06/22/2026
Improve Your Game Immediately -- No Practice Required
One of the ways golfers can instantly improve their score is by using an accurate rangefinder. No more eyeballing and no more guessing can make a big difference in the score when it comes to accurate shot making. This takes the human factor out of it and makes figuring distances easy and accurate thus making club selection a breeze. **Please note that this assumes that you know the distance you can hit each club consistently.
There are two types of rangefinders one can use. One is handheld and looks like half of a binocular. You focus on the flag stick and manually lock on your intended target with the use of lasers. Some golfers, seniors in particular (or after a night of serious drinking), found this to be a little bit difficult as one must be rock steady and hold it so that it doesn’t move or shake. Otherwise, readings tend to be inaccurate since it can’t lock on a target, especially the farther away it is.
The other type of rangefinder is a GPS one which uses satellite technology to determine the distances. They are generally a little less expensive and can be on your phone, as a watch, or a portable device that magnetically attaches to the cart or your golf bag. These require pre-loaded courses that have been mapped. Most of these rangefinders have approximately 40,000+ courses programmed into them and then allow for updates as more courses are added.
These GPS rangefinders give you the precise distance to the front of the green, center of the green (not the pin) and the back of the green without worrying about human error. You will have to know where the pin placement is for the day. Of course, if you know what club you need for each of these distances then things like the pin placement, the wind, and if the course has run, will go into the decision of your club selection.
One thing you need to take into consideration is that the elevation changes of the course can affect your club selection. For instance, if you’re standing on a par three where the green is substantially higher or lower than the teeing area, then your club selection will be different than it would be on level ground. This “slope” feature is available in both the laser and GPS rangefinders. If your rangefinder has “slope” built into it, then it will take this into account and can be very helpful. Please note that you cannot use the slope function in competition so be sure your rangefinder has a manual on/off switch before you begin play in a tournament.
Additionally, depending on the type of rangefinder you have, it can give you the distance to hazards and layup points, keep score, and provide other useful information.
If you don’t have one, it’s a great time to buy one and get the advantage of shooting lower scores instantly. Warning don’t give it to your best friend, as it may be the difference in that person scoring better than you.
