Friday, October 19, 2012

Can Beginners Benefit from a Golf Rangefinder?

If you are a golf beginner, you may be thinking “no way do I need a golf rangefinder. All I’m trying to do is get it off the ground and then hope it stays on the golf course! Maybe next year I’ll be ready for one.”  In this article, Val Brennan discusses the use of golf rangefinders for the beginner as well as for players of all levels.

In my opinion, if you’ve ever hit a shot that felt good and made you smile (at least on the inside), then you’re ready for a golf GPS rangefinder.  A GPS device or golf app can help you improve more quickly by making your good shots count. It will help you become more decisive on the golf course and maybe even make you a faster player. It might even have the added benefit of keeping you motivated by helping you see gradual improvements.

Don’t worry, it doesn’t have to be painful like changing your grip or trying to keep your left arm straight!

Your golf GPS device or app needs to have the capability to measure your shots and record the club you used to hit the shot.  You should also be able to look up your average distances for each club.  The Garmin Approach G6 does this very well, and if you’re looking for a low-cost option and have an iPhone or Android phone, GolfShot will also serve you very well. 

By using shot measuring features, you’ll get a sense, fairly quickly, of how far you hit each club.  Be sure to only use the shot measuring feature on shots where there is not much elevation change and when there is not much wind. Those factors can really affect the distance of the shot. Most importantly, only use the feature on your good shots. Your goal is to discover how far you’re likely to hit the golf ball when you hit it well. Always input the club you used.




Once a month or so, write down your distances for each club and reset the GPS so you can begin collecting new averages. As a beginner, you’re fairly likely to increase your distances the more you practice and play. By comparing your monthly averages, you might surprise yourself with your improvements. If you’re not getting any longer and think you should be, you may want to talk with your instructor or even find a new one.

Let’s face it, beginner golfers don’t hit a high percentage of solid shots which makes the good ones all the more critical. What could be worse than hitting your best golf shot of the day and having it fly right over the green and land in a deep bunker?

If you want to play better golf, it’s time to start treating yourself like the player you hope to be one day. You deserve to know how far you are from your target and you deserve to know how far you hit your clubs… even if only an occasional shot really measures up. When you do connect with your best shot of the day, you should be rewarded for it!  

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Val Brennan writes GPS and laser rangefinder reviews for GolfRangefinderShop.com. She is a former caddie, player and media coordinator on the Symetra (Futures) Tour and is passionate about the game of golf.


Voice your opinion on Twitter @Golf4Beginners and friend on Facebook.

photo credit: Mobitee

17 comments:

Unknown said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Val Brennan said...

Mike, I think using a golf rangefinder is the easiest way for most people to shave shots off of their scores. Glad you had good success. Just curious, which rangefinder did you use?

Stacy Solomon said...

Although a golf gps rangefinder really helps my accuracy and club selection, I need to learn how to keep my focus on my game and not the app!

Val Brennan said...

Stacy, I definitely agree that you can get distracted by a golf GPS. I've done it myself while trying to learn different apps and devices. I wrote about mistakes to avoid with a new golf GPS. Learning when and how to use the tools is really important!

A. Blake said...

Absolutely.. Rangefinders is very helpful for both beginners or pro golfers. I've made the list of best rangefinders for golf. Let me know what do you say about it...

SkyCaddie Golf GPS said...

The GPS range finders are becoming increasingly common amongst golfers of all abilities, they use a global positioning system to track where the golfer is relative to the hole he or she is playing.

Unknown said...

I have a GPS and dont want to shell out for a Skycaddie or =. Is there software for existing GPS of golf courses?

Unknown said...

How accurate is it? Does it really come preloaded with all available courses in North America? How easy is it to use? Do you think it's better than the SkyCaddie GPS units?

Unknown said...

I used a GPS rangefinder in the past and it really helped on many shots.

I also found a great product for golf beginners to remove slice instantly. The product is called Noslice. It is a coating to put on the club face. And trust me, it really works !!

see by yourself at www.noslicestore.com

Did you guys knew this product ?

Kate Dunkin said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Unknown said...

I plan on going to go to some of the many golf courses in Las Vegas this summer and I have been considering using a range finder. Though I'm not sure if there is a specific one I should be looking for in terms of which one works the best. I'll probably have to do some more research and see which ones customers are satisfied with.

Ladies Golf Clothes said...

Really interesting and helpful device for golfers. Like to buy this one for my upcoming summer holidays to play and learn more about my accuracy.

Max Peterson said...

I choose laser rangefinder for my first choice and i am pleased with Bushnell Tour V3.
Thanks for your post

Unknown said...

"Can Beginners Benefit from a Golf Rangefinder? Golf rangefinder is important. You can see more

Richard C. Lambert said...

It might even have the added benefit of keeping you motivated by helping you see gradual improvements.

huu15

Toby said...

Great article. Good to see another golf enthusiast sharing knowledge. Let's stay in touch :)

Check us out: http://hitgolfing.com/

Tony said...

Great post. Completely agree, a golf rangefinder is one of the best tools a golfer can have in their golf bag. Especially nowadays when you can get some great rangefinders at very reasonable prices. For example the TECTECTEC VPRO 500 is very affordable entry level rangefinder and you can upgrade to the premium models if you know a laser rangefinder is the right fit for you. Whether a golf GPS watch or laser rangefinder is a better fit, well that depends on the golfer. Check out my post on a full breakdown of the pros and cons of each rangefinder and some recommendations.

http://thegolfinglad.com/index.php/2017/10/22/best-golf-rangefinders/