Is a laser a necessity, luxury or novelty?

[kirksingleton]

help

Is a laser a necessity, luxury or novelty?

I really want a Leupold gx-3i!

I am a lifetime golfer but back in the game after about a 10year brake.

How many strokes is it really saving you per round?

Now that you have one, do you ever leave home without it?

Thanks for any advice you could help with!

[Buzzkill]

Luxury.

[armydiver]

Luxury, but bordering on necessity.

[KYMAR]

Any accurate device is important [i]after [/i]having owned one for a while. It's like power windows in a car. Once i had them, I simply wouldn't go back to cranking them down. I have a GPS. Very basic, gives front middle and back and that's it. I suppose i would really like to have distance to hazards etc but the important thing for me is confidence with the club I am pulling. It enables me to swing freer knowing I have a pretty good number to shoot for. Yeah stepping off yardages can do the same but the convenience factor is the thing that makes a device so valuable to me. Especially when off the fairway, no where near a yardage marker. I say go for it.

[kirksingleton]

Our club pro told me that at least 90% of our lowest H.C. members are using them.

[A V Twiss]

I find them a very useful accessory. I am lucky to have both a GPS and a laser. The GPS is great for giving you the big picture (especially on unfamiliar courses) and for blind shots. The laser is useful up close for getting the distance to the pin. I would regard a "pinseeker" mode as essential. They can be quite tricky to keep steady, especially if you are aiming at a flag.

[outwardnine]

I feel lost without mine.

[eppey]

I can't answer your first question of luxury or necessity but I can say that I would estimate losing five strokes a round if I didn't have one.

[Thrillhouse]

[quote name='kirksingleton' timestamp='1338057114' post='4981650']
[size="3"]Is a laser a necessity, luxury or novelty?[/size]

[size="3"]I really want a Leupold gx-3i![/size]

[size="3"]I am a lifetime golfer but back in the game after about a 10year brake.[/size]

[size="3"]How many strokes is it really saving you per round?[/size]

[size="3"]Now that you have one, do you ever leave home without it?[/size]

[size="3"]Thanks for any advice you could help with![/size]


[/quote]

^Is this a haiku?

Anyway, its a necessity, I have been using one for about ten years now and wouldn't go without one.

[hittindagreens]

Bought a gx3i today and played nine at a new course. This thing is easy to use! It gives me confidence on the tee cuz I can hit the flag then find and shoot a landing zone in the fairway KNOWING what shot I need.
I also now KNOW the pin is a 3/4 gap wedge away and not a full swing.
Feeling fully committed to every shot is great.
Still I guess it is a luxury, that I am very glad to have!

[MadGolfer76]

For me, almost a necessity. Once I got one I started saving 4-6 strokes per round. Handi dropped like a drunk off a bar stool. Now, I laser everything.

[DaveLeeNC]

In my view it is a 'indispensable convenience'. I can't imagine giving it up, but I played for years without one.

dave

[freddyottawa]

It is a necessity for me now. If I got to the course and realized I didn't have it, I would be questioning my yardage for every shot.

[cmrl1986]

Useful. I've cut an average of 3 strokes of my rounds because of it. I picked up the callaway lr550 diablo version. I would say after having one, it's now a necessity. It really helps me all around the course, but especially from 110-60 yards. That's where my distances used to hurt me the most.

[kitsoasis]

IMO some sort of measuring device is necessary for any golfer who is at least semi consistent at hitting a distance with a particular club.

I like using a GPS because a visual of the hole really works for me, and I'm not good enough to need distances exact to the yard/metre. Apart from that though, I see it as a necessity, it'll bring a dimension to your game you didn't know was there.

[oldpalchamp]

I got to the course yesterday, hit my tee shot on number one, got to my ball, pulled out my rangefinder, and the battery was dead. I spent the entire front nine looking for yardage markers and pacing distances. Still had no idea of my yardage. How the heck did I ever play this game without a rangefinder! Shot my worst 9-hole score of the season. Fortunately, the golf shop had 9=volt batteries and I picked one up at the turn and played much better on the back nine.

Luxury, yes, but bordering on necessity.

[HackerD]

[quote name='A V Twiss' timestamp='1338058095' post='4981698']
I find them a very useful accessory. I am lucky to have both a GPS and a laser. The GPS is great for giving you the big picture (especially on unfamiliar courses) and for blind shots. The laser is useful up close for getting the distance to the pin. I would regard a "pinseeker" mode as essential. They can be quite tricky to keep steady, especially if you are aiming at a flag.
[/quote]
I have both as well. In addition to what A V said, I'll use the laser only on my home course. Playing new courses the GPS is even more important. I love my GPS when I'm playing an unfamiliar course.

[DLiver]

I'm going with "indispensable convenience." I have a rangefinder, but during a recent round the battery died. It was a sizeable PITA having to find sprinkler heads, pace off yardages, and adjust based on the pin sheet. And I would be lost at the range when practicing my finesse wedge shots without a rangefinder.

[craz-e]

I think when you reach a certain level when you hit your clubs pretty consistent distances then these come into there own (as well as GPS).

[flip flappy]

If you try one, it becomes a necessity! I have forgotten my GPS before, and my confidence suffered. I have used a GPS for about 1 1/2 years now. I do like it but don't think it is always very accurate. I had several times yesterday where my yardage was off and it cost me. I am waiting till I get some extra money before I get a laser and it can't come soon enough!

[lost&found]

At any point during a round do you look around for yardage indicators because you are uncertain of the distance to the pin? Do you play a variety of courses, some for the first time? Have you noticed that the yardage indicators at the tee box on Par 3s are often unreliable? Have you ever noticed that, on large greens, there can be one to two clubs difference on your approach shot, depending on pin placement? If you answered yes to any of these questions, you need a rangefinder (or GPS).

[DaveLeeNC]

It is interesting to note that when i was in high school (and an avid golfer) I used to walk to school (around 1 mile). I would guess the distance to a telephone pole\,, stop sign, whatever, and then pace it off for practice in estimating distances. Times have changed as I am a laser guy and would sorely miss it.

dave

[JJFWebster]

For me a GPS is a necessity and a laser is a luxury. I have left the driver in the bag twice as much as I did without a GPS. Being able to instantly see carries/yardages to hazards had a big effect on my game and has certainly helped my handicap. Biggest difference obviously coming from unfamiliar courses.

[DigDugDig]

This is my second season using the Leupold GX-1. For me, it is as essential as my 4 iron. It probably saves me a couple strokes on courses I'm not too familiar with off the tee and really speeds up the process of finding yardages to the hole.

A few rounds ago, the battery died on my laser on about the 4th hole. I felt like I was on a sideways time shifting island. I was lost.

However, it was somewhat nostalgic to wander around fairways looking for sprinkler heads and pacing off yardages. But, it felt like it took FOREVER. And, I found that Bones McKay's job is pretty safe. It took my about 3 hours to do "plussies" and "minuseys" in my head.

[mickw]

Necessity for me. I left my laser in the cart at the end of yesterday's round (torrential downpour) and I was sweating it all night. I really questioned whether I would shell out a couple hundred bucks for another one. After giving it some thought, I realized how much I depend on it through my rounds...I even researched some of the newer models. Luckily, it was returned to the pro shop...if it had been lost, I would have replaced it as soon as I could.

[golfdad907]

Complete luxury item. GPS speeds up play as not hunting for markers and the like, none are necessity though.

I have both GPS and Laser, could live w/o the laser, and occassionally don't have GPS with me, makes golf more inconvenient but don't require either.

[lost&found]

[quote name='kirksingleton' timestamp='1338057114' post='4981650']
[size="3"]Is a laser a necessity, luxury or novelty?[/size]

[size="3"]I really want a Leupold gx-3i![/size]

[size="3"]I am a lifetime golfer but back in the game after about a 10year brake.[/size]

[size="3"]How many strokes is it really saving you per round?[/size]

[size="3"]Now that you have one, do you ever leave home without it?[/size]

[size="3"]Thanks for any advice you could help with![/size]


[/quote]

My wife has colleagues in Germany who often say, "You Americans turn luxuries into necessities." Case in point--rangefinders.

[oregongolf]

Necessity for me. Although after using one for so long, I can almost always eyeball a distance from inside 100 yards and be within a few yards.

I use GPS (golfshot) for yardages to the front and back of greens and the laser for exact distances. Helps on a ton on courses I don't play often enough to remember.

[Golfwolf]

For me, a laser rangefinder has become a necessity and while I have many shots that do not go the exact distance I want/need I like knowing the exact distance particularly on those courses which have huge greens. Once you own a rangefinder it becomes difficult to live without one. I do also have an SGX which I find very useful on most courses that I play, it is very useful on courses with which I am not familiar.

[bushy007]

I'd rather say "IMPORTANT LUXURY" rather than a necessity. Main love of them is the confidence to hit your shots without second guessing your distances. Since I switched from GPS to laser I'm saving 1-3 shots a round but especially from 100m in, which is suprising but awesome nonetheless.