I don’t get the rangefinder thing. Literally everyone uses one but I guess it’s more important that they use a silly little paper booklet and count steps from sprinklers?
These are suppose to be pros with professional caddies. Why not a good computer?
Right at this point the caddie can get basically the exact distance. It just slows down the game forcing the caddie to do the work rather than just giving him the distance.
Yeah wtf is the point these courses are mapped down to the millimeter and everyone knows the exact yardage and slope. And so do the caddies, they just need to consult the oldey time parchments instead of, you know, doing what literally every other golfer on earth does to figure out the yardage to the pin.
Unless the argument is that part of the “skill” of being a professional golfer is to be able to use your treasure map to pace off the distance to the buried treasure, but I don’t think that argument really holds up since they just hire a guy to do that for them anyhow.
Yup - I would support forcing the golfer to do it themselves, but at this point the caddie is basically a mentat when it comes to distance, so no difference just to give them a real computer.
Isn’t the same true for elevation, wind speed and club selection? Why not let them do all that too?
It’s just feels like an erosion of the game to me. I don’t actually care that much but overall would prefer they not go down that path.
Wouldn’t it be more fun if Pros had a random club carrier, no yardage books or helpers, area restriction on how far they can look from their ball. And a shot clock. One man against the course.
Just like we played when we 1st started. Ok, give them that 1 bush that’s 150 yards from the green.
Also they need to use wooden clubs and the balls can only be made out of whale bones like God intended.
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There is more skill in determining those things. Calculating yardage is not hard with the markers and their books, it just takes times and practice.
Equipment makers have to eat too
This is just incorrect. The courses are not mapped to the millimeter for all the caddies. Just do a simple google search you will find many caddies arguing that there is a huge edge for caddies who do the hard work while some don’t. This is a real edge for some golfers and partly justifies the caddie cut. Rangefinders level the field between the good and bad caddies.
Anyway, it’s obviously going to become the norm with is fine. It just take out some of the variance in the game which is less exciting.
If you think that PGA pros aren’t getting accurate yardages on every shot on every hole, I guess we aren’t living in the same reality.
I guess not since it’s not me who thinks that, it’s pga caddies.
Yeah, leave a little up to chance/skill, especially since these guys have their distances so dialed in. If they are off by a yard in their estimate of the yardage, that’s probably a big deal.
That is to say, I feel like estimating the distance is part of the game. Don’t take that aspect of it away.
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I’m all for anything that speeds up the game—pro game included. Lots of time during tournies is taken up by caddies marching off yardages.
Bring on the range finders.
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I am a pretty elite estimator of distance when I’m on the course, i use a rangefinder but I’m usually within 5 yards just guessing (unless it’s like distance to clear a bunker from the tee). Unfortunately that’s probably the highlight of my golf game 
I can also remember a ridiculously high amount of golf holes that i’ve played throughout the last 15 years. I have a pretty terrible memory when it comes to most day to day life stuff but my brain is an encyclopedia of golf holes I’ve played.
Fine by me if they have all the technology in the world to quickly tell them exactly how many inches to the hole, what the wind speed and direction is, and any other factors. You still have to hit a tiny white ball with mud on it 200 yards and land it in a fairly precise spot you’re aiming for, and that’s really really really hard, and is what makes watching pro golf fun, IMO.
honestly I think caddies should be illegal, dudes should have to lug their own clubs (don’t really have a strong opinion about rangefinders)
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