Mandofred
Well-known member
So....what is the distance that a rangefinder is effective? Do you know? Individual requirements are so different. Just another golfer deciding what other golfers need.....
Golf Random Irritations
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So....what is the distance that a rangefinder is effective? Do you know? Individual requirements are so different. Just another golfer deciding what other golfers need.....
HomerJSimpson
Hall of Famer
Well said sir. Someone that can't see other peoples point. If you work hard on wedge distances and have put time and effort into becoming proficient at say 20, 40, 50 yards then why not know what you have left and play the shot you have practiced
Orikoru
Tour Winner
Probably because if they didn't use they wouldn't even know it was 30 yards would they. ?
"Don't need my rangefinder here, it's only 30 yards."
*sticks it 20 yards short since it was in fact 50 yards*
Dando
Q-School Graduate
Maybe he wants to know of it’s a full 80° or a soft 75° wedge
arnieboy
Challenge Tour Pro
While I agree that rangefinders, watches and other gizmos are beneficial the only course that I don't use one on is my home course.
There are so many elements to take into account such as wind, uphill, downhill etc local knowledge is the best option.
There are so many elements to take into account such as wind, uphill, downhill etc local knowledge is the best option.
chrisd
Major Champion
When I got my first rangefinder the usual suspects at my club gave me the usual crap about not needing one , apparently loads of players can guess a yardage to the nearest 6 inches. So all I did was measure to a target and ask them how far away was it - almost without exception they were 15 to 20 yards out at around 100 yards - so for most, one to 2 clubs out. I use my Bushnell all the time confident in the knowledge that at least one constant is accurate
SwingsitlikeHogan
Major Champion
How my pro has me changing things such that my strike position is and looks brilliant, yet what I have to do at address feels so very odd. Yet I can see he is bang on the money with me. But blimey…it’s going to take a lot of work…35 yrs of thinking that I knew…?
And the way he teaches means that the vast majority of traditional swing teaching and tips are pretty much irrelevant to me - I do not think about the swing…I simply focus on what I am doing when I hit the ball…nothing else…not yet anyway.
And the way he teaches means that the vast majority of traditional swing teaching and tips are pretty much irrelevant to me - I do not think about the swing…I simply focus on what I am doing when I hit the ball…nothing else…not yet anyway.
sunshine
Well-known member
Fair enough if you want to use your rangefinder from 30 yards. This is a genuine question: at what point do you stop using it? e.g. do you use it for putting too?
Thanks.
Mandofred
Well-known member
Around 20yds and less I don't bother. Like I mentioned earlier, I put out several cones when I practice so I get used to hitting to a certain distance. Putting....no. To me, putting is so much about touch....is the putt a little uphill? downhill? breaks etc. If a green was always perfectly flat, with the same speed of putt.....maybe a scope might have some advantage. But greens aren't flat, and the same speed etc. But....30yds is 30yds. You might still have to adjust for wind or sand traps etc. Played a new course today (Scarcroft...my new fav course around here)....I was hitting my 30-80yd wedges really nice, but the greens were really firm so I kept rolling out a bit too much. I was happy with the distance I was hitting them though....
I caddied for a guy a few weeks ago who wanted the flag distance measurement from on the green on one we were about 10 feet from the flag?Mate of mine uses his range finder when he's 20-30 yards from the green. And then usually proceeds to either duff the chip or thin it through the green. I try so hard not to laugh but I am only human
WHS/SG, played two comps at the weekend, no adjustment despite knocking 2 of my best scores off. Got an email from SG this morning to say I'd gone up 0.3 to 2.80??
sunshine
Well-known member
Around 20yds and less I don't bother. Like I mentioned earlier, I put out several cones when I practice so I get used to hitting to a certain distance. Putting....no. To me, putting is so much about touch....is the putt a little uphill? downhill? breaks etc. If a green was always perfectly flat, with the same speed of putt.....maybe a scope might have some advantage. But greens aren't flat, and the same speed etc. But....30yds is 30yds. You might still have to adjust for wind or sand traps etc. Played a new course today (Scarcroft...my new fav course around here)....I was hitting my 30-80yd wedges really nice, but the greens were really firm so I kept rolling out a bit too much. I was happy with the distance I was hitting them though....
So you would use the range finder for a 20 yard chip, but not a 20 yard putt? I don't understand the difference.
Mandofred
Well-known member
Like I said above, for close to 20yds and under I "probably" wouldn't use it. Getting up close to 30....yes. But as far as that 20yd shot you mention, I refer back to my last post. If I have a chip that I want to land at 20yds (the green will dictate how far the ball will roll out, at least for me).....20yds is just that....it's 20yds that the ball is going to spend in the air. A 20yd putt will spend all of the time on the ground. Each 20yd putt I take (jeez, I really don't want a bunch of 20yd putts) will be different. Each green will have different slope/breaks etc. Every 20yd chip/flop shot with a decent lie is the same (could be slightly effected by wind etc). Each 20yd putt is under different green conditions. As I mentioned before..IFFFFFF every green was dead flat, with same grass conditions, same dry/or damp conditions, same wind etc etc....a scope "might" be of some use since every putt would be exactly the same. But....all greens are different. The 20yd chip/flop and 20yd putt are two totally different types of shots.
HomerJSimpson
Hall of Famer
Think youi more than answered the question. Anything else now is arguing for the point of it
Mandofred
Well-known member
I was wondering if he was just pulling my leg....but I don't see anything there that could be considered arguing. Guess you look at it differently than I do. That's ok.
Depreston
Club Champion
Feeling more confident about holing 10-12 footers rather than 3-5 foot putts
4 short ones missed and a round of 80
Tbf I holed a few at that length I think the real problem is leaving myself too many of them my lag putting was probably worse
4 short ones missed and a round of 80
Tbf I holed a few at that length I think the real problem is leaving myself too many of them my lag putting was probably worse
sunshine
Well-known member
Cheers buddy, I wasn't arguing with you, just trying to understand different approaches to short pitches and chipping. I assume you are always pitching with the same club, because you are focused on carry and not different trajectories and roll out?
I saw a Nick Dougherty tip a couple of years ago that I could really relate to: the tip was to work out what club would land the ball one yard on the green and release to the hole. I generally try to follow this, as a result I use anything from 5 iron to lob wedge around the greens. Works ok for me, but I've noticed the pros on tour seem to always use a lofted wedge for pitching and chipping so maybe there is a better way.
sunshine
Well-known member
On the practice putting green at my club there always used to be a couple of smaller holes, about half the diameter of a standard cup. These are brilliant for practicing short putting because it narrows your focus. On the 3-5 footers try narrowing your target to something really precise - it has worked for me.
Mandofred
Well-known member
I'm crap at chip+rolls. Unless I'm within maybe 10 feet of the green I pretty well go with my 60 wedge (6 bounce). Sometimes with my 54 if I have a nice lie....that club has more bounce on it so tight lies don't work well for me with that club. If I chip+roll I usually go with my 7 iron and chip it like I putt. I have very little confidence with my short chips....I also don't practice them enough so I guess I get what I deserve. Short chips are the worst part of my game.......about time I gave it more of my time.
Foxholer
Blackballed
You could consider a 'Rescue putt', especially if close enough to the green that the first bounce is on the green/fringe. Can be a bit fierce with some, so requires practice to get the touch right, but can be better than wedge/iron/putter in certain situations.
