Rangefinders are becoming increasingly prominent in the professional game, and are understandably popular whenever their use is permitted, given that they provide quick and accurate yardages and can help alleviate slow play.
But what about The Masters? Are rangefinders allowed at the Augusta National Major? The short answer is “no,” despite an amendment to The Rules of Golf coming at the start of 2019 that opened up the possibility of rangefinders being used in the professional game.
The change allowed players to get “information on distance or direction” from rangefinders, although it remained prohibited to use them for measuring elevation changes.
However, even with the amendment, whether it was implemented was still at the discretion of the tournament’s organising committee. Tournaments don’t come any more traditional than The Masters, and so it’s not surprising that, as of the 2025 tournament, Augusta National still doesn’t permit the use of rangefinders.
That's despite other tournament organisers having embraced the technology, with the PGA of America giving the green light to using rangefinders in its tournaments from 2021. That’s why you’ll see them in use at its Majors, the PGA Championship, KPMG Women's PGA Championship and the Senior PGA Championship.
LIV Golf also allows the use of rangefinders, while in the women’s game, the LET and the LPGA Tour allow the devices in their tournaments.
The PGA Tour also doesn’t seem to be too far behind in embracing the use of rangefinders with an announcement coming in March 2025 that they will be permitted in six of its tournaments, with the first coming immediately after The Masters, at the RBC Heritage.
Considering that rangefinders can assist with solving one of the game’s biggest talking points, slow play, it's not unreasonable to think that, at some point in the future, they might also be used at The Masters. However, for now at least, players will just have to make do without them as they tackle Augusta National.
