Rangefinders are becoming a widely used tool in the game of golf, especially after their approved usage in certain tournament. Below we've listed 5 ways rangefinders can be useful to you on the course.  

1. Increase speed of play.

Or should we say PACE of play. Forget pacing off distances for shots, then thinking about where the pin is, then imagining the shot and hitting it. Simply laser the pin and swing away. 

2. Dial in your distances.

If you haven't played in a while (or even if you play a lot) it's hard to judge your distances perfectly without a rangefinder. As we previously mentioned, sure you can pace off a distance but there is still somewhat of a guessing aspect to your shots. If you're off in your calculations by +5 yard on one shot, then -3 on another you're never going to be able to have a control for distance with each of your clubs. Working on distances on the range then applying them on the course with a rangefinder can be a game changer for golfers. 

3. Having greater knowledge of hole landscapes.

Imagine you're standing on the tee on a dog leg left hole. There's a landing area over a bunker and then rough beyond the fairway and woods beyond that and a safe landing area before the dog leg. With the rangefinder you can shoot the distances of all of these areas. You then can do a self-calculation and weigh the shot difficulty with how comfortable you are with those distances and shot shapes. It makes choosing the right shot a lot easier. Another huge advantage to playing with a rangefinder. 

4. Knowing the distances over hazards.

Similarl to #3, it's very important to know exact distances on risk-reward situations. Being able to shoot a "safe area" over a hazard or just before it can be the difference in a 2 shot swing [or more] in your round. 

5. Making sure you don't drive into people in front of you. 

"Just hit, you can't reach them".... we've all heard this one before. Instead of hitting into the players in front of you, make sure you can't hit them by lasering their location with the rangefinder. This might sound ridiculous but you'll definitely do it. 

Using a rangefinder can be extremeley beneficial and we recommend at least trying to use one. If you are in the market for a new one we'd suggest the LR7 Rangefinder from GolfBuddy. Check them out in the Nextgengolf Player Shop!