Interesting question...

I myself have the Garmin G6 and find it very useful when playing on courses I have not been on before, or particularly when I am playing a dogleg where you cannot see the green, but the terrain allows for an approach shot.

To best answer your question, I would have to ask myself the following:

Do I play courses I know well most often, or do I travel from course to course where I am not sure of distances?

Are the courses I play well marked for yardages (ie: sprinkler heads) or just have the 200, 150, 100 yd plates in the center of the fairway?

If you are always, or most times playing the same course then you are likely quite familiar with the yardages and have by now figured out how far you are having paced things off so many times already. So - Get the club.

If you play a lot of different courses that you have bot played before then having better yardage is a benefit and can speed up play (if you don't use it for every damn shot). So - get the range finder.

If the courses you play are well marked for yardages - then get the club.

The key thing to remember is that you do not want to be one of those that uses the range finder on every single shot and waits forever to get that exact number even though all you really want to know is whether to hit an 8 or a 9 iron. Knowing front middle back distances are the most important for most of us. It basically lets you know which club to hit to reach the green, and which club would be too much and end up over the back.

To your last question - I play most of my golf at my home course (Vespra Hills in Barrie) and if I had to chose between a new rescue or fairway wood and the purchase of a range finder - I would certainly pick the rescue or fairway wood. I have played often enough that I can pretty well tell you how far I have to go to get to the center of the green or to carry a hazzard etc.

Good luck on your decision making. Hope you get some really good advice from the Team :)

Darius

Darius,

Thanks so much for your reply. You put some things into perspective.

I honestly cannot say I play a course twice in a row. The majority of the courses have only the 200, 150, 100 markers and sometimes the 250 marker on the cart path. That why I find myself guessing all the time and sometimes either end up on the back edge of the green or miss it short even though I know I hit the shot well. 

I get that it might delay the game but I promise I won't be that guy haha. SO, right now range finder 1, wood 0. 

Thanks again,

Ovi

Great question!

Although the 913F is amazing, I would go the rangefinder route first. Until I owned a rangefinder and tracked yardages (including adjustments for wind, elevation, how well struck, etc) for each shot by specific club, I didn't realize how far I actually consistently hit. I promise if you do the same, you will be surprised! In other words, I now know a clubs TRUE distance with 3-5 yards and am able to adjust quickly in different conditions (ie. cold equals less distance/spin).

Another big benefit is realizing how accurate or inaccurate your estimation of distance is. I tested myself at times and realized I was off by as much as ~5-10 yds . If you combine that 10 yds with an inaccurate idea of how far you hit each club (subject to the conditions) you could be missing targets by a large margin.

This tool has seriously helped me dial in my iron yards, mark distances to hazards and certainly helps me adapt early in a round for the conditions. This all being said, I am a scratch to 1 handicap  so my ball striking is relatively consistent (ie. spread of distance is lower than average player). Perhaps higher handicaps with less consistent ball striking or larger margin of error would see less of a benefit.

All in all, if properly used by extracting all the benefits and information this tool can yield, everyone can benefit. Good luck!

Jake,

Thanks so much for the reply and congrats on being a great golfer :)

I am far from being that but I love the game and I am willing to put the work in in order to get better. Based on your reply (and Darius') I think I will get the range finder. I wanted to ask you what kind of range finder you have. Darius mentioned some range finders take a while to find the pin. 

Also, I plan to use it a lot in practice to determine what type of swings will give me yardages from 20 yards to 100 yards. Do you find it really helpful at the range? Considering lots of ranges have their markers off by some yards depending where your hitting area is.

Thanks,

Ovi

I could give up my 913F 3wood a lot easier than my rangefinder and I play the same course 90 percent of the time.  Range finder will help you learn your yardages and dial them in with every club in the bag.  Once you get to know your yardages it is great to know whether you're 133 or 137 yards away (range finder is usually only way to be that accurate)

Thanks Adam, 

It looks like I will go for the range finder and maybe I'll wait a little longer for the fairway wood.

Looks like I made my mind up.

Thanks,

Ovi

I consider my Bushnell Rangefinder the 15th club in the bag...

Find a way to budget yourself both.

Hi Oviechkin i find that i dont use my range finder much anymore. I used it for the first year after that my judgement is pretty accurate now.  So i think that it was a wast of money for me.  So on that note the club is a better purchase. 

Hope this helps

Steve H.

That did help Steve. I was talking about the same thing with the Golf Town guy. 

Bottom line is i went to Golf Town to buy a range finder today andddddd I left with a beautiful 913F :D golf is a weird game.

I thought I would at least give it a hit before getting the finder and I gotta say these clubs are really nice. I was pretty consistent with it off a tee (gonna take a little practice to hit it off the deck) and based on the yardage it was closing the gap between my driver and my 3 hybrid perfectly. I am very happy I got it. Now gotta start saving for the range finder I guess. 

Amazing clubs. 

I want to thank all you guys for giving me your opinion and you definitely helped me in making a choice. Team Titleist is the best!

Cheers,

Ovi

Congratulations Ovi on your new purchase !!!

Once you finally save up the money for your new range finder, you will truly appreciate it more as it is always the thing you work hardest for that is truly enjoyed.

In the mean time - I hope the new club helps you make that elusive Eagle some day and truly earns its spot in the bag :)

Darius

Can't wait for that day Darius! Hopefully it's soon, even though this cold is not really letting us enjoy golf that much.

Thanks for all the help,

Ovi