• Equipment

  • What's your choice- GPS or Rangefinder

Who told u wearing a watch would bother your elbow? Never heard that before. I use a watch and love it.

Phone apps have a bad rap for draining your battery so i have never bothered with one.

I also have a rangefinder. If im in a cart it takes 2 seconds when you next to the cart to laser and then put it on the seat. If your friend has trouble hitting the target ( mine is an old unit and is tough as well) do what i do and laser to someone putting near the hole. If nibody is on the green laser it to traps etc..

Skycaddie GPS here. I bought it several years ago refurbished. Got it for a good price. Yes, paying yearly fees is getting old but overall, it's been a good purchase. I keep it either on a mount fastened to my golf cart or if not using a cart I affix it to my bag. It's always nearby and all it takes is a glance and I know how far it is to the front, back and middle of the green. If I want the measurement to the pin, I just move the hole location to about where the hole is located on the green and I have it. Where it comes in really handy is if/when I mess up a shot and end up in a place where I can't reach the green and there is a hazard I must clear (or lay up in front of). I just hit a button and it tells me how far the hazard is, both to lay up and to cross it. The same holds true for sand traps in front of the green. Your rangefinder can do that too I guess, unless the hazard or sand trap in question is over a hill and you can't see it from where you are. I'm satisfied with the Skycaddie. Others don't like them. Each to his own.

Golf Buddy Tour....got it on eBay for 15$ shipped....there was a thread on wrx about an eBay seller, had a bunch of em and refurbished them....jumped on the deal and used it all last season....long battery life, around 10 hours or so and has all the functions I'd ever need, front middle back, hazards, and you can track yardage from point a to b. For exact yardage a laser is best, but not as versatile as a gps....and I do not have a steady hand so the laser does not work well for me.

Garmin G5 in VA bag. It's a hand held and works very good for my needs. No subscription needed.

Voice Caddy hat clip-on unit here in FL. Push the button, get voice notification of distance to front, middle and back of green. VERY basic, but at $79 to $129 new it is real functional. No subscription.

http://voicecaddie.com/en/product04.php

GPS is the only way in my book. They are accurate to a few yards, which is close enough for all but the very best golfers and can give you a yardage even if you are over a hill and 2 fairways over (just in case) and you cannot see the target. Same for an elevated green, where you cannot see the flag, it gives you what you need.

My GPS is old. Like 12 or more years old, uses 3 AAA batteries that last about 5 rounds and it holds 20 courses (you download them for free). It's a black and white display but gives me what I need and is small.

I agree that lasers are slower. I have a buddy with one and he was always tripping out that I could look at my GPS screen, see middle, front and back locations, and just look at the flag and have the yardage within 2 yards, all before he was done shooting the target.

Leupold Rangefinder and Garmin S1 GPS watch. Use the Rangefinder mostly on par 3's.

My advice to anyone considering a rangefinder it to try a bud's first. For old dudes like me they are hard to got on target. And they seem to be a pain for people who wear glasses. Over the years I have had 5 GPS handhelds and five GPS watches. My watch just croaked so getting ready to get my 6th one. I never used all of the bells and whistles on my fanciest handheld. A GPS watch works best for me. I like one that just does F-C-B on the green and has basic hazard info. There are some new models available now that are listed as GPS golf bands that are stand alone GPS units or link to a smart phone. I am leaning toward this one. https://www.precisionprogolf.com/products/gps-golf-band

I have seen a bazillion people post about having concerns about having a GPS watch on their wrist who don't normally wear a watch. I have never seen a post that said it bothered them. They say that they don't even notice it which includes one of my golf buds who complains about everything.

I wear no jewelry at all the the watch was only noticable at first. As soon as u are focused on your game u foeget u have it on.

Mine is the FCB readings as well...and its a big one from 3 years ago. The new ones are smaller and nicer.

I use a Garmin G5, tried a laser & had difficulty holding it steady enough to get a reliable reading. Also my game doesn't demand laser accuracy, the Garmin gives me front-middle-back yardage that works for me.

I'm a laser convert after using a couple of different GPS units/services. I have the Bushnell Tour V.3 with the jolt technology that vibrates when it is locked on or near the flag. SWEET.

I still have a golf GPS (skydroid) on my phone that does not take long to load and be ready to use as a backup, if ever needed. I sold both of my hand held gps units (Ebay and FGI) because I'll never be using them again.

    I use my phone, it's as good as I need it to be. I prefer gps because I found range finders to be a PITA to focus on a target, but if your course has targets on the flag it's cool. I like the look down, yep we are X yards away and I can do my best to match that. In reality, if I know the course, I don't often look at it. This probably explains my GiR issues some haha.

    I have an original Nikon Rangefinder which still works great. This past year I was given a Garmin S2 watch. I use both, but more and more I use the watch because of the convenience. I keep the rangefinder in the bag because I occasionally forget to return the watch to my golf bag after charging.

    When I first saw the watch I wondered if it would affect my play as I always removed my regular watch when I played golf. I thought about it for the first two or three holes and that was it.

    The problem I have with laser range finders is I'm often in a position where I can't see the flag. 🙂

    I use a Bushnell geo xs. I've had a laser rangefinder and hand held gps units. In those cases I sold/gave them way as I tended not to use them. They were a PITA to use unless play was slow.

    The watch is the easiest and fastest by far. Just glance a it while you are putting your hand in the bag to get a club. If you want to get the distance to the hazards it displays you have to hit a button. It has something like 30K courses built in and you can download any updates/new courses for free. I've used it without problems all over the USA and Caribbean.

    As to wearing a watch, unless you have the lightest hands in the universe the weight of a Garmin is negligible in increasing joint loading. It also lasts three rounds unless you are a real slowpoke and can be charged from any USB port and/or a plug in the wall USB power supply. I often charge it from the USB port in the car on the way to and from the course.

    My experience says range finder users can be some of the slowest golfers on the course. I know the range finder users will dispute this but I do not like playing with those using range finders. I say a worn on the wrist GPS is the way to go or a voice one clipped on to your hat.

      Always used a GPS, did not like range finder plus I play a course with quite a few doglegs with a lot of tree lined fairways.

      I use a Bushnell Neo Ghost gps unit and I like it alot. I get all of the major numbers I need, front, middle, back, as well as a few hazards. Plus, it is small enough to fit in my pocket but I wear it on my belt for easier access and I can get 2 full rounds of 18 on 1 charge without any problems.