Just bought a laser range finder

["Richard"]

$199 at golf town. I'm going to use it for a week or two, see if i like it and if not I'll just return it. I did use it at the canadian yesterday and i shot a 44 on the front nine which is 3 shots better than any 9 I've played this year (front nine is a par 35). Anyway, it made a huge difference knowing how far away some stuff was.

[EWhelan]

Part of golf is judging distance for yourself. The rules allow markings on the course for red, white and blue stakes for marking 100, 150 and 200 yards. Some courses also mark their sprinkler heads. Sorry but I am a traditionalist and don't believe in "Lasers".

[BG458]

No disrespect EWhelan, but have you ever used any kind of training aid for say swing plane, speed, etc. Like say the Medicus or Inside Approach. Well all Thotho is probebly doing is training his eye for distance.

Part of golf is judging distance for yourself. The rules allow markings on the course for red, white and blue stakes for marking 100, 150 and 200 yards. Some courses also mark their sprinkler heads. Sorry but I am a traditionalist and don't believe in "Lasers".

[covanant]

I find 200.00 a bit steep for one of those!

I hope it works good.I was going to buy one of the cheaper ones at golfworks,
35.00 i think,anybody know if they are any good?

["Richard"]

think of it as using it for two weeks to get a better idea of what 300 looks like. If I find that I can judge better distances after only 3 weeks then I'll return it. Igf I still suck at it then I'll keep it. But I don't imagine needing it. I only used it 6 times today

[Chieflongtee]

Whatever. This thing does not gauge wind nor temperature. It is a nice toy but does not replace experience and judgment.

["Richard"]

I agree, but I have no experience. I have no clue how far 150 is. Sure if I'm at a white stick I can tell that I'm 150 out but if I'm in the middle of the fairway and 150 to the bend in the dog like... it looks more like 180 so I pull out a 5 iron or a 4 iron and then put it in the trees. I lose so many balls because I can't tell how far something is from me

[Chieflongtee]

Well some courses have 150 markers that are not accurate. I know cause I have played the same course many many times. Take the #9 at Champlain for example. Don't take the 150 club cause you'll sail over the green. That is part of knowing a course and on the PGA part of the caddy's job. I know the PGA guys are good but I'd be willing to bet that they would not score as well if they did not have caddies recording just about everything from the practice rounds on up. Besides if they had to carry their own bag their scores would go up as well.

[BullDog]

I know the PGA guys are good but I'd be willing to bet that they would not score as well if they did not have caddies recording just about everything from the practice rounds on up. Besides if they had to carry their own bag their scores would go up as well.

...and if they didn't have spotters to find and mark their balls in the rough or in the woods or....... Just today - I lost a ball in long grass. Sure, it was off the fairway and I shouldn't have hit there (not OB, not hazard, just long stuff that will be knee-high fescue in a month or so...) but I couldn't find the ball. Penalty. Had Tiger or anyone else on the PGA done that, his ball would have been found by the time he got there. No penalty.

Fair? Dunno.

["Richard"]

You think thats bad? The fairways and the "greens" were BROWN. Its easy to see a while ball in a dark green fairway but try finding it in a nasty brown fairway.. alot harder. I had to take a drop after smoke a 270yard 3 wood right down the middle. LOST!!! We looked and looked and couldn't see it.

[hollywood]

If you couldn't find it how do you know it went 270yds?

[Ginker]

At the end of the day using a yardage finder is cheating....its takes the integrity out of the game...

["Richard"]

oh, I dropped it at about 245 and and played it from there and went up and walked right passed my ball. I was x yards away from the white stick so I was able to tell how far i had hit it I knew it was x yards away beucase I used my laser range finder

["Richard"]

At the end of the day using a yardage finder is cheating....its takes the integrity out of the game...

I use illegal balls, I use an illegal driver and still have over 14 clubs in my bag. I'm already cheating oh and i have a 2 sided chipper

[BC MIST]

At the end of the day using a yardage finder is cheating....its takes the integrity out of the game...

Agree.
What I find really bizarre is that the USGA, those old grey haired men sitting around a table, whose job it is to preserve the integrity of the game, will allow range finders to be used in normal rounds, but created a COR limit of .83 (239 microseconds) on drivers, considering that without this limit the ball would have gone a whopping 8 yards farther, (into the bush) limited the size of a head to 460 cc’s, cause a 480 cc driver would help you drive the green on a 410 yard par 4, tried to ban square grooves, won’t let you tamp down Phil Mickelson’s spike marks, restrict your driver to 48” because a 52” driver will launch the ball 600 yards and will still make you walk back to the tee if you hit the ball OB or lose it.

I wonder if the USGA wants to use the American golfers' annual fee to buy golf courses like the RCGA does???

[Timothy.Reeve]

Of course part of the tradition of golf is changing to improve the player's capability. The woods and irons have changed substantially from 20 years ago. Certainly, judging distance is a necessary part of the game. Why shouldn't it also be assisted by technology? Every other aspect of golf has been modified too.

Personally, I admire people who are more concerned with their own capabilities than those of their equipment. That doesn't mean I believe everyone should agree!
Cheers,
Tim

[Andru]

At the end of the day using a yardage finder is cheating....its takes the integrity out of the game...

PGA tour professionals shouldn't be the only ones with full access to information. If the USGA and RCGA want amateurs to use the same equipment, play the same rules. Then maybe they should provide the same access to information about golf courses.

Range finders are fine for amateurs. PGA tour professionals use them during practice rounds. They're playing modern golf.

["Richard"]

"PGA tour professionals use them during practice rounds"

Why should they be the ones that know how far that bunker is or that stream. I don't think it takes away from the game at all. I still have to hit the shot which is what the game is all about. Do you really think tiger knows more about the course, the temperature and the wind than his caddy? No way. If his caddy tells him to use a club he uses it. Thats why these caddies get 10%+ of these huge pruses because without these guys these pros wouldn't be doing as well. I don't think it takes away from the hame at all. I would like to be able to play around without using it but as of right now, i'm keeping it for another 2 weeks.

[Kilroy]

I do find it odd that there is clear ambiguity on the issue. I expect rule 14-3 to be modified to fall in line with the handicapping regulations, but who knows when.

RCGA Handicap manual

Q: Are scores made using information generated from an Electronic Measuring Device (EMD) acceptable for handicap purposes?
A: Yes. While EMDs are not permitted under the Rules of Golf (Rules 14-3), most of the information that the EMD provides is widely available. As long as the information from these devices is obtained before the execution of the golf shot, the scores are acceptable for handicap purposes.

A rangefinder is just providing the player with information. Caddies meticulously measure a course (often using such aa device), and provide that information to the player during the round. The only difference is the use of a meauring device during the round. However a caddy still provides even more information than that since they have detailed maps of the green, including pin placement, swails, grain and speed. All of that information is relayed to the player when needed.

IMHO golf is not about guessing how far you are from the green, or how far to clear a hazzard. You still have to hit the shot.

[Tanglegrip]

I'm looking at my booklet from Eagle Creek which gives yardages to a lot of the hazards and the front of the greens, and each hole has the dimensions of the greens.

Some courses now put the yardage to the bend in the dogleg to assist the golfer. I wouldn't call this cheating and I'm sure that most weekend warriors would appreciate more information rather than less. It also helps the pace of play if you end up in the fairway with a 5 wood instead of the trees with a driver.

Do I look at the yardage on the sprinkler heads when they are available? You bet! Does it help? Most of the time, yes. From 200 yards and in you can always pace off your yardage from the closest marker, but as Dan says, you still have to hit the shot!

[Kilroy]

The line drawing yardage book you refer to for Eagle Creek, not the pro-shot colour one, was done by the Canadian Tour and given to the pros prior to the Eagle Creek Classic. It shows everything, including swails on the green. That is the kind of information available to the pros.

It's a far cry from what you and I get at every other course. What you usually get is a sign on the tee (rarely with a scale map) and 3 pegs in the ground at 100, 150 & 200. Some courses let you know if the pin is front, middle or back of the green by coloured flags, some use the stupid second mini flag (unreliable snce it is easily moved by accident) Some do nothing to let you know the pin placement.

I have to get the information myself. I don't have time to create such a yardage book and nobody is going to make one unless the CPGA comes back to town.

Rangefinders are here to stay. They are darn usefull.

[spidey]

RCGA Handicap manual

Q: Are scores made using information generated from an Electronic Measuring Device (EMD) acceptable for handicap purposes?
A: Yes. While EMDs are not permitted under the Rules of Golf (Rules 14-3), most of the information that the EMD provides is widely available. As long as the information from these devices is obtained before the execution of the golf shot, the scores are acceptable for handicap purposes.

wtf? What does that mean?? "before the execution"??? - What impact would it have on the shot if you use it after the execution of the golf shot???? What kind of golf shot would it be if you were using it during the shot?

Maybe clarification is in order? Is it possible that "before the golf shot" means "prior to the commencement of play"?

[NoBack]

If you want to use them in fun and everyday rounds, go ahead and use them.

BUT in OVGA and other amateur tournament play, then I say, no way should they be used. A definate step backwards regarding the integrity of this great game we all love to play.

Btw.........If you want to find out the yardages, that is what your practice round is for.

[Kilroy]

Steve, your opinion is exactly in line with that of the RCGA. It's OK for handicapping rounds, but forbidden in events. I am sure it will remain like that for some time. I am just as sure that in time EMDs will be permitted at all levels. Propbably not the next rules revision, but with the proliferation of GPS systems it won't be long before public preassure, and economics force the issue.
People like carts with GPS. Companies make money with them, courses attract golfers with them and there is very little "wrong" with using them. It's just information that is avilable to all. The current provision exists because the golfers complained that rounds played at courses like the Marshes where they are included could not be entered for handicapping. The USGA and RCGA decided to allow them because it is growing in popularity all the time. Can't fight it.

[dbleber]

I think that until we all get caddies that walk the course and write down every detail of the course, practice rounds before events and all the courses accurately mark their courses with proper yardage and detailed hole maps, we should all be able to use this new technology. Even in these tournments that most of play in or the more serious ones, we are not pros and do not have the benefits they have in knowing all the course details. Also it is only information, you the golfer still have to make the swing to get the ball there. Only now when at the 150 yrd marker you know it is really 140. Why should I be penelized for making a great shot at the 150 yrd marker with my 150yrd club to only be 10 yrds past because the course is all screwed up. I really don't see way people are fighting this, if the pros were smart they would push for it and save themselves the %10 of earnings plus monthly salary for their caddies.
Denny

[mberube]

The integrity of the game will not change because of an EMD. The game has changed so much over 400 years. Not so many years ago, almost every golf course had a caddie service. You don’t see that anymore. The EMD only gives you information that a caddie can give you. It’s only information. You still have to hit the ball to the target.

Bigger drivers, longer balls and launch monitor will not make you a better player. It just makes you feel like a better player. Old habits always creeps back in your swing occasionally and distance information will not help you cure that OTT swing.

I’m all for it.

[Kilroy]

Not so many years ago, almost every golf course had a caddie service. You don’t see that anymore.

Great point. I guess I had forgotten that having an experienced local caddie was such a big part of public golf years ago. I usually think of caddies as used by pros. Perhaps loosing the caddie has hurt the integrity of the game more than EMDs will. Now people swing at targets with limited information.

[NoBack]

Not so many years ago, almost every golf course had a caddie service.

How long have you been playing and which courses in this area had a caddie service? Certainly none of the public courses over the last 30 years or so. I believe they tried to get it going at one course here (not sure which) but to say most courses would be far fetched.

[Rusty]

I am suprised by the response here.
Am I cheating if I buy a yardage book from the proshop? I have purchased yardage books that show the distance to the center of the green from any landmark on the course. Some show the width and depth of the green as well. In this case I am not judging the greens depth, I have the numbers right in front of me!
The fact that I cannot afford to play golf at courses that supply the yardage books, seems to penalize me due to my social standing - another case of the poor getting poorer.
I cannot see how a laser rangefinder or even that new GPS unit can be called cheating. Fluffing a ball in July is cheating - knowing that I have to hit 220 to carry the water is not.

Just my opinion.

Rusty


As the light changed from red to green to yellow and back to red again, I sat there thinking about life. Was it nothing more than a bunch of honking and yelling? Sometimes it seemed that way.

- Jack Handy

[GarthM]

Nobody said it was cheating, but it is against the rules. I have a laser rangefinder that I use especially for practice on the range (finding the distance to target greens) and occaisonally during a casual round AFTER a shot if I am curious about a distance from a particular landmark. It does not even go in the bag during a tournament round.

I do not think that use of a laser device would speed up play either. I know from experience that outside 150 yards it can be hard to get a fix on the flag, especially if there are lots of trees behind the flagstick, or if there is little wind. I cannot think of many courses that do not mark their 200, 150 and 100 yard locations so theoretically you should never have to pace off more than 25 yards when outside 100 (I assume that if you were say 115 that you would walk to your ball and then pace off the 15 yards up to the 100 versus the 35 back to the 150).

Also few rangefinders will tell you that you have 220 to carry the water since rarely is there anything valid to bounce the signal off properly.

As Steve said, if you want to know the yardages, play a practice round. Most people play the same 5-10 courses (if they are not members somewhere) and you should really get to know the distances after 3 or 4 rounds.

Just my 2 cents.

As for your poll Steve: Put me down as a NO you should not be allowed to use them in OVGA/amateur events.

GarthM