Opinion & Analysis
The Death of the Home Course Advantage
As golf rangefinders and GPS devices become increasingly affordable, should we be questioning the influence they have in our weekly matches? Are their presence and a golfer’s reliance on such aids having a negative effect on the game?
We’ve all been there at some point, standing on the first tee aidless when over wanders your opponent from another club, rangefinder in hand, lasering the flag on the green of the opening par five before smugly turning toward you. He exclaims the yardage listed neatly on the tee sign as if his own ingenious calculation, even adding the half yard for extra effect. There and then, this isn’t your course any more, leaving you standing naked eyed and already behind.
There are several problems with this technological advantage coming to the game, proclaiming to be the savior of your distance troubles and directing the course planner in a Frisbee-like motion toward the bin. But shouldn’t we ask whether this is a major case of pay to win, and whether golf as a sport is paying the price?
Let’s talk advantage. Say you’re a member of a course for several years. Chances are you have an idea of what clubs to hit where. Yet as a person that transitioned from being aidless to owning both a GPS and a laser rangefinder (I won the GPS, don’t worry, I’m not THAT guy), the gap between what you think and what you know is often pretty hefty.
You know that 130-yard par-3 where you religiously hit a 9 iron? Turns out it’s only 121. That dogleg par-4… yeah, the 150-yard marker sign is almost 15 yards out if you hit the middle of the fairway. These gaps are ones that make things a little shaky, a couple of shots advantage a round perhaps. Not ideal, but hey, maybe the other guy just has really good depth perception.
BUT then, he hits a banana slice three holes to the right. Does he deserve his GPS watch to scorch an invisible line through the trees and tell him he has 161 yards to the heart of the green? That’s something that even as a member you would never stand a chance of calculating. Don’t get me wrong, I think the tech is great, but these gadgets can influence the outcome of a match far more than any club technology ever could.
More than 50% of golfers surveyed by Golfweek said they have used a golf distance-measuring device.
At this point you’re probably thinking, but I invested in my game, isn’t that the same as taking lessons? In one sense, yes, but the rules on coaching are that you can’t have it during a match. So where do we draw the line? The implications these gadgets have are not limited to an imbalance in making calculations on the course, though. Many can relate to the religious laser man, adding a minute to his pre-shot routine while he unclips the tool, hopelessly tries to laser the pin before returning his savior to its case. I’m all for being precise, but zapping every single shot into a green slows the pace of a group at a time where the focus of golf as a sport is increasing the speed of play.
At the end of the day, we have to make the game more appealing to new players and kids. Not only is pace an issue, but myself and most others I know have all but lost the ability to visually judge and calculate distances since purchasing a rangefinder. Should we support the process of numbing ourselves to the satisfaction of calculating the distance and getting it spot on? This was one of my most rewarding feelings as a junior golfer, and now you see fleets of 10-year-olds just pulling up the numbers from a tool in the same manner that they take an iPad with them to family meals, proceeding to sit silently the entire time.
Furthermore, shouldn’t we be preaching the ability to judge and learn distances to new players, rather than stating that the way forward is with a gadget probably more expensive than a beginner’s full set of clubs? Everyone knows golf is becoming increasingly costly to take seriously. Are we scaring off new players by throwing around gadgets like this? Imagine being new and aidless to the game, wanting to learn how to gauge distances and being told the BEST way to do so is with this pricey bit of kit.
Wouldn’t you feel hopeless?
I can’t find the words to express how big a help these tools can have for our games. But are they really fair? Do they have a place in competitive amateur golf or should we be doing more to preach the natural process of figuring out distances as ambassadors of this great game?
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19th Hole
Vincenzi’s LIV Golf Singapore betting preview: Course specialist ready to thrive once again
After another strong showing in Australia, LIV Golf will head to Sentosa Golf Club in Singapore looking to build off of what was undoubtedly their best event to date.
Sentosa Golf Club sits on the southern tip of Singapore and is one of the most beautiful courses in the world. The course is more than just incredible scenically; it was also rated 55th in Golf Digest’s top-100 courses in 2022-2023 and has been consistently regarded as one of the best courses in Asia. Prior to being part of the LIV rotation, the course hosted the Singapore Open every year since 2005.
Sentosa Golf Club is a par 71 measuring 7,406 yards. The course will require precise ball striking and some length off the tee. It’s possible to go low due to the pristine conditions, but there are also plenty of hazards and difficult spots on the course that can bring double bogey into play in a hurry. The Bermudagrass greens are perfectly manicured, and the course has spent millions on the sub-air system to keep the greens rolling fast. I spoke to Asian Tour player, Travis Smyth, who described the greens as “the best [he’s] ever played.”
Davis Love III, who competed in a Singapore Open in 2019, also gushed over the condition of the golf course.
“I love the greens. They are fabulous,” the 21-time PGA Tour winner said.
Love III also spoke about other aspects of the golf course.
“The greens are great; the fairways are perfect. It is a wonderful course, and it’s tricky off the tee.”
“It’s a long golf course, and you get some long iron shots. It takes somebody hitting it great to hit every green even though they are big.”
As Love III said, the course can be difficult off the tee due to the length of the course and the trouble looming around every corner. It will take a terrific ball striking week to win at Sentosa Golf Club.
In his pre-tournament press conference last season, Phil Mickelson echoed many of the same sentiments.
“To play Sentosa effectively, you’re going to have a lot of shots from 160 to 210, a lot of full 6-, 7-, 8-iron shots, and you need to hit those really well and you need to drive the ball well.”
Golfers who excel from tee to green and can dial in their longer irons will have a massive advantage this week.
Stat Leaders at LIV Golf Adelaide:
Fairways Hit
1.) Louis Oosthuizen
2.) Anirban Lahiri
3.) Jon Rahm
4.) Brendan Steele
5.) Cameron Tringale
Greens in Regulation
1.) Brooks Koepka
2.) Brendan Steele
3.) Dean Burmester
4.) Cameron Tringale
5.) Anirban Lahiri
Birdies Made
1.) Brendan Steele
2.) Dean Burmester
3.) Thomas Pieters
4.) Patrick Reed
5.) Carlos Ortiz
LIV Golf Individual Standings:
1.) Joaquin Niemann
2.) Jon Rahm
3.) Dean Burmester
4.) Louis Oosthuizen
5.) Abraham Ancer
LIV Golf Team Standings:
1.) Crushers
2.) Legion XIII
3.) Torque
4.) Stinger GC
5.) Ripper GC
LIV Golf Singapore Picks
Sergio Garcia +3000 (DraftKings)
Sergio Garcia is no stranger to Sentosa Golf Club. The Spaniard won the Singapore Open in 2018 by five strokes and lost in a playoff at LIV Singapore last year to scorching hot Talor Gooch. Looking at the course setup, it’s no surprise that a player like Sergio has played incredible golf here. He’s long off the tee and is one of the better long iron players in the world when he’s in form. Garcia is also statistically a much better putter on Bermudagrass than he is on other putting surfaces. He’s putt extremely well on Sentosa’s incredibly pure green complexes.
This season, Garcia has two runner-up finishes, both of them being playoff losses. Both El Camaleon and Doral are courses he’s had success at in his career. The Spaniard is a player who plays well at his tracks, and Sentosa is one of them. I believe Sergio will get himself in the mix this week. Hopefully the third time is a charm in Singapore.
Paul Casey +3300 (FanDuel)
Paul Casey is in the midst of one of his best seasons in the five years or so. The results recently have been up and down, but he’s shown that when he’s on a golf course that suits his game, he’s amongst the contenders.
This season, Casey has finishes of T5 (LIV Las Vegas), T2 (LIV Hong Kong), and a 6th at the Singapore Classic on the DP World Tour. At his best, the Englishman is one of the best long iron players in the world, which makes him a strong fit for Sentosa. Despite being in poor form last season, he was able to fire a Sunday 63, which shows he can low here at the course.
It’s been three years since Casey has won a tournament (Omega Dubai Desert Classic in 2021), but he’s been one of the top players on LIV this season and I think he can get it done at some point this season.
Mito Pereira +5000 (Bet365)
Since Mito Pereira’s unfortunate demise at the 2022 PGA Championship, he’s been extremely inconsistent. However, over the past few months, the Chilean has played well on the International Series as well as his most recent LIV start. Mito finished 8th at LIV Adelaide, which was his best LIV finish this season.
Last year, Pereira finished 5th at LIV Singapore, shooting fantastic rounds of 67-66-66. It makes sense why Mito would like Sentosa, as preeminent ball strikers tend to rise to the challenge of the golf course. He’s a great long iron player who is long and straight off the tee.
Mito has some experience playing in Asia and is one of the most talented players on LIV who’s yet to get in the winner’s circle. I have questions about whether or not he can come through once in contention, but if he gets there, I’m happy to roll the dice.
Andy Ogletree +15000 (DraftKings)
Andy Ogletree is a player I expected to have a strong 2024 but struggled early in his first full season on LIV. After failing to crack the top-25 in any LIV event this year, the former U.S. Amateur champion finally figured things out, finished in a tie for 3rd at LIV Adelaide.
Ogletree should be incredible comfortable playing in Singapore. He won the International Series Qatar last year and finished T3 at the International Series Singapore. The 26-year-old was arguably the best player on the Asian Tour in 2023 and has been fantastic in the continent over the past 18 months.
If Ogletree has indeed found form, he looks to be an amazing value at triple-digit odds.
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In Tampa, there is a golf course that boasts carts that do not work, a water range, and a group of players none of which have any chance to break 80. The course is overseen by a staff of crusty men who have succeeded at nothing in life but ending up at the worst-run course in America. However, this place is no failure. With several other local courses going out of business — and boasting outstanding greens — the place is booked full.
While I came for the great greens, I stayed to watch our resident instructor; a poor-tempered, method teacher who caters to the hopeless. At first, it was simply hilarious. However, after months of listening and watching, something clicked. I realized I had a front-row seat to the worst golf instructor in America.
Here are some of my key takeaways.
Method Teacher
It is widely accepted that there are three types of golf instructors: system teachers, non-system teachers, and method teachers. Method teachers prescribe the same antidote for each student based on a preamble which teachers can learn in a couple day certification.
Method teaching allows anyone to be certified. This process caters to the lowest caliber instructor, creating the illusion of competency. This empowers these underqualified instructors with the moniker of “certified” to prey on the innocent and uninformed.
The Cult of Stack and Jilt
The Stack and Tilt website proudly boasts, “A golfer swings his hands inward in the backswing as opposed to straight back to 1) create power, similar to a field goal kicker moving his leg in an arc and 2) to promote a swing that is in-to-out, which produces a draw (and eliminates a slice).”
Now, let me tell you something, there is this law of the universe which says “energy can either be created or destroyed,” so either these guys are defying physics or they have no idea what they are taking about. Further, the idea that the first move of the backswing determines impact is conjecture with a splash of utter fantasy.
These are the pontifications of a method — a set of prescriptions applied to everyone with the hope of some success through the placebo effect. It is one thing for a naive student to believe, for a golf instructor to drink and then dispel this Kool-Aid is malpractice.
Fooled by Randomness
In flipping a coin, or even a March Madness bet, there is a 50-50 chance of success. In golf, especially for new players, results are asymmetric. Simply put: Anything can happen. The problem is that when bad instructors work with high handicappers, each and every shot gets its own diagnosis and prescription. Soon the student is overwhelmed.
Now here’s the sinister thing: The overwhelming information is by design. In this case, the coach is not trying to make you better, they are trying to make you reliant on them for information. A quasi Stockholm syndrome of codependency.
Practice
One of the most important scientists of the 20th century was Ivan Pavlov. As you might recall, he found that animals, including humans, could be conditioned into biological responses. In golf, the idea of practice has made millions of hackers salivate that they are one lesson or practice session from “the secret.”
Sunk Cost
The idea for the worst golf instructor is to create control and dependency so that clients ignore the sunk cost of not getting better. Instead, they are held hostage by the idea that they are one lesson or tip away from unlocking their potential.
Cliches
Cliches have the effect of terminating thoughts. However, they are the weapon of choice for this instructor. Add some hyperbole and students actually get no information. As a result, these players couldn’t play golf. When they did, they had no real scheme. With no idea what they are doing, they would descend into a spiral of no idea what to do, bad results, lower confidence, and running back to the lesson tee from more cliches.
The fact is that poor instruction is about conditioning players to become reliant members of your cult. To take away autonomy. To use practice as a form of control. To sell more golf lessons not by making people better but through the guise that without the teacher, the student can never reach their full potential. All under the umbrella of being “certified” (in a 2-day course!) and a melee of cliches.
This of course is not just happening at my muni but is a systemic problem around the country and around the world, the consequences of which are giving people a great reason to stop playing golf. But hey, at least it’s selling a lot of golf balls…
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The PGA TOUR heads to New Orleans to play the 2023 Zurich Classic of New Orleans. In a welcome change from the usual stroke play, the Zurich Classic is a team event. On Thursday and Saturday, the teams play best ball, and on Friday and Sunday the teams play alternate shot.
TPC Louisiana is a par 72 that measures 7,425 yards. The course features some short par 4s and plenty of water and bunkers, which makes for a lot of exciting risk/reward scenarios for competitors. Pete Dye designed the course in 2004 specifically for the Zurich Classic, although the event didn’t make its debut until 2007 because of Hurricane Katrina.
Coming off of the Masters and a signature event in consecutive weeks, the field this week is a step down, and understandably so. Many of the world’s top players will be using this time to rest after a busy stretch.
However, there are some interesting teams this season with some stars making surprise appearances in the team event. Some notable teams include Patrick Cantlay and Xander Schauffele, Rory McIlroy and Shane Lowry, Collin Morikawa and Kurt Kitayama, Will Zalatoris and Sahith Theegala as well as a few Canadian teams, Nick Taylor and Adam Hadwin and Taylor Pendrith and Corey Conners.
Past Winners at TPC Louisiana
- 2023: Riley/Hardy (-30)
- 2022: Cantlay/Schauffele (-29)
- 2021: Leishman/Smith (-20)
- 2019: Palmer/Rahm (-26)
- 2018: Horschel/Piercy (-22)
- 2017: Blixt/Smith (-27)
2024 Zurich Classic of New Orleans Picks
Tom Hoge/Maverick McNealy +2500 (DraftKings)
Tom Hoge is coming off of a solid T18 finish at the RBC Heritage and finished T13 at last year’s Zurich Classic alongside Harris English.
This season, Hoge is having one of his best years on Tour in terms of Strokes Gained: Approach. In his last 24 rounds, the only player to top him on the category is Scottie Scheffler. Hoge has been solid on Pete Dye designs, ranking 28th in the field over his past 36 rounds.
McNealy is also having a solid season. He’s finished T6 at the Waste Management Phoenix Open and T9 at the PLAYERS Championship. He recently started working with world renowned swing coach, Butch Harmon, and its seemingly paid dividends in 2024.
Keith Mitchell/Joel Dahmen +4000 (DraftKings)
Keith Mitchell is having a fantastic season, finishing in the top-20 of five of his past seven starts on Tour. Most recently, Mitchell finished T14 at the Valero Texas Open and gained a whopping 6.0 strokes off the tee. He finished 6th at last year’s Zurich Classic.
Joel Dahmen is having a resurgent year and has been dialed in with his irons. He also has a T11 finish at the PLAYERS Championship at TPC Sawgrass which is another Pete Dye track. With Mitchell’s length and Dahmen’s ability to put it close with his short irons, the Mitchell/Dahmen combination will be dangerous this week.
Taylor Moore/Matt NeSmith +6500 (DraftKings)
Taylor Moore has quickly developed into one of the more consistent players on Tour. He’s finished in the top-20 in three of his past four starts, including a very impressive showing at The Masters, finishing T20. He’s also finished T4 at this event in consecutive seasons alongside Matt NeSmith.
NeSmith isn’t having a great 2024, but has seemed to elevate his game in this format. He finished T26 at Pete Dye’s TPC Sawgrass, which gives the 30-year-old something to build off of. NeSmith is also a great putter on Bermudagrass, which could help elevate Moore’s ball striking prowess.
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KK
Jan 13, 2017 at 11:12 pm
Phones have free GPS apps now. If you’re too lazy or dumb to download a free app, that’s on you.
Marc Smith
Dec 22, 2016 at 5:42 pm
Firstly, probably a poor choice of title for an article related to DMD’s.
Regardless of whether you have a range finder, GPS, stroke saver or even accurate yardage markers, you’re still not going to “know” the perfect line off the tee, or the subtle breaks in greens unless you’ve played the course several times before – so home advantage is still key. Just because you can see something from a great distance on a course, does not mean you know what’s there or hiding!
So to the actual point, are DMD’s fair if all golfers don’t have them?
You make valid points about being able to afford said items, but why is that any different to being able to afford custom fitting, the newest/best equipment to suit your swing/game or coaching?
Non of the pro’s use a “visual” guide to yardages, so why should we, and they’re much better than us! I’ve paced yardages, used GPS and now use a range finder and I can guarantee, I’m much quicker using my range finder, even on shorter shots! The amount of times I’ve used strokesavers and stood deliberating about which tree they meant, or exactly where the back of the bunker is, definitely takes longer than zapping the flag.
Slow play is not caused by using DMD’s, just look at the pro’s, most PGA rounds are 4.5 hours at best and they’re not using them – I’d actually like to see them used to help speed up play! Most slow golfers I know are not slow due to using too many devices, it’s because they wait until it’s their turn then decide to start their routine!
Golf is hard, even for the lower handicap amateur golfers! So just like cavity backs, large sweets spots, drivers with offset and counter balanced putters, why shouldn’t we be able to see exactly how far we’ve got to a flag? Because, no matter how good the yardage/equipment, it all comes down to how you execute the shot – and we all know there’s no guarantees there
Brad
Dec 22, 2016 at 8:27 am
We use tech to save time. That is the point of technology. Tour players have there caddies running from the next fairway over to get yardages to the green, if amateurs did that people would be hitting into them.
creeder
Dec 22, 2016 at 7:34 am
i am all for tech. Now, for most players and i mean 90% percent. knowing that the shot is 67 yard verses 52 yards. is not going to make much difference.
TR1PTIK
Dec 21, 2016 at 9:16 pm
I don’t think you’re going to find too many sympathizers on here. BTW, your example of a coach does not apply in a weekend foursome or a dozen+ other scenarios. Also, don’t pros have caddies that walk off yardages for them – and hasn’t that pretty much always been the case? Your argument about slowing pace of play is flawed as well because if players are constantly air-mailing greens or dunking shots in the pond, then they probably aren’t going to be keeping pace with the group in front.
DJ
Dec 21, 2016 at 7:13 pm
so you’re voting for slow play. unfortunately i can’t pay a caddie nothing when i’m playing for fun. if we do play for money – $5 or $10 – should i give the caddie 5% or 10% ? that’s a hole ‘nother discussion (spelled “hole” like that on purpose). if everyone is using one or has the option to use one, then let the purist be coming up short on those approaches.
btw…use them on the tours.
Matt
Dec 21, 2016 at 3:51 pm
In my experience on my home course elevation changes, wind direction and green surface play more of a role than just distance alone.
SV
Dec 21, 2016 at 3:37 pm
In general the technology probably speeds up play if you don’t know the course. On your home course I don’t know what effect it would have. Personally I prefer GPS because I have the yardage instantly. Getting the laser focused in takes longer with my shaky hands.
BIG STU
Dec 21, 2016 at 3:31 pm
Farmer is dead on it. I can take you to my home course that I have played for 14 years now. You can have as many range finders and GPS units you want but there are some things that only come with local knowledge. There are places on those greens because of the undelation that I would rather be 20 foot from the pin in the right place than 10 feet in the wrong place. Also with the ocean only 1.5 miles away there are certain wind patterns on certain holes that without local knowledge will jump up and bite you. Also on that course any GPS unit will be about 10% off. Us local members learned that back in the infancy days of GPS when we had them on the carts. And it still holds true today with a hand held GPS or a watch type ones. We have done proved it too many times. Laser finders seem to work well
Andrew
Dec 21, 2016 at 3:02 pm
When will the PGA allow range finders? The amount of time pro’s waste measuring yardage is a joke. The technology is there, use it. I watch the PGA for the shot making not for the player’s ability or caddy for that matter, to measure the distance to the pin. Please no more 6 hour rounds in PGA tournaments.
Joey5Picks
Dec 22, 2016 at 3:19 pm
They aren’t “wasting” time getting a yardage. They’re deciding club, where to land it, whether it should sit or run out. Those wouldn’t be affected by using a rangefinder. Rarely do tour pros need only the yardage to the hole. They get the yardage to a spot on the green, the front, how much to carry a bunker, how far to a ridge on the green. Only a yardage book tells you those.
James
Dec 21, 2016 at 2:17 pm
How many kids have you told to get off your lawn recently?
Kevin
Dec 21, 2016 at 2:03 pm
Yes, people can get a little crazy with using their rangefinder. But, due to the rangefinder and GPS era, a reasonable number of courses have stopped maintaining their yardage markers or have simply done away with them. Would it be fair to ask all these courses to pay up to put in a yardage marking system, which although it is not hugely expensive, it is an unnecessary cost on an already very tight budget.
Most groups I play in we rely on one person with one range finder although most of us have one ourselves. They give us a distance from their ball or a common area between everyone and we figure it out from there.
You are saying that the technology for a new player may be counter productive to their development, do you also take the same stance on game improvement irons? Should we start every junior golfer off with a set of Wilson blades so they can get a true understanding of where the game has come from?
I understand your argument, but I believe that it is a flawed argument from the start as you are only looking at one very small aspect of the entire game of golf. You say that someone is paying for performance. Welcome to the game of golf! Lessons cost money, practice costs money, everything cost money. And, although you can remain competitive with equipment you can buy off the used rack from 3 years ago, look at how many people have ordered PXG 2-3 times the cost because they think it gives them the smallest of advantages on the course.
I think the rangefinder is a huge plus for the game of golf. I think you learn more about your game and can grow more if you use one. With courses becoming more and more difficult, more and more deceiving with false fronts and bunkers hiding the front of the green, the rangefinder has almost become an essential part of any golfers equipment who is trying to improve their game.
Jack
Dec 22, 2016 at 9:39 am
I agree I don’t miss having to find a mud covered sprinkler cover only to find that that one isn’t marked. Nothing slows play down like when I bring the wrong set of 3 clubs that I thought was within the range but really none of them were playable.
Justwellsy
Dec 21, 2016 at 1:33 pm
I would argue that using a laser rangefinder speeds up pace of play, not the other way around. I don’t even think you can argue otherwise. If you’re not using a laser rangefinder, that’s your own fault. I found a used one online for $75 that works perfectly fine when I compared with with my buddy’s brand new $400 model. College kids are allowed to use rangefinders during tournaments and a lot of other amateur tournaments are now allowing them as well. I think it’s great for the game.
GPS is a different story. It’s not nearly as accurate as laser and you never know when the reading has recalculated (at least on the models I’ve used). They’ve been off by as many as 7 yards when I compare to my laser. If you hit the ball 3 fairways over, yes I agree you should suffer the consequences and not have a GPS to guide you. HOWEVER, if you’re a serious golfer, taking the time to gauge any sort of distance to the green from there is going to take some time and inevitably slow down play. So I guess I’m torn when it comes to that.
I’m all for speeding up the game in any way possible and laser is a fantastic way to do this. I also happen to agree with a previous comment that stated home course advantage is more about knowing the breaks in the greens and how the fairways roll out, etc. Anyone can figure out raw distance if you take long enough, which is the biggest problem in golf that we are trying to fix. Don’t get me wrong, I wish courses were 25 holes and a par of 100. I want to be out there playing as many holes as possible because I love it, but that’s not for everyone. Some people like playing 9 holes and will only play 18 if they can get it done in a timely manner. Top Golf is so successful partly because you can choose how long you want to be there. With golf, half of the enjoyment for me is coming out with a score at the end of the round. Sometimes that takes 4 hours and sometimes it takes closer to 6.
farmer
Dec 21, 2016 at 12:11 pm
The biggest advantage for playing a home course is knowing the greens, where to miss and the proper lines. Not the raw distance to the target.
McPickens
Dec 21, 2016 at 2:30 pm
exactly
Chris
Dec 21, 2016 at 11:35 am
Nice start, but it kinda came off as a bit preachy, and not just because you used the word ‘preach’ a few times. Better to hint at the potential problems with tech than to declare it.
Having used Golfshot since early 2010, I wouldn’t think of dropping the extra benefits I get from the tech. I believe it has allowed me to play faster, not slower. I can pinpoint within seconds twenty different distances, instead of wasting time running around looking for a sprinkler head that may or may not be marked, only to then walk off the yardage to my ball, and then begin the process of trying to calculate in my head the likely yardage to various trees and hazards protecting the green, the front, back and pin location.
That and I now have a complete record of the hundreds of rounds I’ve played, with scores, notes, foursomes, photos, stats, etc.
Peace
Double Mocha Man
Dec 21, 2016 at 6:05 pm
Your last sentence gave you away. How much do you delay your group inputting all that info? I have a friend with the same app and there’s no camaraderie, no banter, no chit chat between holes… his face is buried in his Golfshot app. And worse, I don’t think he uses any of the stats ’cause he keeps getting worse. That’s my nickel’s worth.
Scott
Jan 5, 2017 at 3:47 pm
Double, I think that I play with the same guy. Mr. Tech Stat guy. I love it when he starts telling me how he has play the hole the last so many times, but can do noting with the info.
Bijan Matin
Dec 21, 2016 at 11:27 am
Hi bubba, thanks for the feedback. However don’t you think having a solid short game isn’t a part of home course advantage, but purely the mark of a good golfer? In terms of knowing where to miss, I have to agree with you there, valid point. Iron distance is fairly consistent I agree, but Dave Peltz also placed a lot of emphasis on the fact that from say 130 in distance becomes far more inconsistent and therefore more important than missing left or right. Obviously I know this is split between the golfer having the shot and knowing the distance, do you think this has any weighting in the discussion? Thanks for the feedback, I didn’t think many would agree with my perspective!
Double Mocha Man
Dec 21, 2016 at 6:13 pm
Good point on skewed home course handicaps. Maybe the USGA just needs to start adding 2 strokes to every home round we play???
On the other hand, if i want to play a “money” round with a guy I try to get him onto a neutral course.
Charlie
Dec 21, 2016 at 10:39 am
Is this article about pace of play, or home course advantage?
I know at my home course where I can miss two fairways over and still have a shot into the green. I also know what hills have been mowed closely so the ball will bounce back into the fairway or on the green. So no, home course advantage is not dead.
Oh, and laser rangefinders absolutely speed up pace of play.
Bijan Matin
Dec 21, 2016 at 11:16 am
Hi Charlie, it’s a bit of both. This is my first article so I’m still finding my feet, working on it!
I appreciate that in your case you know where you can miss and still hit into greens, but does your opponent who may have never played at your course deserve that advantage from a bad tee shot purely because they paid for a gps watch? In my experience in some cases range finders may speed up play. However, from playing far too many four hour plus rounds as a three ball, havent you ever experienced someone who uses one excessively? I find especially in matches people will laser pins from 30 yards to 260+, which has certainly added a significant amount of time to rounds.
Just a bit of background for my perspective, thanks again for the feedback.
Ron
Dec 21, 2016 at 11:43 am
Of course he deserves to the advantage! As golfers we all strike the play the best possible golf we can; doing that includes using all the legal equipment available to help achieve that. It should not matter if you use this equipment at your own course or elsewhere. I can’t in good conscience hold it against someone for using a legal tool.
Ron
Dec 21, 2016 at 4:32 pm
Another thing… Knowing the distances are a small thing when talking about home course advantage. The real advantage resides in knowing bounces and what greens will do.
aaron
Dec 21, 2016 at 3:43 pm
I think that is a really silly argument…..by your logic you’re saying the most difficult thing and the biggest advantage in golf is knowing the distances……again that is silly, if your opponent hit his tee shot in the trees off the fairway he doesn’t have an “easy” shot by knowing the distance, he still has the trees, lie, other impediments to deal with and then execute a shot out of those areas…..and any good course would have a yardage book identifying each hole and the hazards it has….Like others have said home course advantage has always been on and around the greens, how a fairway slopes and which clubs to take off the tee for the best and most likely approach (those things would never be replaced by a device) and as far as pace of play goes- it isn’t the pinging of yardage that slows up play…it is the not knowing what distances you hit clubs, the indecisiveness of what shot you think you can hit, the 47 practice swings, and the list goes on and on but not one of them is the 2-3 seconds it takes to acquire the yardage
Congrats on the first article and look forward to more articles and more discussions
Bryan
Dec 21, 2016 at 10:37 am
My rangefinder has undoubtedly sped up my pace of play. I use the scorecard or yardage book on most tee-shots to try to hit a shot to a certain yardage and area on the fairway for the approach shot, and then use my rangefinder on shots to the green. It takes me literally less than 10 seconds to stand over my ball and get the distance. This is much less time than walking around to find a marker, pacing it off or eyeballing it, and then questioning the accuracy of the marker to begin with. I do agree that it can be an unfair advantage if someone does not have it. But I know in my league if one team has it, the other team can ask for the GPS, or rangefinder distance at any time during the round.
Then there is also the effect that I am confident in the club/shot selection and don’t think about the yardage and selection as much as if I were using the poorly, or non-labeled markers on the courses around here.
Bijan Matin
Dec 21, 2016 at 11:55 am
Thanks for the feedback Bryan, I appreciate that for you it is a quick process. Maybe in this case I have just been cursed by having to deal with painstakingly slow rangefinder-ers, in my experience many who have a rangefinder go into ‘pro’ mode and usually follow up a 45 second lasering of the flag, all geeenside bunkers, with around ten practice swings and so many waggles that I can’t tell if my dogs tail has made it into the guys hands!
In competition, sad to say I have been on a side that does this- players would often stay away from their partners, you might get a yardsage on a par 3 by over hearing, bar that we wouldn’t give nor would they give anything. At university we would plan our pairings based on each paring having a range finder in the group.
Again, good points there, by the sounds of things your routine is far more efficient as are others in the comment section than what I have experienced!
Bryan
Dec 27, 2016 at 1:20 pm
Thanks for the reply. I think its shady if you’re playing someone with one and they don’t offer it up for use. Not the type of guys I would want to golf with for sure. I also do know the guys with looooonnnnnnggg pre-shot routines. Unfortunately finding the yardage might be the fastest part of it.
For the most part I have eliminated taking full practice swing from my routine. After watching the Pros live I could see they don’t really do that much. More of a stay loose little half swing. On feel shots around the green I still do, but that is more or less to get a feel for lie more than anything else. It has actually worked for me too… far fewer wasted good swings on a practice swing.
DeeJayMN
Dec 21, 2016 at 10:26 am
Wow, this article is awful, and based on the 15 shanks so far, i’m not alone. To each their own, if someone wants to use these aids, who cares, golf is hard enough. In my experience it speeds up play, allows golfers to learn their true club yardages, and helps correct the incorrect markers that are on the course that are usually outdated due to changes to the course. You obviously don’t have a good pulse on todays golfer and maybe your next article should be focused on why your missing the big picture.
Bijan Matin
Dec 21, 2016 at 11:07 am
As this is my first article, I appreciate the feedback and will do my best to learn from it moving forwards. And in terms of pace of play, I work for a business on the verge of releasing an app for golf clubs. In this we have been considering which features to carry forwards, from contacting a variety of golf courses I have found that they do in fact feel these aids are slowing pace of play. Obviously your circle and others here have different perspectives but from my experience here in the U.K. . Dealing with clubs, they feel that when range finders in particular come into play people use them excessively and this does slow the pace of play down in enough cases for them to become concerned. Please note that I’m not arguing here, this is just where my thoughts were founded.
– again, any constructive feedback or perspective welcome.
DeeJayMN
Dec 21, 2016 at 12:03 pm
Fair enough and I appreciate the response but what bothered me most about your article was the claim that your not THAT guy when it comes to using distance aids, and minimizing your own ownership of these aids to the fact that you won your GPS. I think whats lost in your article a little bit is that golf is meant to be fun, and beating people at your home course should be a side effect of this fun not your modus operandi for dictating how others choose to play. I’ll admit some defensiveness to the article due to the fact that I use and love my rangefinder and would be remiss not to admit that.
cb
Dec 21, 2016 at 9:58 am
on the flip side rangefinders can just as easily speed up the place of play. hitting over a water hazard for example, if you dont have the correct yardage there is the chance you can hit the correct shot but come up short then you have to hit again. obviously even when people have the correct yardage we still hit it in the water. also you want people to go out and play different courses and grow the game but nothing is worse then going to a course and not being able to fully enjoy it because you have no idea about the yardages. personally, unless im being paid to play golf, if i pay $50 for a round of golf then im taking my rangefinder so i dont spend my time looking for sprinkler heads or guessing yardages
PineStreetGolf
Dec 21, 2016 at 9:51 am
This has to be the stupidest article ever published on this typically solid website.
Buck
Dec 21, 2016 at 12:16 pm
It is better than any of the advertisements masquerading as articles, like the Adidas Boa trash.