Laser...worth having?

[MartynB]

Looking for the next thing to help chip away at my scores. Lessons and practice taken care of and although I use Golfshot GPS would I gain anything from buying a laser? Interest peaked by the laser wanted in items for sale thread and mention of suoaki lasers in particular. I only play social golf. Birthday and Christmas coming up and although it’s always tempting to ask for shiny new clubs I know the grown up thing is to think these things through!

 

[Jacko_G]

In my opinion yes.

Maybe I'm just getting older and eye sight isn't as good but a few times lately I have been at least two clubs out (big greens where I play) I have looked at the flag and thought it was front or middle and looked at my GPS yardage, hit the appropriate club and when I get closer to the green I realise that the flag is actually at the back and I'm miles out.

I combine both my GPS and I hope that my new laser will be here before the weekend.

 

[foreputt]

I had much the same thought, but have to say I’ve been quite disappointed with the suoaki, I find it gives inconstant yardage’s and has become quite hard to trust!

 

[Scoobiesnax]

I would recommend having both. I find my rangefinder may not pick up the flag in bad weather so a GPS watch is handy then! Don't think it hurts to have both if you can afford it.

 

[patricks148]

Lasers are a great bit of kit, Mine def helped me as i have poor eyesight and struggled to see where the pin was most of the time. This now gives me the info to go straight for the flag most of the time (unless its a sucker pin of course) i also us it in conjunction with the course yardage we have on the sprinkler heads (front and Middle) so much of the time i'm still going for the middle, but hopefully the best side for my next shot or putt. But for most golfers middle of the green is good enough.

 

[Imurg]

Many clubs use a different colour flag for front, back or middle of the green or use a plastic ball fixed to the flagstick to indicate a general position. But many don't.
And greens can be big or long.
If you have a bunker in front of the green and a "front" flag, that flag could be 4-15 steps from the front of the green
By passing the flag you know how far away it is and using the GPS to know how far the front of the green is, you know how much margin for error you have.
And that 4-15 steps can be a different club in your hands.
I think it's worth having both

 

[casuk]

Laser is a good thing to have I find it especially useful when the winter greens are on as my watch won't pick them up, I have slope tech in mine and that for me is a great extra, I use my watch on every hole just gives me front middle and back and thats all I need really, like jacko said some greens can be huge so to get a bang on yardage you won't get more accurate than a laser rangefinder

 

[Foxholer]

Definitely worth knowing the (almost) exact yardage to the pin. so if your club doesn't use the colour coding or designated area placement (or even if it does), then a laser is worthwhile.

Pinseeker (or equivalent) function is definitely worth having too!

 

[User 99]

i'd say it depends on your game. If you are an inconsistent player who hits the same club 2/34 different distances unintentionally then a front middle back watch would be best, however, if you know your distances and hit them fairly regularly then a laser is the business.

 

[duncan mackie]

And there you have it....

If the courses you play have large hidden greens without pin sheets or color coded flags (or other methods of showing position) then a laser is a worthwhile addition for those capable of benefitting from the additional information.
They are also very useful for tagging hazards, dog leg run outs etc if your GPS doesn't provide that info.
I don't have one.

 

[HomerJSimpson]

Looking for the next thing to help chip away at my scores. Lessons and practice taken care of and although I use Golfshot GPS would I gain anything from buying a laser? Interest peaked by the laser wanted in items for sale thread and mention of suoaki lasers in particular. I only play social golf. Birthday and Christmas coming up and although it’s always tempting to ask for shiny new clubs I know the grown up thing is to think these things through!

Suaoki is a decent laser at a good price and ideal for the social golfer. I did a full review https://threeoffthetee.blogspot.com/2016/12/suaoki-laser-rangefinder.html

 

[Orikoru]

I don't think they're worth buying, personally. As long as your GPS is accurate then lasers are redundant. GPS will give you your yardage, and also not be completely useless if you're playing a blind shot over a hill or something. I use Hole 19 phone app for GPS, and I've never even considered that I might want to buy a laser rangefinder as well, would be pointless.

 

[Jacko_G]

I don't think they're worth buying, personally. As long as your GPS is accurate then lasers are redundant. GPS will give you your yardage, and also not be completely useless if you're playing a blind shot over a hill or something. I use Hole 19 phone app for GPS, and I've never even considered that I might want to buy a laser rangefinder as well, would be pointless.

I get what you are saying but I refer you back to my post.

Absolutely agree you don't need one if you have GPS but they can also be more than advantageous.

 

[Imurg]

I don't think they're worth buying, personally. As long as your GPS is accurate then lasers are redundant. GPS will give you your yardage, and also not be completely useless if you're playing a blind shot over a hill or something. I use Hole 19 phone app for GPS, and I've never even considered that I might want to buy a laser rangefinder as well, would be pointless.

You're playing a second shot into a green that is above your head height. You can just see the top 12 inches of the flag.
Your GPS is telling you it's 145 to the front, 167 to the middle and 180 to the back.
How far do you need to hit the ball?
Go for the front - if the pin is at the back you've got a 60 foot putt
Go long and you might have a 60 foot putt back
Go for the middle and you could be 40 feet away easily.
A quick zap with the laser shows 155 to the flag.
You've still got to hitnthe shot but at least you know what you're aiming for.

 

[Orikoru]

I get what you are saying but I refer you back to my post.

Absolutely agree you don't need one if you have GPS but they can also be more than advantageous.

Fair, but the GPS will also give you yardage to back of green, which is what a lot of people work to rather than yardage to the pin.

I think it can be handicap dependent as well. If the GPS is 3 or 4 yards out that wouldn't matter to someone like me, playing off 20, as my actual shot yardage won't be precise enough. If you're a very low handicapper though, the more exact yardage of a laser might be beneficial. But for the vast majority I don't think the laser provides any extra benefit over a GPS.

 

[Mark1751]

I have both GPS and a laser (suaoki one) I only really use the laser on courses I don’t know well or never played before as when I’m at my home course I tend to be ok with just the GPS.

I’m also only normally looking for lay up or hazard distances as GPS or flag systems normally work out for me.

 

[Orikoru]

You're playing a second shot into a green that is above your head height. You can just see the top 12 inches of the flag.
Your GPS is telling you it's 145 to the front, 167 to the middle and 180 to the back.
How far do you need to hit the ball?
Go for the front - if the pin is at the back you've got a 60 foot putt
Go long and you might have a 60 foot putt back
Go for the middle and you could be 40 feet away easily.
A quick zap with the laser shows 155 to the flag.
You've still got to hitnthe shot but at least you know what you're aiming for.

Personally I wouldn't be buying a £200 device just to cater for that one situation maybe once per round, but I take the point that it has it's uses.

 

[PhilTheFragger]

You can pick up a used Bushnell V2 on the bay for way under £100

With winter coming and temp greens coming more of a feature, your GPS will be pretty useless.

As has been said before, a combination of GPS and laser covers any situation

Apart from Temp greens in the fog, but hey 👍

 

[CliveW]

Laser is a good thing to have I find it especially useful when the winter greens are on as my watch won't pick them up, I have slope tech in mine and that for me is a great extra, I use my watch on every hole just gives me front middle and back and thats all I need really, like jacko said some greens can be huge so to get a bang on yardage you won't get more accurate than a laser rangefinder

I too picked up a second hand one last year but only tend to use it when there are winter/temp greens in use. Just a basic distance one as you cannot use the slope function in comps.

 

[ArnoldArmChewer]

Looking for the next thing to help chip away at my scores. Lessons and practice taken care of and although I use Golfshot GPS would I gain anything from buying a laser? Interest peaked by the laser wanted in items for sale thread and mention of suoaki lasers in particular. I only play social golf. Birthday and Christmas coming up and although it’s always tempting to ask for shiny new clubs I know the grown up thing is to think these things through!

Yes, definitely worth having, I think I saw a good value one in the HotGolf website yesterday, will have a peek now.