GPS or Laser Range Finder

[Region3]

I use mine a lot, if only to confirm a yardage that I think I know.
Unless you're a low single figure player, knowing the distance to the front, middle and back is enough. I tend to play for the middle yardage - if I hit the green I'll generally get down in 2. I'm not good enough to hit to a specific yardage.

I'm with you in the "not good enough to hit a specific yardage" boat, but I don't always hit to the middle yardage.

The way I see it, if the flag is at the back on a 30yd green, the middle is 1 club short (I work on 10yds per club) so why not hit the longer club?

 

[Imurg]

With you on that. I tend to play for the middle as, mostly on my course, the pin is middleish of the green. If I know its back I'll adjust but I rarely play for the front - I'd rather be 5 yards long and putting than 5 yards short and chipping - well most of the time.

 

[CliveW]

I agree. How many times do you come up short of the green as opposed to being too long? I now tend to take one club more than I used to.

 

[RGDave]

I am looking at both of these, but not sure which one will be more accurate, this is the range finder,
Range Finder

I clicked on the link and can't see how this thing can work well. Surely if a simple cheap unit can do accurate readings without some bad "fit the flag in a cursor" routine that takes time and the still hands of a top surgeon, then £200 laser range finders are a waste of money???????

 

[DCB]

It will no doubt be a chaep chinese monocular with some form of scle etched on one of the lenses.

Its not a real "Optical Instrument"

I'm in the GPS camp anyway.

 

[RGDave]

It will no doubt be a cheap chinese monocular with some form of scale etched on one of the lenses.

Its not a real "Optical Instrument"

In other words, almost useless unless you have patience and a steady hand and can live with *wild" variation!!

 

[viscount17]

a few things wrong with these. if it's what I suspect its got a fixed graticle scale. So how high was the pin that the scale is based on, and how high are yours? got any extra tall pins, it's useless for these.

these things are cheap as hell on ebay

 

[Pants]

Posted 3 days ago on this thread

"....... That's fine as long as every flag stick is the same length, the bottom of it is visible, and the user can accurately line up the bottom and top of the stick. Not really a very satisfactory solution."

OK, not a technical explanation, but highlighted the problem.

 

[Herbie]

I conceed that most prefer the gps type gismo's, but I also believe the popularity is more through lack of knowledge of lazer range finders as well as the extra info the Gps stuff offers. A good lazer works brill and is spot on for accuracy(subject toline of sight), this one indicated in OP is likely to be a cheap immitation.

The only real issue is how often you need to use a measure device, not how often you use one simply because its there, and how accurate do you need to be? The issue of time taken is bogus, the issue of line of sight is a miniscule argument that is cancelled out by the fact you can take one to any golf course and use to great effect at no extra cost or input, where other equipment (unless loaded with the data) would be of no benefit.

Its a horses for course thing to me, having both solves every argument I think

 

[Imurg]

the issue of line of sight is a miniscule argument

Erm...
If you can't see what you're aiming at then you can't get a reading, rendering the unit a complete waste of money. That doesn't strike me as a miniscule arguement.
Granted the costs are more with the gps but you can use it all the time - line of sight or not.