Sales of distance-measuring devices are soaring. It’s a fast-growing sector and with most courses now allowing them to be used in competitions, we decided it was time to see what all the fuss is about.

We wanted to find out: How easy they are to use. How do the more straightforward rangefinders stack up against GPS technology? Do they speed up play, as claimed? And, most importantly, can they lower your score?

TG asked three golfers to choose a device from the many on the market. We then went to The Belfry’s Brabazon course and put them through their paces. Terry Lowe was armed with a SkyCaddie S5, Alex Davies had the Sureshot 8800, and we were hoping the Sonocaddie V300 would keep us out of danger. These all used GPS technology. Meanwhile Howard Boylan took on a laser-based Nikon 550AS rangefinder.

Within seconds of reaching the first tee and booting up our devices, we were comparing our units, for their aesthetics as much as the yardages. All look pretty sleek and are small enough to hold in your palm but it was the Sonocaddie that got the most admiring glances. Its simple mobile phone-esque button layout and shape, plus bright green trim, really catch the eye.

As we looked a little deeper and started comparing yardages to hazards and the green we were a little surprised that none of the systems were giving exactly the same measurements. There were only a few yards difference but a yard either way could be crucial, for the pros at least.

This was the first time any of us had tried the products and not all of them were that easy to just pick up and use. “You’d need to sit down with the SkyCaddie, have a good look through the instructions and really learn how to use it before taking it onto the course,” said 66-year-old Terry.

While the Sonocaddie and Sureshot had everything you needed to know about each hole displayed over two screens – one for fairway hazards and one for the green – the SkyCaddie had multiple screens to look at for each hole. This made the Sonocaddie and Sureshot a lot easier to dip straight into but gave SkyCaddie the advantage in terms of detail. Each hazard had its own screen which gave information including possible lay-up areas and yardages left to the pin.

Somewhat disappointingly the Sonocaddie was the only system that showed a full view of a hole with all the hazards on one screen.

While Terry, Alex and TG compared yardages at every opportunity, Howard was having a bit of trouble with his Nikon rangefinder. It was a blustery day on the Brabazon and he was struggling to hold the unit steady and focus on the flag.

“There were other times when what it told me was obviously wrong because it wobbles around so much and you can easily focus on a bank behind the green rather than the flag,” discovered the eight-handicapper.

This was a problem Terry could sympathise with: “I’ve got a Bushnell rangefinder but I find it difficult to keep it still to get a reading. I think the GPS systems are better than a rangefinder because all the information you need is there.”

Terry was quick to pick up on one of the huge advantages a GPS system offers over a rangefinder – with a rangefinder you can only measure something if you can see it, but with GPS you know what’s there and where it is even if it’s hidden round a dogleg or behind a hill.

But you do get used to aiming the rangefinder and they hold an advantage in that they can be used on any course in the world without having to download the course plan on to the device first. Most can give you the yardage to the day’s specific pin location to within half a yard.

While it’s handy to know where danger is off the tee, it’s when you’re attacking the flag that GPS really comes into its own.

“From 150 yards and in it was always bang on and you feel like you can always be pin high and accurate with your distances – which is what you need,” said scratch golfer Alex.

Howard agreed but pointed out that knowing all the yardages and options open to you is useless if you don’t know how far you hit each club.

An argument for distance measuring devices is that they speed up play, but as demonstrated by buggies, this ain’t necessarily so. Yes, GPS puts the relevant yardages at your disposal a lot faster than if you had to pace things out, but this leaves more time to ponder each shot.

In fact having so much information means there is a lot more to think about in determining club and shot selection. We often found ourselves making up for the time saved in getting the yardage by taking longer to assess our options for each shot.

Even taking this into consideration, Terry was convinced using one would help speed up play and, more importantly, save shots. “If you had one of these in your fourball it would be absolutely ideal,” he suggested. “It might even help me play nearer to my handicap.”

By the end of the round the three of us who were using the GPS systems were won over. In fact so was Howard, who was using the rangefinder. “The GPS is altogether a better unit,” he opined. “Though I had a rangefinder I was asking everyone else who had GPS units what the yardages were.”

It looks as if this technology is here to stay. The English Golf Union has even taken the step of allowing their use in competitions. In a game where we need all the help we can get, it makes sense to put one in your bag.