KPV - One last topic ... Laser Range Finders

[Mike Benham]

At Plantation, we played with a member who used a range finder, he volunteered the info to each of us, zipping around in his cart like Mario Andretti.

At SE, our forecaddie had a range finder and again, he volunteered the info to all in the foursome.  For at least two of us (me being one of them), he stopped giving us the figures as I think he thought we were doing our own calculations with the yardage on the sprinkler heads and hole location sheets supplied on the carts (he was right).

For those of you that played these days and with range finders, how did you feel the use of them impacted the round?  Speed up?   Slow down?   Confuse the golfer?

For both rounds, the first one as a fivesome, we played in 4 hours on the nose ...

[Tommy_Naccarato]

The use of a range finder was in direct violation of sacred King's Putter rules. You will have to forfeit all of those matches where the --hurrumph....d-e-v-i-c-e was used. Please submit me an honest list if participants, who used the device....

Thank you...

[rjsimper]

Noticed the same thing, though our member only fired the laser off if it was convenient for him (and even still, I pretty much ignored him and got my own yardage).

The thing that was REALLY annoying to me, an imprecise player if there ever was one, was our forecaddie at Stone Eagle - he would laser the yardage and then give me something else with the slope factored in.  If it was dead uphill and I was on top of a sprinkler that said 125 to a front pin, I think to myself (okay, minus 5 for the pin and plus 5 for the hill so play about 125)

He lasers it, and tells me nothing more than "135"

I'm shocked - "135??? I ask"

He lasers it again - "Yep, 135"

Me: Is that to the pin or the middle

Him: Pin

Me: But I'm on the 125 sprinker and its a front pin - shouldnt it be around 115?  I would play it about 125-130 with the slope

Him:  I already factored that in

Me: So what is the ACTUAL yardage to the pin??

Him: 113


It just really bugged me that he was doing this math in his head and not even telling me - kinda like doing no favor to the player by only doing half a favor.

Anyhow, on the topic of range finders - as long as a course is well marked with sprinkler heads and I know if a pin is front, middle, or back, there's nothing more we should need.  Sure, there are guys that can dial it in to a yardage within 1-2 yards of distance control, but anyone above about a scratch is playing in a 5 yard circle at best and I'd rather not complicate things.

I don't even like to look at the pin yardage at a GPS unit (not for the obvious philosophical opposition) but because the yardage to the middle is much more important to me than the yardage to the pin from every distance outside of 100 yards.

Somewhat related:

The Palms sprinkler head yardages are to the front edge of the green.

The Plantation are to the middle.

Both courses give you pin sheets - the Palms adds the yards for every pin, +7 to +37

Plantation adds or subtracts -17 to +17

Any preferences out there?

I personally cannot stand front yardage sprinklers - one of my biggest golf course pet peeves.

[Tiger_Bernhardt]

I just got one. It is very hard breaking a life long habit of stepping off yardages. However, I do think it speeds up play especially on new courses that do not have obvious 150, 200 yard markers etc.

[Glenn Spencer]

I have no use for a range finder. The act of getting the yardage, gives me a sense that it is right and that gives me confidence. I MUCH prefer a course that gives the yardage to the front of the green.

[Lynn_Shackelford]

Tiger, that is sooooo Southeastern Conference.


"In the Southeastern Conference, if you ain't cheating, you ain't trying."
Charles Barkley

[Bob_Huntley]

The thing that was REALLY annoying to me, an imprecise player if there ever was one, was our forecaddie at Stone Eagle - he would laser the yardage and then give me something else with the slope factored in.  

Ryan,

Joe Perches was given a number by a SE caddie. The figure was so egregiously off the mark that he airmailed a nine iron twenty five yards over the BACK of the green. A pity. Of course I was secretly delighted, my 8, with a stroke,  halved his 7.

Bob

Bob

[rjsimper]

The thing that was REALLY annoying to me, an imprecise player if there ever was one, was our forecaddie at Stone Eagle - he would laser the yardage and then give me something else with the slope factored in.  

Ryan,

Joe Perches was given a number by a SE caddie. The figure was so egregiously off the mark that he airmailed a nine iron twenty five yards over the BACK of the green. A pity. Of course I was secretly delighted, my 8, with a stroke,  halved his 7.

Bob

Bob

Quite clearly a forecaddie with Northern Californian roots  

[Tom Huckaby]

Tommy, I think you're right.  Any match in which these were used should immediately revert to DQ.

Given every member seemed to have them at Plantation... and every caddie did at Stone Eagle.... well I just did an exhaustive review and throwing these all out leaves the score as NorCal 8, SoCal 6.

I'll come back down and collect the putter in early July.  I'm likely going to be playing somewhere near Santa Barbara.  We can hold a ceremony in front of my family group.

 

[Tom_Doak]

I hate those range finders.  But so far I have had zero success convincing clients of the same -- they have them at Stone Eagle and at Sebonack already, despite my objections.  Maybe I'd better start putting it in my contract that I get paid more if they use them.

[Tom Huckaby]

I hate those range finders.  But so far I have had zero success convincing clients of the same -- they have them at Stone Eagle and at Sebonack already, despite my objections.  Maybe I'd better start putting it in my contract that I get paid more if they use them.

You deserve a big bonus from Stone Eagle then!

Funny thing is, I think they really hurt more than helped... the course is well-marked.

[rjsimper]

I hate those range finders.  But so far I have had zero success convincing clients of the same -- they have them at Stone Eagle and at Sebonack already, despite my objections.  Maybe I'd better start putting it in my contract that I get paid more if they use them.

You deserve a big bonus from Stone Eagle then!

Funny thing is, I think they really hurt more than helped... the course is well-marked.

Well marked indeed, and a lasered yardage of 122 does no good on a course where A - downhill or uphill plays into the figure so prominently, and B - you are often not landing the ball anywhere close to the actual yardage (like 13 to a front pin, for example)

[JohnV]

Ryan,

The caddie we had the last day at Stone Eagle had one of the range finders that contains a slope adjustment.  Those are not legal for use under any conditions of competition and actually anyone who uses one shouldn't even be posting a score for handicap purposes.

To me anyone who uses them is the equivalent of someone who uses a driver with a COR over .830.

It is a shame that a club that seems as caring about golf would allow its caddies to use them.

I told him that it was not legal and then did my best not to let him give me yardages the rest of the day.

Huck,
No range finders were used in any of my three matches for the Kings Putter so the three wins I got for the North still count.

[rjsimper]

Ryan,

The caddie we had the last day at Stone Eagle had one of the range finders that contains a slope adjustment.  Those are not legal for use under any conditions of competition and actually anyone who uses one shouldn't even be posting a score for handicap purposes.

To me anyone who uses them is the equivalent of someone who uses a driver with a COR over .830.

It is a shame that a club that seems as caring about golf would allow its caddies to use them.

I told him that it was not legal and then did my best not to let him give me yardages the rest of the day.

Huck,
No range finders were used in any of my three matches for the Kings Putter so the three wins I got for the North still count.

Interesting - perhaps that's why our forecaddie said it was "already factoring that in" - in any event, I didn't listen to the guy after it took me the above back-and-forth exchange before I figured out what yardage I actually wanted to play for (not the one he gave me) and it looks like Joe Perches learned the same lesson (at the expense of a lost hole)

My personal view - the only use I'd EVER have for them is one of the following:

A- a practice round at a course for which I had no yardage book and I wanted to know what carry and layup yardages were for an upcoming tournament

B- figuring out the yardage from my ball to my target when I've hit my previous shot embarrassingly offline (happens often) in lieu of trigonometry...which I am ashamed to say I have in fact used on a golf course to triangulate a yardage with the pythagorean theorem.

C- driving ranges - I enjoyed the fact that Plantation had the rangefinder on the practice tee.

Beyond that, I grew up pacing yardages and adjusting my swing, strategy, and club based on what my feet told me - I don't even like pin sheets with +/- yardages on them - too darn precise.  I have no idea how to hit a golf ball 157 yards.  I can try to hit a 160 shot and it has an equal chance of going 157 as it does of going 163.  

[ed_getka]

My general sense of the little exposure I have had to these laser range finders is that they can speed up play a little. However, I don't think a caddy should EVER use one, they should know the course without it. Our caddy at SE didn't know his ass from a hole in the ground when it came to giving a yardage to play. So whatever that gizmo was telling him, he didn't know how to interpret it. By the third hole I didn't even want him coming near me with a "yardage".

Ryan,
   Are you sure your caddy answered that many questions? Ours would get annoyed with one question, let alone a series of questions.

[peter_p]

    The OGA held a Tournament of Champions and supplied lasers to all players. The feedback was players liked them, but wouldn't buy them. As for speeding up play, it's still in the players hands. I've seen people wait by their ball until it is their turn to play, and only then use a range finder.
    When factoring in shot elevation change, does the player's ball trajectory (mine is lower) have an effect? I think at altitude a lower track ball doesn't get the full percentage advantage a high ball hitter gets.

[jeffwarne]

After successfully fending off several members with "suggestions" that we implement use of laser range finders-("like they have at my club in Florida")
I was asked by a caddie about implementing them-

I pointed to a cart (at our "walking only" course) and asked him what exactly would members need him for if both devices(cart and rangefinder) were implemented.

Haven't seen one since.

I did play at a course recently where my caddie quoted 165 to me and 148 was quoted to my partner by his caddie
(his ball was 1 yard behind me.)
They were using GPS devices.
they did a nice job of making sure my putter was given the royal treatment all day