Nobody has ever calculated distance that way on a golf course. Ever, ever, ever!!
Nobody. Not a soul.
They guess the circumference of a circle, and then count from there. Thus, no trig has ever, is ever or will ever get used on a golf course.
Have I said "ever" enough?
EVER? I'll do it on blind shots when I rifle one a fairway over.....but I'll add a disclaimer that I'm a math geek. All you have to do is know the following Pythagorean Triples and you can get dangerously close within seconds.
Warning for all single men: The following will help you maintain your single status indefinitely if your knowledge is made public.
( 3, 4, 5) ( 5, 12, 13) ( 7, 24, 25) ( 8, 15, 17)
( 9, 40, 41) (11, 60, 61) (12, 35, 37) (13, 84, 85)
(16, 63, 65) (20, 21, 29) (28, 45, 53) (33, 56, 65)
(36, 77, 85) (39, 80, 89) (48, 55, 73) (65, 72, 97)