By Anthony Barkley
NZPGA Professional

We asked this question in the shop a while ago and got some interesting answers. We all know that the legal amount of clubs is 14 but what’s something that’s so important to you that you could call them your 15th club?
Some of the answers we received were your coach and the mental game which should both be assets to any golfer but it’s not the physical item that we think could be your 15th club if it’s not already. Got you thinking?
What we are talking about are GPS units or lasers. When I look at members and visitors heading out for a game I would say close to 30% or more players have their own GPS or laser units. This number seems to be increasing more and more as people learn the benefits of owing such devices. I think it can be said that if you don’t have one currently, you are missing out.
We do get some negative comments from traditionalists of the game that its cheating and takes too long but a GPS unit only takes a glance to see what distance you have. Yes, the laser takes a bit more effort but again it doesn’t take too long once you are used to using them.
So what should you get, a GPS or laser?
Its my opinion that a GPS should be used generally by mid to high handicaps and ages 40 and up. Why I say that is that if we all have lasers it may take longer to play a round plus a GPS provides big numbers that are easy to read. The bonus with a GPS is that you can stray behind a tree etc and still get measurements to the front, middle and back. The one downfall currently is that a GPS measurement can be up to 5 metres out.
And that’s one of the differences with a laser unit, its accurate to the flag. If you are a single figure golfer, take your game quite seriously and want an exact distance for your shots the laser is the one.
You do generally pay more for a laser unit as they can reach around the $599.00 mark where GPS units go from a basic price of $229 to $500 a unit. Seems a lot but I feel it can potentially take 2-3 shots off your score plus you won’t have to guess any more.
Reading this, if you say to yourself that you don’t know your distances you hit each club so how can this help you, you need to turn your thinking around. With practice and play on the course, using either of these devices will give you that knowledge. Golf is golf, meaning most of us golfers don’t hit every shot the same distance, but we should aim to. Every shot’s aim should be the best shot of your life as one day, it will be.
Shop online for your next GPS unit at www.100percentgolf.com.