Does having a rangefinder/gps actually improve scores?

Mat the trasher

I know done to death.

Was thinking of buying one, but constantly switch preferance between laser and gps. So I thought ask the bigger question can anyone actually say they now score better consistantly due to the use of either.
If you rented one instead of buying it at the time for 3 months would you feel that you still needed it after that period. I'm guessing you learn your distances after 3 months and really no longer need it as much except for playing new courses?

golfnut1

Mat the trasher wrote: »

I know done to death.

Was thinking of buying one, but constantly switch preferance between laser and gps. So I thought ask the bigger question can anyone actually say they now score better consistantly due to the use of either.
If you rented one instead of buying it at the time for 3 months would you feel that you still needed it after that period. I'm guessing you learn your distances after 3 months and really no longer need it as much except for playing new courses?

I wouldn't say you constantly score better.
When your playing crap it doesn't matter if you have one or not but on your good days I would say they shave about 2 shots off your round.
Turns a 38 into 40 points. Can be the difference between getting a place or not.

mike12

I think it all depends on your handicap, a GPS is the same as a stroke saver unless you get of the map and then it a bit more useful. A range finder will help the better players who are fairly accurate with the distances they hit there clubs. Knowing exactly how far the flag is is what the better player needs so the GPS for them.
The one thing they do give is confidence in the club selection u are not guessing what it is to the flag which is worth a shot or 2 a round.
Mike

Villain

I have one over 2 years now and it certainly has helped my scoring, for me the first thing it does is allow you accurately find out what distance you hit each club, on a calm day head out and use each club in the bag, hit a few shots and mark your starting point and get the average, this helped me a lot when I was starting out.

The second thing it does is add trust and speed to your routine, one look at the gps and you have a distance you can trust, allow for wind etc and you have a club choice quickly that you can trust.

The third thing is lay ups, hit a shorter than usual drive or a little wayward and you can pick a target to lay up and pick a club again that you can trust. Range finders imo of playing with people who use them are too slow.

slave1

Villain wrote: »

I have one over 2 years now and it certainly has helped my scoring, for me the first thing it does is allow you accurately find out what distance you hit each club, on a calm day head out and use each club in the bag, hit a few shots and mark your starting point and get the average, this helped me a lot when I was starting out.

The second thing it does is add trust and speed to your routine, one look at the gps and you have a distance you can trust, allow for wind etc and you have a club choice quickly that you can trust.

The third thing is lay ups, hit a shorter than usual drive or a little wayward and you can pick a target to lay up and pick a club again that you can trust. Range finders imo of playing with people who use them are too slow.

+1, sums it up perfectly, you can keep your score on the GPS one so saves getting a card out of the bag and writing etc on a non-competitive round, speeds things up

dnjoyce

Mat the trasher wrote: »

I know done to death.

Was thinking of buying one, but constantly switch preferance between laser and gps. So I thought ask the bigger question can anyone actually say they now score better consistantly due to the use of either.
If you rented one instead of buying it at the time for 3 months would you feel that you still needed it after that period. I'm guessing you learn your distances after 3 months and really no longer need it as much except for playing new courses?

No. Neither a GPS nor a laser give you any information that isn't already available through more manual means (pacing out to nearest distance marker/sprinkler, =/- for front, middle back etc). It merely provides it much quicker and handier. If you are lookig to improve your scores, get some lessons but don't expect a DMD to shave a few strokes off your handicap.

BigChap1759

dnjoyce wrote: »

No. Neither a GPS nor a laser give you any information that isn't already available through more manual means (pacing out to nearest distance marker/sprinkler, =/- for front, middle back etc). It merely provides it much quicker and handier. If you are lookig to improve your scores, get some lessons but don't expect a DMD to shave a few strokes off your handicap.

Great if your course has the sprinkler heads marked - in my experience most don't. Marker poles on many courses are far from accurate.

Mat the trasher

dnjoyce wrote: »

No. Neither a GPS nor a laser give you any information that isn't already available through more manual means (pacing out to nearest distance marker/sprinkler, =/- for front, middle back etc). It merely provides it much quicker and handier. If you are lookig to improve your scores, get some lessons but don't expect a DMD to shave a few strokes off your handicap.

I'm not expecting it to hit the club for me, I think that it is well known that most mid - high handicaps for example miss the green short more that left/right/long. So having the tool to select the right club should bring a relatively immediate small improvement, followed by normal or no further improvement depending on practice imput.

alxmorgan

dnjoyce wrote: »

No. Neither a GPS nor a laser give you any information that isn't already available through more manual means (pacing out to nearest distance marker/sprinkler, =/- for front, middle back etc). It merely provides it much quicker and handier. If you are lookig to improve your scores, get some lessons but don't expect a DMD to shave a few strokes off your handicap.

Diagree with this in so far as if I have a back pin position and yardage is to centre I need to know how deep the green is to know my yardage.
Especially with courses you are not familiar with and some greens can be very long back to front and it can make a club or two of difference

Have a GPS since Xmas and my two cents is it definitely has the potential to help your score. Obviously you still need to hit the shot but I am pin high now a lot whereas I was always short.
Removes ego from it too as you can accurately tell how far you hit the ball so no hiding from my 220 yard drives now

TheDoc

Are there any decent apps for phones

I would love to run with one for a few games just to simply mark my distance. I'm having trouble with my range since coming back and using my new irons.

So something to help out my distance would be epic.

Ben1977

I find that I'm now getting the ball hole high, rather that short in some bad spots. I'm not in the front bunkers anymore and I never second guess myself over the ball.

redzerdrog

Got one the other day and used it for the 1st time. found it very helpfull as times were i taught i was a 50yards out i was actually about 80 to the centre of the green. On two seperate par 5s i was a cominded 5 inches away from pitching in for eagle

GreeBo

Villain wrote: »

, on a calm day head out and use each club in the bag, hit a few shots and mark your starting point and get the average,

You dont want the average, you want the Mode (the distance you hit the most often out of a sample of shots with the same club)

You could use the average if you discount the really short ones and the really long ones, but I would say the Mode is the more accurate.

Whyner

You're hilarious Greebo

Chances are we can't hit the exact yardage twice, so therefore no mode

GreeBo

Whyner wrote: »

You're hilarious Greebo

Chances are we can't hit the exact yardage twice, so therefore no mode

Doesnt that entirely depend on what measuring units you are using, the degree of accuracy and the number of shots you are hitting?

If you are measuring in 5m increments then I reckon even you could hit 2 shots to within 5m of each other now and then.

Personally when practicing I would get a good grouping (distance wise at least) when hitting anything more than 20 balls.

k.p.h

Whyner wrote: »

You're hilarious Greebo

Chances are we can't hit the exact yardage twice, so therefore no mode

Ah come on Whyner, no need to get too technical the mode dose not have to be an exact yardage, it can just be a 5 yard gap that you hit most often of whatever. With a doubt the mode (or best close to it) is the best way to calculate you distances.

Technical: The larger the standard deviation the more accurate the mode is going to be, therefore higher handicaps will get better results using the mode. e.g 20 balls with 2 blades and a flyer with have 3 outliers and a pretty skewed distribution. Average will be a waste of time..

Edit:Greebo in before me with the 5Y gap

Villain

GreeBo wrote: »

You dont want the average, you want the Mode (the distance you hit the most often out of a sample of shots with the same club)

You could use the average if you discount the really short ones and the really long ones, but I would say the Mode is the more accurate.

LOL, depends on how you hit them, sorry I was assuming users would add Common Sense

Whyner

GreeBo wrote: »

Doesnt that entirely depend on what measuring units you are using, the degree of accuracy and the number of shots you are hitting?

If you are measuring in 5m increments then I reckon even you could hit 2 shots to within 5m of each other now and then.

Personally when practicing I would get a good grouping (distance wise at least) when hitting anything more than 20 balls.

Knew I shouldn't have posted. I'm a cat 2 hacker, leave me alone.

I bought a laser recently but only use it when with mates or out on my own. There is nothing worse for the confidence than pulling it out then hitting a crap shot. Nothing!

I bought it to work on wedge play but feel so awkward taking it out when less than 100 yards out. Then again why know my exact yardage (from practice) for my wedges when I don't know how far out I am (in comps). It's a bit of a vicious circle.

Mixed feelings about buying it but there are no extra costs and it should last a lifetime.

If your handicap is roughly 10 or above, you'd probably be better off practicing feel or getting lessons. I think that's fair to say

Whyner

k.p.h wrote: »

Ah come on Whyner, no need to get too technical the mode dose not have to be an exact yardage, it can just be a 5 yard gap that you hit most often of whatever. With a doubt the mode (or best close to it) is the best way to calculate you distances.

Technical: The larger the standard deviation the more accurate the mode is going to be, therefore higher handicaps will get better results using the mode. e.g 20 balls with 2 blades and a flyer with have 3 outliers and a pretty skewed distribution. Average will be a waste of time..

Edit:Greebo in before me with the 5Y gap

I was staying away from the techy side. Greebo mentioned mode, which is a form of average. I think everyone working on their average would exclude blades, thins etc...

Villain

Whyner wrote: »

I was staying away from the techy side. Greebo mentioned mode, which is a form of average. I think everyone working on their average would exclude blades, thins etc...

Thats the common sense I was talking about

thegen

Whyner,

I know where you are coming from. The temptation not to take out a DMD when closer than 100yds because you feel you look like a tool is with us all. I played in the club mixed the last two years and the woman I played with used it on anything over 30yds!!!!

I do think that using it all the time does get your eye in and your estimation of distance is therefore better when you are without it.

The battery on my Bushnell went after 8 holes in the last medal of last year. I shot level par on back nine!!!! Pity about the +5 on the front.

alxmorgan

Whyner wrote: »

Knew I shouldn't have posted. I'm a cat 2 hacker, leave me alone.

I bought a laser recently but only use it when with mates or out on my own. There is nothing worse for the confidence than pulling it out then hitting a crap shot. Nothing!

I bought it to work on wedge play but feel so awkward taking it out when less than 100 yards out. Then again why know my exact yardage (from practice) for my wedges when I don't know how far out I am (in comps). It's a bit of a vicious circle.

Mixed feelings about buying it but there are no extra costs and it should last a lifetime.

If your handicap is roughly 10 or above, you'd probably be better off practicing feel or getting lessons. I think that's fair to say

That's one reason I like the GPS. Strapped to the bag so I glance at it and no one even knows. Definitely speeds things up

irish bloke

k.p.h wrote: »

Ah come on Whyner, no need to get too technical the mode dose not have to be an exact yardage, it can just be a 5 yard gap that you hit most often of whatever. With a doubt the mode (or best close to it) is the best way to calculate you distances.

Technical: The larger the standard deviation the more accurate the mode is going to be, therefore higher handicaps will get better results using the mode. e.g 20 balls with 2 blades and a flyer with have 3 outliers and a pretty skewed distribution. Average will be a waste of time..

Edit:Greebo in before me with the 5Y gap

Technical part 2: Above is true, but wild outliers should be removed provided you have a decent size population. 1 standard deviation (68%) outside a normal distribution curve would give you the range your looking for.

That said, I think Villian was right when he said he thought users would use common sense.:)

k.p.h

Whyner wrote: »

I was staying away from the techy side. Greebo mentioned mode, which is a form of average. I think everyone working on their average would exclude blades, thins etc...

Haha,OK fair enough, just once everyone works off the shot they hit most often I'l be happy.

irish bloke

I'm on the GPS fence. About to buy the golf buddy world platinum in the next few days. Its got all the tricks apparently including scorecard for 4 people and shot tracker, GIR etc.

Anyone got this and is there a better one out there for Irish courses with no annual fee??

WHIP IT!

golfnut1 wrote: »

I wouldn't say you constantly score better.
When your playing crap it doesn't matter if you have one or not but on your good days I would say they shave about 2 shots off your round.
Turns a 38 into 40 points. Can be the difference between getting a place or not.

I haven't read through this thread entirely, but the first reply is spot on. It won't stop you hitting bad shots but, like golfnut said, it can help turn a good day into a really good day by saving you those two shots maybe.

More than anything, it takes doubt out of your mind. You might stand in the fairway and say "I think I've about 145 to the pin" and when you check it on your rangefinder you mighy find that you were spot on... but it takes that doubt out of your mind and allows you just concentrate on the shot.

Of course, you'll find you often have underestimated distance - it's quite an interesting experiment, in fact, when you first get one to have a guess at your yardage then check it through the rangefinder. I was surprised how often I had guessed 10/12yds short of what it actually was. Even on shorter approaches, you might say 'about 100' then find it's 106, which is a big enough distance on a short shot like that.

PRAF

Rangefinders also good in the following situations:
- Wild drive and on the wrong fairway so can't otherwise get an accurate distance
- Hitting a shot to an uphill green and can't quite make out if the pin is at the front, back, or centre
- Figuring out how far you need to hit it to clear a hazard
- Practicing and figuring out exactly how far you hit your clubs (particularly those 3/4s and half wedge shots)

k.p.h

I think a DMD can plays it's part for all handicap players but obviously has more impact on scores for lower handicaps.

High handicap players can use it to accurately gauge how far the hit their clubs.

Middle handicaps usually have there clubs distances reasonably accurate, but can use it to avoid miscalculation of distances from markers.

Low handicappers can use it to find pins.

I would still place it well down the list on golf expenditure though, 300e can get a lot of lessons and range time. That would have a really noticeable impact on a players scores.!

Russman

k.p.h wrote: »

I would still place it well down the list on golf expenditure though, 300e can get a lot of lessons and range time. That would have a really noticeable impact on a players scores.!

What he just said ^^^^

Whyner

thegen wrote: »

Whyner,

I know where you are coming from. The temptation not to take out a DMD when closer than 100yds because you feel you look like a tool is with us all. I played in the club mixed the last two years and the woman I played with used it on anything over 30yds!!!!

I do think that using it all the time does get your eye in and your estimation of distance is therefore better when you are without it.

The battery on my Bushnell went after 8 holes in the last medal of last year. I shot level par on back nine!!!! Pity about the +5 on the front.

Yeah, from using it on my own I think I've improved in guaging distance

You played with her for 2 years so she must be fairly decent

Whyner

Russman wrote: »

What he just said ^^^^

Practicing your putting for hours on end is free, just saying

Russman

Whyner wrote: »

Practicing your putting for hours on end is free, just saying

Touche

Loire

I find my GPS very good for distances to hazards. If I know that the water is 180 away I know I can flake the bejasus out of a 7 iron and be short. Similarly, for large, uphill greens it be can very handy to know the yardage to the back if that's where the flag is.

Hacker111

Loire wrote: »

I find my GPS very good for distances to hazards. If I know that the water is 180 away I know I can flake the bejasus out of a 7 iron and be short. Similarly, for large, uphill greens it be can very handy to know the yardage to the back if that's where the flag is.

Totally agree... great for deceptively long greens, lay ups, front/back of greens etc.... have a WP since last year and it has defo helped my game....

thegen

Whyner wrote: »

Yeah, from using it on my own I think I've improved in guaging distance

You played with her for 2 years so she must be fairly decent

Won it 1st year, knocked out in 1/4 last year.

gotapaininmy

Like other people have said, I think the bigggest advantage of a rangefinder at first is that it gives you a more accurate idea of how far you actually hit each club. I've seen the biggest improvement with shots where I used to struggle to decide which wedge to hit (pitching, gap sand or lob). You do become VERY dependent on them though, the battery went mid-round on me recently and I couldn't club myself at all. Also if your mates don't have one they'll break your heart asking you for yardages all the time!!

Wild Bill

Having had to watch ads for a "golf buddy" about 15 times per hour the past three days watching the Masters I'm definitely going to buy one.

Just so I can smash the f****** thing :mad:

displaced dub

i think it does help a lot and it also keeps play moving as players are not looking for distance markers etc... very handy not just for pin distance but also if you're in trouble and you need to know how far away a bunker or tree is for a recovery shot

SuprSi

I'm going to be buying a rangefinder this week and hope it will help. The yardage markers on the fairway and tee box on my course are rubbish and I'm struggling a lot inside 150 yards.

newport2

SuprSi wrote: »

I'm going to be buying a rangefinder this week and hope it will help. The yardage markers on the fairway and tee box on my course are rubbish and I'm struggling a lot inside 150 yards.

It'll be a good buy. I started with a rangefinder about 5 years ago and never looked back. Use a GPS now, but still use rangefinder for wedge shots.

SuprSi

newport2 wrote: »

It'll be a good buy. I started with a rangefinder about 5 years ago and never looked back. Use a GPS now, but still use rangefinder for wedge shots.

Can I ask whether you think it would be a better idea to buy a decent GPS, like the SkyCaddie SGX and buy a cheaper rangefinder, or spend it all on a decent rangefinder? I've been reading very good things about the SGX and can't make my mind up!

Villain

SuprSi wrote: »

Can I ask whether you think it would be a better idea to buy a decent GPS, like the SkyCaddie SGX and buy a cheaper rangefinder, or spend it all on a decent rangefinder? I've been reading very good things about the SGX and can't make my mind up!

I have an SGX and I would actually say the Golf Buddy looks better value imo, mainly because the holevue feature is done for so few courses in Ireland.

I really don't get why someone would use a range finder rather than a GPS, I can understand using both if budget allowed.

SuprSi

It's an accuracy thing really. I've always been lead to believe that a rangefinder will be more accurate, especially when closer to the green as you can point exactly to the pin rather than relying on guesswork with the pin position.

The courses over here have HoleVue configured so that'd be useful though. I really can't decide! I guess I could get the SGX and save for a while for a cheaper rangefinder, though I may not need one in the end. Or I could go the other way and pick up the rangefinder. Very difficult choice!

Villain

SuprSi wrote: »

It's an accuracy thing really. I've always been lead to believe that a rangefinder will be more accurate, especially when closer to the green as you can point exactly to the pin rather than relying on guesswork with the pin position.

The courses over here have HoleVue configured so that'd be useful though. I really can't decide! I guess I could get the SGX and save for a while for a cheaper rangefinder, though I may not need one in the end. Or I could go the other way and pick up the rangefinder. Very difficult choice!

Well on my home course which has HoleVue I don't think a range finder would give me any advantage over the SGX as I know the slopes of the greens so I use the SGX to point to my landing spot and get a very accurate distance I think been able to use holevue for blind shots and end of fairway and hazards etc is of more value imo.

MiniGolf

SuprSi wrote: »

It's an accuracy thing really. I've always been lead to believe that a rangefinder will be more accurate, especially when closer to the green as you can point exactly to the pin rather than relying on guesswork with the pin position.

The courses over here have HoleVue configured so that'd be useful though. I really can't decide! I guess I could get the SGX and save for a while for a cheaper rangefinder, though I may not need one in the end. Or I could go the other way and pick up the rangefinder. Very difficult choice!

You may not be aware but on the Golfbuddy World Platinum you can move the pin around the green on the screen to get better accuracy on the distance. I know it won't be as easy as a rangefinder but if you can see the pin position you can get pretty close! Obviously, elevated greens are a bit more difficult to judge but it's a lot better than guessing from fairway markers especially to large/long greens.
This position marking also applies to fairways etc so you can use it for layup distances/hazard distances etc.

irishtoffee

Think they are great especially when going to play open days on different courses. Great knowing distances to front,middle and back of greens and how far the bunkers and water hazards are to carry or lay up. Then you don't have to buy stroke savers anymore. Make sure to allow for the wind though cos its easy to forget after just looking at the screen ha.Another plus is not having to look for a yardage marker on the course and step out how far you are from it to work out distance so the GPS can quicken up play also.

Mat the trasher

So I bough a rangefinder late last week, Nikon 350G.

I have to say after using for three rounds I was at times very surprised how I was underestimating some yardages, once up to 30yrds and couple of 20yrd differances all while using the fairway markers as reference.

before DMD this year
of greens missed in reg, 46% were short.

last three rounds with DMD
of greens missed in reg, 33% were short. Not conclusive and used DMD only when I was unsure of distance, but positive all the same.

now if I could only putt :eek:

SuprSi

I just ordered an SGX! Got a good deal on a refurbished model, which means I may be able to stretch to a rangefinder in the near future if I'm not fully happy with the accuracy.

Tones69

Best 300 euro ever spend imo, great tool to have

newport2

SuprSi wrote: »

Can I ask whether you think it would be a better idea to buy a decent GPS, like the SkyCaddie SGX and buy a cheaper rangefinder, or spend it all on a decent rangefinder? I've been reading very good things about the SGX and can't make my mind up!

I use the Skycaddy SG5 and the Bushnell pro 1600, can't fault either of them. If I had to choose between them, then I would go with the Skycaddy, so in answer to your question I would get a decent GPS. Maybe then keep an eye out for a rangefinder if a deal comes up or on ebay?

TBH, a rangefinder is useful but not necessary once you have a Skycaddy. You can move the pin around on the green for different yardages, etc. I only have both because I had the rangefinder first. If I had got a Skycaddy first, I probably wouldn't have a rangefinder now.

redzerdrog

pmcb wrote: »

I downloaded an app called freecaddie on my android phone 3 weeks ago. It is also available on iphone. Its Free. You can download your course onto your phone. It then uses gps to automatically tell you exactly how far you are from the front, back and middle of the green from where your ball is. can say that this device helped me win my first competition of the year last week. I was pin high on my last two holes which clinched it for me. i would recommend this app to start off with if you have a smartphone.

But you are not allowed to use smartphone apps in compititions I thought?