We did that (pulled the pins) once in our Quota Game. And I hit it real close to the hole on a couple of holes. So there may be something to that. Most likely because you shoot for the middle of the green.
I have both a GPS watch and Rangefinder. They've become so much of a security blanket for me now I'd feel lost without them. The Rangefinder is primarily for par 3's.
Ironically the two best golfers in a our group don't use either. 
I claim range finder users are slow golfers. GPSers are fine. GPS is close enough for 99.99% of all golfers.
Disagree, laser speeds up play, and removes indecision.
I laser the pin as fast or faster than anyone with a GPS watch. Mines out in my cart or on my 3 wheeler and I've got it in hand and my yardage in a second. Those with GPS usually have 3 measurements to factor, check pin color to see which measurement is closest.
And I'm much faster than the guys who still pace off from yardage From a marker, and lots of guys do that.
GPS....eye opener to actual carry and total distance on all clubs, very helpful AND helps tremendously with yardages that aren't always easily figured out. The additional front and back of green yardages, eof, hazards, etc are quite.nice especially on courses not played or rarely frequented.
The best device I've ever bought for golf is my clic gear 3.0. What a wander for a walking golfer. My gps sits on the bungee scorecard holder quite well
I don't know how many strokes a rangefinder gives me +/-, but I would be lost without it. We play a lot of different courses, many of which are poorly marked or not marked at all. Depth perception changes a lot from course to course and my best guess it often quite a ways off. I prefer the rangefinder to be able to zap anything I want, like a tree in the distance or an unmapped bunker, though I like the speed of GPS. If a cart has GPS and the number is within a few yards the first couple of holes, I'll let the rangefinder sit most of the round.
I also don't know what the difference between my older drivers and my newer ones are distance wise. I do hit it straighter than I did 20 years ago, and I probably hit it a similar distance....though I'm a lot flabbier now than I was then. So the club is definitely doing something.
The Driver.
Distance device over driver.
Have had two laser devices, 3 gps devices. Shake too much to get a reliable yardage with the lasers. Phone gPS sucks life out of my battery and on some courses it gets confused. Watch gps good, but was never really comfortable with wearing it. Last was that little square neo. Turns out I only really need front, middle and back distances. On rare occasion intermediate distances have helped.
Since my playing philosophy is to go for the middle of green with a few exceptions, it is more than accurate for my surgical approach shots. 
Many of the hill couses make yardages as only a starting point, then yout need to figure how much or l essential based on elevation.
Used the Neo Ghost yesterday for the first time. Didn't really save me any strokes that I could tell, but was playing on a well marked course and was impressed to see that it agreed almost perfectly with the course markers to middle of the green yardage. Unfortunately, I was a coward on green side shots, hitting tentatively and bleeding shots all around the green. The Neo did help a lot on one partial shot, letting me know I was 47 yards out, I hit a 3/4 lob wedge and was rewarded with a 10 foot putt for par that I missed. I was impressed that I only played 9, and it was the back 9, but the Neo picked that up without me doing anything to adjust the starting hole. Didn't expect that. Tonight, I'll play the poorly marked 9 hole muni. Hoping it really works on that one where I know it will help considerably to actually know the yardages. I have my doubts that this course will have accurate data associated, but hope to find out.
Visited my club for the first time in a month on Labor Day for a round with my wife. The first thing I noticed in the cart was they had retrofitted it with a USB charger. I ran back into the shop to let the pro know I thought that was a great addition and a game changer for those with GPS / phones.
One subtle difference maker with my Bushnell is being able to tell a playing partner (hacker) the yardage to clear a hazard on an approach. It seems to give them confidence to be able to cover the distance with a normal swing instead of over swinging with the yardage to the middle of the green in their mind. The time saved from looking for their water ball after 'swinging for the fence' is a nice benefit.
I think the new tech in driver's is important too. I know I'm keeping the ball in play off the tee much more than I did years ago and has been a tremendous help in consistency.
I love my Neo X GPS watch and feel naked playing without it. I'll break out the old laser for a scramble sometimes, but it's so much easier to glance at your wrist.
Just thought I'd sneak a post or 2 in after my ~ 2 year hiatus from golf forums
At my regular courses, where I play most, not worth it. but its good to know, but not necessary. Since I am a good judge of yardages for shots, I could do without. At courses where I haven't played, absolutely. Worth the investment. I prefer a gps, but also have a rangefinder for those instances where a gps just won't do. For example, a distance to a swale, etc. I clip my Callaway Eclipse to my belt loop so its very handy. (I hate to have to manually advance to the next hole if I do not take it onto the green.)
I'm much faster with my Garmin GPS than my buddies with Lasers. One glance and club selection is done. In Florida I have a "talking" GPS that clips to my hat. I push the button and a sexy voice tells, me distance to center of green. Quick!
I really enjoy my Sky caddy GPS watch; Christmas present from my girls , on sale Dicks. Minimalistic , so not a distraction like phone apps and mostly accurate to center of green. I hate doing without it when I forget to take it. Have found it off more than 10 yards on some holes though. I shake a lot so my Bushnell mostly stays in its bag unless I need distance to a hazard off tee or on the range.
Not sure if my old G15 counts as a high tech driver? but it'd be hard to do without too , but if I had to choose between it and GPS watch it'd win.
The Neo Ghost worked well on the muni except for one hole where I don't need it. The second hole is a 130 yd par 3, but for some reason the Neo thinks it is 175. With the spot on yardages everywhere else it is helping out. Got par on 3 of the 9 holes played. Score still sucked due to two blow up holes (no water on this course, but the primary rough is 5" deep bermuda where a ball can get lost in plain sight. However, I think I'll find the Neo more beneficial to my score than the large driver (right now an SMT Indio).
I hate it when a ball gets lost in plain sight.
