Accessory Review: Laser Link Golf, by Jeffrey Reed

A smart golfer knows, just because he’s hitting an approach shot from the 150-yard marker doesn’t mean he’s facing 150 yards to the hole. Even a mid-handicapper can find it surprisingly easy to misclub up to two clubs. Numerous factors facing even the most skilled golfer, including wind, lie, pin placement, green slope and undulation, and even how that golfer feels on any given day can send him searching for sprinkler heads – not to mention answers from the golf gods.

Madison, Wisconsin-based Laser Link Golf produces a revolutionary new tool which takes the guess work out of club selection, therefore helping to produce smarter golf shots while increasing the pace of play. The Laser Link Distance System, used by more than 700 private clubs – including London Hunt & Country Club, host to the 2006 CN Canadian Women’s Open LPGA Tour event – is a distance measurement system designed specifically for golf.

Listen, even if this product speeds the pace of play, it’s well worth a look. But there’s much more to this system. It really does provide information which can produce better golf shots. Here’s how it works. There are two components: a handheld laser rangefinder; and a flagstick-based reflector. Simply point the QuickShot rangefinder at the flag, and in a few seconds a digital yardage readout is at your fingertips. Laser Link Golf produces the SmartStick reflector system, and the Smarty flagstick reflector.

The cost? For a golf course, approximately $10,000. The QuickShot sells for about $300, and can also be rented at participating golf clubs.

Laser Link Golf president Rob O’Loughlin knows all about innovation in golf. After all, he is part of a group responsible for the Black Widow Softspikes which changed the game forever in 1993. Now, with both the USGA and R&A announcing in September that electronic measuring devices will be allowed during all play, it appears this relatively new golf tool will gain even more momentum.

Rule 14-3/0.5 allows a committee to permit the use of distance measuring devices by Local Rule. This applies to devices that measure distance only, not any other conditions that might affect a player’s game, such as wind or gradient.

"They’ve done the right thing for the game of golf," says O’Loughlin. "This will help to eliminate any confusion, and allow players to use our product to help speed up play and improve their rounds."

O’Loughlin says he’s not obsessed with getting his product on the LPGA or PGA Tour. Rather, Laser Link Golf is for the average golfer. However, he says it can’t hurt a low-handicapper’s game, either.

"There will always be skill involved. You have to know what the uphill is, what the downhill is, and what the wind is. All of those things must be figured in. This is not robot golf! As a player, you have to know, how should I hit the ball? Even the best players recognize, some days a 9-iron goes 125 yards, and other days 135 yards. Yet, nobody quite knows why all of the time," says O’Loughlin.

Notable courses, such as Tiger’s Isleworth CC, Arnold Palmer’s Bay Hill Club & Lodge, and Jack Nicklaus’s Muirfield Village all use the Laser Link Golf system. Nicklaus says it best: "There is nothing as disappointing as hitting a good shot with the wrong yardage."

I’m quite sure Old Tom Morris would classify any newfangled golf gear as crap. Then again, he liked haggis. But if Old Tom would have had accurate yardage in the palm of his hand, he would have eaten a lot less crow.

For more information on the Laser Link Golf system, visit www.laserlinkgolf.com.