Golf Rangefinders Reviews:Laser,GPS,Pinseeker

Golf Laser Range and a Golf GPS Range Finders are gadgets that are used to measure the distance from where your ball is lying to the pin. These have been available for some years but only recently have they been legalized by the Governing bodies of golf. This article examines the difference between Golf Laser Range and a Golf GPS Range Finders, so if you are looking to buy one of these gadgets, you will know what type suits you best.Do Golf Range Finders Offer an Advantage?The Royal & Ancient Golf Club of St. Andrews and the US Golf Association announced a change in the rules. The Specific Rule is 14-3b, known as the range finder rule. The change in the rule allowed range finders to be used by amateur golfers. Major tournaments do not allow artificial range finding devices. But for every day golf play do golf range finders offer an advantage?Slow play in golf is considered to be in bad taste and the average golf game today takes longer than it did 10 years ago so it is believe that to speed up play these devices have been allowed.Golf Laser Range Finders and GPS Range Finders are the two main devices and are very similar in accuracy. The Golf Laser Range Finders looks a little like binoculars, you look through them and the unit then measures distance from the ball to the pin by use of a laser beam. You do have to have a direct line of sight as well as a steady hand. They may also be used to calculate the distance to a hazard. Golf GPS Range Finders are more complicated; a map of the golf course is required to be loaded. Then your position on the course is determined to the pin by a satellite signal. The ability to use a GPS golf range finder is dependent upon the quality of the map. GPS maps may only show the distance to travel to the front, middle and back of the green and depending upon the model, may not even show hazards. Maps of golf courses have to be bought through subscription or individually at an additional cost and if you are a regular player this can be a time consuming or expensive exercise, particularly if you play at many varied courses. Another con in terms of the GPS Range Finders is that if the weather is cloudy and there are many trees as there usually are on a golf course, the GPS might not be able to connect to the satellite, and you will not get a reading. Essentially, at the end of the day, you have to decide for yourself what the best golf range finder for your needs would be. Personally speaking though, fiddling about on the course with gadgets might just make my game longer, but I am no technophile so I rest my case, the decision is yours!

Tags: Golf Range Finders by chas08
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Modern technology is coming to the aid of golfers once again. Only this time, it’s not with a new, improved Big Bertha. This time around, it’s through one of the latest and greatest technological crazes for the outdoorsman and athlete: the hand-held GPS. By using a hand-held GPS range finder, a golfer can take off several tough strokes from her score by getting a better, more accurate read on distances to the green and the pin, and the precise location of hazards. A golfer can even use the GPS range finder to get better club suggestions, as the more precise calculations of yardage allow for more precise estimations of what club is the right one for the situation at hand.Using the precision of aerial satellite data, a GPS can be more accurate for a golfer’s estimations and calculations than a course book or laser range finders.While many golfers have benefited from the use of laser range finders and while there is no doubt about their effectiveness in getting better measurements of distances, especially in the short game (100 yards or less), more and more golfers are now discovering that GPS technology takes their game to another level.While there are purists who consider the intervention of technology such as range finders or GPS to be some kind of sacrilege and an interference with what they see as an integral challenge of the game of golf–namely, guesswork–there are many others who are more interested in perfecting their physical skills, and for these the less guesswork the less frustration. Why gain a stroke because of a water hazard or experience the maddening irritation of being in a sand trap if a better calculation can avoid these things? These would argue that one’s mental and physical dexterity are what count in the game of golf, and not one’s ability to play guessing games with the golf course designers. A golf programmed GPS can also, they say, keep more new people interested in the sport by reducing their discouragement.Some more good news for these technophilic golfers is that the vast majority of U.S. golf courses have already been mapped out by GPS satellites, so the chances are small that a golfer with a GPS would wind up on a course where her GPS golfing program did not work.Some golf GPS programs are so advanced that they can track multiple targets for a single pin all at once, or even display the precise shape of the green as seen from your current angle of approach. Golf is largely a game of knowledge. Just as one needs knowledge of club weights and correct hitting form, so one needs knowledge of course geography and distances. The more the better.

Tags: Golf Range Finders by chas08
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For many golf enthusiasts these days, using golf range finders may not be a necessity; but it sure speeds up the game by a long shot – figuratively speaking, of course. A growing number of amateur players do get some satisfaction in getting a shot lined up right, especially in tricky corner shots. For others, it’s all about the sheer convenience of knowing what club to use in order to place a ball on the green.

For some golfers, these golf range finders are no more than affirmations that their guesses were right in the first place. Whatever the reason may be, more and more subscribers to the sport are getting their hands on their own golf range finders. If you find yourself with a little extra cash on the side, and you are thinking of getting such a gadget, here is a list of things to consider.

1. There are range finders and then there are golf range finders. If you are not particularly sure which is which, it would be best to ask for one specifically from the sports store, or you could do your own shopping online. When you do shop online, look at specifics carefully and compare these with the others. Not because one model is “newer” than the other necessarily means that these would work better. Also, there are many types of range finders in the market that is used for other sports. Some of them may work for golf, but it would be best if you could get one that is pre-programmed to the needs of the game. In other words, instead of making the device work for your game, get one that is already set for golf. It would give you less headaches down the road.

Additionally, golf range finders are very different from gps range finders. The former is more binocular like, which can help you measure distances via a laser beam. The latter relies more on its software, where you need to upload a map of the golf course you are playing on, you need to establish location and then you are given a GPS map that also calculates distances. Both, however, can give you the same results.

2. Size does matter; and in this case, the smaller the device, the better. More and more compact models are coming out, so there really is no need to lug around a heavier-than-golf-club device around your neck. Although most golf players do not really play the game with these devices all throughout (say) the 18-hole; it would still be better to get the devices that are easy to carry, and is light enough to use when needed. However, that does not mean you sacrifice quality for compactness.

3. Speaking of which, some of the best quality range finders these days have wide angle viewing lenses. These can give you the longest possible range at an apparent 6.3° or 50+°; or viewing distances of about 300 feet at 1,000 yards. Translation in English: these new models can give you accurate readings if you want to hit the pin at 10 meters or 400 meters with a leeway of ½ yards. Other specifics you may want to look into are: scanning ability and exactly how powerful the lenses are.

Tags: Golf Range Finders by chas08
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Given the considerable amount of advertising dollars that are spent to encourage golfers to put new clubs into their bags every year, I always wonder why more corporate dollars are not spent to encourage golfers to actually buy the one device that will actually help them post lower scores: golf range finders.  Golf rangefinders are typically priced between $200 and $400, about the same price range as new drivers made by Titleist, Cleveland, and TaylorMade.  Is there less revenue to be made by merchandisers for selling one Bushnell Rangefinder versus one TaylorMade Driver? Probably. But good marketing campaigns can effectively change what we as consumers feel is and isn’t important. Avid golfers are always competing with their friends to stay ahead of the curve by purchasing the latest golf equipment. How many times have members of regular foursomes used another member’s new driver and then after just three or four swings went out and bought the same exact club? It happens all the time. The entire Golf industry counts on this kind of viral marketing to sell more and more clubs. However, why don’t rangefinder manufacturers like Bushnell and Leupold employ a similar philosophy or strategy? This article compares the golf rangefinders’ impact on a golfer’s scoring average (USGA handi-cap) to the scoring impact that more popular golfing equipment has. It also suggests some marketing angles and hooks that manufacturers could employ to make them more mainstream.

Rangefinders versus the latest Driver. First of all, the driver is the most important club in the bag. I am not suggesting that it isn’t. Finding a driver that you are comfortable with is vital because hitting fairways consistently sets up scoring opportunities. However, golfers don’t necessarily buy new drivers because they are unhappy with the one they have; or because they broke the one they had. They buy them because club manufactures do such a good job convincing them that without this years’ model, you’ll be a competitive disadvantage and will not hit it as far. They infer that you shouldn’t be on the golf course in the first place without the latest technology. They make you believe that a bigger sweet spot somehow will mean less bad drives.  First of all, drivers do not swing by themselves; and no matter what driver you have in your hands, only a good balanced swing will enable you to make solid contact and hit the ball straight and / or far. What good is a driver anyway if you hit it far AND straight, but it goes through a dog leg or into a hazard? For the same cost (or less) as a new driver, a Range finder will tell you how far you are from hazards;  or even how far you are from a tree that borders the left side of the fairway that could be in play should you pull your drive, etc. I think people associate rangefinders with measuring the distance to the flag only. Rangefinders can help you on every shot by providing you distances to land marks and places you want to avoid.  As someone who’s played over 500 rounds of golf in the past ten years, I am absolutely certain that avoiding aiding trouble spots and hazards off the tee will help lower your scores far more than getting more length off the tee. Bushnell and Leupold should emphasize in its’ marketing campaigns how useful rangefinders can be when used from the tee boxes of par 4’s and 5’s, and not just for flag placement on the par 3’s.

Rangefinders versus the latest Fad clubs: Did belly putters actually help anyone putt better? Did Tiger Woods or Phil Mickelson ever win a major championship while using one? How about the ‘Alien’ Wedge from about ten years back? Did anyone ever win a championship with the ‘Alien Wedge’?  ‘No’ is the answer to all of these questions, and there must be a reason for that. These guys win major championships because they are great, talented players who employ prudent golf strategy and execute great golf shots. However, belly putters, ‘Alien’ wedges, and other gimmicky clubs were hot sellers at one time. When watching tour players on TV, the focus by observers is the clubs and the clothes. Professionals are not allowed to use rangefinders, and therefore couldn’t promote them while playing a round of PGA Tour golf.  But they don’t need rangefinders because their caddies know exact distances to flags, hazards, and other landmarks from everywhere on the course. And if they don’t know these distances, they pace them off during the round. If Bushnell Rangefinders paid Tiger Woods to talk about the advantages of having a caddy and that Bushnell Rangefinders are a viable alternative to caddies for distance measurement, wouldn’t Bushnell be selling more rangefinders? I think so.  And back to my point, rangefinders actually help you with distance measurements and club selection, two of the biggest problems that golfers with handicaps of ten or higher struggle with.

Rangefinders versus Clothes and apparel. Please. I realize you need waterproof shoes with good grips, wind/rain gear to keep you dry, and some decent golf polos so that you adhere to your local golf club’s dress code. But again, do how much do these clothing items actually help you with your scoring? Well, I do suppose that wearing sneakers as opposed to wearing golf shoes could hurt your game on a wet day. However, golfers are spending $150 for Footjoys, $100 on golf rain/wind pullovers, and $100 on Greg Norman polos every day. Why? Because, again, these brands effectively market these products versus cheaper but equally viable alternatives that can be purchased at Dick’s or Sports Authority. Why doesn’t Bushnell or Leupold leverage from this phenomenon somehow? Why not sell the rangefinders as an alternative to overpriced and un-necessary apparel that can actually help lower scores? Isn’t that what a real golfer wants any way? If a golfer was asked which they would prefer-lowering his / her handicap by 1 stroke or having the coolest looking and most expensive Greg Norman polo; they would chose a lower handicap every time. And between golfing apparel and digital golf rangefinders, rangefinders would be the purchase that potentially will produce lower scores.

Finally, good golf rangefinders really do work. They accurately range flags, trees, and other targets from up to 1,000 yards away; and to within +/- 1 yard of your targeted objects. They are also easy to use and are small enough to be kept in your pocket.  I recommend trying the Bushnell Golf Medalist or the Bushnell Tour V2.  Leupold’s Gx-1 and Gx-2 models have also received very good reviews by golfers. For a step up in price and performance, the Bushnell 1500 Pinseeker with up and down slope measurement is a great instrument. And if you and your friends can live with the USGA rule infraction, I recommend it; especially for courses being played for the first time. 

Tags: Golf Range Finders by chas08
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