I have a question to ask about devices like the SureShotGPS.

Two relevant pieces of information:

1. Under 14-3, the Committee “may make a Local Rule allowing players to use devices that measure or gauge distance only”. The specimen local rule says “[In this competition, or For all play at this course, etc.], a player may obtain distance information by using a device that measures distance only”. (The Specimen Local Rule then further defines this by saying that a player cannot use “a device designed to gauge or measure other conditions that might affect his play e.g. gradient, wind speed, temperature etc.”)

2. The SureShot can tell you distances, e.g. front, middle and back of the green you are playing to, from any position on the course. But it can also be programmed to record “game information” (e.g. strokes and distances) and to suggest a club to use based on the player’s previous play of each hole. (It obviously can’t measure gradient, wind speed, temperature, etc.) So a player can tell from it that on previous occasions the best club to use from point X to the middle of Green Y is a 7-iron (current wind factors notwithstanding).

Is this extra capability of a device like the SureShot still within the legal bounds of a “distance measuring-only artificial device”? Or is it just a way of containing electronic information that would otherwise be legal, for example through course notes in a player’s or caddy’s book?

Until the sureshot company makes a model without the club selection, all sureshot models are illegal to use.
(Decision 14-3/16)

RulesDoc, The Sureshot GPS only suggests a club based on the information you input, such as how far you hit each club. It does not gather information from previous rounds and update the information. The club information is fixed and NOT based on the player’s previous play of each hole.

a. That might assist him in making a stroke or in his play;

Suggesting a club surely does this.

AAA, I think “a. That might assist him in making a stroke or in his play;” refers to devices that measure gradient, wind speed, temperature etc. After all, caddies are able to suggest clubs

From Decision 14-3/16

””....However, examples of uses of an electronic device during a stipulated round that are a breach of Rule 14-3, for which the penalty is disqualification, include:
....
• Using the device to access information on advice-related matters that were not published prior to the start of his round (e.g., analysis of strokes made during that round).”“

You don,t have to use it for this purpose to be penalised. You can be disqualified for using a device with this capability .

they shouldnt have allowed them in the first place.. the Can aint gunna be big enough for the worms I reckon on this one,,

AAA, I think “a. That might assist him in making a stroke or in his play;” refers to devices that measure gradient, wind speed, temperature etc.

The words in Rule 14-3a predate the introduction of the LR for EMDs. They are not specifically addressed at ‘extras’ in GPS systems
They cover anything which might assist.

After all, caddies are able to suggest clubs

What is the difference between having a notepad listing the distances you hit each club, and having those distances in the Sureshot ? I have one and it certainly doesn’t help my game too much ;-)

RulesDoc, The Sureshot GPS only suggests a club based on the information you input, such as how far you hit each club. It does not gather information from previous rounds and update the information. The club information is fixed and NOT based on the player’s previous play of each hole.

I may have misinterpreted it, but the blurb on the SureShot website says:

“You can also enter game information including the club being used to study the effectiveness of multiple games. Armed with this information you’ll know what club brings the best results with any hole on the course.”

And at another point:

“Specific shots can be measured and recorded e.g. driver distance. Once the player has measured distances for each club, the information is stored in the SureShotGPS and used to suggest a club selection (when enabled).”

At least that last bit implies the function can be disabled?

I think my problem with 8-1 as it applied to distances was that before they sensibly changed the rule, if a fellow competitor asked a question like “how far is my ball from the green”, to avoid breaching 8-1 yourself you could stand on a nearby distance marker and say “it’s 146m from here”, but you couldn’t actually do the sum for them.

Now you can write club distances in a book, look on the GPS for an accurate distance, then correlate the two manually, but (if what everybody here is saying is correct) you can’t just straight out get the GPS to do the sum for you!

It’s only an electronic version of a caddy’s book, and it all seems very nitpicky to me.

I think there is a difference.
The GPS may be used to give any actual distance you like and that can be passed to a FC without restriction. Even without the LR a device simply containing distance information is acceptable.

The clubbing information is personal to the player and is a matter of opinion. If is not being updated automatically on the run then it may be ok (as you say, an electronic caddy’s book). However, I don’t believe that that information can be passed to another player

Hi guys,
I have a Bushnell rangefinder which I use during practice rounds to map out a course before a competition, or just to measure how far i hit each club, and have found that some distance markers are deliberately inaccurate to confuse opposition pennant teams etc. I would never use it in competition regardless of the LR unless my opponent used one because I would hate to think I won just because I had it and my opponent didn’t.

Hi Hybrid,

You could share your toy with your opponent! He’d love you for it and probably give you some missable putts.

Are your distance markers not permanent features on your course?

Hi Johanna,
Ihave too many missable putts, and I miss them all.
The distance markers are permanent posts which are supposed to be 100 meters from the center of the green but some are further some are closer by up to 10 meters.

Hi Hybrid,

Too bad the distance markers are not accurate, is there nothing you can do about it? After all, it is not only the opponent teams that are misled by them.

As far as your sad putting performance is concerned, perhaps you should use your distance measuring device on the green as well :-))

Johanna