Hey team, had a question submitted via email that I thought I'd post here for commentary. Please review and advise for this gentleman who I will invite to the forums:



What are your opinions? I'm assuming EDD's are devices like GPS units, rangefinders, etc..

Part of the skill of golf was being able to figure and judge distance, pick your club and hit the right shot. That skill of the game has pretty much gone by the wayside.
Actually, any golfer using electronic devices to figure distance and course layout should have their balls taken away.
I know I can safely write things like this, because no one on this forum would ruin the game by using electronic devices, would they?

oh boy, can't wait to see where this one goes..

Using a GPS device can SPEED UP play if used PROPERLY. I keep mine clipped on my bag when walking. As I get to the ball, I glance at the device and it give me the yardage. If I didn't have that, I'd be walking around to look for yardage markers or if there were none, trying to do geometry in my head to figure out the yardage. If you are taking longer to play by using an electronic device, you are using it incorrectly and should have it taken away from you!

I don't understand what this person is talking about. The USGA HAS approved the use to electronic range fingers for use. Any golfer CAN use one, if the tournament officals hasn't stated that they can't.
As for slowind down the pace of play, this is backwards to the facts. As Aimee mentioned, they tend to speed up the game, not slow it down. Any one with a GPS will be able to get a distance to the green much faster with a GPS than if they have to find a sprinker head and walk off the yardage by foot. Same thing for using a laser range finder. I can get an exact yardage to the flag a lot faster than I could if I had to walk off the distance from a sprinker head or some other marker on the course. An those markers are not EXACT, My laser is EXACT, or at least it is to within half a yard.
My GPS unit is even faster for getting me a yardage to the green. Just walk to my ball, look at the device, and I've got the yardage to the front, center and back of the green. Can't do that with a sprinker head, and not anywhere near as fast.

After using both a laser and a GPS for awhile now, I'd have to say that anyone that thinks using a range finding device makes the game slower, doesn't know what they are talking about. Or they don't know how to use the unit in question.

I can't believe so many members of this forum are electronic, distance measuring "wimps."
What happened to the concept of seeing the 150 yd. bush, estimating the shot for 175 and hitting the ball. I bet none of you can play 7,000 yds. in two hours! You can't move fast enough with your electonic crutches.
I think I'll invent a little robot to roll around the golf course with you, measure distance, air humidity, altitude, wind velocity and hit the appropriate shot in your name.
Might as well get rid of all the skill factors and get this game down to the level it belongs.

Sorry to disappoint you, Bill, but the amount of time it takes me to get around the course vs you has nothing to do with how I measure distance. It's the simple fact that I take at least 30% more swings than you do. I'm one of the fastest players in my usual crowd, too. It takes me 3 seconds to look at the GPS display, I couldn't find a yardage marker and calculate after pacing off in that brief amount of time.
Don't blame technology. Slow play happens due to what's going on between the ears.

I don't think that I would ever use one of those yardage GPS devices, although I don't have a problem with others using them. For me, a huge part of the fun of the game is the constant grappling with your visual and mental yardage estimates and resulting club choice. The more I do this the better I can get at distance estimation and club selection and the whole golf experience. IWe all make mistakes here but how much rewarding is it when you put it all together and the shot comes off exactly as planned. I would say I add more numbers by poorly struck shots than misreading distances (putting aside)

Aimee, you can't..........As far as I'm concerned, you can do no wrong.

Actually I'm not talking about slow play. I'm talking about the skill it takes to look at a shot and pick a club without an electronic device to make that decision for you.

hey in this age of top quality golf balls, hitech drivers, why not have the exact yardage at your hands? It's not like we play with hickory shafts still.

I like having it but when I haven't had it, my score didn't change that much. I still have to pick the right club factoring in all the conditions. But if I have my choice, I'd like to have it.

I use the electronic device to confirm my good judgement

It has actually been very useful when I play unfamiliar courses which are poorly marked. I agree that there's not as much use on a familiar course other than it is invaluable where my shot may travel astray (it does happen every once in a while) and I'm in the next fairway with a blind shot over mounds and bunkers and can't really see a green or anything to use for judging distance. Could I take a guess, err on the side of caution and just hit a short iron to go over the mounds and hope it winds up somewhere on the fairway? sure...but I'd rather have a little more information at my disposal, and possibly save a shot.

EXACTLY!
Fred, maybe you and I should start a GGR tournament for the disabled. They can all play and use their "CRUTCHES."

Aimee, BTW, I don't want you to let anyone else know, but I write this stuff just to cause a little controversy. Actually I have a range finder and a Golf Buddy Tour GPS. Plese make sure no one on this forum finds this out.

These are my thoughts as well...plus I'm too cheap to buy a range finder or GPS, even though I could probably double the range finder in late November/December while I am deer hunting.

Klun. That's one of the main advantages of going with a laser range finder over a golf GPS. A laser comes in real handy for big game hunting, especially out west where the distances can be really long. I don't know anyone that can tell the difference between 450 and 475 yards by eye. And it's enough to cause a full miss on a deer if you're wrong by 25 yards at that range.

Haha, at a quick glance, I thought you were talking about deciding which club to use for 450 and 475 yards based on feedback from your laser rangefinder. I was thinking to myself, "Ok, Happy Gilmore..."

Good thing I took the time to reread before posting. LOL

Don, I understand that, but when I hunt in the woods I typically do not have a shot over 100yds (rifle is sighted in at 200yds) and if I'm watching a field, I tend to hold off on long shots for fear of only wounding the animal. (unless I'm with my neighbor, using sandbags and he has his range finder).

But as I stated earlier, I am too cheap to buy one.

So Klun, in the woods hunting, do you use a bow and arrow or stones to nab your prey? Surely you don't use a technologic advantage like a rifle and bullets????

Actually Scott, you're right............
See what all this new fangled technology has done to the fine art of stalking prey?
Stalking has become a thing of the past in the great outdoors and in now only done in the cities.
It's obvious..............Electronic range devices have caused stalking in the cities of America.

I have a co-worker who bow hunts, but uses a GPS in his car. What does that mean?

I think any hunter with all the gadgets that go out and get out smarted by the prey and come home empty handed should be shot!

He's probably poaching from his car. Did you happen to notice a big spotlight? LOL.. just kidding... maybe...

Hey, I will use the new technology of polymer tipped bullets, smokeless powder, a bolt action rifle and a 4x12 scope to bring home some "Good Eats"

He obviously drinks too much and doesn't get enough sex, which means he isn't able to find the hunting grounds on his own.