GPS vs. Laser Rangefinders What Do You Actually Use on the Course?

GPS vs. Laser Rangefinders

  • GPS

  • Laser

  • Combo

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garyinderry said:
Voted the wrong thing. Nice one 👍


I've used pretty much all the options down the years. Watch, phone, handheld unit and laser.

I like the laser as you are also scanning the hole visually while taking a couple of yardages.

Nothing is really quicker or better. All shots require a certain amount of thought and processing. Read the lie, check the wind, assess the shot.
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A watch is quicker, how can it not be? It isn't as accurate but it's clearly quicker. I can look at my watch as I'm walking to my ball. I've got the yardage at the moment I stop. With a laser, you stop, device out, zone in, press button, read yardage. It might only be seconds but it's more than a glance at a watch.
 
Lord Tyrion said:
With a laser, you stop, device out, zone in, press button, read yardage. It might only be seconds but it's more than a glance at a watch.
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Or stop, device out, zone in, press button, instead of the pin pick up a hill in the background 200 yards more, swear at the laser, eventually pick up the pin, double check watch anyway, shank it in the trees
 
Lord Tyrion said:
A watch is quicker, how can it not be? It isn't as accurate but it's clearly quicker. I can look at my watch as I'm walking to my ball. I've got the yardage at the moment I stop. With a laser, you stop, device out, zone in, press button, read yardage. It might only be seconds but it's more than a glance at a watch.
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Let’s not turn this into an argument about what’s quicker. 🤷🏻‍♂️
 
GPS watch mostly.

I use a laser to check on greens that I can’t see the bottom of the flag.

We use colour flags but there’s 15 yds between sections of the green .
So look at my watch and laser it while pps hit their balls.
I don’t use many functions on the watch as I need reading glasses and swapping glasses all the time is a no no.


Guys who don’t know their yardages make me laugh.
They will laser a flag and just guess what club.
 
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Lord Tyrion said:
A watch is quicker, how can it not be? It isn't as accurate but it's clearly quicker. I can look at my watch as I'm walking to my ball. I've got the yardage at the moment I stop. With a laser, you stop, device out, zone in, press button, read yardage. It might only be seconds but it's more than a glance at a watch.
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The difference is completely insignificant as all players then have to decide how they are going to play the shot. Factor in all the elements other than just the raw yardage. Then every player has their unique things they do before they hit the shot. Some take ages and others are quick but that has nothing to do with how they get their yardage.

More often than not, if playing in a group, a player will be doing these things, or at least should be doing these things while others play their shot.
 
Combo (kinda) GPS on watch and GPS on the buggy, plus the GK's laser all par 3's each day and post that distance on each tee box which is a good aid

In theory the buggy GPS will have that days pin distances punched in so pretty accurate but occasionally mistakes happen so its worth double checking with eyeball to make sure flag is where the screen thinks it is
Front/back/middle is usually enough but can move the flag around on the watch to narrow down if I want

Lastly, at home course I enjoy trying to guess the distance just by eye while getting to my ball, rare to be more than a club out
 
I use both, and like most it is generally watch up until the approach shot and then laser. However, if the flag is at the back, I tend to use both. The laser gives me the distance to the flag, and the watch the distance to the back of the green. I can then determine whether I have the wriggle room to really go at the flag, or whether I need to be a bit more conservative.

Works for me.
 
Just my Garmin watch. I'm a bang average mid-handicapper. Even a rare perfect strike has +-10 yards tolerance so +-2 yards accuracy of the watch is more than enough for me.
 
RichA said:
Just my Garmin watch. I'm a bang average mid-handicapper. Even a rare perfect strike has +-10 yards tolerance so +-2 yards accuracy of the watch is more than enough for me.
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Spot on. If 150 yard shot is a 7 iron, so is a 145 to 155 yard. I often used my gps/laser to ensure I didn’t hit water/OOB. On a rough day, back of the green yardage is more important than flag yardage - how often do people go long on a windy day…
 
I have a mate who's currently off 11.9

Uses a watch only. Fairly regular occurrence is he says, 110 to the middle. I laser it at 92. He doesn't feel the slight wind behind and sends the ball deep into the green. 3 putts again.

Has never broken 80 in a comp. Fine margins.

Do I think he would benefit from a laser. Absolutely.

Will it be a deal breaker in him breaking 80? Hard to know but it might.
 
I have a watch but my last course had yardages to the middle of the green on the sprinkler heads so the watch only got used if miles in the rubbish.

I found there was at most only a couple of yards difference between the watch and sprinkler heads so for me it didn’t make much difference.

One of the funniest things I did see was a guy who lasered the pin then proceeded to have an air shot.
He then went back to his bag and lasered it again, he claimed it was part of his pre shot routine.
He did get a fair amount of stick for this. 😂
 
I predominantly use my watch (Garmin s70) and it's very accurate but not as accurate as the Lazer which I more use in the winter for the winter greens that my watch doesn't pick up, my main problem with the Lazer is shaking hands as it can take me a few seconds to lock on
 
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