Friday, August 3, 2012

How to Survive Your First Round With a New Golf Rangefinder

You've done all your homework and found the best golf GPS for your style of play. It finally arrives, so you charge it up and head out to the course confident that it's going to help you knock the pins out of the hole. You get to the first tee, turn it on and it doesn't find your golf course right away. You press buttons hoping for something, anything. You even turn it off and back on again. Distracted, you rush up and hit your first shot of the day... into the trees.

Here are three keys to surviving your first round of golf with your brand new golf GPS:

    Prepare ahead of time. While the device is charging, look at the instructions. If none came with it, go online to the manufacturer's website and you should find them under the "Support" section. Get familiar with which buttons do what. Turn on the device and see if you can do a demo or preview mode. Make sure you know where to look for the distance to the middle of the green. That's the most important information on any golf GPS. It will really pay off if you know how to navigate from one screen or view to another. Make sure you always know how to get back to the default screen.

    As soon as you arrive at the golf course, power it up and let the satellites get locked in. Sometimes this can take a little while, especially if the last time it was shut down, it was in a different state. On your first day, make sure you get to the course a little early, so that when you get to the first tee, it's ready to go. You don't want to be fighting your GPS before you even start your day.

    Don't try to do too much with it during the first round. Stay away from the buttons as much as possible. Most golf GPS rangefinders will auto-advance from hole to hole and you might not even need to touch them during the round. There will be temptation to try all the bells and whistles, but while you're getting used to having it, don't let it distract you from playing your game. Remember, distance to the middle of the green is your friend!

Some golfers like and can handle lots of detailed information during their rounds and others, just want the basics. Know what works best for you and allow your golf GPS to help your game, rather than become a distraction.

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