Range Finders

FixdePitchmark

I think the range finder is coming into the wrong argument...pace of play...a different topic.

But from Seve's post above...whilst he is relating it to the RF topic.

There is no way I can accept golf is the same speed today as 40 years ago.

And you could have a whole thread about that .

But not sure you will get data on that...

bakerbhoy

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121827853#Comment_121827853

He has one. He's blind as well.

Dav010

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121829627#Comment_121829627

Its someone with a bell, not a bushnell he needs then.

slave1

Deaf too

benny79

IMO RF & GPS definitely helps speed up the game! A quick glance you know yards, 150 say thats my 7i strong wind, I drop a club or 2. Job done and mostly when others are hitting takes away doubt.. Golf is mostly mental! Weather you hit the green is another story but thats golf!

No RF or GPS - wheres the markers, how many yards am I away form them? Wheres the flag on the Green? how big is the green? How far is the hazard in front of the green etc etc

Its a no brainer!

Most people I have played with that use them including myself, one will shout out distance on par 3's or tell you if asked! Never seen everyone laser the 1 flag on a par 3!

Russman

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121829301#Comment_121829301

I tend to agree with this. I've no strong feeling one way or another about someone using a laser (apart from judging them very harshly in my head if they use it from 50 yards 😁). I don't think for a second they are material contributor to pace of play / slow play. IMO people playing slowly is the cause of slow play, but its for another thread.

That said, I think it massively depends on someone's experience in the game as to how useful rangefinders are. I'm not quiet old enough to remember golf 40 years ago, but I'm playing long enough (pre GPS and even pre yardage markers on the fairway) that I'm fairly comfortable playing by eye if I have to, whereas I've a high h/c friend who swears his GPS watch is the biggest factor in his improvement over recent years in that it lets him commit to a club/shot when he's sure of the yardage. Certainly IMO they're definitely worth something on a strange course, but I wouldn't miss it for a moment if I didn't have it on my own course.

DeanAustin

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

Yeah, all they do is facilitate slower play. GPS does the job. Most players are nowhere near good enough to use them.

spacecoyote

To Fixs point, I think the handicap system contributes enormously more to slow play than a RF does.

If were giving people handicaps that can take 120+ strokes on a course and still be competing, then that's adding a lot more time on to a round.

Re closer in, I don't have a major issue either.

For me, I have a distance with my wedges (50,54,60) when I have the club pointing straight up to 12 o'clock. So a quick zap will tell me which wedge I should have in my hand.

Will I execute that precisely, maybe not, but if I need to carry a bunker, and I'm doing it by eye from 60-70 yards, a more accurate distance will give me much more margin for error in my club choice. So I might not hit the ball 67 yards, but I'm more likely to pick the club that'll get me within 62-72 rather than the club that might end up 55-65 which brings the trouble into play, dependent on strike

Dav010

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121831299#Comment_121831299

Bet you sure play a mean pinball.