Golfers use laser rangefinders and GPS devices during a round of golf to get accurate distances to hazards like bunkers and to the flagstick.

You may have wondered if you can use a rangefinder on the driving range to get yardages like you do when playing a round of golf?

The Tell Me More Golf pros are going to explain what type of rangefinder you can use on the driving range and how to use it to get the most out of your practice sessions.

Will a Rangefinder Work On The Range?

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Yes, a laser golf rangefinder will work on the driving range. In fact, measuring distances to targets on the driving range is a great way to practice selecting the right club for your approach shots.

The best golf rangefinders like models made by Bushnell, Nikon, Precision Pro, Callaway, TecTecTec, and Leupold will have target acquisition software like Pinseeker that will lock onto objects like a flagstick in the foreground.

They will also have a slope feature that can give you accurate “play like” yardages to targets with elevation changes. It’s important to remember that in USGA tournament play, while local rules may allow you to use a golf laser rangefinder, you need to have the slope function disabled during the round.

Most golf GPS units and GPS watches will not work when on the driving range

Courses typically have to be downloaded onto the devices prior to a round. However, there are specific apps available that can use the GPS on your phone and a Maps app to give you yardage to targets on the driving range.

How Do You Use A Rangefinder At The Driving Range?

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You can use your laser rangefinder to get accurate distances to different targets on the driving range. Having precise yardage when practicing can help golfers with their club selection.

When you have exact yardages to targets on the driving range, you can practice with purpose.

You can really work through every club in your golf bag.

A great way to use a laser rangefinder and pick a target and then do the box drill. Imagine that there are 9 invisible boxes in the air around the target and try to hit shots with different trajectories and ball flights at the target.

High Left	High Straight	High Right
Middle Left	Middle Straight	Middle Right
Low Left	Low Middle	Low Right

You can also take a scorecard for a golf course and play a practice round on the range. Hit your drive, and then estimate how much yardage you have left for your second shot. Use your laser golf rangefinder to find a target with that yardage and hit your approach shot.

This is a great practice drill to help you with your club selection and pre-shot routine as it forces you to hit golf balls on a shot by shot basis like you would do during a round.

How To Set Up A Rangefinder At The Range

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Setting up a golf laser rangefinder at the range is easy. If your rangefinder has it, use the Pinseeker function and look through the eyepiece and then laser the target you select.

Having an exact yardage reading takes the guesswork out of figuring out how far a target is away from you on the range.

Even if there are elevation changes on the range, with the slope feature common on most popular golf rangefinders, you can still get exact yardages to targets.

Try to find targets with common distances that you might lay up to in the fairway during a round of golf. 100 yards is a great distance to practice hitting wedges into. 150 yards should allow you to hit mid-irons with different shot shapes. 200 yards is a good number to practice with hybrids and fairway woods.

A golf GPS rangefinder probably won’t have yardages to targets at your local driving range. Check to see if there are apps that use GPS and the Maps features on your phone to see if you can pinpoint your location and use that to lock in on targets on the map for distances.

Conclusion: Research by Tellmemoregolf.com

The different styles of rangefinders have uses on and off of the golf course. You can use laser golf rangefinders to get accurate yardages to water hazards, bunkers, and pin locations both on the course and at the driving range.

Golf GPS devices, like those made by Garmin, are great on the golf course because they provide accurate yardages to hazards and the green, as well as keeping score and other golf statistics during the round.

However, as they do not map most driving ranges out with GPS, they will not have yardages to targets on the range.

Golfers can use laser rangefinders to get precise yardage to targets on the driving range. Practicing different shots on the range can help golfers feel more confident with their approach shots when playing a round.