mikeintopeka no mention of the word compass in the article. The pic shows him with a protractor, not sure why having a protractor would be an issue. I'm sure the usga could invent some reason (or possible reason) why it's an issue....it will be interesting to see what is said, as damn sure TGC will report on it! And Bernhard Langer anchors in plain sight and BAD gets his balls busted for using a protractor
ode - "Compass" is used in the title of the article.
My understanding is some use the term "compass" when referring to a protractor and pencil, I have never heard anyone use that term til now, quite possibly pre-magnetic compass folks referred to a protractor as a compass, but ??
Sounds like the issue is whether or not it can be used as a DMD (distance measuring device) or not and how he goes about it, etc. He is using it on an actual yardage book itself, not on the actual course, so it would seem he would be ok, but if he constructs a green size "compass" then he's prolly in trouble. I'm sure he'll be warned not to do that
And a point of clarification, I believe it's the PGA looking into it, not the usga. My bad on that!
Compass on the left protractor on the right.
"Knowing" Bryson, he prolly has a digital "compass" 
Yeah, a compass will help immensely if what you need to do is draw a circle. Not sure how it would be helpful on a golf course, lol.
On a side note, when I was in fellowship training at Vanderbilt I used to go play pool with the med students at lunch hour. One of them was famous for studying his shots for too long and from too many angles. One day one of the guys says to him, "What're you gonna do next? Get out a protractor?!? Just hit the damn shot!" From then on whenever anybody studied a shot for more than a few seconds somebody would mention a protractor. It was an ongoing joke. Never thought it would apply to a golf course!
Ok, so I just looked at the linked article, and, sure enough, he has a compass in his hand. Not a protractor.
Baffled.
For completeness. Dividers:
He's been complaining about the pin location measurements being off vs. what is given to them, the reason for the compass.
I can sure understand his reasoning about that.
I'm not going to putt at the cup I see on the green in front of me, I want to putt at the cup as it is on the paper/in the book.
Guys a real crackpot. I personally don’t even believe in range finders. Golf a game of various skills including judgment, feel, imagination . Designers use many concepts to create illusions on a golf hole. The fun is to figure them out and defeat the hole design, not to use devices .
In the military, a compass was a round device that was used to plot one's way from one grid point to another on a map, differentiating north from south, east from west. You had a magnetic north, and a true north, because of the magnetic pull from the north and south poles. We called this declination.
I assumed what he was using was a similar device, but then again - maybe the nomenclature of said items have changed over the years.
Furthermore... I think (to me) this would be more of a benefit regarding wind direction, much more so than the location of holes cut on a putting green.
I wonder if he stays up late at night during a tournament week trying to figure out the moon's position and how that impacts the flight of his golf ball...
Tinker I personally don’t even believe in range finders. Golf a game of various skills including judgment, feel, imagination . Designers use many concepts to create illusions on a golf hole. The fun is to figure them out and defeat the hole design, not to use devices .
I totally disagree. I do not believe guessing the distance to things is a part of golf. If it was, there wouldn't be sprinkler heads with distances listed or 150yd markers, etc. One should always know the numbers - planning and execution is the game.
My favorite Bryson quirk-
SEVEN top 10's, and a WIN, this year!
Also, I just watched the end of his episode of playing lessons with Sean Foley.....they showed his swing from overhead with what they called 360 view....amazing, truly amazing how.consistent he is with that plane!
PA-PLAYA Compass:
1 : a device having a magnetic needle that indicates direction on the earth's surface by pointing toward the north
2 : an instrument for drawing circles or marking measurements consisting of two pointed legs joined at the top by a pivot —usually used in pl.
I guess you had to have gone to school in the '50s(or earlier) to know about #2.
Old sailors would have been seen using both types at once.
Par4QC I think that is beside the point! Everyone calculates the yardage to the best of their (willing) ability. Where it becomes real guess work is when the player goes far off the beaten path.....then, if lasers or gps are not an option it truly is guess work. I have no problem with folks who want to judge yardage by eyesight or guess, but dont bust my balls because I want to have all the relevant info. The outcome has more to do with technique and skill, but knowing the numbers is absolutely crucial. You think Bubba just guesses....no he knows every crucial yardage point on every shot, every time.....as does every other pro golfer...not because they are scientists, because the info is readily available to them and easily calculated!
No doubt. It's just that some of us (myself included) think that Bryson could be so much better if he perhaps reduced some of his analytics. I mean - we are talking about him using a compass. lol
But granted - that's coming from an armchair warrior who's lucky to break 80 on a good day these days at his home course he's played hundreds of times. So what do I know...
I think, however, that he has a lot of untapped potential that is being clouded by too much technical thought too much of the time. He seems like a great kid and I find it very hard to root against him. I hope he can get through this obsessive compulsive stage in his career where he feels like he has to be perfect.
