better to "know" or "feel"?

[LT59]

ok so i have been using a bushnell 1500 pinseeker for the last few months and I was out the other day and the eye piece broke off of the body (not real sure how it happened but it did) I played the remainder of the round chosing my clubs of what I "felt" was the right club to play. I must say I enjoyed my round much more going back to my roots of feeling the shot and pulling a club as opposed to shooting a laser to a particular spot and chosing my club based off of the number i got on my read out.

 

I feel I was complicating the game too much for me to get in a rhythm when using the laser range finder. I am on the fence right now about yardage devices as I had a much better feeling of connection on the course after the range finder broke. I do like having my Front/Middle/Back distances so I am currently considering getting something along the lines of the Bushnell Neo + GPS device as opposed to the laser finder.

 

I was curious as to if anyone on here has any experience with the Neo + personally. I have seen GREAT reviews as well as AWFUL reviews about the device and was hoping to get some feedback on it from you all if possible before I start hunting for one too much.

 

Thanks

 

LT

[sai-jin]

Me personally, since I'm analytical, I like to know what my actual yardage is because I know my club distances.

 

And if I am short, I tend to know what I did wrong in what dept, etc.

 

I used to play by feel, but some times I'm a little too short or too long, so the range finder for me really takes the thinking job out and just grab a club and focus

on my swing.

 

But again, that's just me personally.

 

About the Bushnell Neo, I don't have it, but I have the Bushnell Hybrid and Moto ACTV.

I use the Moto ACTV 99% of the time because it's in my wrist at all times. If you are thinking of a watch GPS, and you are thinking of spending around $200,

I recommend getting the Moto ACTV since it has all kinds of data.

 

But get the NON-golf and smaller version, then download the golf firmware for free. Saves you at least $50

 

Good luck.

[whiskey golf]

I'd like to hear about the Neo as well because like LT59 said, it's either really good or a piece of crap. I don't own a rangefinder and would like something for distances and I feel like a front, middle, back option would be good enough since I don't go off what a rangefinder tells me anyway when I have borrowed one. Although I am skeptical about GPS. Basically I wouldn't mind a rangefinder if they weren't $300+.

[LT59]

Me personally, since I'm analytical, I like to know what my actual yardage is because I know my club distances.

 

And if I am short, I tend to know what I did wrong in what dept, etc.

 

I used to play by feel, but some times I'm a little too short or too long, so the range finder for me really takes the thinking job out and just grab a club and focus

on my swing.

 

But again, that's just me personally.

 

About the Bushnell Neo, I don't have it, but I have the Bushnell Hybrid and Moto ACTV.

I use the Moto ACTV 99% of the time because it's in my wrist at all times. If you are thinking of a watch GPS, and you are thinking of spending around $200,

I recommend getting the Moto ACTV since it has all kinds of data.

 

But get the NON-golf and smaller version, then download the golf firmware for free. Saves you at least $50

 

Good luck.

 

I actually used to have the Moto ACTV but sadly the one I had was in the group that had the faulty GPS unit in the body and wouldn't pick up squat it was GREAT while it worked though. My only hesitation to buying one again is that I really think that wearing a watch would irritate me while swinging. As far as the range finder goes I really feel it's a more useful tool for me on the range to shoot distances to flags while warming up to make sure i'm hitting my normal distances. On the course I feel it slowed my play down and complicated the game for me. I feel the Neo + would be a great option as I used an OnPar that my buddy has in my last tournament and LOVED it. If the Neo + offers complete distance of the hole while on the tee box then front/middle/back once you have hit your tee shot it may just be the system for me.

[Mr_Theoo]

I have a range finder but i mostly use it when teeing off from a par 3 just to gauge how i think the hole is gonna play or if the pin is in a weird spot on my approach shots. Like if its elevated or down hill. just helps me plan the next shot out a little better. I have tried to use it on every single shot and it gets rather annoying for me cause i tend to play quick.

[RoverRick]

My contract on my Soviet Designed SkyCaddie ran out the middle of the month. As much as I have b itched about it over the years, I have used it for 5 years, drug it all over the country, the clip is broken, the charger has been held on with a rubber band for 3 years and the buttons barely work and ofter require 6 or 7 pushes before it will do what I want it do and the battery life is down from 18 hours to 6. However, it has functioned as a range finder near flawlessly for 5 years. There were many things I did not like about it but I think it gave me consistently than guys I play with that use different systems.

 

Also, our club remodeled some holes last year (10) and the greens are in different locations, some more than others. The Sky Caddie also let me map the course, which I did the week before it opened. Sky Caddie also was quick to come out and remap the course a couple of months later. Those GPS systems that use overhead imagery still do not have the course corrected. Of course they are reliant on Google or whom ever to rephoto the area. As an aside, they are apparently doing that this week, because all our greens now are marked with paint at the 3, 6, 9,&12 o'clock position. However, how often do they completely remodel a golf course. Ours opened in 1927 as a nine hole. Expanded to 18 in 1978. Remodeled 9 greens in 2005 and now in 2012 and 2013 we are getting a total overhaul. So this is not an issue for most. And certainly not a problem for the lasers.

 

Now, I know I have sounded like a Sky Caddie commercial, but I am not going back to them. I did want to make sure I got something just as good. My Sky Caddie being that old had just the front center and back distances, as well as hazards etc. but no pretty over heads. I love these, but who really needs that on your home course. I know that on number 12 the lake starts at 207 yards off the tee box and requires a 255 carry to clear the water with OB left and trees right. A perfect drive for me leaves me 60 yards short of the green and anything else means I am hitting 3 from across the water or back on the box. However, a iron off the tee to the center leaves me an iron shot into the green. I do not need to look at that image 52 weeks a year. The convenience of looking at your wrist for the center, front and back distances is plenty.

 

So, I ordered a Bushnell Neo + GPS Watch. I would love to give you a review of it, however, after a week of getting the run around from the place I ordered it, it became obvious that I was not going to get it from them. So I ended up getting my money back. I was about to order another one, but Sky Caddie, because I have been such a valued customer, decided to extend my contract until mid May. The first of May, the Bushnell Neo X GPS Watch becomes available. This is $30 more then the Plus, has a few more courses, and is slimmer, and has a better battery life. So I have decided to buy this one on Wednesday, unless the Neo + price drops considerably.

 

In the interim, I have looked at phone apps, and borrowed a laser range finder and have decided that I do not need to know that it is 87.3 yards to the pin. If I know it is 80 to the front and 95 to the center and see that the flag is towards the front I need to hit my 85 yard shot. There are also holes that I could careless where the flag is. Aim for the center every time and get your two putt par and be thankful. With two islands and two peninsula greens and two more with water on just two sides, you can make a big number in a hurry firing at the flags.

[sai-jin]

LT: You know... I was rather apprehensive about having limited movement with that ACTV too, but it was ok. I'm just too lazy to pick up my laser finder lol.

 

But anyways, good luck with the search!

[ZenGolfer]

Given the choice, Id love to just look at a short, feel what the distance is and hit the shot.

If a course has yardage markers, I wont use the gps and will just feel the shot. However, some of the less expensive courses I play dont have any yardage markers, so in that instance I break down and pull out the gps if I think its a shot that I can hit the green with.

[Shambles]

Whereas I can very much agree that being able to feel your way to the green or eyeball distances is the best of all worlds, I've just never been any good at it. I find these devices a tremendous help that saves me a lot of time. I tried living with a rangefinder but found it too heavy and clumsy and so carried it but only used it when I had doubts. I've since found a GPS that is not only lighter and smaller but is also so quick to use that I simply glance at it for just about every shot. These days I only use the rangefinder on courses that I have not yet mapped.

 

 

Shambles

[Super Tuna]

I can't gauge distances over 100 yards worth a fishcake, so a range finder is mandatory for me. I always find that to be amusing because inside 100 yards, I'm all about the feel shots.

[whiskey golf]

I can't gauge distances over 100 yards worth a fishcake

 

Super Tuna with the fish puns

[stephenh]

It's very gratifying if the "feel" distance is correct, but the majority of the time I'm not good at estimating yet and rather give myself the best chance. My friend showed my a phone gps that works for me, and plus, I can have a better idea how well I'm striking it that day.

[wbealsd]

I'm crappy at judging distances unless I'm REALLY close to the green, where I'll play by feel. I've got an older Callaway uPro that I've disabled everything but the distance for Front-Center-Back and hazards I and use an older Bushnell Pinseeker to determine where the flag is actually located when I'm close enough for an approach shot. I don't think it causes me any delays, as I probably play faster with more confidence by glancing at the GPS and taking a quick read on the range finder.

 

My home course has GPS built into the carts, so if I'm using one of them, I just use the range finder for my approach.

[Maverickping]

I use a Leupold if I am uncertain. I like to have the option but don't use it all the time.

[RoverRick]

Once upon a time there were three bear golfers. The daddy bear walked up to his ball and said, "this looks and feels like I should hit a 7 iron." The mama bear pulled out her Laser Range finder and saw that she was 162.7 yards from the holes,"I need to hit the ball 162.7 yards. And the baby bare looked at his GPS watch and saw that he was 155 for the center and 168 to the back and the pin was towards the back, "I will hit a 7 iron and stop it fairly quick."

 

They all three hit, and all three went in the bunker. Not all fairy tales have happy endings. But I have had my Bushnell Neo X for a bit more than a month now. When I first got it, my course did not have the most recent renovations on it, but within 17 days of me notifying them of this problem it was fixed.

 

I prefer the GPS to the laser, which is why the baby bear used it because we know the baby bear gets it just right. If I were to play lots of different courses I would like to have something with overhead imagery but playing the same course 95% of the time, the middle, back and front, and hazard distance is plenty.

[Kor.A.Door]

I play only by feel, it also helps speed up play. But on aocasiom I play with guys that use GPS, and rangefinders, and sometimes we pull up to the ball, and I will say its about 165. And the guy with the rangefinder will say, it shows 163, I think you can feel your distances if the course has any kind of yardage markers, I do think that where a GPS or rangefinder would come in handy is on some par 3 holes where they can move the tees around, so the marker shows 175, but the actual is 160, because of the tee placement, and flag position. Just my thoughts on it.