Are We There Yet? (GPS watches)

[Backache]

Anecdotally I was listening to some US college coaches discussing practice sessions with their teams so fairly high standard amateur golfers. They were scoring better with the pins removed and just aiming for greens than when the pins were in place and they were trying to find them.

 

[chico]

Could the technology be built in to the flag stick or the cup? Then no need for anyone to upload it. Thinking of these things you can attach to your clubs.

Don't actually know if that's possible but would save loads of time. I struggle to turn a computer on so maybe I've been watching to much sci-fi to think all these things are easy.

 

[Oddsocks]

What percentage of golfers are actually good enough to need the pin yardage that accurately?? My club like a lot of clubs has the colour codes flags for front, middle & back of the green and that's more than good enough.

I need to know the exact yardage, it helps me assess how short I’m going to come up with a crap strike and what danger will be in play. ?

 

[Pants]

Anecdotally I was listening to some US college coaches discussing practice sessions with their teams so fairly high standard amateur golfers. They were scoring better with the pins removed and just aiming for greens than when the pins were in place and they were trying to find them.

Bears out post #9

 

[pokerjoke]

What percentage of golfers are actually good enough to need the pin yardage that accurately?? My club like a lot of clubs has the colour codes flags for front, middle & back of the green and that's more than good enough.

Do you play other courses?
Do you know how far you hit each of your clubs?
What form of Rangefinder do you use or do you have a watch.
Or do you use the markers on the course?
What’s your handicap atm?

 

[Alan Clifford]

I wonder what the load on the gps companies' servers would be, with every flag on every golf course in a time zone uploading its location every morning and every player downloading an update.

 

[Jason.H]

The best thing for me with the rangefinder is knowing the exact yardage to the pin so every shot in providing your leaving a pitchmark you have instant feedback on how far you carry your clubs.

 

[Oddsocks]

I wonder what the load on the gps companies' servers would be, with every flag on every golf course in a time zone uploading its location every morning and every player downloading an update.

do clubs honestly change the pin daily? Most I’ve played will change at most three times a week unless it’s a two day comp.

The best thing for me with the rangefinder is knowing the exact yardage to the pin so every shot in providing your leaving a pitchmark you have instant feedback on how far you carry your clubs.

Pitch marks…. How do you know which was yours scattered between those that haven’t been repaired?

 

[Orikoru]

Do you play other courses?
Do you know how far you hit each of your clubs?
What form of Rangefinder do you use or do you have a watch.
Or do you use the markers on the course?
What’s your handicap atm?

Yes
Yes
GPS app on the phone
14.6

What's all this questioning in aid of? ?

 

[pokerjoke]

Yes
Yes
GPS app on the phone
14.6

What's all this questioning in aid of? ?

I just don’t agree that F/M/B is enough,especially for low handicappers.
I certainly think anywhere on the green is good for high handicappers.
Mid handicappers F/M/B distances probably good enough.
However if you know all your clubs distances a laser could really make a big difference.
Obviously many factors come into consideration,especially sizes of greens,but why not,especially if you’ve practiced distances and measured your clubs take advantage of really accurate yardages.
If you play other courses it also doubles as a binocular which is really helpful.
I know what I’m saying is not for everyone and I fully respect that,but for me very accurate measurements is a big help.

 

[Bratty]

There's also the notion of shots from the tee, fairway and approaches being influenced by pin position and knowing it could change your method of playing a hole.
Can't see the pin from the tee, but if I know it's front left, I would want to fade one to leave me the best approach shot with my favoured yardage, meaning I'd choose a club to leave me that.
Pin back right then maybe I'm clubbing up and drawing the ball.
Now when I use the first person, I'm obviously not talking about me, as I can shape the ball any which way, just not to order! Not sure the % of golfers who can do that (not played with many on here! ?) so not sure the cost and effort is worth it.
Our greenkeepers sometimes forget to move the small second flag up or down the flagstick, so not sure I'd trust them to upload a pin sheet to the cloud!

 

[Mandofred]

To me, that would be a gimmick rather than a benefit for the vast majority of golfers. It's not something I would use. Front, middle and back and distance to hazards is more than adequate for me.

I could almost live with having an estimate to the F/M/B (I carry a little gps in case it rains).....but it would give me conniptions to just guess at distances to front/back of hazards.

 

[Slab]

I expect it would mean quite a bit of extra work for the green keepers every morning to accurately measure where each hole is and then update the computer before the first groups go out. And they has better do it right as us golfers will blame them if we leave our approach short ?

Yeah I can see that being the case where it doesn't already happen, although many (thousands?) of clubs are already doing exactly this, so its no extra work for those courses

 

[D-S]

I think the use of laser alone is often not enough. Knowing the exact yardage to the pin is of course good but knowing the distance to the front or back and therefore the carry and run out is equally important and not easy to fix on with a laser. Combining the two and therefore knowing how far the pin is onto the green is useful if you don’t have pin sheets.
I use a watch and carry a laser but in reality I use the watch on every hole (it takes a second or two max) and the laser just a few times when needed. The watch is also good for distance to and carry over bunkers and hazards which is not always easy to pinpoint with a laser.

 

[Orikoru]

I just don’t agree that F/M/B is enough,especially for low handicappers.
I certainly think anywhere on the green is good for high handicappers.
Mid handicappers F/M/B distances probably good enough.
However if you know all your clubs distances a laser could really make a big difference.
Obviously many factors come into consideration,especially sizes of greens,but why not,especially if you’ve practiced distances and measured your clubs take advantage of really accurate yardages.
If you play other courses it also doubles as a binocular which is really helpful.
I know what I’m saying is not for everyone and I fully respect that,but for me very accurate measurements is a big help.

Well, you're almost saying the same as I did initially - only a small percentage of golfers would benefit. Say the pin is 142 yards away at the front left of the green - if I went straight at it with an 8 iron ten times, one of them might arrive fairly near the pin, but two or three of them will be short of the green, another two or three potentially miss the green on the left. Whereas if I hit 7 iron and aim for middle of green, I'm less likely to be short or miss it left hence a higher percentage chance of hitting the green - and the ones that are just a little short will actually fall nearer the pin. It's just percentages based on how consistently you can hit distances and lines. This is why the exact yardage isn't much use, I'll generally be ignoring that and aiming for middle or back of green nine times out of ten anyway.

 

[Springveldt]

Well, you're almost saying the same as I did initially - only a small percentage of golfers would benefit. Say the pin is 142 yards away at the front left of the green - if I went straight at it with an 8 iron ten times, one of them might arrive fairly near the pin, but two or three of them will be short of the green, another two or three potentially miss the green on the left. Whereas if I hit 7 iron and aim for middle of green, I'm less likely to be short or miss it left hence a higher percentage chance of hitting the green - and the ones that are just a little short will actually fall nearer the pin. It's just percentages based on how consistently you can hit distances and lines. This is why the exact yardage isn't much use, I'll generally be ignoring that and aiming for middle or back of green nine times out of ten anyway.

This is something that Crossfield has pushed a lot, that most amateur golfers would be better playing the extra yardage. i.e. pin at the front, play the middle yardage etc. I quite often do it as well for front and middle pins I'll play the middle and back yardage when I'm 150+ out to the middle, it's definitely helped me with not coming up short as much.

 

[Pants]

So. Posts #9 and 21 have some merir then.

 

[Slab]

So. Posts #9 and 21 have some merir then.

Without meaning any criticism of those players, I’m no golf historian but is what was said in a different age, all that relevant to todays game?
Did they also have any nuggets for us on MOI or Smash Factor etc (sorry I know that’s just flippant and actually I don’t even understand what either of those things are but its a way to illustrate how much the game has changed from a stats perspective)

What I mean is what’s wrong with knowing the distance to the pin? And the original point of the thread was; the lack of this particular stat on GPS watches costing £250+ when the technology to include it is already available & being used by thousands of courses on a daily basis, so how long before we see its inclusion on the watch

 

[pokerjoke]

Well, you're almost saying the same as I did initially - only a small percentage of golfers would benefit. Say the pin is 142 yards away at the front left of the green - if I went straight at it with an 8 iron ten times, one of them might arrive fairly near the pin, but two or three of them will be short of the green, another two or three potentially miss the green on the left. Whereas if I hit 7 iron and aim for middle of green, I'm less likely to be short or miss it left hence a higher percentage chance of hitting the green - and the ones that are just a little short will actually fall nearer the pin. It's just percentages based on how consistently you can hit distances and lines. This is why the exact yardage isn't much use, I'll generally be ignoring that and aiming for middle or back of green nine times out of ten anyway.

I appreciate what your saying for someone who’s not that accurate and is happy with the middle of the green,it’s very understandable for a mid-handicap.
And I agree with your point about it only mattering to a small percentage.
Probably another reason a laser is far more expensive than a watch.
Low handicappers are generally more accurate,they have to be with fewer shots.
Agree with your scenario because even low handicappers will probably not intentionally take on a dangerous flag.
Also hitting a wedge or 9 iron 142 is easier than a 8 or 7
So many scenarios and variables to get into a big debate.
I suppose it comes down to the individual himself,and what he’s happy with.