The present is grey...

Whilst the future may be orange, it was most definitely not a bright day out on the golf course today. The early morning conditions were almost ideal for this time of year... unfortunately the thrash draw takes place at 11:30 and the weather had turned to drizzle and heavy mist. The golf was enjoyable for the first few holes, but the rain persisted and the enjoyment factor quickly deteriorated.

The 9th green is around here somewhere

We all called it a day after 9 holes, retiring to the warmth of the clubhouse to watch Man U beat the blue half of Manchester 2-3 in the FA Cup. On reflection, what, at the time seemed like some pretty poor golf on my behalf, was in fact not all that awful, with 4 pars and a birdie in pretty grim conditions. Whilst the present golfing conditions are most certainly grey, my golfing future remains bright.

The future is bright... the future is orange (with a hint of pink)

The future is bright, now that I have my Bushnell Tour V2 range finder. Distance control has always been somewhat hit and miss over my golfing life. I have found the iPhone app Golfshot GPS to be very helpful over the last 6 months (and prior to that Golf Card Pro), but it has only taken me so far. That is all about to change following the purchase of my Bushnell Tour V2 range finder.

My new game changer

I have been researching them for a number of weeks now and it was a toss up between the Nikon and the Bushnell. Following some online research I decided on the Bushnell, so it was now a hunt for the best price. The standard colour (grey / black) came in at about £240, but further research found a limited edition 'pink' version for only £175. Even my pride could not refuse a saving of £65, so the pink Bushnell V2 was ordered. Fortunately, I was also able to track down silicon covers for the range finder, and the orange option goes perfectly with my 'goldfish' driver head cover.

The range finder's strength is its simplicity. Only a single button is required for use (once it has been set to 'pinseeker' mode), and it is small enough to fit into my pencil carry bag. I'm anticipating plummeting scores over the coming months in the build up to the 2012 season.