yards. I have never said " I would of made that shot if I knew it was 157 vs 159. " if you are looking to clear water or bunkers or know where to lay up the hole overview is best. Especially if playing a new course. I am sure a range can be accurate and have never heard of someone complaining about laser. I just think that course management is key. The sky caddie lets me know more about the hole. Just be careful you don't get those phone gps. They drain your battery and more inaccurate.

[ktkn]

[quote name='theshow' timestamp='1318536281' post='3668833']
Do you own an Electronic Measuring Device (EMD)?
yes

Laser or GPS?
both

Which brand?
Callaway upro mx & Callaway Nikon IQ

If you don't own an EMD, what's holding you back?
N/A

Which EMD is more accurate, Laser or GPS?
In gameplay (for myself), Laser to the pin, GPS for everything else because it provides distances to hazards and front middle back distances at a glance, so you don't have to be shooting everything all day. You even get distances to hazards you don't see (doglegs right or left) and am able to calculate layup distances or have a strategy on a particular hole based on seeing the course information in one glance.

How accurate is Laser, on a scale of 1-5 with 5 being the highest
How accurate is GPS, on a scale of 1-5 with 5 being the highest

Laser is probably 5, Good GPS devices are probably a 4. This is an assumption everybody is going to make. Who actually checks Laser distances with a tape measurer? Big thing with GPS is that you cannot cheap out on a cheap GPS device. This is the huge gap in quality you pay for in user friendlieness, accuracy, and features (usefulness). Rangefinder you can cheap out on with still being very very accurate (probably the same)


Thanks,
[/quote]

[schmidlack]

I've owned every laser out there, I bet 10 different ones. I owned one GPS, the Skycaddie SGX. I prefer the laser myself because it gives me exactly what I want to know and nothing else. Personal preference though it seems. I've heard it said that lasers are for lower handicap players and GPS for higher handicap.