Rangefinders and GPS Watches: What the Rules Allow
Distance devices are permitted under the Rules of Golf - but only for distance, and only when the committee has not banned them.
Laser rangefinders and GPS watches have gone from novelty to normal, and juniors ask for them early. The rules position is clearer than most people assume, but it has two conditions attached, and getting them wrong in a competition is an avoidable penalty.
The general rule: distance is fine
Under the Rules of Golf, a player may use a device to measure distance. Lasering the flag, or reading the yardage from a GPS watch, is permitted in ordinary play.
What is not permitted is using a device to gauge or measure other conditions that might affect the shot - notably elevation change, wind speed, or a recommendation of which club to hit.
The slope trap
Most modern rangefinders include a slope function that adjusts the reading for uphill and downhill. That adjusted number is exactly the kind of information the rules exclude.
A slope-capable device is still allowed, provided the slope function is switched off - and on many models a physical switch or a visible indicator exists precisely so a playing partner can see it is disabled. Simply not looking at the adjusted number is not sufficient; the feature must be turned off.
The committee can ban them entirely
The permission to use distance devices is a default, not a guarantee. A Committee running a competition may adopt a local rule prohibiting them, and some championship events do exactly that.
The practical advice for a junior playing an event: read the local rules on the back of the card or the notice board before teeing off, and if in doubt, ask an official. Nobody minds the question, and it costs nothing.
What about phones?
A phone running a distance app is treated the same way as a dedicated device: distance is fine, extra conditions are not. The practical issues with phones are different ones - battery, pace of play, and the fact that many clubs and events have their own etiquette expectations about phone use on the course.
Does a junior actually need one?
There is a reasonable argument for waiting. Juniors benefit enormously from learning to judge distance by eye, by pacing from the sprinkler heads and course markers, and by knowing how far they actually hit each club - which is a more useful piece of self-knowledge than a number to the pin.
Establishing those personal distances is what the distance benchmark tool is for.
The counter-argument is that a device removes one source of doubt for an anxious player, and speeds up a group that would otherwise be pacing every shot. Both positions are defensible; the ban to watch for is the competition one, not a philosophical one.
Rangefinder options for Australian buyers are listed in the rangefinders section of the equipment directory, and GPS watches have their own category.
For the rules a junior should know before their first competition, start with golf rules every junior golfer should know.