Do any of you guys use a rangefinder? I have been looking and for whatever reason if it is associated with golf it seems to be more expensive than the hunting rangefinders. Is there really any difference in them?
GOLF thread
- Thread starter cawoodsct
- Start date
No. I’m nowhere near good enough to dial in yardages that well. I use a gps phone app and take middle yardage. I have buddies who shoot every flag and they don’t do any better.
I use a watch. I never wear watches and thought maybe it would annoy me but i never notice it on the course. No going to grab finder and ranging then putting it back in the cart, no losing it. Simply turn wrist, look at yardage, grab a club and go.
This. I have seen guys who shoot 75-80 consistently invest in a "better" gadget....they still shoot the same...and have shot the same before they ever invested in their first gadget.
Used to be a GPS guy and when I started using a rangefinder I would never go back to GPS. Everyone has an opinion but you can never go wrong with Bushnell. I think the extra cost to add slope reading is well worth it as long as you are not a big tournament player which they are illegal to use.
It is for my 11 year old daughter who has a real difficult time guessing the yardage from 150 yards and in, which is where she really needs to know the most. Anything further than that she knows is a 3 wood for her right now but from there in is where I think a rangefinder would help her to know which club to hit.
I use a Bushnell Tour V4... you can catch it for $199 every now and then. Newer finders also give slope adjustments which some people trust and others don't.
My son recently joined the middle school golf team as a 6th grader. He had a match yesterday afternoon and had some scoring questions. I have played golf casually over the years but my buddies and I never really kept score to the T if you will. If we lost a ball for example, take a stroke and hit another and go on.
Here is the scenario:
*Tee shot down the right side of the fairway.
*Second shot a little more right of the fairway going on the right side of a tree line lining the fairway but still in-bounds and not in the oncoming fairway.
*Third shot he tried to punch through the tree line towards the hole instead of laying up. Hit a nice crisp shot but it never came out of the trees. All players and parents agreed that it had to be stuck in the tree as no one saw or heard it come out.
Since the players had been asked to speed up play, my son dropped a ball where his ball entered the tree and took a two stroke penalty. So at this point he is laying 5 and hitting 6. Was this the correct play? If he had went back to where he hit his 3rd shot would he have taken a one stroke penalty instead and been laying 4 and hitting 5?
Here is the scenario:
*Tee shot down the right side of the fairway.
*Second shot a little more right of the fairway going on the right side of a tree line lining the fairway but still in-bounds and not in the oncoming fairway.
*Third shot he tried to punch through the tree line towards the hole instead of laying up. Hit a nice crisp shot but it never came out of the trees. All players and parents agreed that it had to be stuck in the tree as no one saw or heard it come out.
Since the players had been asked to speed up play, my son dropped a ball where his ball entered the tree and took a two stroke penalty. So at this point he is laying 5 and hitting 6. Was this the correct play? If he had went back to where he hit his 3rd shot would he have taken a one stroke penalty instead and been laying 4 and hitting 5?
For an 11 year old I'd just get a $50 Bushnell Neo Ghost and call it a day.
Should have been hitting 5 from original spot if it got lost in tree. Sounds like speed of play probably in all likelihood cost him a stroke. (This is wrong)
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It is my understanding of the rule that you now have 2 options under that scenario. You could have went back to the place of the 3rd shot, dropped for a 1 stroke penalty and hit for 5 from there or went to where the 3rd shot went out of bounds/was lost and dropped for a 2 stroke penalty and hit for 6. The rule was changed a few years ago in an attempt to speed up play. The intention was to avoid hitting an errant tee shot out of bounds, going to look for it, then having to go back to the tee box to tee up again.
Thanks. We were just wanting to make sure he scored it right. By the time we finished, everyone was basically gone so there was no one to ask.
It looks like he gave himself an extra stroke he didn't have to according to that link. I need to download a rule book on my phone after reading through some of the rules. Goodness, I probably shoot 20 strokes higher than what I write down after a typical round with my buddies.
For that age, and the fact they were asked to speed up play, they could have had local rules implemented to assist in that: https://www.usga.org/content/usga/h...-new-rules--stroke-and-distance.html#expanded
Check on this before the next tournament.
I still see too many people on weekends not utilizing this and driving back to the tee box, for example.
@Creed Bratton He practiced with middle school a few times last year and played in 2 matches. His team has played in 4 matches so far this season. He plays baseball so golf takes a back seat...for now. He is really starting to like it.
That sounds like my daughter. Hopefully he sticks it out as it is a game that can be played for a lifetime.
These Wednesday charity 4-somes with everyone mic’d up have been great.
I had an Odyssey 2 Ball SRT putter that I've owned and used for years but my daughter had started using it and really liked the feel of it so I had the shaft cut down and gave it to her. I obviously had to get a new one and after looking for a while decided on the Odyssey Stroke Lab Black 7. I took it out for the 1st time last night to do some putting. I put 3 balls down on the green and tried a 45 foot putt just to see how close I could lag it to the hole. The first was less than a foot from the cup, the second one went in and the third was within 2 feet of the cup. I think I will keep it. 😆
I got a Bushnell hybrid laser rangefinder about 3 months ago and have shot in the 70's more in the last 3 months than ever in my life. It's not only important to know exactly where the flag is, but also to know where certain bunkers, creeks and ponds are. I think that knowledge can definitely shave 6-7 strokes off a round.
Difference between an 85 and a 79.
Difference between an 85 and a 79.
So you were shooting 85 and with the knowledge that you need to hit it 73 yards instead of 77 you're shooting 79 now?
If you have your yardages that dialed in, how the hell were you shooting 85 to begin with?
I have played for close to 50 years, and I did not know about this rule until you posted it. In fact, I have not seen anyone employ this rule in the last year and a half. So thanks.
But I am confused. If I hit a ball OB off the tee, I can retee and play another shot, hopefully in the FW, then play my 4th shot.
I am having a hard time seeing a scenario where I would be better to take a 2 shot penalty and drop in the rough and play my fourth shot. Maybe if it is a really tough driving hole and I am afraid I may hit it OB again, or if I hit the first drive a really long way and the drop area is actually not that bad? Maybe give me some "for instances" so I can understand the rule better.
If OB...move to the edge of the fairway as it explains, and you will be hitting 4. There are times when you may not realize you are OB until you get up there (if trees are blocking the stakes for example, or a fence line)
It speeds up play by eliminating the drive all the way back to the tee, thus not having the following group get pissed, doesn't give you a huge advantage for the most part, and you are still hitting the same amount of strokes.
I think you get it. It would be very rare to not just retee.
Got nothing to do with being that dialed in. The more information you have about a flag or a hole, the better. Many a time I thought a flag might be at the front or middle of a green by looking at it from the fairway and then realize after using the laser that it's in the back. Depending on the size of the green, that might be two clubs.
Same way with fairway bunkers or creeks or whatever. Knowing the exact yardage to those hazards can insure you aren't using a club that can get you in trouble. And like I said, if that happens 6 or 7 times a round it might make the difference.
If you want to keep letting that 150 marker in the fairway decide your clubs for you, be my quest.
Fair enough - I do use a GPS for my yardage. If it says 145 for example, I know what I am hitting. If my buddy shoots the flag and tells me it's 141, I'm not changing my swing at all, I'm just not that good
Fair enough - I do use a GPS for my yardage. If it says 145 for example, I know what I am hitting. If my buddy shoots the flag and tells me it's 141, I'm not changing my swing at all, I'm just not that good
No I am a ten yard guy on the clubs. Not a 1 or 2 yard guy. But if the fairway marker tells me the yardage to the middle of the green is 150, but I laser that flag at 159, then I am using my 160 club instead of my 150 club. That can and does make a difference.
Yeah for sure - 10 yards can be the difference between a birdie putt and a bunker or water.
I use mine more for where not to hit it than where to hit it.
QFT, I laser hazards and front of green as much as the flag, to make sure how much leeway I have, or to know the number to cover a water hazard for example.
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