Is slope function a gimmick for some rangefinders?

[cxx]

Hard to imagine a couple extra numbers in the view being annoying unless you were bird watching waiting on the group ahead.

[LandOf10000WaterHazards]

It's definitely not a gimmick. It gives you the actual yardage as well as a measurement for the adjusted yardage based on the slope. It's still up to the player to figure out which club to hit.

[Bull33]

The math they use is actually just basic triangle math. It measures the hypotenuse with the laser, assumes the flag is a 90 degree angle to that and gives you the other long leg of the triangle as the slope measurement to help you understand what it could "play as". Is it perfect? Nope and the challenge the OP stated is not something they cannot compensate for.

 

The laser doesn't know whether you are going to play a high shot or a low shot, it is just giving you a distance estimate. It is up to you to interpret that information and engineer the shot you need to make for your swing and the conditions.

[Break81]

My most recent range finder has slope and I have come to the conclusion it is of little help ,at least on 99.9% of shots, at least at my local courses. Even with moderate elevation changes, the adjustment is no more than 5-6 yards. IMHO, usually I need to account MORE for wind condition and lie condition. Rough, uphill , downhills, all have greater impact than the 5-6 yard variations.

 

Basically I can account for a few yards just on my naked eye, and anything more than that would require me to be a + handicap which I am not.

[cristphoto]

To somebody that has a slope laser I have a request. Next round have the tallest player take an uphill/downhill reading. Then have the shortest player take a reading from the exact same position. Let us know how the readings compare. Thanks.

 

As others stated my guess is the slope feature is of limited use. Over the years of playing I’ve learned to make fairly accurate guesstimates for club selection. My Bushnell V4 (non-slope) gives me enough data. I fine tune it from there. Just this week I started a round and the temp was in the upper 40’s. By the end of the round it was in the 70’s. Flattish course but there was at least a two club difference due just to temps.

[Socrates]

To somebody that has a slope laser I have a request. Next round have the tallest player take an uphill/downhill reading. Then have the shortest player take a reading from the exact same position. Let us know how the readings compare. Thanks.

 

As others stated my guess is the slope feature is of limited use. Over the years of playing I've learned to make fairly accurate guesstimates for club selection. My Bushnell V4 (non-slope) gives me enough data. I fine tune it from there. Just this week I started a round and the temp was in the upper 40's. By the end of the round it was in the 70's. Flattish course but there was at least a two club difference due just to temps.

What's your point?

 

I shot an object 102y away. From a height of about 4' it was showing 102y with an adjusted distance of 108y. From a height of about 8' (4' above the previous) it still showed 102y with an adjusted yardage of 108y.

 

Did you really expect a difference with such a small change in the length of one of the sides of the triangle?

[cristphoto]

To somebody that has a slope laser I have a request. Next round have the tallest player take an uphill/downhill reading. Then have the shortest player take a reading from the exact same position. Let us know how the readings compare. Thanks.

 

As others stated my guess is the slope feature is of limited use. Over the years of playing I've learned to make fairly accurate guesstimates for club selection. My Bushnell V4 (non-slope) gives me enough data. I fine tune it from there. Just this week I started a round and the temp was in the upper 40's. By the end of the round it was in the 70's. Flattish course but there was at least a two club difference due just to temps.

What's your point?

 

I shot an object 102y away. From a height of about 4' it was showing 102y with an adjusted distance of 108y. From a height of about 8' (4' above the previous) it still showed 102y with an adjusted yardage of 108y.

 

Did you really expect a difference with such a small change in the length of one of the sides of the triangle?

 

So a four foot distance didn’t affect the reading? You would think it would.

[Stuart_G]

Considering 4' at a 100 yards is only about 6/10th of a degree difference in the elevation angle, I doubt very much most would expect any difference.

[dlygrisse]

I have the Bushnell and find it pretty useless, in terms of exact yardage. I will let me know if a shot is uphill or downhill by a little bit or a lot, which is helpful. But in for my game it doesnt take in to account hear enough yardage when hitting uphill. Maybe I don't hit it high enough.

[Socrates]

To somebody that has a slope laser I have a request. Next round have the tallest player take an uphill/downhill reading. Then have the shortest player take a reading from the exact same position. Let us know how the readings compare. Thanks.

 

As others stated my guess is the slope feature is of limited use. Over the years of playing I've learned to make fairly accurate guesstimates for club selection. My Bushnell V4 (non-slope) gives me enough data. I fine tune it from there. Just this week I started a round and the temp was in the upper 40's. By the end of the round it was in the 70's. Flattish course but there was at least a two club difference due just to temps.

What's your point?

 

I shot an object 102y away. From a height of about 4' it was showing 102y with an adjusted distance of 108y. From a height of about 8' (4' above the previous) it still showed 102y with an adjusted yardage of 108y.

 

Did you really expect a difference with such a small change in the length of one of the sides of the triangle?

 

So a four foot distance didn’t affect the reading? You would think it would.

My high school math told me it wouldn’t, but I went through the exercise to get actual numbers.

[jmkenn0]

I don't have one, but one of my playing companions does. On a severe downhill (150+ feet) par 3 shot, generally about 170 yards to the middle. I hit PW 150 (WRX!), can get that club to the front of the green (160). My companion, who's generally about 1 1/2 clubs behind me, is hitting 7 or 8. I hit it high, he's a mid-trajectory player.

 

I just ignore his slope reading.

[Shilgy]

I don't have one, but one of my playing companions does. On a severe downhill (150+ feet) par 3 shot, generally about 170 yards to the middle. I hit PW 150 (WRX!), can get that club to the front of the green (160). My companion, who's generally about 1 1/2 clubs behind me, is hitting 7 or 8. I hit it high, he's a mid-trajectory player.

 

I just ignore his slope reading.

Cool story. But I read your post three times and am wondering why you are ignoring the slope function?

[cxx]

The pictures at the beginning of this thread tell the story. If you hit it high and have a more vertical drop you are less affected by the slope. If you hit it low then you are more affected (hitting shorter up hill and longer down hill). The numbers shown by the rangefinder are for someone with an "average" trajectory.

 

Most people underestimate the effect of the slope, but learn over time to compensate, which is fine if you play the same courses. If you know how to adjust the numbers provided, you can get a pretty good estimate the first time. Of course you still have to include the effects of the lie and the slope under your feet. If that's not valuable to you in scoring, turn it off, but its no gimmick.

[jmkenn0]

I don't have one, but one of my playing companions does. On a severe downhill (150+ feet) par 3 shot, generally about 170 yards to the middle. I hit PW 150 (WRX!), can get that club to the front of the green (160). My companion, who's generally about 1 1/2 clubs behind me, is hitting 7 or 8. I hit it high, he's a mid-trajectory player.

 

I just ignore his slope reading.

Cool story. But I read your post three times and am wondering why you are ignoring the slope function?

 

Clear as mud? Just a random non-sequitur? I have no idea.

[Mocktwo]

I know it has been over a year since the last post, but I found the discussion interesting. Nikon now has the "Coolshot Pro Stabilized" which can be set to provide straight line distance (like all non-slope) and also display the +/- height. (instead of an adjusted distance). Now you get an accurate reading of elevation change and you can make a better decision for club selection. I use that to improve my perception of height change and still keep my skills for making adjustments in my head.

[Guest]

The proprietary algorithm is a^2 + b^2 = c ^2. (Pythagorean Theorem). Assuming: a = actual distance and b=elevation change, you can do the math to figure out c (the playing distance). What the laser rangefinder does is figure out the angle to the target or pin. The proprietary algorithm used the rangefinder's angle of slope readings to figure out the elevation change. Then, the algorithm applies the Pythagorean theorem. That's why the manufacturer says the only variables that are relevant are elevation and true distance. In summary, the rangefinder figures out the variable (b), the elevation change, that a golf would have to guess. Then, applies the Pythagorean theorem to figure out the playing distance. Hope this helps clarify. Will say that I was not paying attention in 8th Grade, so had to go to the books to figure this one out.

Eighth grade is when students learn the Pythagorean theorem in the Common Core State Standards. The Pythagorean theorem is this: In a right triangle, the sum of the squares of the lengths of the two legs is equal to the square of the length of the hypotenuse.

[BirdieBob]

 

[cristphoto]

After using my Bushnell V4 with slope for over a year I find that I basically never use the slope. When I first got it and went to my courses two most elevated holes I was surprised how little the slope calculation changed the effective yardage. If I had to do it again I'd just get the normal model.

[sr eaglemaster]

On 8/5/2020 at 10:54 AM, Guest said:

The proprietary algorithm is a^2 + b^2 = c ^2. (Pythagorean Theorem). Assuming: a = actual distance and b=elevation change, you can do the math to figure out c (the playing distance). What the laser rangefinder does is figure out the angle to the target or pin. The proprietary algorithm used the rangefinder's angle of slope readings to figure out the elevation change. Then, the algorithm applies the Pythagorean theorem. That's why the manufacturer says the only variables that are relevant are elevation and true distance. In summary, the rangefinder figures out the variable (b), the elevation change, that a golf would have to guess. Then, applies the Pythagorean theorem to figure out the playing distance. Hope this helps clarify. Will say that I was not paying attention in 8th Grade, so had to go to the books to figure this one out.

Eighth grade is when students learn the Pythagorean theorem in the Common Core State Standards. The Pythagorean theorem is this: In a right triangle, the sum of the squares of the lengths of the two legs is equal to the square of the length of the hypotenuse.

Not even close to what slope algorithms do. Too smart for his own good.

[sr eaglemaster]

Old topic - I know.  I've got a rangefinder for Christmas and it doesn't have slope.  First reaction - I need slope.  Thought about it further - I don't think I need slope.  The OP nails it when it comes to questions about slope.  I'm concluding that my experience is as good as knowing slope.  I also conclude that it only adds value to shots that I've got no history with (courses I don't play).  Once I've played it a half dozen times I know the correction needed way better than any slope algorithm (that wasn't built on my data) could.

 

And another thing... the smart a**es with geometry finger wags don't have a clue about what slope correction actually is.  It's not at all simply about the Pythagorean theorem.  I'll bet their golf is probably about as bad as their science skills.

 

Edited January 25, 2023 by sr eaglemaster

[st1800e]

I find that the trajectory of the shot influences the carry when hitting uphill or down hill. Not sure how the algorithim factors that in, or not. 

[Stuart_G]

9 hours ago, st1800e said:

I find that the trajectory of the shot influences the carry when hitting uphill or down hill. Not sure how the algorithim factors that in, or not. 

 

Well shot trajectory for any given club will always effect carry distance  but...

 

The real issue is that they are basically just guessing at a decent angle.   Maybe constant, maybe it varies with distance depending on the complexity of the algorithm.  But it's still just a guess - it's not anything that can be computed without knowing the specific ball launch conditions.   So it will always be hit or miss as to how good a fit it might be to any individual's swing and ball flight.

 

 

9 hours ago, sr eaglemaster said:

And another thing... the smart a**es with geometry finger wags don't have a clue about what slope correction actually is.  It's not at all simply about the Pythagorean theorem.  I'll bet their golf is probably about as bad as their science skills.

 

 

There are respectful ways to try and correct someone, and there is the opposite - like this.   It's even worse because you're wrong.

 

Once that decent angle guess is made, the actual calculations are extremely simple.  Although much more likely they use simple trigonometry instead of directly using Pythagorean's theorem.  But the results would be the same either way.

 

Edited January 25, 2023 by Stuart_G