Selecting a rangefinder can be a difficult process especially if you don’t really know what to look for. We will cover some factors that will help you narrow your search down.
What Is Your Skill Level?
A key factor is your skill level. Rangefinders are for everyone and there is a product that fits each person’s needs out there. A lower level player may not require the same features as a more skilled player.
For example, for a beginner, getting the exact distance to a pin is great information. But if hitting the center of the club face or making solid contact consistently is a challenge, the precise distance of a laser rangefinder may not be the worth paying the extra money for. A less expensive GPS rangefinder might be more suitable so you can get simple measurements to the front, middle, and back of the green.
On the other hand, if you are higher level player who is a good ball striker and hits several greens in regulation per round, a laser rangefinder might help you hit your approach shots closer because of the exact yardages you are able to get with the laser. The less expensive GPS rangefinder may not provide enough information to help your game.
The goal is to find a rangefinder that provides the information you need in order to help improve your game. Each player will have different needs. Feel players may not want the exact yardage to the flagstick. An idea to the middle of the green is maybe all they need. A technical player will want as much information as they can get, so a laser rangefinder probably is better choice.
Do You Practice or Warm Up?
Practicing with your rangefinder is a benefit that is often overlooked. Normally you go to the practice range and there are several targets at different distances throughout the range. There is either a plaque or something on the ground that tells you how far those targets are. You start hitting balls at those targets based off what the plaque tells you if you can even find one.
With a laser rangefinder, you can get exact yardages to specific targets on the driving range. With a GPS rangefinder, you can not.
The benefits of using your rangefinder to practice or even before your round is to help you see how far you are hitting your irons. If you practice at the same range , you can get an idea on how far the target is no matter where the tees are and where you get set up on the range, but don’t you want to know the exact distance?
The teeing area on the range can be be 50 yards long so yardages can vary depnding on whether you are on the far left hand side of the teeing ground or on the far right hand side. You can hit to the same target and have a signifncant difference in distance depending on where you are on the teeing ground and where the teeing area is that day in realtion to the depth of the range. The rangefinder can help you get the exact yardage to your target no matter where you are on the range.
If you use your rangefinder to warm up with before your round, you can get a better idea on how far the ball is flying that day. The air might be heavy in the morning and you can easily determine that your 7 iron is carrying 10 yards shorter than normal so you can make that adjustment on the course that day. What a big advantage to have that information prior to teeing off.
Are you a Walker or Rider?
This is a good question to consider when making your purchase. The GPS and Watch rangefinders come with special features that the laser rangefinders do not have that will benefit the walker.
First off, many of the GPS and Watch rangefinders have a clip that you clip to your belt or bag. This makes it easy and convenient to access throughout the round. The laser rangefinder will most likely go in your bag and you have to unzip and zip before and after every shot.
Second, many of the GPS and Watch rangefinders have a feature that will tell you far you hit a shot or even track all of your shots. You can hit a button after you tee off and start walking towards your ball. When you reach your ball, the rangefinder will tell you how many paces (or yards) it was from the tee box to your ball.
Third, you can essentially turn your rangefinder in to a fitness tracker while you play golf. Some mid to higher end GPS and/or Watch rangefinders will track your total steps, calories burned, etc. Great information to have when you want to know how many miles or steps you walked that day on the course. It might surprise you!
If you are a rider, there are advantages to the laser rangefinder, but the GPS rangefinder will do just fine. You lose on a few of the fitness features, but the laser can help you speed up play. Drive right up to your ball, pull the laser rangefinder out of the cup holder, scope your distance and grab your club to hit the shot. No more finding sprinkler heads and pacing off yardages to the middle of the green. Get the exact yardage in seconds.
Cost
Rangefinders cost anywhere from $79 to upwards of $600 with many options in between. Cost is always a driving factor for a purchase decision no matter what you are buying.
In someways, buy a rangefinder is like buying a car. You can start with the stripped down version and as you add features, the price goes up.
The stripped down version of a GPS rangefinder simply tells you the yardage to the front, middle, and back of the green. You can add on features where you can get distances to certain areas on the hole and then move up to features that give you exact green shape and allows you place the pin on the green to get more precise measurements.
The laser rangefinder can be as simple as a basic scope. From there, you can add features that will vibrate when you have a good lock on your target. An upgraded feature from there is the slope adjustment so if you are hitting to a target that 30 feet uphill, the laser rangefinder will make the slope adjustment and give you the adjusted yardage to the target (NOTE: this feature is not legal for tournament play but can be turned off with the click of a button). Many laser rangefinders also a scanning feature that allows you to scan the hole and get yardages to targets on the hole.
You can find many excellent rangefinders from $179-$249 that have great features that will fit your needs or can you can go up or down in price depending on what you are looking for.
Where To Go From Here?
You have choices. Think about your skill level, how often you practice and to warm up before a round, do you walk or ride most of the time, and how much you want to spend. These factors will help you narrow down your choices and find the right product for your needs. You will be happy no matter what you decide and you should see improvements in your game using information you haven’t had in the past.
