Most golfers are willing to try just about anything to get more out of their games, and Alex Myers is no different. In Focus Group of One, he gives a wide-range of golf-related stuff a go, and offers his unscientific—and unpaid—take.

One of the perks of working for Golf Digest is that sometimes things from the office find their way into your golf bag. Sadly, this doesn’t happen nearly as often since we moved from Wilton, Conn., where we had more storage space (not to mention a great putting green), into NYC. But a relic from those days was an old rangefinder I kept in my bag for about a decade until this year when I noticed it had finally stopped working.

Not that it ever really worked. At least, not for me. You see, my hands are a bit shaky. To the point of that rangefinder rarely seeing the light of day. Every couple of years, I’d give it a try if I happened to be playing a poorly marked course. And each time, I would wind up sticking it back in my bag. Poor thing.

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I didn’t think I was missing much. After all, most courses I play aren’t poorly marked or have GPS units in their carts (Although, it feels like fewer courses have those these days). And most times I’m playing with someone else who has a rangefinder—and less shaky hands. But there was a moment this past summer on my annual golf trip when my opinion on the matter changed.

I remember playing a beautiful back-nine par 3 at Sultan’s Run, a sister course of the French Lick Golf Resort. The hole measured 191 on the scorecard, but played downhill, so I was thinking 6-iron since there was water behind the green. However, I was also considering hitting 5-iron because it just looked long. Then my buddy Josh walked out to where the tees were up near the front of the box, zapped it with his rangefinder, and announced, “183 playing 173.” The latter number was slope-adjusted (a function that is not legal in competition), so I switched to a 7-iron and stuck one to two feet. Even better? That same buddy got the shot on video.

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The point of this story, though, isn’t to brag about that shot—as nice as it was—but rather to explain my lightbulb moment with rangefinders. The info gathered from my friend’s device had directly led to me changing clubs and walking away with a tap-in birdie. At that moment, I was sold. And, yes, I realize you can’t use the slope-adjustment in actual competition. Heck, you can’t use rangefinders in most actual competitions, but among friends, why not? This game is hard enough!

I was suddenly hooked on getting exact yardages for approach shots. That’s probably silly for a 5-handicapper, but I felt I could benefit from the extra info. At the very least, knowing it seemed to give me more confidence when I stood over shots. And eventually, my buddy tossed me his device since his cart partner had the same one. (He also probably got tired of acting as my caddie.) I figured I’d struggle with it like I had with my old one, but was happy to learn these things have gotten a LOT more user-friendly over the past decade. Even for people like me whose shaky hands would never allow them to become surgeons or snipers. This rangefinder was a Precision Pro model that had a feature that locked in on the flag and then gave a little pulse before displaying the yardage. Even I could get it to work.

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Upon returning home, I decided I’d treat myself to one of these newfangled products. And when Amazon Prime Day came around, I used up some old gift cards to purchase a Callaway one (300 Pro Laser Rangefinder) that was 50 percent off. It had the flag-lock feature, but was even smaller and came with a magnetic siding so you can stick it to your golf cart for easier access. And it instantly became my new favorite toy.

There’s my little buddy. Now I’m the guy jumping out of the cart when we pull up to a par 3 and voluntarily zapping the hole for everyone in my group. It’s kind of fun to use. And, yes, you can laser off yardages to other things like bunkers and hazards. Of course, you still have to hit good shots to avoid those things, but at least I have less uncertainty over just how far away they are before I pull the trigger. Some golf purists might not be interested in owning one of these gadgets, but I also think that pace of play would improve if everyone had them.

Anyway, I love my new rangefinder, even though it gives me one more thing to keep track of after rounds. I’ve even pulled my car over a couple times on the way home just to make sure it’s in my bag. It’s like having a small, electric baby, and you better believe I’m keeping it warm this winter. My only (small) regret? I didn’t invest in one that can also measure the effect of wind. Oh well. I’m bound to lose this one at some point.

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This article was originally published on golfdigest.com