Are those distant range finder useful? GPS or the view finder better?

on certain holes, a 5m difference can mean safely on putting for birdie or into the water hazard, looking at 2X bogey.

if you use golf specific GPS devices, you can get accuracy to within 3m; on your smartphones, i think the accuracy is at best 5m. only the US military have GPS receivers down to 1m.

i think doesn't matter what competency we are playing at, but when we are betting against our buddies, be it for $1 skins or lunch, it's always good to have the exact yardage.

Tituman wrote:

no disrespect bro, just to understand a little better, are u not landing 80% of the time within ur intended spot because of inaccurate distance control from your irons, its a common issue for our egos to take our better distance with our irons as the average distance and hence we tend to choose the club that we think on a good shot would carry and land where it should. I use to be like that, but i have learnt to be true to myself, my 7I is not gonna go 150m as much as i would like it to go and sometimes on a super sweet shot it carrys 135m and rolls that extra 15m, it would be more realistic for me to take my 5I for 150m and not have to swing so hard but just a nice casual tempo. so in that sense, having a rangefinder or gps can help, over time you can learn to understand ur yardage of ur distance gaps better, say for instance left with 150m, i pick a 7I and i come up short of the green 10-15m 80% of the time, i know that my 7I is only about 135-140m on average. and how do i get that, its either with a GPS or rangefinder for the distance before and after the shot to verify coupled with diligent tracking on my scorecard.

Wah... Eiji, your 7i on good shot can reached 150m ah.. thats very good. My 7i only plays 125m-130m at best. I envy you leh. Even if I topped my 7i, at best it hit 140m niah sigh...... Must play with you one of this day so that I can learn how to hit 150m with 7i *idol*. Even my 5i can barely reached 150m because most of the time I changkuled it sigh......My iron play sulks full time. Must arrange for a game one of this days.

titu

I am no where that good, i already mention, it was a SUPER SWEET shot, thing that happens maybe once in every thousand to ten thousands of shot. so should i be telling myself that i can hit my 7I 150m just because of that one shot that may have backwind, downhill, slope and other factors that help increase the distance of my 7i? no right, i should be honest about it and just play it as a 130m-135m club. i am up for a game anytime, but i am really not that good, only broke 100 once and was playing alone so no one can vouch anyway, and the closest i got was playing 103,104 and 105. with the new baby and many things going on with work, i don't have as much time as i would like to play games. wife has been great to allow me to play 1 weekend a month already so have to make the best of games.

but then again i may be just

Eiji: haha, no offence taken at all. For
me, my ego is always in cheeck coz i know my standard.
I am not accurate nt because i overestimate
my shot bt i am really inconsistent. My average 7i aftet roll is ard 130, but half the time, it may roll further coz of too low tranjectory(spin) or even land short at 110m! Coz of poor contact.

so distance gaugin not so useful to me nw. Bt base on what i see in this thread, it does seem worthy to get a rangefinder in future.

eiji wrote:

BigBogey wrote:

Yeah, I agree too.

Been toying with the idea of getting one for a long time, so I started with the Freecaddie on iphone as a free, but not so accurate, substitute. But after a while, I realize the distance markers already gives a very good feel of the distance to green at (100, 150, 200m mark) and it doesn't matter if I get the distance correct to the millimetre because, 80% of the time, I can't even get my ball to land within 10m of my intended landing spot. But of course, that because I am just plain lousy.

Now I have given up on reaching for the GPS. I'll just look out for the blue and white strips wooden markers and gauge the distance from there.

More than sufficient information to make a distance call and it retains the romance of the game, giving me more time to check out the exotic nature life and scenery. =)

no disrespect bro, just to understand a little better, are u not landing 80% of the time within ur intended spot because of inaccurate distance control from your irons, its a common issue for our egos to take our better distance with our irons as the average distance and hence we tend to choose the club that we think on a good shot would carry and land where it should. I use to be like that, but i have learnt to be true to myself, my 7I is not gonna go 150m as much as i would like it to go and sometimes on a super sweet shot it carrys 135m and rolls that extra 15m, it would be more realistic for me to take my 5I for 150m and not have to swing so hard but just a nice casual tempo. so in that sense, having a rangefinder or gps can help, over time you can learn to understand ur yardage of ur distance gaps better, say for instance left with 150m, i pick a 7I and i come up short of the green 10-15m 80% of the time, i know that my 7I is only about 135-140m on average. and how do i get that, its either with a GPS or rangefinder for the distance before and after the shot to verify coupled with diligent tracking on my scorecard.

eiji wrote:

Leupold GX2 or Bushnell 1600

What about other brands? slop rating necessary?
Nikon OK? Do they have V2 slop rating in Singapore?

To me...a distant range finder only helps a player gauge the distance..which the markers on the course can do just as well. The rest of the game is still up to individual player...example knowing the distance each club gives you , consistency in your shots and your short game.

I have a Distance Finder in my bag but I rarely use it. But its good to know you have something to rely on if you can't find the distance marker or have doubts.

7 Iron at 150m !!!!! .. thats like the BOMB!!!!...

the only time i find a rangefinder useful if i can reach that hazard in front of me or if i want to take the tiger line...in other words...almost never

I deem its not a point for me to get one as my irons distance varies alot.
Only when I can hit almost every shot +- 5m variance then I will consider one.

to me these toys are useful at dogleg holes, i'll know how much error margin i can afford.

I felt both range finder or GPS were not cater for better player only but for all,whom to have the awareness of course managmen and train us to think how we going to play every different hole in the course.

Hi Eiji,

If you dont mind. Can pm the place and price you got for the Bushnell range finder?

Rande finder is especially useful if it is your first time playing the course or the distance markers are in doubt... you do not wan to over club or under club and end up in water... At least u know u got the right club for the distance even if the outcome is short or long

I have the Nikon 350G range finder. Uses it whenever i am under 100m as distance markers are not readily available and u have many clubs to choose from to fire your shots. PW 52 56 or 60 deg wedge. Slope rating is not legal for some courses and definitely not for tournament play. I uses the freecaddie previously and thought GPS pales in comparison to range finder as far as precision is concern. Have fun hunting.

GPS is 'cheaper' since you can get one for your iPhone that is reasonably accurate. A laser rangefinder is useful where you can see the markers, but for jokers like me is not so accurate, +/- 10 yards tolerance is enough for me

I'm using GolfShot (along with GolfPlan on the iPad) for score tracking and yardage estimates

OB abit. Any reviews on the 2 apps? Running GolfShot on the iPad (just downloaded) and considering the purchase of the GolfPlan. For the geek in me.

GolfPlan is more stunning on the iPad but you won't regret it. damn cheap for the few strokes it has helped me shave off my game on putting alone

Golfshot is actually better for the iPhone, mostly cos it's very bulky to carry the iPad on course

Thks for your quick reply! It nvr fails to amaze me how much info i can get out from this forum.

I was fooling ard with GolfShot and think to fulfil its purpose, it has to be upgraded to the GPS version. Unfortunately, i do not own an iPhone.....yet. Will go and download the GolfPlan to satisfy the geek's curiosity. Thanks for the heads up!

Think just get my friend to sign out the snipper scope for the game. no need to buy....

joshcct wrote:

Think just get my friend to sign out the snipper scope for the game. no need to buy....

can sign out 1 more?? hee....

rangereye wrote:

joshcct wrote:

Think just get my friend to sign out the snipper scope for the game. no need to buy....

can sign out 1 more?? hee....

You guys can take the scope... I will opt for the gun... see who still dare to win me...

alvin7379 wrote:

rangereye wrote:

joshcct wrote:

Think just get my friend to sign out the snipper scope for the game. no need to buy....

can sign out 1 more?? hee....

You guys can take the scope... I will opt for the gun... see who still dare to win me...

Does that mean that I need to carry my canon to the course (I mean Canon printer)

I'll be bring my Canon to shoot.......pictures...