Range Finders

benny79

Any of you guys recommend any good Range finders? I would like the pin seeker thing as my hands seem to shake when I use one 😂 The slope function be good too as I never take this into the equation so be nice to know difference. Tried a mates one on with this and surprised its only 2 to 4 yards. Taught it be more! considering I usually allow about 10! 😂 But a good mate told me I definitely should get one as it will save me 4/5 shots a round. I have been using a Garmin gps for years you can manually move flag etc but have noticed when I used my mates laser just because flag is at back can be 10 yards in difference compared to my GPS!

Budget wise suppose middle of the road not a cheap one but not mad money either! Theres so many on the market hard to choose!

SEORG

Is it still a rule that you can't use range finders with the slope function in competition?

There are usually a few going on adverts for good value.

Russman

Anecdotally I've heard that Shotscope's stand alone range finders are very good (think they've at least 3 different models) and the online reviews seem to say that as well. Good bang for buck given they're probably half the price of a Bushnell.

Just had a look and the Pro LX is €219 in McGuirks and the Pro L2 is €179. Actually they're the same on Shotscope's own website too.

Slope must be turned off in competition but most rangefinders with it have a very visible button to show whether its on or off - easy for your playing partners to know 😁😁!!

paulos53

It is something that I have been looking into as well. The Bushnell models come with and without slope. The ones without slope are around 80 euro cheaper. We can't turn on slope in competition so that is an easy decision for me.

Shotscope released a new model last week. Pro ZR for €349. That might result in a price reduction of their older models but I haven't seen that yet.

It should also be noted that there is no way that a rangefinder will save 4/5 shots a round over a GPS. In reality the gains are marginal unless somebody is hitting their irons at PGA Tour level.

PARlance

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121796352#Comment_121796352

(Seemingly) Significant reduction on this one. €139 for trusted brand and online retailer, seems a good deal.

https://www.clubhousegolf.co.uk/acatalog/Shot-Scope-Pro-L1-Laser-Golf-Rangefinder-Black-Blue.html#SID=9395

Russman

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121796352#Comment_121796352

Yeah, i tend to agree with your last paragraph. For joe bloggs amateur, IMHO having front, middle and back yardages is enough 95% of the time. If he's hitting to the middle of the green all the time he's certainly not wasting too many shots.

There might be a gain using a rangefinder over nothing at all, but even then, 4 or 5 shots a round is a bit of a stretch. Having used GPS for the last few years I've found the benefit to be over time, learning how far I hit (or don't hit !) the different clubs rather than being able to say in a given situation that the GPS saved me a shot - which can of course happen, say if you're way offline and don't have to guess the distance etc.

benny79

Where I see the Range finder saves you shots if the flag is at back you click or take back distance on GPS but if you have laser and laser it even though its at the back there could be 10/15 yard difference.. Probably wont make a difference to me 😂😂 But all the low guys I know are using both and keep telling me I need to get a range finder 🤷‍♂️ Kinda want a new driver more though 😂

Seve OB

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121796118#Comment_121796118

I think as long as you can turn the slope function off you are ok

Bobson Dugnutt

They are contributing to the 4 and 5 hour rounds. Lads using them, taking 3 or 4 practice swings, wiggling the arse for 30 seconds, then sending it into the bunker beside the green regardless.

waterwelly

Amazon have cheap ones that are fine, around €70 maybe.

No need to spend money on anything fancy.

It's a basic laser.

Dav010

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121799737#Comment_121799737

I can somewhat understand their occasional use on a course the user is unacquainted with, but they make me want to take out every club in my bag and beat the user with them when someone I’m playing with uses rangefinders all the time on our home course. I agree with you, they slow play and few golfers above low single figure handicaps can hit the ball a certain distance at will.

I hate them.

El Guapo!

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121800185#Comment_121800185

Are you supposed to know the exact distance to everything from every spot in your own course?

Realistically they don't slow anything down. Most people will whip it out and zap the flag or whatever while their playing partner is taking their shot. Takes 5 seconds. It's just another thing people like to whinge about and blame on slow play.

dan_ep82

Ah lads, pins move and unless your playing on tiny greens it can be at least a club difference.

If done correctly it takes about 10 seconds to take the rangefinder out,get the yardage and put it back in your bag, and it's usually done when others are hitting their shots.

I've noticed a difference in clarity and time to get a yardage between cheap to the more expensive rangefinders. The Inesis one from Decathalon is a great middle ground.

Dav010

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121800210#Comment_121800210

Can you hit a ball an exact distance?

El Guapo!

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121800280#Comment_121800280

Absolutely not. Nor can most amateurs. But it's roughly around the same yardage and as mentioned above, a pin in a front position vs back can be a full club difference on some greens.

Not only that, but rangefinders aren't just used for zapping pins. They can be used to find the distance to a dogleg, or a particular bunker etc. An invaluable piece of kit especially when used in conjunction with a gps watch or similar.

As I said, people just like to overstate the problem of slow play and see something anecdotal that they can shake their fist at.

Dav010

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121800357#Comment_121800357

Most players keep their RFs in their bags, taking it out, pressing the button to wake it up, zero in on what you are aiming at, some will press the button a second time, put the cover back on the lens, put it back in the bag, all in 5 secs? No, people who use them a lot will use it on every shot so you are talking about at least a minute per hole, if 2 use it, that could be 40 mins extra per round, more if everyone uses one, it seems even the high handicappers use them now, more shots, more time. The biggest complaint people have about the game right now is the time it takes to play a round, slowing down play even more just adds to that.

If you need to use a rangefinder a lot on your home course, you either have memory issues or you are taking the game more seriously than your talent should warrant. I dread to think how much weather conditions, course firmness and the shape of the greens must mess with your game.

Seve OB

It’s makes no difference what so ever as long as you keep pace with the group in front

Dav010

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121800464#Comment_121800464

What if the group in front is 4 x El Guapo!? We have all been there.

El Guapo!

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121800534#Comment_121800534

😂😂

Get a grip man. I've been stuck behind slow groups plenty of times and I can tell you it has never once been because someone is using a rangefinder. It's usually because people are strolling down the fairway having a yap and spending 10 mins trying to find their ball, calling their mates over to help with the search.

Forgive me if I don't trust your highly scientific analysis of how 2 people using rangefinders adds up to 40 mins extra per round. Your breakdown of the process feels like getting shafted by a dodgy tradesman adding up the bill. As I said, it only takes a few seconds and is usually done while your playing partner is hitting their shot.

Russman

Wait til the fecker with the laser starts doing aimpoint on the greens.........😁

All joking aside though, I can see how they'd be perceived to be slowing play up but most times I'm playing with someone using one, they've been pretty on the ball and you don't even notice them taking a quick yardage. You do get the odd gobsh1te zapping a flag from 40 yards but thankfully not that often. IMHO there's definitely lower hanging fruit in the battle with slow play.

WRT lasers, I'm certainly not anti technology or progress, I have a Bushnell (long story, it was a voucher I had to use up) but have never used it in competition, mostly use it for doing gapping on a quiet summer evening. I honestly think, in Irish conditions they're a lot less valuable than somewhere with a consisent climate. I play a fairly hilly course and there's huge variance in how it plays. We've a little par 3 thats about 125 yards, it can be anything from a wedge to a 5 iron depending on the wind - knowing that the pin is 126 or 123 isn't going to make a jot of difference.

We all like shiny new things and I wouldn't tell anyone not to get one, but if I'm looking to improve and I already have a gps, I think 3 lessons is a better investment. If every club golfer played the back yardage of every green, they'd score an awful lot lower IMHO.

blue note

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121800280#Comment_121800280

This argument against them is a pet peeve of mine. It's a really stupid one. No club golfer is so in control of his game that he will be able to hit exact distances. They also can't hit it perfectly straight. But if you're starting by aiming for the right place in terms of distance and direction you'll end up closer to it.

I'd like a rangefinder, but rarely for the pin. My approach for the greens is pretty much to aim for the centre. I'll adjust by a few yards if the flag is left, right, front, back and I'm close enough, but the distance to the centre is a better starting point for me more often than not. However, particularly on new courses they'd be great from the tee. I've lost too many balls from running out of room after a dog leg. You think you can just go straight down the fairway, but actually needed to cut the corner by 50 yards or take an iron from the tee. Knowing some distances from the tee would be great.

RoadRunner

Knowing distance to target sets a clear goal allowing you to refine your accuracy over time. Each shot, whether 2 meters long /short is valuable in honing distance control. If someone takes a laser out on day 1, they might not gain too much immediately, the difference between 141 and 148metres is likely insignificant to that person as they'd be just hitting the exact same shot for both of those situations and be happy if they manage to finish on the green. Gain comes in the form of knowledge and consistency over a longer period of time in my view.

IAmTitleist

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121800431#Comment_121800431

Complete and utter nonsense.

benny79

The lads I have played with that have used them I barely even noticed.. One of my playing partners had one weeks before I copped it. As said above most zap while playing partners are hitting and most dont use it for every hole.

@Dav010 How do you work out your distances?

spacecoyote

I have both in the bag. Generally my approach is...zap the pin while someone hitting. Open the green view on my GPS and move the pin on the green to the zapped distance.

From there I won't have to zap again on the hole as my GPS will be showing me the right distance to the pin from wherever I end up.

I don't think it really adds any time overall to my round.

Sure, let's go back to the days of no tech and have lads pacing off their distances from the markers. I've played in that style of golf with societies many years ago, and it was the slowest era of golf I ever played in.

Dav010

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121803535#Comment_121803535

As I said in my first post, I understand their use on course you are unfamiliar with, on home courses though, that’s bollox.

How do I work out distances, I really don’t need to on my home course. There are only a few places where the pins are moved around on each green and thankfully, I have a reasonable memory. So I know which club to use depending on weather conditions. I despair when I see guys who play a couple of times a week, having to take out a RF and then not putting the ball anywhere near the hole, sometimes not even hitting the green.

They are just for show, they don’t improve your game to any extent comparable to lessons, practice or regular play. Few people that I have seen actually gain benefit from them by hitting the ball anywhere near the hole/pin high.

Dav010

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121803720#Comment_121803720

Do you impress your playing partners by regularly hitting the ball pin high, or are you like most amateurs, happy to aim for the middle of the green and take whatever roll/bounce/spin takes it closer to the hole?

The Big Easy

Space is impressive in everything he does tbf!

spacecoyote

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121803768#Comment_121803768

Well actually my strategy in general is in the ballpark of flag +5 yards is my distance, or in many cases, from further out I work on the basis of just take distance to back of green, as I know I'll, on average, hit more GIR with that approach, from further out. If I've got the scoring clubs in hand, then I'm looking for a more accurate number.

I don't use laser on every approach, sometimes I'll manage with GPS. But if I have the time to zap it, I'm happy to take more accurate measures.

I've done gap testing sessions on launch monitors so have reasonably good ideas on my carry through my bag (I know that's very changeable based on conditions, but gives me a baseline to work with)

I play golf to a reasonable decent level, I'm nowhere near a pro obviously, im another weekend warrior like most on here, but have gotten within range of level par rounds a couple of times in my life. Would shoot sub 80 multiple times a year at this point.

I'm never out on the course trying to impress anyone with a shot, I'm trying to shoot my best score, and I'll take advantage of anything I think will help me to do that.

Your tone of message is pretty poor I must say, bordering on rude.

spacecoyote

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121804009#Comment_121804009

Cheers Big Easy, appreciate the complement

waterwelly

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121800431#Comment_121800431

On a par 3 one member of a group would usually be enough to validate whatever the scorecards / watches show.

Overall they take the mystery out of the whole thing. Saves time if people are even only a tiny bit more accurate.

Any blind green the flag could be 30 yards from front to back.