Thomas Bjorn Agrees With Harrington That Rangefinders Should Be Used In All Tournaments

Thomas Bjorn believes rangefinders could help to stop slow play on the PGA Tour and at the Majors. 

Recently, several players including Patrick Cantlay and Scottie Scheffler have been slammed for taking too much time on the golf course. 

Cantlay was heavily criticised following this year's Masters, with Brooks Koepka, who was playing in the group behind him on the final day, hitting out at the 2021 FedEx Cup champion for the amount of time he took to complete his round. 

World No 1, Scheffler was also recently rebuked for taking over five minutes to hit a shot at the PGA Championship.  

Rangefinders are currently prohibited on the PGA Tour, the DP World Tour, the Masters, the US Open and the Open Championship, but golf fans may have seen some players using DMDs at this month's PGA Championship. 

That's because back in 2021 the PGA of America decided to lift the ban on rangefinders at the event, in order to improve the flow of play around the course, and it seems some players believe they should be used in all events.  

Yesterday, three-time Major winner Padraig Harrington took to Twitter to call on golf's governing bodies to allow players to use the distance measurement tools in all tournaments. 

"After using a rangefinder for the last 2 weeks [at the] PGA Championship and the Senior PGA Championship, I’ve come round to believing that we should use them in all tournaments," the Irishman said. 

"They really help with pace of play when players are out of position with an awkward yardage."

His comments were then echoed by Bjorn who, despite being initially unsure over their use, wrote: "I agree with this. I was sceptical but it works…"

Their opinions have attracted some reaction from Twitter users, too, with many agreeing that golf needs to implement new rules that can help ensure the game flows better. 

One Twitter user wrote in the comments: "Anything to help the pace of play."

While another added: "The range finder plus yardage books is a perfect combo. For sure it will help with the pace of play. This should have been implemented a long time ago."

Devices conforming to Rule 4.3a (1) are allowed at the PGA Championship. It says: 

Rule 4.3a (1) Distance and Directional Information.

• Allowed: Getting information on distance or direction (such as from a distance-measuring device or compass).
• Not Allowed: Measuring elevation changes, or Interpreting distance or directional information (such as using a device to get a recommended line of play or club selection based on the location of the player's ball).

Some of the best golf rangefinders have slope settings on them, but players are not allowed to utilise these elevation measurement features during the tournament. 

Rangefinders are also allowed at the KPMG Women's PGA Championship and while it can be argued that they do assist players to make judgements on their distances, they certainly can stop the bane that is slow play, by giving players fast and accurate distances to their targets, enabling them to play their shot quicker.