Why You Should Buy a Golf Rangefinder

I spent years stuck in the dark ages, trying to gauge distances to the green by looking at 150-yard markers. It was extremely random and, as it turned out, pretty inaccurate. But I had always done it that way. 

Then I realised that almost everybody I was playing with was using either a rangefinder or a GPS watch. This applied to golfers of all standards. I increasingly found myself starting to ask my playing partners how far I was from given hazards and was genuinely surprised by the fact that, almost without exception, the figure they would give me was entirely different from my guesstimate, sometimes by as much as 20 yards. Think about it - that can be a two-club difference.

So earlier this year I decided to take the plunge and purchase a Garmin watch. And if you have not done the same thing then I strongly advise you to give it some serious thought. For me, it has been a complete game changer for all sorts of shots.

Par 3s

In the good old days I always used to trust the scorecard when it came to judging the distance of par threes. If the card told me the hole measured 155 yards then I would accept it without question. But greenkeepers move tee boxes on a regular basis so the distance on the card is almost never the distance you are playing. If you don’t know the exact distance then you also don’t know how far you have to hit the ball to clear that greenside bunker or that water hazard. A rangefinder or watch will give you the exact distance from the tee to the front of the green, to the flag and to the back of the green. It will also tell you where the hazards are. I can state that, without a shadow of a doubt, my play on short holes has improved immeasurably as a result of my Garmin (other fine brands are available).

Strategy

We all have a pretty good idea of how far we hit a well-struck drive but we don’t always know how far we have to fly the ball to carry specific hazards, such as fairway bunkers. A glance at the watch will tell you exactly how far that yawning bunker is from the tee of the day. You then have choices to make and if you find the sand you have nobody to blame but yourself.

Fairways

You have hit the middle of the short and prepared with a well-struck tee shot. Back in the day we all had to check out the location of the 150-yard markers and try to work out the distance to the flag from there. There were two issues with this - not every course has said markers and flag positions are moved on a daily basis so you could never accurately gauge exactly how far you were from the pin. A watch or rangefinder will give you the distance to the front, to the flag and to the back of the green. It will tell you precisely how far you have to fly the ball to clear the front greenside bunker. If there are no bunkers you will be able to check the distance and take course conditions into account for that approach shot.

Water Trouble

Lakes and ponds are the scourge of all club golfers. There are two big issues: a) water gets into your head, and b) you panic because you don’t know exactly how far you have to hit the ball through the air to clear the hazard. If you have a rangefinder or watch you just need to consult it to get the information. It will also tell you how far you are from the front of the hazard. So you can decide whether to have a go or lay up. Since buying my watch I have lost far fewer balls in the water. I know my limits and if I look at my watch and it tells me I have a 200-yard carry the chances are that I will now lay up and accept that I will have to get up and down to save my par. It is better than the alternative. Before I had that information at hand, more often than not I would reach for a fairway wood and watch my ball disappear into the drink.

Saving Golf Balls

So here’s the thing. Taking everything above into account I have DEFINITELY lost far fewer golf balls. That means I am spending less and have probably already recovered the cost of my initial outlay. By my way of thinking, investing in a rangefinder or GPS watch is a complete no-brainer!

What Options Do You Have?

This is by no means a comprehensive guide but here are just a few of your options:

Bear in mind that, by and large, you get what you pay for. If you are looking for an entry level rangefinder you will find one available on Temu for £27.73. Hmmmm….

Shot Scope produce a wide range of laser rangefinder. They start at around £149 and go all the way up to £349. Or there is a state-of-the-art Garmin Approach Z82 GPS laser rangefinder that will set you back a whopping £499. Mind you, it does everything other than hitting the ball for you!

My personal preference is the GPS watch. They are light, also double up as a watch and are simple to operate and to recharge. 

Garmin is probably the best-known manufacturer and provide something to suit every pocket. They start at a little over £100, but you can pay around £380 for a device that comes preloaded with more than 43,000 golf courses, gives you a state-of-the-art display and will tell you absolutely everything you could ever wish to know about what lies ahead of you. It also tracks your heart-rate and monitors your sleep patterns.

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