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This article is part of a new Smarter Golf series powered by Arccos data.
When golfers shop for a rangefinder, the first question is always the same: Is it accurate? At MyGolfSpy, we’ve tested enough of them to tell you that, yes, most modern rangefinders are good at the one thing they’re designed to do. Point it at the flag, pull the trigger, get a number. That number, the straight-line distance to the pin, is usually right.
But is that the number you need?
There’s a difference between what the rangefinder reads and what the shot requires. That gap has a name. It’s called “plays like” distance. According to 3.5 million shots of Arccos Smart Laser data, the average golfer is ignoring 12.4 yards of it on every single shot they hit.
Half of all rangefinder reads are off the real number by 10 yards or more. One in five are off by 20. That’s not an equipment problem. Your rangefinder is doing exactly what it’s supposed to do. The problem is that what it’s supposed to do isn’t the full story.
1. The slope-only myth
A slope model should fix this, right?
The slope-adjusted number accounts for the angle of the shot and tells you what club to hit.
The data says otherwise.
Slope accounts for just 19.9 percent of the total “plays like” adjustment. That means four out of every five yards of correction comes from somewhere a slope rangefinder can’t see. Wind, sustained speed plus gusts, accounts for nearly 64 percent of the total adjustment on its own. Temperature, altitude and humidity make up most of the rest.
Factor
Share of Total Adjustment
Wind (sustained)
35.7%
Wind (gusts on top of sustained)
28.2%
Slope
19.9%
Temperature
12.4%
Altitude
2.6%
Humidity
1.1%
On 91 percent of shots, the non-slope adjustment is larger than the slope adjustment. A slope rangefinder is solving less than a fifth of the problem.
2. The 10-yard lie
The gap between raw laser yardage and “plays like” yardage isn’t fixed. It grows the farther the shot gets. Amateur golfers struggle most with the longer clubs so this combination of the wrong number and the more difficult shot is a bad one.
The 100-yard pitch is off by 10 yards. The 200-yard approach is off by more than 15.
Club Distance
Avg Off By
Median
Off by 10+ yds
Off by 20+ yds
100–149 yds (wedge / short iron)
10.0 y
7.9 y
39.5%
11.7%
150–199 yds (mid iron)
13.0 y
10.6 y
52.7%
21.7%
200–249 yds (long iron / hybrid)
15.5 y
13.2 y
61.5%
30.8%
250+ yds (driver / 3-wood)
18.5 y
16.2 y
68.5%
40.3%
All shots
12.4 y
10.0 y
49.4%
20.0%
Half of every rangefinder reading on a golf course is off by at least 10 yards.
3. What the tee plate never tells you
The 17th at TPC Sawgrass is one of the most recognized par-3s in golf. It’s an island green with a yardage of 137 yards. No margin for error. It’s also one of the clearest illustrations of what “plays like” distance means in practice.
Arccos Smart Laser data captured the same hole on five different days over a recent stretch.
A rangefinder on March 19 was off by 23 yards. On March 27, it was perfect. On March 26, it was six yards too long. The slope doesn’t change between those days. Everything else that you’re not measuring does.
4. Where you play decides how much it matters
The “plays like” problem isn’t equal across the country. Your zip code has a lot to do with how much your rangefinder is misleading you.
The wind-alley golfer in Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas or Iowa is dealing with 57 percent more environmental adjustment than the golfer in San Diego. The rangefinder number is materially less useful depending on where you live.
5. The hidden yardages
Wind is the biggest factor your rangefinder is missing. Slope is the most overrated one. But altitude and temperature are quietly adding up, too. Together, they account for another 15 percent of the total “plays like” adjustment.
A golfer playing at mile-high elevation is getting a free 10.5-yard bonus on every shot just from thinner air. A mountain course above 6,500 feet adds 13.5. Sea-level golfers get nothing which is fine until they travel and have to relearn all of their yardages.
Temperature works the other direction. Cold air is dense and kills carry—a 40°F morning round adds at least five yards to every shot. A 90°F summer afternoon takes nearly three off. That’s an eight-yard swing between seasons on the same course, the difference between reaching for an 8-iron or a 9 every time you go into the bag.
What you can do about it
The rangefinder in your bag isn’t broken. It’s just doing less than you think it is. It’s measuring a straight line. What it can’t do is read the wind, factor in the temperature, account for where you are on the map or tell you what that 150-yard number is going to feel like when you pull the trigger.
The Arccos Smart Laser does all of that. Every read produces a “plays like” number that accounts for wind speed and direction, gusts, temperature, altitude and humidity in real time. Knowing the distance and knowing the shot you need to hit are two different things.
The data across 3.5 million reads makes the case plainly: slope-only rangefinders are solving only 19 percent of the problem. The other 81 percent—the wind, the temperature, the altitude, the conditions you’re experiencing right now—that’s what’s deciding whether you find the green or come up short.
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Brittany Olizarowicz
Brittany Olizarowicz
Britt Olizarowicz is a scratch golfer, former teaching professional and one of MyGolfSpy’s leading voices on equipment testing and golf performance. She has spent more than 15 years working at private clubs in New York and Florida and now specializes in translating test data and swing mechanics into practical advice for everyday golfers. Britt began playing at age 7 and has never left the game. When she’s not writing, you’ll find her on the course, playing pickleball, cooking, running or out on the boat with her family.
Another reason to no longer trust my golf spy. Bold lie in the headline. The range finder is accurate and way more accurate than your eyes!
You should not trust any of the rangefinders to tell you wind conditions because wind changes minute to minute!
This is just a bad advertisement!
We need to protect the integrity of this game… other sports have already been decimated by technology (Pro Bass Fishing for one). We already have a ball that flies ridiculously far and driver heads a blind man can hit with. The powers that be need to address this technology monster or only rich people will be playing it.
Rough look for MGS. It is clearly a paid ad, it says as much at the top, but they don’t even include this range finder in their recent range finder test. Wonder why?
Clickbait title and the article is just an ad to sell Arccos range finders lol this website is just trying to push certain products and affiliate links at this point
I need to know – did the “author” write any of this article, or was it an AI polished cut and paste from an Arccos new release?
This article could have been great if it stuck to the premise that a rangefinder number isn’t everything a golfer needs to make a club selection. How about instead of shilling for a $500 rangefinder with a $200/year subscription fee, a tutorial on what distance adjustments need to be made based upon temperature, elevation, and wind speed and direction. The research is there (1.5% for every 10° above or below a 70° baseline; carry effects for wind; distance adjustment for elevation).
MGS skewers manufacturers for over hyping or flat out lying about performance of a $5 golf ball, but gives a free pass to Arccos and a $500 rangefinder with a $200 per year subscription.
I couldn’t wait to see who wrote this and any possible motive. This is an issue/concept trying to help (the golfer who cares) and is a legit topic but the motive kills it. I don’t think arccos is the only system that does this. My range finder triangulates and I believe takes some environmental factors into account but it’s a little complicated and waists time to learn and takes too much time while on the course to learn. Brittanny Olizarowicz sounds like she is AI or used AI to write it and posted it without reading it. It is not my intent to pick on this writer but she needs to think about motives. How does a real writer put their name on it without understanding what it actually says “… you need to purchase Arccos which is the only thing on earth that will solve your problem?” My wife and I had arccos for a few years and cancelled because of its flaws and expense. Shameful article? Not sure. If this can be called an article. The comments are a better read.
As much as I like MGS, I tend to agree. I find it hard to believe that anyone going t this extent to get information for their golf game doesn’t understand that a range finder is only giving you the straight line distance. Instead of doing this weak article/ad do a test to see which “system” actually does the best with helping solve this problem.
Beak
3 weeks ago
OMG! Revelations!
I wish if the article was a hard sell on a product, it would say so up front! Imagine what this article could do if we were still pacing off the yardage from sprinkler heads and yardage plates in the middle of the fairway! Are there really golfers that read the laser yardage and don’t take into account all the other stuff affecting the shot. I mean, that’s just a hitter, not a golfer. C’mon man
I agree with all the comments about this site losing credibility. Too much marketing and too many times the articles are just repeating the same data that was presented in previous articles.
Everyone knows the golfer should be the one assessing conditions and lie and then choosing a club accordingly. If you just wanna swing what a computer tells you go do it in a simulator.
This is the most blatant example yet from this site of disguising a product ad as a product review or (gasp!) an educational piece. You’ve lost my respect and it now makes me question all your product reviews.
It is pretty clear that under the USGA Rules of Golf you can only use a rangefinder for distance; you cannot use it for slope, etc. If you do use it for a prohibited purpose then you cannot post your score under GHIN and you will be disqualified from any competition you are playing in. You can use a compass to determine your direction but not the direction of the wind or its speed.
I simply do not understand why these products are being offered and endorsed when they are not legal under the rules of golf.
I’ll tell you what a paid ad. isn’t My experience with the Arccos Smart Rangefinder. Real quick example.
Par 3 hole, 117 to the flag. But a strong steady wind blowing straight in at us 18 mph but gusting up to 30. My Plays like yardage showed 138. I told my buddy that when he asked the distance. He said BS and pulled his 125 club allowing for one club wind. I pulled my 140 club without telling him and ended up 15 feet above the flag. He ended up 30 feet short. I made the birdie putt he barely made his two putt.
Very similar situation the next week on another hole and pretty much the same results. So say what you want about the article, it’s actual facts. Since using it I’ve taken over 1st place in our league and won enough to pay for the annual subscription.
Your buddy’s problem was thinking that a steady 18mph headwind was just a 7-yard-more wind (not even a one-club distance adjustment). He didn’t need to spend $500 plus $250 annually to know it was a two-club wind. He just needed common sense, which he apparently doesn’t have, since “very similar situation the next week on another hole and pretty much the same results”.
What really pisses me off about this “article” is that I didn’t realize it was a blatant promo for a product until the very end.
The title of this article is BS. You even say so in the first paragraph. The laser is, in fact, accurate for what you are using it for, which is getting a yardage.
So, the title is a lie and the rest of it is an ad for what is supposed to be an unbiased website.
This article brought to you by Arccos.
This isn’t nothing but an arccos advertisement to sell their rangefinder with a SUBSCRIPTION. Its ridiculous. As a long time arccos user i find the plays like distance to be incredibly inaccurate as the wind data is not local & I play mostly in Texas where the wind changes damn near every 5 seconds. If Garmin would step up their presentation of golf data we could make arccos go away or stop with these Private Equity money grabs.
I really don’t understand the impetus for this article. The distance displayed by a rangefinder is just one part of the equation used to arrive at the true distance to the target taking into account various environmental factors. These factors are part of the game and the golfer (and/or his caddie) is expected to recognize these variables and calculate how much to add to the static figure of distance to the pin. This is all part of the game and it would be no different than using a yardage book, yardage markers, experience and memory, or simply just eye-balling it.
Arccos isn’t the only rangefinder that does this, however, they are the only rangefinder that will charge you a monthly fee though. And if you don’t pay the fee they disable your rangefinder so it’s not usable at all. Garmin z30 paired with their sensors and their watch is extremely accurate and free as well. Including all the environmental factors, shot tracking, statistics etc etc etc. All free. Arccos is a rip off.
Shouldn’t this “article” have a notification that it is really just an advertisement? Most legitimate media companies do this.
My experience with the Arccos system (without the rangefinder) is that its wind computation is very simplistic and thus not very accurate. The wind data is based on a published weather station, and doesn’t take into account local conditions at a golf course that may be miles away.
I play mostly on the coast in Hawaii. Often we get wind from one direction on inland holes, but then when we get near the coast the wind is blowing from the opposite direction, in from the ocean. We also have several holes that are tucked in lower areas, where the wind is either largely blocked by topography or trees or (worse) will be swirling around. The Arccos system can’t figure this out, and there are times that I’ve been on tee with a headwind, and the app is telling me the wind is coming from behind. Unless the rangefinder has a built-in wind gauge, it won’t do any better.
I like using the Arccos system, but its not as precise as ads like this imply.
Agree with many of the above comments. These articles are really looking more and more like advertisements as opposed to objective advice. A $300 rangefinder with a $200/year subscription to get the “full benefit” just seems like a cash grab
As CJL pointed out already, the error bars for most amateur golfers on each club, are going to dwarf a lot of these factors, except for wind. Maybe not altitude, comparing Denver to sea level, but that’s a set it and forget it adjustment.
Wind is the biggie. So tell us how we’re supposed to “dope” wind for golf. Not merely point out that a rangefinder doesn’t take wind into account. I use 1% off distance for each 1 MPH of headwind *component*, and ~0.5% added for tailwind. Is that within norms for a high ball/high spin player?
Hi Patrick,
I would assume is the angle of the range finder. At 6’4″, you’re probably near the top of the flag, so gun to there. If you want to test this theory, take this measurment and then try again hitting the flag stick about a foot from the cup, under this theory, you’re causing ~1.7yds of elevation change, could result in half yard of slope adjusted distance change.
Isn’t it basically, take the feet above/below you the target is, then add/subtract that value to the carry distance? I.e., 50′ elevated green from where you are, add 17 yds? (Keeping in mind, elevated = lower descent angle->more runout. Lower target, steeper descent->less runout.)
This story is an ad for Arcos. Your site will eventually lose credibility if you keep trying to disguise blatant advertising as an objective story. Shame on you if they paid you to do this.
Yea, this just feels like a big ad for the Arccos Smart Laser rangefinder. Yea, it is absurd they are requiring a subscription for features.
The live weather, is just ARCOSS paying to get live weather from weather providers. This function goes through their app, and you must use their app to get this data. Also note, that this doesn’t mean you get accurate wind for where you are playing on the course. Trees, buildings, hills, etc.. all effect the amount of wind at your specific location. Those weather stations will just give you much larger, general wind value. The app could tell you that you are getting 20 mph out of the north, but if you are on the other side of a hill, or in a tree alley, the wind can shift significantly and have a significantly different value.
Until the range finder actually measures the wind itself, then this sort of data is not accurate for your specific location.
Also, Bushnell does the same thing. They use weather data and project it to the range finder through their app. So, it isn’t just Arcoss that does this.
Again, why I see this as an ad for Arcoss disguised as guidance on judging yardage.
This all assumes the average am golfer can hit ANY of his/her clubs close to the same distance more times than not. This makes all this info a mute point. You’re splitting hairs with an axe.
The Rangefinder isn’t off. Even a cheap laser yields accurate to-the-pin distances.
Golfers who fail to account for wind, rain, temp, and how many beers they drank the night before the am round are typically high handicappers and will remain so.
The problem you describe is clearly user error, by considering only a single variable – rangefinder distance only.
This entire article reads as a paid advertisement. Range finders are great devices to speed up play allowing the player to get an accurate yardage without stepping off yardages from sprinkler heads or other landmarks. Assuming you have one with quality optics, they do that accurately and are not ‘wrong’.
While I don’t really care if my playing partners are using devices that provide ‘plays like’ yardages, posting scores in GHIN for handicap purposes using a device that measures slope, elevation, etc. is not allowed and technically considered cheating per the USGA. Estimating the playing distance due to wind, temperatures, elevation changes is part of the game of golf and no different that learning how to hit a cut or a draw.
So, that is what the player is supposed to do, otherwise it is cheating. You after getting a strict yardage must decide the playing as, not some machine, the article is just a promo for cheating
Not cheating — I mean…it is if you are using it in tournaments, but this is simply leveraging technology to train yourself to recognize how conditions affect your shots. You could find all of these measurements manually and track them in a database to calculate the condition adjustments for yourself, or you can use a device that does it all to help with practice. Simply leveraging technology to improve knowledge is not cheating.
Technically you’d have to use tournament mode (turning off all of the features, including slope) for any scores that post to your handicap, but people don’t do that — the outcome ends up being more vanity handicap than inflated handicap, so even though in that round it’s “cheating”, the net tournament results end up being the opposite of cheating (it helps weed out the sandbaggers).
It is called “experience” and “course management”. There is no place for this to be “mechanized” in golf.
JL
3 weeks ago
Slope can’t be used under any round of golf that you are playing under the rules. If you are playing a club match, league or even just a casual wager against a friend, slope is breaking the rules. Everyone is entitled to, and should, play under the rules that allow them to enjoy the game (there is a big but coming), BUT if they are competing against others for a trophy, title, money or prizes, they should follow the official rules. Using slope is no different than carrying a 15th club, taking a 2 foot gimme (unless given in match play) or asking for advice on shot selection.
The Swami
3 weeks ago
$199 a year sub after year 1 for the privilege of this thing telling me it’s windy (the vast majority of differential in yardage) to calculate distance?! lol
anyone who has golfed enough (as you well know outside this advertising golfspy shill) can gauge the wind close enough to add “one club, two clubs” etc. certainly better than this device trying to do it from a local weather station which may be equally inaccurate. good reference data if it was free for lifetime. otherwise, hard pass.
now if/when someone finds a way to actually incorporate an accurate wind measurement in the rangefinder itself (which is hard to believe could occur but never know)….then you have something. but this? hell no to subs.
This is a good article, but I honestly feel it also misses the mark a bit. First, the title of the article is misleading and incorrect. My rangefinder is never wrong for its designed purpose, your article is insinuating that the range finder is wrong for its purpose of telling how far the flag stick is from my location, this is inaccurate. All the other factors you mention such as slope, elevation, wind, etc are things which the player has a responsibility to calculate. Most players don’t which is an entirely different topic of discussion. Again, the article is good but the title at the very least needs to be re-written to accurately reflect the context otherwise it’s just simply a clickbait.
agree, Mygolfspy has been shifting more nad more to click bait titles and I have been dialing back my reading of their articles for this reason, I’m finding that articles are less about what the title suggests and end up being a waste of time. Almost TMZ-like with their flashy (fake) question inducing titles.
Totally agree… the rangefinder does its job and delivers what we paid for…. if the golfer is numb enough to ignore wind, elevation, temperature and what else, it has nothing to do with the machine! This article does not promote confidence on this type of writing.
Royce
2 weeks ago
Another reason to no longer trust my golf spy. Bold lie in the headline. The range finder is accurate and way more accurate than your eyes!
You should not trust any of the rangefinders to tell you wind conditions because wind changes minute to minute!
This is just a bad advertisement!