Reliance on a Golf Range Finder during a round

[backwoodsman]

At home course - I'd be fine (but only because we have yardages on the sprinkler heads...) Away - stuffed.

As an aside - and without wishing to steal the thread - I've got a Bushnell Neo Ghost. - which ran out of charge at weekend. But I happened to have with me an external charging pack/battery (which you normally use to charge a phone or tablet with). I connected it all up but it seems I couldn't use it as a range finder whilst it was charging. The display just showed the charging icon. Anyone know a way round it, or is it just tough luck?

 

[ManinBlack]

Back in the last century, when I started playing golf, there was no GPS, no rangefinders & no marker posts. On my own course this was no problem. On away courses I used to walk forward until I was what I thought was a 9 iron away from the green, then pace back to my ball. I found this quite effective, if time consuming. DMDs are a boon & save a lot of time.

 

[Lazkir]

I use the Sky Caddie app on my phone, and my trolley has a usb to charge the phone so it's never an issue tbh.

 

[Fyldewhite]

Hardly ever take it on my own course. Without it on away courses I work out the distance from the 150 yard markers (must be very few courses without these) and do it the old fashioned way by pacing off to my ball. Alternatively I ask one of the other guys . Don't often feel I'm missing out apart from possibly lay up distances to ditches/bunkers etc.

 

[USER1999]

My GPS is normally flat, and I often can't be bothered lasering it, so I take pot luck, whack it, and see what happens. It's probably no worse than if I know the yardage, and fail to hit it.

 

[mches1]

I always try to guess yardage before checking GPS.

 

[SwingsitlikeHogan]

I have zero reliance on a range finder as I don't use one.

 

[Capella]

I find my watch pretty convenient, because it give me the distance to the green at a glance, but when I forget to wear it or in the one case when it had not recharged probperly and failed me during the round, I did alright by using sprinkler heads and marker posts or just estimation instead. Actually, when I started playing, I practiced hitting golf balls on a field ... not a range, just a normal meadow on a farm. Since I did not want to loose too many balls, I pencilled down an estimated distance and direction after every shot (I had a little notebook for this, the shorthand entrys read like "D2, 65, 1r", meaning Dunlop 2, 65 metres, 1 furrow to the right) I hit 5 shots at a time, then went to retrieve the balls, counting my steps. And I swear, most of the time I ended up standing directly on the ball. So I guess my sense for distance is pretty good, even without the range finder.

 

[Snelly]

My GPS is normally flat, and I often can't be bothered lasering it, so I take pot luck, whack it, and see what happens. It's probably no worse than if I know the yardage, and fail to hit it.

Wise words. Golf at the level of almost everyone on this forum is a game of approximations anyway.

I have a GPS now but in years gone by, my handicap was 50% lower than it is at present and I didn't have anything then but the 150 markers and a bit of guesswork.

In fact, my lowest gross round of 66 (in a bounce game) was in 1990 and not only did I not have GPS, I was playing with Titleist Tour Model forged blades that were not custom fitted, not least because fitting, like GPS, had not been invented then!

 

[seochris]

I find my watch pretty convenient, because it give me the distance to the green at a glance, but when I forget to wear it or in the one case when it had not recharged probperly and failed me during the round, I did alright by using sprinkler heads and marker posts or just estimation instead. Actually, when I started playing, I practiced hitting golf balls on a field ... not a range, just a normal meadow on a farm. Since I did not want to loose too many balls, I pencilled down an estimated distance and direction after every shot (I had a little notebook for this, the shorthand entrys read like "D2, 65, 1r", meaning Dunlop 2, 65 metres, 1 furrow to the right) I hit 5 shots at a time, then went to retrieve the balls, counting my steps. And I swear, most of the time I ended up standing directly on the ball. So I guess my sense for distance is pretty good, even without the range finder.

Sorry...but whats a Dunlop 2?

 

[seochris]

i had one run out once and just asked my PP to give me a distance.....

 

[Spear-Chucker]

I've managed fine in the past with plenty of decent rounds at different courses but it was really time consuming to find the yardage markers, then figure out where the pin was and finally work out the shot. Being able to zap-it-and-go® saves lots of time and removes any ambiguity and instills confidence.

If I'm knocking it around without any gadgets the long game is fine but I'm very reliant it seems on an exact yardage for shots 100yds and in. Never used to be so just goes to show it's a learned behaviour.

 

[Norrin Radd]

i just use what i always use .my own judgement by using my eyes .
most of you lot would be lost without your phone as well i will bet.

 

[Capella]

Sorry...but whats a Dunlop 2?

I had bought a bucket full of cheap lakeballs for practice, so all the balls were different makes and models. One was a Dunlop ball with the number 2 on it

 

[seochris]

I had bought a bucket full of cheap lakeballs for practice, so all the balls were different makes and models. One was a Dunlop ball with the number 2 on it

Aha....I didn't think you were old enough to have the Dunlop 65's in your bag....:lol:

 

[Lefty2016]

Occasionally I'll forget to switch my yardage gadget on in time and it takes a few minutes to sync in to the course...whilst I'm waiting I feel naked without it! I don't think it's an issue if you're over reliant on GPS, that's what it's there for. For the odd time or few shots that you don't have GPS it's not worth the time beating yourself up for not being a good natural judge of yardage - if you were then you wouldnt use GPS!

 

[Capella]

It is a question of habit more than anything else. When I forget to put on my Garmin, I catch myself staring at my normal (very plain and very analog) wristwatch, trying to make sense of it somehow until I realize what I amd doing :mmm:

 

[SwingsitlikeHogan]

I can't remember when I last mentioned that I don't use a range finder and have generally been fairly anti them for club comps... But since @chrisd has mentioned it elsewhere...that's me fixed that.

BTW - Did I mention that when I played The Emirates Faldo course a month back my buggy had one (a very natty screen showing the whole hole with distances etc) - and I found it very useful. So useful I might actually look into buying one. So there

 

[patricks148]

I can't remember when I last mentioned that I don't use a range finder and have generally been fairly anti them for club comps... But since @chrisd has mentioned it elsewhere...that's me fixed that.

BTW - Did I mention that when I played The Emirates Faldo course a month back my buggy had one (a very natty screen showing the whole hole with distances etc) - and I found it very useful. So useful I might actually look into buying one. So there

in answer to your question... 3 times on this tread alone.

maybe you should get one, you might get down to single figures:rofl::rofl:

 

[SwingsitlikeHogan]

in answer to your question... 3 times on this tread alone.

maybe you should get one, you might get down to single figures:rofl::rofl:

Yes indeed - three times mentioning that I didn't use one - but my obduracy in the past was actually in respect of their being used in internal club comps. But even on that I admitted defeat. Still needs a local rule though so clearly still some debate about

And do be honest I don't think a range finder would help me that much on my own track - I know it pretty much inside out and we have many accurate distance markers down the middle of every fairway from 250yds in, that said - one just might - I am not closed to the idea.