GPS Rangefinders

[Leftie]

Just out of idle curiosity, do any of you gals/guys use or have any views on rangefinders. I'm not a gadget freak but at first glance they seem a good idea but for me might prove a distraction.

Any views on pros and cons?

One thing I'm concerned about is that some appear to have the facility to record average distances achieved with different clubs. Taking that facility one step further, presumably they could "recommend" which club to take for the distance. Do they at thaat stage contravene the Rules and become an artificial aid or providing advice as Rule 8-1?

Following on from this I see that the Motocaddy S3 has built in measuring and other gizmos one of which gives a temperature readout. Presumably this can be disabled for competition rounds?

 

[brendy]

Kind of illegal matey As for the caddy... pass.

 

[Marko77]

I can only respond with regards the use of the skycaddie GPS.

The R&A ruling is that each club has to grant approval for use in club competition. local unions will either grant or not grant approval for use in their competitions.

We had a couple for trial last year (pure distance only guidance) and whilst I found it useful I didn't think it worth shelling out £200 for for the device I thought you'd get the best info from. I think there is a basic version out at about £120. The Pro was that I was looking at the actual distance, there wasn't any doubts. The con, you still have to hit the shot - regardless of how much info you have available!

I've never used any of the laser rangefinders but have heard of some scratch players that use them.

Like most accessories/gadgets I suppose they will either suit you or not.

Was there any product that you were considering?

 

[HomerJSimpson]

I have oftern thought about using one of these range/distance finders (preferably to borrow and not buy). I planned to go out on my local course and scribble notes on our existing yardage book so it was mote like the caddy charts we've seen fetured from time to time in Golf Monthly.

My thinking was that even if I was playing the round from hell and spraying it to David Attenborough country I'd still have some idea of distances (I realise if I'm playing that badly I'm unlikely to make the swing required to recover but at least I'd be able to work out a strategy)

I'd love to be able to walk my course with them and check them against our yardage chart (it is states all distances were measured by laser). I know for a fact that some of the 100 yard markers must be wrong or I hit pitching wedges 130 yards on a 3/4 swing!!!

Everyone at the club complains that the yardage posts are not accurate. I'd love to have an accurate set of figures tucked up my sleeve for the bigger comps

 

[Leftie]

Was there any product that you were considering?

Not really - just curiosity. I rarely even buy course planners relying just on fairway markers for distance. Maybe that's why I'm still a 15 H/C. If the exact carry distance over say a bunker or stream was known, club selection could improve.

If the feedback from members is that they are the best golfing accessory on the market then maybe it could go on my wish list.

 

[USER1999]

I have not tried one, but I am not sure of the need. Do they predict the effect of the wind? Knowing the distance is all very well in Florida, which is flat, but not a lot of cop in the UK, where elevation counts too. Quite often on courses the yardages are correct, but as the land either rises or falls, choosing a club purely based on yardage is a nonsense.

Mind you, knowing the exact range does give you a starting point for further guess work.

 

[viscount17]

I think you would have to be bl**dy good to get the benefit of a rangefinder and if you were that good why would you need it?

That said I have thought about the sort of rangefinder that you can get built into binoculars - not as accurate as a laser but does it need to be - as a bonus I might be able to see the green.

 

[Toad]

My mate did the next best thing, last year he walked the course with one of those yard wheels as he was convinced some of the fairway markers were wrong,he found that most were between 5 and 10 yards out.
He filled a book with his mesurements from all over the course and it helped him to cut his handicap from 8 to 5 in a year.

 

[Leftie]

I wasn't to sure about some of the fairway markers on our course. Rather than using my measuring wheel to check, I used the measurement tool on Google Earth. The fairway marker discs show up well and it's amazing the accuracy you can get. I was wrong. The markers were exact.

The resolution of the images may not be as good for some of your courses in the less densely populated areas of these isles but Google Earth are updating all the time.

I suppose it's possible that the GPS rangefinder suppliers may use this imagery for some of their course mapping.

As Murph said, all yardages are based on the flat whether it's fairway markers, course planner, GPS or satellite photos and you have to make your own allowances for terrain, weather etc.

 

[DCB]

I'm sure I saw an ad for a new circuit board for the Motocaddy which allows for the illegal functions to be turned off during competition.

 

[geronimo]

I'm sure I saw an ad for a new circuit board for the Motocaddy which allows for the illegal functions to be turned off during competition.

I seen this add as well think the circuit board is £25 and the add was in the mag i think