I mainly use mine when I'm out of the fairway or at a strange course. I check the pins with it too, but it doesn't hold anyone up. Wednesday night we had a fivesome, had 3 skycaddies and one bushnell rangefinder in the group. I quit checking my drive distance with it a long time ago because 245 depresses me.

If I had it to do over I would have bought a rangefinder, no yearly subscription to worry about.

Yep, those things have shown everyone that they don't drive the ball nearly as far as they think they do. To me the ones where you just push a button and a number flashes are fine. It's the guy who spends 15 seconds trying pont the laser at the flagstick, then gives a number and says "wait, no, that's to the tree behind the green" is the guy that is driving everyone nuts.

I love my rangefinder, but it's difficult to use unless there are reflectors on the pin. Most clubs have them now, so it doesn't hold anybody up as far as I have seen. I can usually get my number in seconds. It's really helpful at courses with huge greens.

GPS Devices
 

I finally got digital cable and am enjoying The Golf Channel among other niceties.

I even watch the infomercials for now, which the other day included one for a GPS system. Gary McCord and Peter Costis were hawking this thing. Two of the alleged selling points were that it "saved time" for the round and made golf "more fun". I got a chuckle out of that.

One of the guys on my team is about a 22 handicap and an equipment junkie. You know the kind of guy I mean...every new thing that comes along is gonna help his game. He bought one of these things last winter. So now, he checks the yardage on every hole for every shot: Tee shot, approach, chip, you name it.

Saves time my ass. He wastes time trying to see the display in the finder (the glare from the sun can make that difficult), and next announces how far you have to the front, middle, and back of the green. Fascinating. Also, he'll tell how far your drive or approach traveled. An interesting novelty the first couple of holes, but that's all.

I don't know about you guys, but I automatically figure how far I have to the green as I walk up to the ball. In a cart it's a little more tricky, but not much. The other day I compared his toy's distances to mine (we were stuck in a cart together) and I wasn't more than a yard or two off in my estimates. Certainly not enough to make any difference.

They are handy when you're in the rough away from the fairway, but not enough to justify their use for every round, in my opinion.

Did Ben Hogan have a GPS?

Only if those were the initials of his caddy.

They are legal for regular play, though. Not sure about pro golf.

I kind of feel the same way. Some of the guys in the group I play with are almost that bad. But on this course there are several very deep greens and I do find myself asking for help 2-3 times/round. But there is no need to break it out on every shot, certainly not on the tee.

http://www.pgatour.com/story/9358727/

Based on the new Decision 14-3/.05, the USGA stated the high-tech devices would be permitted by Local Rule. That meant that golfers could use rangefinders in rounds counting for handicap tabulation, should their local club or course allow it, or in any tournament competition where local officials have given their sanction. On a global basis, the USGA, PGA TOUR and other major pro tour groups are not allowing the devices in competition, although they are all right in practice rounds.
The USGA decision was widely praised, to the relief of many amateurs and local pros seeking a faster and more accurate distance-measuring technique than trying to locate a hard-to-find plate in the ground or making a rough judgment based on a distance stake at the side of the fairway -- not to mention trying to figure yardage to the front of or to clear a hazard. But, as players flocked to test and purchase the electronic devices, golf’s governing bodies issued a clarification.
Not all rangefinders are OK. In a clarification announced early last month, it was stated that “under the Rules of Golf, golfers must not use distance-measuring devices for handicap purposes or in competition that are capable of gauging or measuring other conditions that might affect play, even if such a function is not used.”
Such a function might entail measuring wind speed and direction, or the slope of terrain.