Almost every golfer knows that they would play better golf if they had their own caddy, but unfortunately caddies do not come cheap these days. The good news is that there are two alternatives for the amateur golfer, you can have a GPS style range finder or a laser type range finder, both types have been granted as legal for amateurs to use in competition by the USGA and the R& A. In this article I will explain what the differences are among the two types, you can then make an informed decision on which type would suit you best.
GPS RANGE FINDERS
The GPS range finders work via a satellite, you download a map of the courses you are going to play for which there is a fee involved when downloading these maps. With some types you have to make a yearly payment to receive the maps or you can get them as pay as you go if you prefer, you should remember that this payment is on top of your purchase price of the unit this might work out expensive if you intend on playing different courses.
When you arrive at the first tee you should make sure the GPS unit is switched on, the satellite then starts tracking your position when you are on the golf course, when you are ready to play your approach shot the GPS will give you three different yardages. One will be to the front of the green and one to the middle of the green and one to the back of the green, it will not give the exact distance to the pin as accurately as a laser range finder would, this could be a slight problem if you are looking for pin point accuracy in your shots. Some GPS units have a map on the screen that lets you know where the hazards are located on each hole you play, this could be an option you might look for when purchasing your range finder. One problem you might come across when using this system is the weather, on occasions in bad weather it could block the unit from receiving the satellite signal, but if the weather is that bad then you probably should be in the clubhouse any way.
LASER RANGE FINDERS
Laser range finders are a hand held device that uses a laser to rebound of an object and back into the unit, this then gives you an accurate reading from the flag to your ball, you will need a reasonably steady hand for this operation as you might be picking up a target other than the flag. When you look through the viewer and focus on the flag a small circle appears around the flag on the screen, this means you have locked the laser on to the flag and it will give you a very accurate yardage reading to the pin. When you are looking to purchase this type of unit make sure it has this option installed on it, this makes sure the laser is hitting the flag and not a different target.
One big advantage of this type of unit is that you can aim the laser at different hazards on the course to give you the yardage to help you make your decision on what club to take, this is really helpful when you are playing the golf course for the first time. The range finders also help you to complete your round in a reasonable time, as it removes the task of walking up and down the fairway looking for yardage markers to get your distance to the pin. This is probably one of the reasons that the USGA and R& A decided to make them legal for amateur competitions.
There is one very important factor you should know before you buy your range finder, you must know how far you hit your clubs, it is no good knowing the yardage to the pin if you do not know how far you hit a certain club. The easy way for you to check this is go to the practice ground and hit 30 balls with your eight iron, then pace from the tee to roughly where the centre of the balls lie this will give you your average for your eight iron. Then all you have to do is just add or minus ten yards for each club you are going to use, for example, if your eight iron average is 150 yards then your seven iron would be good for a shot of 160 yard distance, you will need to know this before purchasing a GPS or laser range finder.
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