Laser Range Finders

Golo07 · March 31, 2008

Are the laser range finders really worth the money? Do they really help lower your scores?

ThreePuttPar · March 31, 2008

To me they are worth every penny. It is so much easier to hit a good shot when I have total confidence in the number. Before i had a range finder I found myself fating shots when I felt like i might have a little too much club. Now there is no doubt about the exact distance to the target. We play such a mental game and the range finder realy helps my confidence. Also I'm a big fan of the laser or infrared rangers over sky caddie or other GPS bsed units. As you get closer to the target the angle between you-satelite-target gets more acute and more difficult to calculate. I found that outside 120yds the gps(skycaddie) and infrared(bushnel) were almost always within 1-2 yds but inside 120yds the yardages started to vary as much as 6 yds with the bushnel seeming more acurate. I don't care if the number reads 257yds or 259yds but I do care if one tells me 77 and the other says 83. And while totaly un-scientific my index dropped from a 3.0 to 0.4 in the year after I got a bushnel 1500.

Tom Lerch · March 31, 2008

Please do a search. This subject has had many great posts within the last two weeks.

Yes, they are worth it.

A-Train · March 31, 2008

Before i had a range finder I found myself fating shots when I felt like i might have a little too much club.

Ya know, that's an excellent point. I don't know how many times I've played a new course thinking "165 yards? Looks like 140 to me". Like you, I will pull out the 165 club but take something off it.

Hmm... fathers day aint that far off... and oh yeah there's the stimulus check...

Golo07 · March 31, 2008

Yeah, i was just very interested because my buddy says it's exellent, but one of my other buddies says it doesn't make a differerence. I was just curious....keep up with the posts. :cheesy:

Canuck · March 31, 2008

Yeah, i was just very interested because my buddy says it's excellent, but one of my other buddies says it doesn't make a differerence. I was just curious....keep up with the posts. :cheesy:

If you are a decent ball striker, can hit your shots a halfway consistent distance, then it makes a difference.

It makes a huge difference to me if I have 50 or 40 yards in on a pitch shot. Do I have 135 or more like 150 to the pin? These occur over and over in a round of golf. I want my pro caddy with me, but, since Steve is with Tiger this week, my Bushy 1500 TE is the next best thing.

I don't leave home without it.

plasticeyes · March 31, 2008

it also makes a HUGE difference when you are at the range practicing. You can accurately determine if that flag stick out on the range is really reading 150. Found a couple ranges off by 5-10 yards which makes a huge difference in my practice.

Famousdave · April 1, 2008

As to whether a rangefinder can help you lower your scores/hcp, IMHO the answer is yes. Last summer, my average score dropped from about 85 to 82, and I think it was primarily attributable to using a rangefinder for the first time. How:

1) Better club selection: After using the rangefinder for a period of time, I developed a more realistic sense of how far I hit my clubs. For some of my irons, my actual carry distance was 5-10 yards shorter than I thought it was prior to using a rangefinder. Knowing this with the Bushnell, I used one more club quite often last summer and as a result I saw a lot more birdie putts.

2) Front or back pin placements: Several times a round, I will face a shot where the pin is in the front of the green or way back, and I can not see this due to the elevation difference or something else. For me. this is typically a one club adjustment and with a very large green, it can be a two club adjustment.

3) Gauging off-line shots: One or two times a round, I'll be in a spot where there is no yardage marker and I do not want to slow down my group by taking the time to locate a sprinkler head or fairway marker. Plus, even if I find a marker/monument, since I am off-line in the rough I'll have to guess at the yardage anyway.

This is just my two cents. Regarding the value of a rangefinder, I think this is something you'll have to answer yourself. I sometimes golf with a couple of guys who are single-digit handicappers and each of them could afford to buy 100 rangefinders if they chose to. Despite this, they haven't purchased a rangefinder or GPS unit and they never will. To them, for whatever reason, it just isn't worth it.

Phocus · April 1, 2008

it also makes a HUGE difference when you are at the range practicing. You can accurately determine if that flag stick out on the range is really reading 150. Found a couple ranges off by 5-10 yards which makes a huge difference in my practice.

How well can you target flat landing areas on the practice range? I would like to determine the avg. carry for all my clubs and with only a few flags at odd distances. . .

A-Train · April 1, 2008

it also makes a HUGE difference when you are at the range practicing. You can accurately determine if that flag stick out on the range is really reading 150. Found a couple ranges off by 5-10 yards which makes a huge difference in my practice.

How well can you target flat landing areas on the practice range? I would like to determine the avg. carry for all my clubs and with only a few flags at odd distances. . .

Good idea but wouldn't the range distance using their balls and your weekend game ball be different? And how much do you suppose?