What is it about Skycaddie's/GPS etc etc ?????

good reply Chris credit for sticking to your cause you do have a point.


You are still wrong though ;) - why not make the game easier if you can? :p
 
ChrisMc

The point about pros is valid only up to a point. At most events they are there from the Tuesday and they all use GPS to add notes to the course planners provided. Most pros keep their yardage charts for each course and only amend any holes that have been redesigned. They will often add year on year to the distances already recorded. In some cases they will have almost 5 yard gaps measured off and so the main factor of pacing out is no longer an issue (especially with slow play high on the PGA agenda).

The only time you tend to see a pro or caddy pacing out the distance now is where they are way off line and then it is only usually to the nearest reference point the already have.

Golf will always be a game of feel as no-one can make a difference except the guy swinging the club. However for mere mortals like us, providing you know how far you hit each club (I have measured mine using SC5 down wind and into the breeze) on average, it makes clubbing easier and gives me complete confidence standing over the ball. If I then send it into the next postcode that has nothing to do with GPS making the game easier. It just means I'm an idiot.
 
I don't have a GPS and have never used one - mainly because i don't play enough - but if the arguement against them is the 'assist' factor , then surely you'd have to look at all 'draw' biased drivers in the same light , weighted adjustable clubs or electric trollies even . They all provide a way that a golfer can address a flaw in his game or help improve the golfers chances of a good round , in the case of an electric trolley by keeping the golfer less fatigued.
However , i applaud anyone who sticks to what they believe in and doesn't get influenced by the majority.
 
To be accurate - the ET Pros have a yardage book for each tournament made for them for that particular course and week which is measured the week before by a couple of 'caddie' types....they use lasers and some GPS to get the distances and then paint the course with shapes and colours (more than you can imagine too) that correspond with the book....they buy them at the start of the wek when they get there....in the practice rounds they all use lasers and some GPS to make sure the distances are right.....

In all PGA events where Pros are allowed to use GPS and Lasers now - you will not find a Pro who doesn't use a device....

ChrisMc you've obvioulsy never used one, the best thng you can do is then you can make a balanced decision as to whether or not you want to use one....I have to say it has only helped my golf since I got one in June and I am a much better player now because now I know how far I have to go and can commit 100% to it knowing the distance is right rather than being half a club or a whole club out....
 
You do make a good point Chris, but as already pointed out. Caddies spend a couple days using all the latest devices to get the yardage down to a T. Us amatures obviously dont have that priveledge.

To me, I just want to enjoy the game as best I can, and I normally enjoy it more, the better I play. I dont want to rock up to a course I dont know, pay £25 quid and miss all the greens because I dont have the right yardage.

You would use a 150 marker wouldn't you, or pace out from one if you were away from one. GPS just saves you this time and speeds up the play. Also elimintaes the chance of a mistake made by a green keeper if he has paced out the markers wrong.
 
Well since winning mine ;) and using it I wont be going back, its given my game that extra confidence on club choice and the likes.

I think the only time they are banned from comps (unless local ban on them) is if they give gradients on the course.
 
I don't have one but would like one. In comps I will spend a good deal of time reading strokesavers, decent strokesavers do give distances to all hazards but it can take some time working them out.
I don't believe judging distance is a golf skill, hitting the golf ball correctly is a golf skill. I wear glasses and don't have perfect vision so I need yardage references currently either from course markers or a strokesaver. Course markers are unreliable, strokesavers are a bit of a faff especially when you're not in the fairway.

I do believe, having seen these in action, that a Skycaddie or equivalent will speed play up, it cetainly would for me.

I too know exactly how far I hit each iron so I just need a yardage then I can play quickly.....once I've factored in wind speed and direction, air temp, relative humidity, postition of the moon in the lunar cycle etc etc.

Now where's my golfing anometer/barometer/thermometer etc etc :D

Seriously a Skycaddie is on my shopping list. ;)
 
I think a lot of you are too pre-occupied with exact yardages, and unless you are VERY good, you wont be hitting it that consistently anyway.

In all my 20yrs playing, (11 H/c) I have found simple 150yd posts to be all I need to club myself fairly accurately to the green, and if I am walking past that point, then yes, I'll make a mental note of how many yards past I am.
However, I dont pace it out TO the posts, and then walk back to play my shot, I simply use my judgement so as to not slow things down and make everyone wait for my antics.

As far as fairway bunkers etc, if you need an exact yardage to get you over it, then you're course management isnt the best, surely you can tell what club would put you well over, or well short ??

So far from speeding play up, I can only assume that they perhaps slow the play down, and I can imagine a lot of rules broken as far as 'information shared' is concerned.

I dont know if they are even allowed at my club, I have never seen a member using one, but I sincerely hope that they never are.

We all have our thoughts, and clearly a lot of you need them it would appear, so good luck, I hope they help you.

No offence . :-/
 
I take my hat off to you chris, I really do. Its seems you have a gift, Playing off 11 and only casually guessing distances, you must be pretty good at it.

I judge distances quite well I think, but only if I am standing with a clear view to the flag on level ground.

I cant see how they would slow a game down. I played yesterday, firts time with the SC and played faster than ever. I didnt rush cause I like to enjoy the game but. I met up with another member on 15 and whilst he was taking his shot I could walk straight up to my ball, assess the lie, take all things into consideration and prepare for my shot. I didnt have to check yardage, something that can take up most of my pre shot time.

When we got to the 17th, it is a good 70 yards shorter and the guy had no idea what the yardage was. He just said, my 3 will do and when I told him it was 180 exactly, he changed his mind. I think this saved us a good few minutes because had he hit his 3, he most definitly would have lost it through the back and we would have been searching for a while.
 
So can anybody tell me why the R&A have left it up to local clubs to make the decision as to when gps can be used. At my club the committee put it to the members at the agm, and guess what the coffin dodgers all voted against it.
 
So can anybody tell me why the R&A have left it up to local clubs to make the decision as to when gps can be used. At my club the committee put it to the members at the agm, and guess what the coffin dodgers all voted against it.
Click to expand...

No but if you ask the R&A nor can they.....
 
I'll take that bet!

The day they are permitted, You owe me £20.

I will die before you win the bet. :D I bet you £20 of that!
 
When R&A changed the rules (ie added the note to 14/3) to say that clubs were able to make a local rule allowing their use - they were not talking about casual play (since as far as R&A is concerned there is no such thing) So, I'd be very surprised if some club somewhere has not already made such a local rule - which will permit them in comps. All I have to do is find out where it's happened to get my £20

As regards sharing the information from a GPS with fellow players, opponents etc - it's perfectly ok. Information about distance is not "advice" (see definition in Rules)
 
I'd have £20 with anyone that they wont EVER be permitted in Competion play
:-)
Click to expand...

Depends your definition of Competition play but in this year's Men's Opens I was allowed to use my Skycaddie under local rule under the R&A Rules at:

Princes
Woodcote Park
North Foreland
The Oxfordshire
Chobham

You may use them in any PGA event either Pro-Am or Pro Tournament and the EGU will be allowing them in all their events such as they English Amateur etc....

BB&O have allowed them in all their county events since the new R&A Rule was introduced....

I wont claim my score as you may not have any left.....

I still defy anyone to come up with a valid arguement as to why they should not be allowed..
 
No need for the £20 because, as explained above, you have a lot to pay out already. My club has already ok'd them for comps from 01.01.09 and the Gloucestershire County Union have done likewise.

Don't want to seem too harsh Chris, especially as a new user, but your "rough guessing" of distances may have something to do with you still playing of 11.

I don't just want to know 1 yardage when playing an approach, in fact the yardage to the pin is down the list of importance. The gps gives you multiple yardages at the touch of a button.

Knowing the yardage is not a skill, it is an exact piece of information that is readily available to everyone, it's just that some methods of obtaining it are lengthier than others. The skill comes in choosing and executing the appropriate shot with the required club for that occaision.

I do agree with you 100% that it's "each to their own" but I see them as a great addition as a tool to combat slow play.
 
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