Distance Measuring Devices

Distance Measuring Devices

There are many different distance devices going around these days. Garmin, Golf Buddy, Skycaddie and Bushnell are only a few you will hear about.

Within each brand there are many different models which offer different levels of information. For example, some offer distances to the front, middle and back of the green. Others tell you where the hazards are for example burns, bunkers and ditches.

The latter is a more useful option if you are a golfer who plays many courses for the first time and are therefore unfamiliar with the lay out of the course. The extra information however, can slow down play.

It is easier to select clubs if you have the help of a GPS device, particularly a course with many blind shots where you are unable to see the landing area.

The devices which tell you green distance only (front, middle & back) will suffice for most players.

I hear many golfer’s say, “why would you need a GPS device if you play the same golf course most weeks?”

The reason for this is that if you played a round for example on a Wednesday, then another on Friday, what are the chances the ground conditions, weather conditions and how you struck the golf ball would be identical on both days. From one day to another the ball will end up in different places regardless of how often you play the course. Playing an approach shot from the right side or the left side of the fairway can have quite a big difference on distance to the pin.

The better the golfer the more accurate they need their next shot to be, so if one day to the next their ball ends up even 5 yards from where it did in on a previous day the club or type of shot they need to play may be different.

If I played a 340-yard Par 4 on the Monday, into a 15-mph headwind, then on the Friday had an 8-mph tailwind; the distance between these 2 shots even if struck similarly could potentially be massive. Now that said, even if the overall distance between these shots turned out to be 15 yards apart, this will likely mean you should be hitting your next shot on the Friday with a different club to the one you did on the Monday.

If you hear a golfer say something like “well its roughly this far so I will just hit this club and see where I end up”, then it is likely that person is not playing to their full capability. That doesn’t mean to say they are not a good golfer but should possibly be achieving more.

I often hear people joking when talking about these devices saying they don’t know how far they hit each club anyway. We have a radar ball tracking machine called Flightscope, which I have mentioned in previous articles. This equipment allows us to track the flight of each individual shot and can then work out an average. From this we can record the average distance you hit all your clubs. This way you will be expecting to hit the club a realistic distance on a regular basis. This is what you should be using as a guide when working out which club to hit on the golf course.

What about your own game? On average how far do you hit a 7 iron? You are now probably trying to work out how far you would hit the ball when you hit a good shot. Out of ten attempts how many times could you honestly and actually hit that distance?

Where would the other attempts end up?

We can go through your bag and look at what clubs you currently have but don’t need, or possibly clubs you should have in your bag to plug possible gaps.

It is also possible to book sessions with us on our Flight Scope machine and we can generate a distance chart which lists your club’s distances.

I think you can guess I would also recommend a distance device to go along with your chart. We are here to offer you impartial advice on the best GPS devices to suit your requirements.

For further information please email me at andrew@noahsarkgolf.com or phone the shop on 01738 440678.