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Best Technology in Golf Rangefinders

After discussing the four best rangefinders currently available in the game of golf, it is important to discuss what features make these the best and an improvement among previous years. Of course, when the game of golf was first invented nobody had ever thought that technology with these capabilities would ever be used in the game of golf.

Nobody knows when yardage was first emphasized in the game of golf, but I imagine for a while they were just focused on the development of the golf clubs themselves. Switching from wooden shafts to metal and adjusting the loft on each club as well. Bryson DeChambeau would certainly rock the world of any golfers a century ago. Nonetheless, great strides have been taken in the rangefinder world similar to the development of the game of golf itself.

The following list is an accurate representation of the technological advantages that have occurred with the development of rangefinders throughout the years:

1. Distance Development
2. Audible Noises
3. Battery Life
4. Speed
5. Clarity
6. Slope Settings
7. And much, much more

First and foremost, great lengths have been taken to increase the distance that rangefinders can read. With most rangefinders starting out with capabilities reaching to only two hundred yards, it is crazy to consider that the new average is a maximum distance of five hundred to six hundred yards. The maximum reaches all the way up to one thousand yards!

In addition to the crazy yardages that can now be read by rangefinders, they also typically include audible noises to notify the user that the location has been locked on to. This is extremely helpful, because sometimes it is not always clear when a rangefinder has been locked on to. Overall, this feature certainly benefits all players by making rangefinders much easier to use, and much more efficient.

The battery life is also much newer and more improved on rangefinders in recent years compared to past decades. They now last longer than ever before by hours and can be used for multiple rounds without a charge. Although if the battery is low, most rangefinders have some sort of visual indicator to warn you of such.

One of the biggest changes with rangefinders is that now locking onto a pin is almost an instantaneous function. Once you pull up your rangefinder and press a button it will give you a reading within a yard of accuracy within a few seconds of use. In addition to the instantaneous speeds, the cameras in the current rangefinders only include the highest quality images and frames. This extreme clarity makes it even easier to lock on to your target and leaves you with extra confidence, never wondering if it had locked on to the correct target.

Finally, the most complex rangefinders include this intense improvement that far surpasses its counterparts. This would be the slope setting. A slope setting takes either an uphill or downhill slope and adjusts the yardage accordingly. Many rangefinders do not include this setting, and instead leave the user wondering how much yardage to add or subtract based on the slope.

Overall, rangefinders have come a long way with improvements over the years only making them more and more useful for golfers worldwide. One can only imagine what improvements will be taken next to make rangefinders even better.

When Do PGA Players use Rangefinders?

Believe it or not, rangefinders are most commonly found and used amongst regular weekend golfers rather than PGA Tour professionals. You may be asking yourself why, while reading the previous sentence. Well here is why, they are actually based by the United States Golf Association (USGA) for use during tournaments. Think about a time that you have seen a pro use a rangefinder during a tournament, you probably cannot, and neither can I. Instead they use their caddies and yardage books to combat the lack of rangefinders, but why would the USGA do this?

The short answer is professionalism, the same reason why you never see a professional wearing shorts during a tournament. While most golfers do on any given day during the summer. It would not be a good look for golf if players were pulling out rangefinders left and right at every shot to determine the perfect distance. It also creates a much greater challenge for the players. Given a certain distance a professional player could most likely hit this yardage nine times out of ten, but without a rangefinder to check it leaves a lot more thinking for the players and caddies. They must rely on their yardage books and experience to select exactly the right club for the job, which is quite a daunting task since every stroke in professional golf is worth tens of thousands of dollars. However, where do these yardage books come from?

Although they are not allowed to use a rangefinder during the rounds of a tournament, they are allowed to use rangefinders during their practice rounds the week prior to a tournament. This is exactly how players and caddies work together to prepare their yardage book that they will rely on so heavily throughout the tournament.

This ability to utilize the rangefinder helps the players lock down exact distances on the course and develop an essential strategy prior to the tournament. Determining whether to use a driver or hybrid off the tee, and how far each club will leave you for a second shot into the green. Or where bunkers and hazards are throughout the course, and what distances are required to avoid these hazards. As well as where the pins could be placed throughout the greens and the distance that each green is. All these factors and more go into creating the yardage book that is essential for professional golfers.

Now just because rangefinders cannot be used in professional tournaments, does not mean they are illegal in youth or collegiate tournaments. Since most younger athletes are amateurs they typically play without a caddie and during tournaments may not have the opportunity to play a practice round at the course. Therefore, it is allowed at the amateur level for use nationwide, a great holiday or birthday gift for a golfer you may know. Overall, rangefinders are not allowed for use in professional tournaments, they are still used by both professional golfers and amateur athletes alike.

The Top 4 Golf Rangefinders

With the understanding that rangefinders will in fact help you improve your game, you may be intrigued to purchase a rangefinder of your own. Of course, each rangefinder has its respective pros and cons, which is exactly what we will be discussing now in    greater detail. Here is a list, in no particular, of the top five rangefinders of 2020:

The Callaway 300 Pro Golf Laser Rangefinder has slope features to help with objects that are either significantly uphill or downhill. It also has a range from five to one thousand yards all with the accuracy of plus or minus one yard. It also has a brand-new technology that allows it to quickly lock onto a pin from up to three hundred yards away. It also gives an audible sound to confirm that it is locked on to the object, and it can also obtain multiple targets at once. The issues with this rangefinder are that it is not always accurate, and the battery dies very quickly. Overall, it is certainly a rangefinder that will get the job done.

The third rangefinder on this list is the NX7 Pro Slope Golf Rangefinder. This rangefinder is engineered to provide accurate on point distances on either a slope or flat terrain. Their Pro Slope technology is extremely user friendly and makes it quite easy to select the correct golf club. The slope feature can also be turned off easily for use in tournament play. This rangefinder also contains a “play as” distance feature which is what makes club selection easy for all skill levels. It also is built with high-quality optics for easy vision, as well as a magnification feature. Although it can only view up to four hundred yards, it actually gives measurements to the tenth of a yard and vibrates to confirm that it is locked onto the target. Based on user reviews, it apparently is not very accurate beyond a distance of two hundred yards.

The last rangefinder would be the PEAKPULSE 6S Golf Laser Rangefinder. The Flag Acquisition Technology of this product makes locking on to a flag effortless and it can even easily be used by those with hands that are a little shaky. It also provides a short vibration to notify that the flag has been locked on to. It is also water resistant which makes it easy to use in all environments. The main con is that it automatically shuts down after eight seconds of inactivity to save the battery, which is quite quick. Golfers are quickly annoyed by this fact, and therefore it is certainly not the best of the four.

Now that each option has been discussed individually in detail, it is time to determine which one is the best of the group. The short answer is the VPRO500 because it is worth the most bang for your buck. Sitting at $150 this rangefinder offers all the common amenities for a low price. Whenever you begin your search for a rangefinder, I highly suggest starting with the VPRO500.

Does a Rangefinder Really Improve Your Golf Game?

Most golfers, especially professionals rely heavily on yardage to manage their game. While the professionals will use yardage books and caddies, a majority of golfers will either eyeball the yardage or rely on the scorecard and markers given by the course. However, there are golfers that live within this range through either the use of apps or the most popular rangefinders. The apps are free, or you could pay for extra features, however a rangefinder typically costs hundreds of dollars. With such a steep price, it leaves many people wondering if the benefits of a rangefinder outweigh the literal cost. This article will thoroughly discuss the benefits a range finder has on your game, and if they really do improve your score, an important question with such a high price.

We will now discuss the specifics for these improvements in golf.

Over course it begins with the more obvious improvements of precise course yardages. This is the biggest impact a rangefinder will have on your game, and really benefits the rest of your score with a domino like effect. Instead of guessing yardages based off of the markers on the course (which are typically to the center of the green) a rangefinder allows for you to view your exact yardage to the pin. You can also use it to view how far away a hazard or bunker is, which is something that will be discussed later. There are some great sources, such as Golf Treasury that you can look to for information about the best Peakpulse rangefinders for golf.

Now that you know the exact yardage, you can select the exact club necessary to hit the green! This is essential to the game and can greatly reduce your score as more hit greens lead to less chips, bunkers, or less botched chip shots. Having a rangefinder improves your short game, because by hitting the green more consistently after you select the right club, less chip shots are required to be hit. This allows you to really focus on the putting aspect of your short game rather than taking time to chip.

As mentioned earlier, a rangefinder can certainly reduce the number of penalty strokes that occur. Not only can the rangefinder be used to seek the pin but scout out the penalty areas. By knowing the exact distance to a water hazard or out of bounds location, this allows you to carefully select a club that will either guarantee you hit it over the hazard, or miss short of it. Now that you know an exact distance, and exact club per each distance, your confidence on the course will sky rise! Whenever seeing a hazard or a pin location, you will know exactly what club to hit that distance, and any other obstacles will disappear from sight. In general, a rangefinder will certainly help you gain confidence on the course, and hence lower your score.

With this newfound confidence, your game will speed up for two main reasons. You will get into the pattern of pulling out your rangefinder, finding a distance, and immediately pulling out your club without any second thoughts. This saves you time since you will no longer be trying to step off distances from the course markers or trying to guess where the pin is located. Also, this pre shot routine will help you become a better golfer, and the less strokes the better you play.

Finally, there will be extra benefits to your decision making because a rangefinder will cause you to take a much more analytical approach. You will have to make decisions based on the distance, uphill, downhill, or wind, but knowing how far each club goes because of the rangefinder will certainly help. A rangefinder also improves your data gathering abilities on the course, specifically when determining the distance you hit each club, which as shown will greatly benefit your game in numerous ways. The overall conclusion is that a rangefinder does in fact improve your golf game and can do so in a variety of ways.

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