Golf Talk Tuesdays 2015-2020

[frayne]

I doubt the new rule changes will have much impact. Very few slow golfers admit or think they play slow.

Agree 100%. Rangefinders should be banned inside of 100 yards. Most of the slow players I know have no concept of playing ready golf and can't think past their nose or take a putter, wedge or sand wedge when they have no idea of the lie. It will be interesting to see how the 3 minute rule for lost balls go over as well.

 

[golfnut]

Who says they do? Putters are way up there in price now and seem to be selling. There's not much new tech in a putter, no matter what they claim. Drivers from 30 years ago are light years behid today's drivers, putters not so much.

Maybe if one is talking about the real expensive putters like cameron etc..



Look at the new mainstream drivers like Callaway - Epic and TM M (??). Aren't they priced at $400/$500 retail? I realize one can wait a year or 2 (the smart ones do) and pick these up for under $200. Again, it's a club used maybe 14 times in a round.


Mainstream putters ie Callaway, Ping retail anywhere from $150/200. Challenging or not it is used over 30 times a round,


I agree there is probably not much new tech in a putter but I don't buy into the supposed new tech bs that one hears about new drivers. Drivers going back 8 years are as good as today's. No matter what model one has, it's the shaft that counts.

 

[F4mandolin]

Agree 100%. Rangefinders should be banned inside of 100 yards. Most of the slow players I know have no concept of playing ready golf and can't think past their nose or take a putter, wedge or sand wedge when they have no idea of the lie. It will be interesting to see how the 3 minute rule for lost balls go over as well.

Oh man....you just killed me. I would MUCH rather use the range finder inside 100 yards. Thats where I kind of expect my club to actually do what I want it to do. Slow players are slow....it's not the range finder....it's not the extra swings.....it's not the tap ins/gimmies....it's everything. They are slow. Slow walking....slow club selection....slow pre-shot thinking.....just plain slow. How would you ban range finders inside 100 yards? Put spotters out on the course and shoot paint balls at slow players (might work though....actually....I might volunteer for that one).

 

[zinger1457]

Rangefinders are usually a time saver IMO, especially if the other option is to pace off the distance from a sprinkler head or any other yardage marker, probably takes me less than 10 seconds to get the yardage with my rangefinder. I don't use/need it for short pitch shots and typically only use it once per hole for approach shots to the green.

 

[frayne]

Oh man....you just killed me. I would MUCH rather use the range finder inside 100 yards. Thats where I kind of expect my club to actually do what I want it to do. Slow players are slow....it's not the range finder....it's not the extra swings.....it's not the tap ins/gimmies....it's everything. They are slow. Slow walking....slow club selection....slow pre-shot thinking.....just plain slow. How would you ban range finders inside 100 yards? Put spotters out on the course and shoot paint balls at slow players (might work though....actually....I might volunteer for that one).

Inside of 100 yards usually calls for one of three clubs PW, GW or SW for most players and I've seen guys use their RF less than 20 yards off the green, which boggles my pea brain. Lets split the difference and make it 50 yards. I agree, slow players are slow players for all the reasons you mention.

 

[Midpack]

Agree 100%. Rangefinders should be banned inside of 100 yards. Most of the slow players I know have no concept of playing ready golf and can't think past their nose or take a putter, wedge or sand wedge when they have no idea of the lie. It will be interesting to see how the 3 minute rule for lost balls go over as well.

Most guys I play with move along well, but it only takes a couple slow players (ahead) to hold everyone up. Some people make all the well known mistakes over and over and over.

I’m lucky that almost no one I play with, even a league of 60+, looks long for lost balls - none take more than 2 minutes already. Helps we have poison ivy all around so it’s not worth it to look more than a few feet into real rough. And I’ll drop a ball and call off others looking for my ball if we haven’t found it in about 60 seconds. Fortunately I’ve lost far fewer balls this year so I have dozens of new balls I’m probably not going to use this year. Nice problem after going through about 5 dozen last year...

 

[F4mandolin]

Inside of 100 yards usually calls for one of three clubs PW, GW or SW for most players and I've seen guys use their RF less than 20 yards off the green, which boggles my pea brain. Lets split the difference and make it 50 yards. I agree, slow players are slow players for all the reasons you mention.

Actually.....I'm almost one of those people. I consider my rangefinder as "kind of" a caddy. If I am 30 yards from the pin I can make a guess that's pretty damn close (as I can from 110 or 150 etc)......I pull out the rangefinder and it confirms my guess within a couple of yards. I know from practice if I take out my 60 degree wedge and hit it *that* hard it goes about 30 yards. I don't need the rangefinder, but I sure am addicted to it. I just make sure I pull that sucker out as I'm walking up to the ball so it's fast..... The people who I play with who are slow don't even use rangefinders, they're just slow with everything in general.

Thought I would add this......I would be all in favour of getting rid of rangefinders (not gonna happen)......I think it is just part of golf to be able to make accurate guesses for distance. But....I'm going to use it if I am allowed to.

 

[Music Lover]

My belief is that no one really should need a ranger finder inside 100 yards. Just use your eyes. I've seen people trying to get a distance when they are 40 yards from the green and it boggles my mind that they feel it's necessary.

I have a GPS golf watch and barely glance at it as I stop by my ball...all I want is the middle of the green distance. Once I have that it's quick mental calculations based on wind and pin placement. I never use the watch inside 100 yards.

 

[Kelor]

It surprises me anyone would complain about a range finder. By most accounts, they have sped up the game. GPS on the otherhand will cripple a slow golfer even more.

 

[pb4uski]

I took practice swings out of my routine a few years ago... if anything, it has helped my game.... I line up, set up and then just hit the damn thing (often, but not always successfully). Luckily, I don't play with anyone who takes multiple practice swings... I wouldn't like that.

 

[garyt]

Agree 100%. Rangefinders should be banned inside of 100 yards. Most of the slow players I know have no concept of playing ready golf and can't think past their nose or take a putter, wedge or sand wedge when they have no idea of the lie. It will be interesting to see how the 3 minute rule for lost balls go over as well.

I played in a tournament last week and a guy was lasering the pin from 20 yards, I kid you not! It took all I had not to laugh.

 

[garyt]

It surprises me anyone would complain about a range finder. By most accounts, they have sped up the game. GPS on the otherhand will cripple a slow golfer even more.

Wow, how do you figure that? I find a gps way faster than a laser.

 

[garyt]

Those three and SAge Run too. I’ve heard they might have opened up Sage Run a bit too early, but it wil be nice to play all 4 courses.

You'll love them. I'll have to look into Sage Run. Is that the second course at the casino where Sweetgrass is?

Greywalls had lots of holes where the greens were upside down bowls and the fringe was cut as short as some greens I've played on. Hard to hold the greens even on short chips. Tough but fun.

 

[Midpack]

It surprises me anyone would complain about a range finder. By most accounts, they have sped up the game. GPS on the otherhand will cripple a slow golfer even more.

Wow, how do you figure that? I find a gps way faster than a laser.

+2. I’m not following Kelor’s observation either. Both speed up the game versus looking for a marker and pacing off distances, and IME GPS is quicker than a rangefinder.

My belief is that no one really should need a ranger finder inside 100 yards. Just use your eyes. I've seen people trying to get a distance when they are 40 yards from the green and it boggles my mind that they feel it's necessary.

I have a GPS golf watch and barely glance at it as I stop by my ball...all I want is the middle of the green distance. Once I have that it's quick mental calculations based on wind and pin placement. I never use the watch inside 100 yards.

I always use my GPS, within 100 yards also, but it only takes seconds to look at it. Often I’ve checked GPS and chosen a club while waiting for another player, so zero time lost. I could gauge correctly by eye some, but the eye doesn’t always work. IME water or especially traps between the ball and the pin often fool the eye as do big changes in elevation, occasionally blind shots - GPS eliminates those misreads and saves time.

 

[Music Lover]

The GPS watch is on my wrist and updates every step. All I do is glance at it...a couple seconds at most. With a range finder one must stop, pull it out, get steady, and then aim it.

I sold my friend my old GPS watch when I got a new one. Previous to that he used a phone app….now THAT is slow

 

[Dawg52]

It surprises me anyone would complain about a range finder. By most accounts, they have sped up the game. GPS on the otherhand will cripple a slow golfer even more.

The GPS watch is on my wrist and updates every step. All I do is glance at it...a couple seconds at most. With a range finder one must stop, pull it out, get steady, and then aim it.

Yeah....I can't see how a GPS will slow someone down. Just a quick glance and you have a ballpark number. I see people with rangefinders taking what seems like a couple of minutes to get the thing locked on the flag. I love my little Golfbuddy.

 

[zinger1457]

I know plenty of players that play slow that use a GPS, that doesn't mean the GPS is the cause of slow play, same with rangefinders.

 

[Music Lover]

I know plenty of players that play slow that use a GPS, that doesn't mean the GPS is the cause of slow play, same with rangefinders.

Some people are just slow...they walk slow, they tie their shoes slow, they eat slow, and they play golf slow. Give them a GPS or range finder and they'll become even slower.

 

[pb4uski]

I have a GPS watch. I look at the watch and any yardage markers for reference points in judging distance. Also sometimes pace from markers on par 3 tees if we are waiting.

Inside of 100 yards I might take a quick glance at it.... inside 25 yards I don't even bother looking at it.... I rely on my eyes. I guess that I only use the GPS when I am making a full swing shot and less so when making a less than full swing shot.

I also only use one club, my lob wedge, inside of 75 yards. I play pretty fast.

 

[Kelor]

It might be the people I play with, but I find often GPS provides too much data, which leads to analysis paralysis. We have a relatively decent course up here that pulled all of their fancy GPS set ups off their carts, and introduced just a digital number to pin. That really helped their pace of play.

I almost never use my GPS watch any longer. I only pull it out when playing a brand new course. I really like that most private tracks keep the technology off of the cart.

 

[Music Lover]

It might be the people I play with, but I find often GPS provides too much data, which leads to analysis paralysis. We have a relatively decent course up here that pulled all of their fancy GPS set ups off their carts, and introduced just a digital number to pin. That really helped their pace of play.

My GPS watch has all sorts of features, but the only one I use is the distance to the middle of the green number. Since that's the default when it's turned on, I just have to glance at it.

 

[greengo523]

The GPS watch is on my wrist and updates every step. All I do is glance at it...a couple seconds at most. With a range finder one must stop, pull it out, get steady, and then aim it.

I sold my friend my old GPS watch when I got a new one. Previous to that he used a phone app….now THAT is slow

I went through about 3 phone apps before I found one that is fairly fast. It almost always takes me 10 seconds or less to get my yardage from the time I pull my phone out of my pocket. I do want a dedicated golf GPS device as I don't like the battery drain on my phone.

 

[Midpack]

My GPS watch has all sorts of features, but the only one I use is the distance to the middle of the green number. Since that's the default when it's turned on, I just have to glance at it.

+1. My GPS hangs from my belt (Garmin Approach G10), I look at the distance front, middle and/or back depending on pin placement, takes a couple seconds. That’s all the “data” I use 99% of the time.

Occasionally I will use the hazard and layup/dogleg functions, very handy at times, especially on a course I’m not familiar with. I also keep score and stats (putts, fairway) on mine, but that’s between holes and it doesn’t slow me down at all. I often enter score and stats while others are putting out.

Anyone else notice some players who don’t have GPS or rangefinder will ask those of us with them for yardage?

 

[Music Lover]

Anyone else notice some players who don’t have GPS or rangefinder will ask those of us with them for yardage?

Almost everyone

One of my golf buddies sneered at it the first time he saw it and it "cheating", but by the back 9 he was regularly asking me for yardages...

 

[Big_Hitter]

Almost everyone

One of my golf buddies sneered at it the first time he saw it and it "cheating", but by the back 9 he was regularly asking me for yardages...

that's actually not cheating