This 1 golf aid gave me the confidence to hit every shot. Here’s how

Welcome to Shaving Strokes, a new GOLF.com series in which we’re sharing improvements, learnings and takeaways from amateur golfers just like you — including some of the speed bumps and challenges they faced along the way.

Ask anyone who knows me about one quality I have, and a good majority of them will probably tell you it’s confidence.

Singing in front of people? Confident.

Dancing like a fool in front of people? Confident.

Generally navigating life’s uncertainties. Mostly confident.

But if you ask my playing partners on the golf course about my confidence level, many of them would probably say that they witness me being a little bit timid.

Now a lot of that can be attributed to the fact that I just don’t trust my game.

As a mid-handicapper, I find myself in-between clubs on a lot of shots, and, for some reason, feel pressure with extra eyeballs watching me hit. Like, I know I’ll hit the ball, I just don’t know where it’s going — and that sort of freaks me out a bit.

I’m guessing plenty of fellow average golfers can relate!

One way that I helped restore my confidence on the course is by using one simple golf aid: The Nikon Coolshot Pro II Stabilized Rangefinder, which allowed me to dial in my yardages rather than just ballpark my next shot.

But this rangefinder does plenty more than just lock in shot distances — so take a look below to see why it’s a great addition to any golfer’s bag.

You can get the Nikon Coolshot Pro II on sale for $50 off through the holiday season!

Nikon Coolshot Pro II Stabilized Rangefinder

$399.95

From the moment you step onto the tee box and look through the COOLSHOT PROII, you’ll know your game has changed. The view is stunning—bright, clear and sharp thanks to Nikon’s brilliant optics.

ON SALE

How the Nikon Coolshot Pro II Stabilized boosted my on-course confidence

To be frank, I never really wanted to use a rangefinder. I always found them to be a bit of a pain to deal with, and taking a little extra time to stare down the shot seemed quite excessive for a guy who’s just playing bogey golf.

So for over 27 years of playing the game, I relied on yardage posts on the course, sprinkler heads, or, candidly, just didn’t care enough to track down the exact distance (oops!).

My game suffered because of it.

Then a colleague suggested I try using the Nikon Coolshot Pro II Stabilized Rangefinder — and my world absolutely changed.

Not only does the rangefinder provide accurate distances to the pin, but it also offers four sets of modes that account for any slopes as well.

With Golf Mode (slope-adjusted distances), Actual Distance Mode and Horizontal Distance and Height Mode, it doesn’t matter what type of lie you have, you have the necessary information at your fingertips to hit a confident shot.

As for what every rangefinder is supposed to do — provide distances — the Coolshot Pro II Stabilized offers best-in-class optics, boasting an impressive 6x magnified lens. This allows me to quickly zero in on my target, easily see my yardage, and make the best club choice for the shot in front of me.

Finally, the Nikon Coolshot Pro II Stabilized Rangefinder has something called “measurement mode,” which provides you with a lay of the land so not to let hazards catch you off-guard.

Whether it’s a tree, bunker, water, or some other type of hazard, this rangefinder helps you confidently make a game plan, allowing you to be as aggressive or conservative as you want to on a hole.

I’ve used plenty of golf training aids in the past year, most of which have helped lower my scores. But using this one from Nikonr was the one difference maker that quickly and easily restored my confidence prior to hitting any shot — and I’m shaving strokes off my scorecard because of it.

There’s a reason why GOLF Top 100 Teacher Jonathan Yarwood says a rangefinder can be so useful in lowering your scores.

“These things can really be a game-changer if you use them properly,” Yarwood says. “And if you’ve got some skill and you practice your yardages as well, they can really lower your score.”

Don’t forget that you can score a Nikon Coolshot Pro II for $50 off through the holiday season!

Nick Dimengo

Golf.com Editor