Laser Link Golf: Beam Your Way to Lower Scores!

Michael White

Posted 2006-04-27

It’s finally official. Golfers no longer need hang their heads in shame after their round. With the USGA and R&A ruling to allow the use of distance measuring devices under local rule, the same accuracy and confidence a tour caddie provides a pro is now available to all of us. That leaves a lot of decisions when it comes to purchasing a distance measuring device. There are laser-based devices and GPS-based technology. Both have their merits and drawbacks. Laser Link Golf is of the laser-based variety. Catering to mostly private clubs and upscale daily-fee courses to this point, you may or may not have heard of them. Created by some of the key team members of the famous “SoftSpikes” plastic golf cleats, the Laser Link system came about to help improve pace of play and to make the game more enjoyable.

I happened to luck out when the opportunity arose to test the Laser Link yardage system. My home course already has the system in place! The Laser Link Golf System is two-part. A small reflector, which Laser Link calls “The Smarty,” is screwed in place atop the flag. It is a small prism that “catches” the laser beam emitted by the Laser Link Quickshot gun. The four prism “windows” are arranged to provide 360 degree coverage according to Laser Link. Before I ever tried the Quickshot gun, I had enjoyed using the “Smarty” flag-top reflectors with my laser rangefinder. The reflectors make it very easy to obtain a yardage, and they improve the effective range of my relatively inexpensive rangefinder. Even without incorporating Laser Link’s Quickshot gun, the “Smarty” reflectors may be an item courses could benefit from installing. The ability to use any laser-based yardage device with “The Smarty” makes them a good investment for courses to speed play and provide a thoughtful additional amenity to their guests.

Speaking of thoughtful- when it comes to “thinking” your way around the course, fortunately the Laser Link Quickshot gun requires very little mental strain. There is one button on the front of the Quickshot unit. That’s it! Look through the viewfinder, press and release the button, and aim the red laser “dot” in the viewfinder at the flag. Within a fraction of a second, the yardage is displayed in a digital readout screen on the back of the gun. While paired with a gentleman on a recent round, he asked if he could try the Quickshot. I simply told him to press and release the button and point it at the flag. He obtained a yardage in his first attempt. People often ask to try my laser rangefinder, but I have yet to encounter a person who has been able to obtain a yardage in their first attempt with my rangefinder. It too only has one button, but obviously it takes just a little practice. Not so with the Quickshot. Its ease of use is one of its strongest points. (Being able to obtain distances from 30 to 300 yards is pretty cool too!)

The Quickshot comes with a well-made case with a clip to enable attaching it to a golf bag. It’s so well-made and tight in its tolerances, the Quickshot was actually a little difficult to extract from its case! I’m hoping with time the case will soften some and the Quickshot will become easier to remove. Laser Link Golf also sells options to affix the units to riding carts with holsters and tethers, or simply check them out in the pro shop if proper collateral such as a credit card has been provided.

The one main drawback I saw with the Laser Link system is that it requires the reflective prisms to operate. Unfortunately, there also is not a list of courses on their web site that a golfer can check to see where the system has been installed. So to this point, the Laser Link system seems best suited to private clubs or public courses where “regulars” might request such a system to be implemented. Upscale daily fee courses may also want to check into the system to provide guests an easy to use system in lieu of GPS-based cart systems that are of course much more expensive. I missed my own laser rangefinder when it came to obtaining other yardages such as to trees, sand traps, golf carts in the fairway, etc. But for a simple, easy to use system to provide yardages to the flag, the Laser Link system really shines.

Laser Link Golf makes accuracy and confidence easy to come by for players of all abilities. Even better, you don’t need to be a “technophile” to easily operate the Laser Link Quickshot gun. When you know your yardage, it’s that much easier to concentrate on trusting and executing the golf swing. If you happen to play a course with the Laser Link system in place, be sure to try it out to see for yourself just how easy precision laser distance measuring can be during your round!

Michael White (a.k.a. “Mr_Divots”)
Forums Moderator/Independent Equipment Consultant
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