Forget Yardage books! Allow laser rangefinders...

[SwooshLT]

In order to speed up play.....this walk around, sprinkler head finding mission is brutally outdated.

 

#simplicity

[falken19150]

Would be a great answer, but I dont think the pros like that answer. They want binders full of pages sitting in their back-pockets.

[Roadking2003]

In order to speed up play.....this walk around, sprinkler head finding mission is brutally outdated.

 

#simplicity

 

Agree. I assume the context is the PGA Tour.

[knock it close]

Do we actually think it would speed up play? They got so much info in their books they're still going to look at them even with the range finders. I'm not against range finders I just don't think it will solve the slow play issue. What would solve the issue is actually enforcing the rules and penalizing guys.

[MountainGoat]

In order to speed up play.....this walk around, sprinkler head finding mission is brutally outdated.

 

#simplicity

 

I agree. They're simply limiting access to commonly available information. This is a change that's inevitable. Get on with it.

[Frankensteins Monster]

Starting next year, the PGA Tour has to create a local rule to outlaw distance measuring devices.

[tiderider]

slow play on the pga tour isn't an issue ... and does not cause slow play by amateurs on the weekend or during any other time of the week ...

[edresnick]

I have always thought range finders should be legal on tour. Golf is not a math contest and everyone gets the yardage anyway. Let them use the range finders and will certainly help speed up play

[blackngold_blood]

How much will it actually speed up play? They will still be conversing with their caddies about what shot to hit and consulting their books looking at the slope and contours of the green. While it may speed things up slightly, it is not going to turn a 4-5 hour round into a 3-4 hour round. Pro golfers are just too analytical.

[getitdaily]

In order to speed up play.....this walk around, sprinkler head finding mission is brutally outdated.

 

#simplicity

 

Range finders only tell distance to the pin. For a front pin, the distance between the front edge and the pin is important. Likewise for the distance from pin to the back edge for a back pin.

 

Still need to know distance to the middle to know where the pin is.

[IcemanYVR]

I'm all for rangefinders on tour, but I don't for one minute believe they will solve slow play issues. The only instance I can really foresee them speeding up play is for offline shots where a caddie would normally walk off the yardage.

[SwooshLT]

In order to speed up play.....this walk around, sprinkler head finding mission is brutally outdated.

 

#simplicity

 

Range finders only tell distance to the pin. For a front pin, the distance between the front edge and the pin is important. Likewise for the distance from pin to the back edge for a back pin.

 

Still need to know distance to the middle to know where the pin is.

 

I get that and range finders can shoot bunker lips.....I do this all the time. Give them pin sheets , quick shot of pin and do your numbers..... all of the re-confirmation, pacing, calculating ..... shouldn't take as long as it does..... how about the instance in which a player or caddie actually paces off yardage from pin to ball? Really? Pull laser and just shoot it....or have a walking volunteer who lasers the ball after drives, radios the information/yardage back to players and caddies so the 4-5 min walk to their shots they are already calculating the yardage?

 

 

[Sonoronsis]

Why not try it during an off week? Wait, do they have those anymore? Give them a pin sheet, a laser and remove the topography maps with attached slide rule that they use now. See if it speeds up play, it's a lot easier to say one way or the other with actual data/proof as opposed to just guessing like everyone does with every suggestion that comes up.

[Socrates]

I believe the most of them would never use it. There are so many times a pro isn't even interested in the pin yardage. They are far more interested in carries to certain points (over bunkers, to the crest, to the flat spot, back edge, to the backstop point, etc...) and really aren't that concerned with what the pin is. Even if they used the laser to get the pin yardage, they are always going to be figuring out the other yardages.

[bladehunter]

id wager it slows down play...... many players would shoot 12 things before deciding on a shot ..then double check the yardage book as well..

[jslane57]

I think it would slow things up. Besides, they use them on all practice rounds and make notes accordingly. Maybe allow the caddies to use them during the tournament proper? I think it [using a rangefinder] is an optic that the PGA Tour doesn't want the TV viewing audience to see.

[SASpeeder]

Let the caddy use a rangefinder and pin sheet. Nothing more required.

[dlygrisse]

Knowing exact yardage to the hole is not what they are always looking for. Yardage to reach a tier, carry a bunker. Often the are landing it short going down wind and etc. a laser on tour would help about 25% of the time. They are walking the couurse and the caddies is stepping yardage any way.

 

They use them in practice rounds to verify things, but it really wouldn't speed up play, except in. A few circumstances when a GPS actauumkght be more useful Think Spieth when he won the open

[elwhippy]

The only thing that would speed up play on the tours is a penalty shot, not a fine.

[MountainGoat]

They already allow rangefinders in NCAA tournaments, don't they?

[Aaronwilson_95]

They already allow rangefinders in NCAA tournaments, don't they?

Some , they’re a 3 tournaments in my conference that don’t allow lasers . In my opinion play in those events isn’t any slower than when we have lasers for the aforementioned reasons above

[SwooshLT]

id wager it slows down play...... many players would shoot 12 things before deciding on a shot ..then double check the yardage book as well..

 

 

Sad but true.....#jolt

[SwooshLT]

I get the yardage to ridges and fronts guys.....it's the pacing to sprinkler heads and other markers that are just time consumers.... so if you shoot the pin, shouldn't it be fairly easy to figure ridge,front and carry distances? And be ready to hit , don't start your process when it's your turn #justTOOlong

[JaNelson38]

The pros look at yardage books for green characteristics more than anything else.

 

These guys arent always aiming at a flag. Sometimes they're aiming at a good spot to putt from, based on where the pin is located. To do that, they consult their books.

[DZClark]

I see this maybe helping speed up play, but only if there was a pole of some other landmark at the back edge of the green and everything (slopes, ridges, carry distances, etc) was measured from that point. This could be a removable pole that was put up when the players were in the fairway and was taken down before they hit shots. Ok, not the best idea, but I don't see giving them a laser and having them shoot the flag helps. There is MORE math each day trying to add and subtract from where the pin is today, vs yesterday, etc.

 

Too much money at stake on each shot to expect the pros to rush. If you want to speed up play, one warning and then start issuing stroke penalties. I can either hit the shot quicker, and yes, maybe I mess up and cost myself a stroke, but if I don't speed up I definitely cost myself a stroke. They can play faster, just no incentive to do so.

[2putttom]

I get the yardage to ridges and fronts guys.....it's the pacing to sprinkler heads and other markers that are just time consumers.... so if you shoot the pin, shouldn't it be fairly easy to figure ridge,front and carry distances? And be ready to hit , don't start your process when it's your turn #justTOOlong

ready golf is the key. Some not all the players and caddies wait until it's their turn to even begin the process of deciding yardage and club selection. I remember the first tourney ( 20 + yrs. ago ) I volunteered at and the pace was never as bad as it is today. The conversation the caddy and players have can last five minutes. :swoon:

[imakaveli]

I would give more penalty shots, even to top/popular players. This is becoming out of control. PGA Tour needs to step up...

[Ferguson]

Why would a slower round by a tour player bother someone who is not a tour player?

Is it a vicarious thing?

[mackepa]

Range finders won’t fix slow play in the slightest. It’s not going to stop a player from circling a ten footer for 8 minutes before picking a line to putt on. It’s not going to help a player decide if he has a flyer lie from the rough either. There’s just so much on the line at these tournaments and the officials have done nothing for so long about slow play that nothing will improve pace of play until you start wacking players with penalties.

[MidwestGolfBum]

I get the yardage to ridges and fronts guys.....it's the pacing to sprinkler heads and other markers that are just time consumers.... so if you shoot the pin, shouldn't it be fairly easy to figure ridge,front and carry distances? And be ready to hit , don't start your process when it's your turn #justTOOlong

 

The thing is that all of the carry distances are measured from the middle of the green from the sprinkler yardages because that's the constant. Given that pins move every day, you can't just make calculations based on where they happen to be for that day. The pin sheets are also displayed from the center, so even if they are shooting pins, there is still going to be a bunch of math in some way to get numbers for everything else.

 

Now, to your other point, ABSOLUTELY! The fact that so many of the guys don't start figuring things out until others have hit needs to stop. There's no reason you can't be at least starting the process of getting numbers ready while your playing partner(s) is/are doing the same.