Do you use a rangefinder or eyeball your distance?

[buckpillar]

5 hours ago, cnosil said:

Would be interested to hear why you play worse with modern technology?  I would agree that how some modern technology is implemented impacts my play, but in general I can see a reason that it impacts your play.  Rangefinders just give you a number that you walk off with yardage markers.  Theoretically same end result just faster when using a rangefinder or GPS unit.  

I guess playing 43yrs has a lot to do with it, I feel more comfortable going old school than high tech. I will probably eventually move forward, but right now my game is where I want it to be, possibly once I start declining and double guessing myself then yes will put my rangefinder to work.

[Hacker60521]

26 minutes ago, buckpillar said:

I guess playing 43yrs has a lot to do with it, I feel more comfortable going old school than high tech. I will probably eventually move forward, but right now my game is where I want it to be, possibly once I start declining and double guessing myself then yes will put my rangefinder to work.

That’s a really good point. If you don’t use one there is no reason you must use it. You might find a GPS watch like a Garmin or something more helpful for simply getting yardages rather than fussing with “aiming” a rangefinder. You’ll get front/middle/back distances and other good stuff much more easily. 

[cnosil]

1 hour ago, buckpillar said:

I guess playing 43yrs has a lot to do with it, I feel more comfortable going old school than high tech. I will probably eventually move forward, but right now my game is where I want it to be, possibly once I start declining and double guessing myself then yes will put my rangefinder to work.

I've been playing on and off for that long and have adapted to embrace some of the technology.   Others,  I just find too distracting;  I don't like playing with my phone but a GPS or rangefinder isn't bad. 

[Preeway]

I really like the 18 birdies app for my gps and it can sync with and Apple Watch, if I were inclined to get one. I don’t like trying to use my phone all the time, or having the battery die by the end of the round, but it does work great for what it’s supposed to do. 

[Girldad18]

I use a rangefinder.  For me it helps.  Doesn't have to be exact but close for me.  I also like to use it to yardage trees or hazards and what not to help navigate the course.  If the carts have GPS or if my phone has GPS, I use it for that too.  If I have played the course and have the course knowledge about the hazards and such, I don't use it as much.  Mainly use it for approach shots.

[chris_]

Phone app for almost everything until chipping distance, eyeballs after that. I've never found that knowing a firm distance makes that much difference for me. I'm just not accurate enough. 

 

[fozcycle]

I wear the Shot Scope X5 but use an MG Golf Laser for most approach shots to the green. BTW, been playing for 64+ years.

[Kenny B]

I got a Bushnell for Christmas about 10 years ago, but my wife has absconded with it.  Now I use the Garmin S62 Approach GPS watch.  Never thought I'd like wearing a watch, but I got used to it.  I want to know the yardage to clear the front edge of the green and yardage for the back of the green so I know the longest club I can hit that won't put me off the back.  I can't reliably fly the ball to specific distances; just trying to be on the green.

I can play our course without my GPS (had to when I left it at home a few times) but I know the course well and what club I usually hit from wherever I am.  When we travel, I have found that I cannot rely on my judgment of yardage; my eyes apparently are not calibrated to the surrounding terrain.  I find I am particularly waaaaay off in desert areas like AZ and Palm Springs.

[Tom the Golf Nut]

I have gone back and forth between a gps watch and a laser. I did finally settle down this season with the laser.

I use it for knowing how far I can hit on dog legs. I use it on second shots to hit to a specific distance to leave me a desired approach distance. I really need it to dial in the final approach shot. Gap Wedge is 100 yards, 54* is 80 and 60* is 60 yards. I find it helps to know how much to take off a full shot so I can visualize sticking it close for a one putt. 

Im one that refuses to use apps on my phone. Mainly because I don’t want my phone on or near me when playing. I’m on it so much for work, I need the distance. My wife complains all the time. Did you get my text? Answer, no I was golfing. You should know not to text me when I’m golfing. I ignore my phone until I’m back at the car.

[Preeway]

51 minutes ago, Tom the Golf Nut said:

I have gone back and forth between a gps watch and a laser. I did finally settle down this season with the laser.

I use it for knowing how far I can hit on dog legs. I use it on second shots to hit to a specific distance to leave me a desired approach distance. I really need it to dial in the final approach shot. Gap Wedge is 100 yards, 54* is 80 and 60* is 60 yards. I find it helps to know how much to take off a full shot so I can visualize sticking it close for a one putt. 

Im one that refuses to use apps on my phone. Mainly because I don’t want my phone on or near me when playing. I’m on it so much for work, I need the distance. My wife complains all the time. Did you get my text? Answer, no I was golfing. You should know not to text me when I’m golfing. I ignore my phone until I’m back at the car.

I get the no phone on the course thing but I’ve discovered that I’m way better knowing back/front/middle yardages than I am lasering the flag. And I especially find my laser near worthless when trying to determine distance to a landmark. My GPS app has proven more reliable. Now I have an Apple Watch so hoping I will be able to put the phone away and not worry about texts as I’m finding trying to read alerts on my phone isn’t very fun. I got my rangefinder mostly because I need it as a caddy and most people like hearing “137 yards to the pin” instead hearing all the relevant context about the green. Ironically, I always end up telling them something like “with this wind and pin position is, hit your 150 yard club”, and they proceed to hit a good shot.  It’s funny how the rangefinder seems more like a crutch for their psyche than anything else. After a year of using a detailed yardage book and pin sheets, I find myself being able to get the yardage and best club selected in under 10 seconds. How many here would enjoy using yardage books over GPS/rangefinders if they were able to get their club selected in 10 seconds or less?

Edited November 29, 2023 by Preeway

[EMJL]

I started using a rangefinder two years ago and will never go back. I would be interested in using a gps unit, but have not so far. 

Knowing the distance to the pin, within a small margin of error for the rangefinder, has helped a ton in figuring out how far I hit my clubs. I like the idea of the gps telling me distances to clear hazards, front/middle/back of greens and so on, but just haven't taken the plunge yet. In your experiences, is the benefit of gps over a rangefinder really big? I'd guess the answer varies by how well you know the course you're playing.

[cnosil]

30 minutes ago, EMJL said:

is the benefit of gps over a rangefinder really big? I'd guess the answer varies by how well you know the course you're playing.

I don’t think it is related to how well you know the course.   I think it is related to how people want to process information about the upcoming shot
 

The biggest benefit of GPS:  outside of one exception; forgot the name of the one that triangulates, rangefinders need line of sight; can’t laser something behind a set of trees.   GPS devices with maps gives you hole layouts and you can get distances  like a rangefinder.    GPS devices also give you better numbers for green complexes; getting front middle back distances with a rangefinder requires you to be above the green.   
 

i have learned that golf shots dont have rifle precision and are more like shotguns.  Because of that I don’t need exact distances and work better with generalities.  

[Preeway]

1 hour ago, EMJL said:

I started using a rangefinder two years ago and will never go back. I would be interested in using a gps unit, but have not so far. 

Knowing the distance to the pin, within a small margin of error for the rangefinder, has helped a ton in figuring out how far I hit my clubs. I like the idea of the gps telling me distances to clear hazards, front/middle/back of greens and so on, but just haven't taken the plunge yet. In your experiences, is the benefit of gps over a rangefinder really big? I'd guess the answer varies by how well you know the course you're playing.

I've found it easier to score better knowing yardages to targets rather than the pin alone. If I laser the pin and it comes back as 138 slope adjusted, I still have to account for additional factors like wind, temperature, and hole location. When all that tells me to hit a 150 yard shot I still have to remember my 9-iron is my 145-155 yard club and if the pin is in the back then I probably need to swing a softer 8 iron. My point is, even as a lower handicap amateur, I don't get as much benefit from knowing the exact yardage to the pin as I do all the contextual information I can get from my GPS app on my phone. But using both does help get more precise when the situation calls for it.

[Olivia Bell]

Every time someone starts talking about rangefinders, the question that pops up is: do we actually need them? Personally, I think golf is about the thrill, the challenge—not getting lost in some gadget.

[Headhammer]

I've always had poor depth perception, which has accelerated at my advanced age! I find a range finder or cart GPS essential to playing nowadays. 

[TJ Hall]

I find them very helpful when playing from a strange position (ie, way off the fairway) or when courses aren’t marked very well.  It also helps on unfamiliar courses to determine distance to a hazard or corner.

[Josh Parker]

I just recently got my rangefinder, and it has made a world of difference in being able to know distance and club selection.  There are always other factors to consider, but knowing the distance takes the guesswork out of the equation.

[Preeway]

4 hours ago, Olivia Bell said:

Every time someone starts talking about rangefinders, the question that pops up is: do we actually need them? Personally, I think golf is about the thrill, the challenge—not getting lost in some gadget.

I think it’s easy to argue against the word, “need”. I played golf long before rangefinders or GPS.  It isn’t that I can’t play without gadgets, it’s that they are available so why not?