Laser rangefinders are widely used in golf because they provide quick, accurate yardages and help maintain the pace of play. Instead of players taking the time to manually calculate the yardages, rangefinders offer a quicker way to do that. And they are more accurate. While most professional events have made the use of rangefinders common, this week, at the 2025 Crown Australian Open, things were different.
Despite Rule 4.3a (1) allowing rangefinders in professional events since 2019, the Australian Open is not permitting them this week. So it means this week at the Royal Melbourne Golf Club, players must read the course themselves, judging distances, slopes, and breaks without any technological assistance.
But why the exception this week if the rule in 2019 allowed rangefinders in professional events? It’s because when the rule came out, it stated that “rangefinders were now allowed, but only in a limited capacity.” One part of the rule states that “Getting information on distance or direction (such as from a distance-measuring device or compass)” is allowed, but “Measuring elevation changes, or Interpreting distance or directional information” is not allowed.
Beyond this, the final decision is left to the tournament’s organizing committee, which explains the differing approaches across tours. For instance, the PGA Tour and the DP World Tour do not allow rangefinders during their official events, except on practice round days.
But this year, the PGA Tour did allow rangefinders during official rounds as part of a test to see if it actually improved the pace of play. It began at the RBC Heritage and ran through the next four weeks, including the Truist Championship and the Myrtle Beach Classic.
There is only one exception until then, at the PGA Championship. The PGA of America permits rangefinders at its Majors, the PGA Championship, KPMG Women’s PGA Championship, and Senior PGA Championship, and these are the only events you would see players using rangefinders. So, the implementation of no range finders this week at Royal Melbourne is actually not an exception, nor is it surprising.
While the PGA Tour and the DP World Tour have not yet fully embraced rangefinders, LIV Golf has been more accepting of them in the league. Back in 2022, LIV Golf announced that rangefinders could be used for the first time at its 2022 Team Championship.
While men’s tours have been slow to adapt, women’s tours have been quick to adapt to rangefinders.
Women’s Tours Have Adopted Rangefinders For All Events
While the men’s pro tours have been taking a cautious approach with rangefinders, women’s tours have moved considerably quickly in adopting rangefinders. The shift began in 2020, when the Epson Tour and LET Access Series allowed rangefinders during competition.
The 2021 KPMG Women’s PGA marked the first LPGA major where distance-measuring devices were permitted. That same year, the LPGA announced a multi-year partnership with Voice Caddie, providing every player on the LPGA, Symetra Tour, LET, and LET Access Series with an SL2 Laser Rangefinder. From that point forward, players were allowed to use distance-measuring devices at most LPGA events, with officials continuing to work with partners on several co-sanctioned tournaments.
And things have only been evolving since then. In 2024, the LPGA and LET entered a new multi-year partnership with Nikon, making COOLSHOT rangefinders the Official Rangefinders of both tours. The move reinforced the women’s game as the most progressive in integrating distance-measuring technology, offering players a precise tool to aid in reliable yardages and also speed up the pace of play.
