Do DMD's contribute to slow play..

[morgs]

As the title suggests, do you think the use of measuring devices either laser or GPS based slow the game down. I appreciate that many GPS devices can be mounted on your trolley or now on your wrists but what if your a carrier and how do you carry yours. I played with one guy who carried and used a laser which he kept safely tucked away in his bag, fair play as they are expensive. After driving the same amount of distance off the tee and upon reaching our balls I proceeded to take out the club I needed while he took out his laser. I took my shot and put my club back in the bag while he was still finding his range. So, what are your opinions.

 

[Dodger]

100% no and EGU findings were that they quickened play up.

 

[Foxholer]

Generally, they speed it up.

Did either/both of you make the green?

 

[morgs]

Yes both made the green, I approached from about 5 yards behind his drive..

 

[Foxholer]

How did you know what club you needed? What was it btw?

 

[Robobum]

Which of the two issues you mention contribute to slow play?

The laser or him fumbling in his bag?

Being disorganised, which means not being ready to play, is more of a culprit than a laser will ever be.

 

[morgs]

I appreciate the method i use to be a bit hit and miss but i have worked out that for every thirteen steps i walk inside the 150 marker equates to ten yards, outside the 150 is guesswork, that is probably why i play off 22..lol.

How did you know what club you needed? What was it btw?

 

[Ethan]

For every example where one guy hits quickly while another is still measuring up, there is another example where one guy measures up and hits quickly while another prevaricates over the right club.

 

[morgs]

Surely his retrival of his device from his bag and then the measuring of his distance to the pin and then putting it back in the bag would be at least a minute long. Then we would have club selection and a couple of practice swings before he is good to go..

Which of the two issues you mention contribute to slow play?

The laser or him fumbling in his bag?

Being disorganised, which means not being ready to play, is more of a culprit than a laser will ever be.

 

[Stuey01]

Sounds like this bloke would be slow whether he had a laser or not, he's a faffer. He'd just find another way to faff about if he didn't have one.
Making generalisations about DMDs contributing to slow play, or anything for that matter, based on one person's actions is pointless.

 

[Robobum]

Surely his retrival of his device from his bag and then the measuring of his distance to the pin and then putting it back in the bag would be at least a minute long. Then we would have club selection and a couple of practice swings before he is good to go..

He should either clip the thing to his bag, as they are deigned to be carried, or leave it out until after his shot and put it back whilst walking to next shot.

 

[Imurg]

Surely his retrival of his device from his bag and then the measuring of his distance to the pin and then putting it back in the bag would be at least a minute long. Then we would have club selection and a couple of practice swings before he is good to go..

I can get a laser measure and have the V2 back in it's pouch within 10 seconds of getting it out.
It may take a touch longer if it's windy and the flag's moving or if I have to walk a few yards to one side as there's trees in the way but never more than 30 seconds - anyone who takes longer simply ain't doing it right!

This is not in any way shape or form a dig at my playing partners at Bearwood yesterday but on several occasions there was much muttering about how far the flag was onto the green, add the distance measure from the nearest sprinkler head to the front of the green after a quick pace while I'd had the distance within seconds. I gave the numbers and they agreed.
As I say, not a dig but it highlighted to me that my Laser speeds things up unless I want to purely guess the distance, something many, including me, are not too good at.

 

[ScienceBoy]

After using a laser or mose other DMDs you can get a yardage and know the club within 30 seconds, quite often parts of it can be done while approaching a ball.

Far quicker than someone pacing out distance as long as you have it easily accessible.

I am all for DMDs as long as people are:

1. considerate of others in their use
2. Are prompt in their use
3. Don't fumble about with them while I play near them.

I also don't use it on all shots, if the club I need is clear to me then there is no point. Also I only use it for layups if I want a specific distance in or there is a hazard to avoid.

I use it more from within 100 yards where it saves me shots and time as I hit the green more often and can help me get closer to the flag.

 

[SwingsitlikeHogan]

100% no and EGU findings were that they quickened play up.

Which I am afraid is 100% nonsense as clearly on at least some occasions with some players use of a DMD or GPS device will slow up play. Question answered by the EGU findings will have been more carefully worded than a simple 'do they contribute to slow play'

You give me a GPS or DMD to use - and my play will slow down - fact - as I can generally assess my shot as I walk to my ball, take my club out, address ball and hit it. If I use a DMD or other device I will be inclined to make use of it - and I will. So I will slow up.

Anyway - speed of play is not my gripe with any such device and so a yes or no to the question will not convince me. But that is another thread.

 

[Dodger]

Which I am afraid is 100% nonsense as clearly on at least some occasions with some players use of a DMD or GPS device will slow up play. Question answered by the EGU findings will have been more carefully worded than a simple 'do they contribute to slow play'

You give me a GPS or DMD to use - and my play will slow down - fact - as I can generally assess my shot as I walk to my ball, take my club out, address ball and hit it. If I use a DMD or other device I will be inclined to make use of it - and I will. So I will slow up.

Anyway - speed of play is not my gripe with any such device and so a yes or no to the question will not convince me. But that is another thread.

If folk slow down using DMD's then they must be fannying about needlessly.

http://www.englandgolf.org/library-media\documents\DMD_Review_2009.pdf - Very interesting read.

 

[duncan mackie]

Which of the two issues you mention contribute to slow play?

The laser or him fumbling in his bag?

Being disorganised, which means not being ready to play, is more of a culprit than a laser will ever be.

yep :thup:

same with buggies - they don't inherently make the game slower, and for some they can make it a lot lot faster.

 

[Andy808]

From my experience on the course with players who use DMD's I have noticed that lasers in the wrong hands does slow play a little but GPS DMD's speed it up.
I use a GPS DMD mounted on my trolley so as I walk up to the ball I can keep an eye on the distance and when I stop it pretty much tells me what I have to the front, middle and back of the green. I know this doesn't tell me the distance to the flag but I'm not good enough to need to know the exact yardage to the flag just the green.
One of the guys I play with also uses a GPS DMD and we crack on a good pace for the whole round. The guys I play with using lasers seem to spend an age getting it targeted to the flag, then checking it again, then pick the club and finally hit the ball. None of them are good enough to need that level of accuracy other than our pro who uses a laser but is much quicker at using it anyway.
We even did a comparison as to how accurate my GPS is against the laser and it was spot on. Even guessing the distances I was within 5 yards of the laser anyway and there is no way I need to be any more precise than that.
So, in conclusion, I have found laser DMD's slower and GPS DMD's quicker. As the whether they slow the round down or not I would have to say it's about the same for a laser and slightly quicker with a GPS.

 

[pbrown7582]

I'm of the opinion it's not the device whether it be laser gps course planner of 150 yard marker, which causes slow play it's all down to the player if he wants to be quick and ready to play he will if not he'll be faffing around and more than likely slow.

 

[Bigfoot]

I'm of the opinion it's not the device whether it be laser gps course planner of 150 yard marker, which causes slow play it's all down to the player if he wants to be quick and ready to play he will if not he'll be faffing around and more than likely slow.

I agree. Yardage getting is a small part of slow play. Being ready on the tee, determining the line of putts and searching for lost balls are a much greater cause. DMD s give a start point for the decision making process. You still have to factor in the wind and ground contours. I find that I am quicker on my home course but away from home I am slower. The DMD means I know where to play to and
there is no indecision.
For me, they speed up play overall. A slow player is slow whether he uses a DMD or not.

 

[chrisd]

It seems to me that the players who think it slows play are generally ones who don't use them. I have no doubt that pacing yardages was slower that a glance at the DMD and, if using a DMD cuts a few strokes off your round then that in itself is a timesaver