A few years ago, I began producing yardage books. I used actual books from PGA tour players as templates. It was a lot of work but rangefinders, GPS watches, and phone apps (I use all three at times) only go so far. And the free yardage books courses give away with their scorecards look great but are virtually useless; there's a reason a pro's book looks nothing like them. I wanted something that would help me with course management, so I put in months of work and made my own yardage books. Now I produce and sell them.
Take a look at some sample holes
The Advantages of a Custom Yardage Book
A custom yardage book provides detailed Green maps where you can write in your own observed putt break lines with a simple pencil you already have with you. They provide lateral distances between objects, even if they're on another fairway, or to neighboring houses, roads, or a parking lot full of expensive cars.
They give carry yardages for any hazard (not just sand and water). They allow you to make multiple "what if" scenarios at a glance. They always work, need no charge, need no connectivity, work in the rain and you can even sit on them; try that with your phone.
Fully USGA Rules Compliant
I use the same symbols, notations and measurements that PGA professionals use. My books are USGA compliant for tournament play and were written in accordance with Section 12 of the USGA Handicap Manual and in compliance with USGA Rule 4.3 (effective Jan 2019).
Use of Electronic Devices
Laser rangefinders are handy, but expensive and they only give you data in one line of sight, and only for objects you can see. What about hills, or dog-legs, or obstructions?
Phone apps are virtually free, but hard to read in bright sunlight, require connectivity, and give yardages from where you physically stand, just like a GPS watch.
GPS watches are probably the fastest and most reliable methods of getting yardage data, but like rangefinders, they only measure distances from where you stand and can't measure anything laterally or hypothetically. I personally use a watch every time out, on every hole. I certainly don't think yardage books replace these devices, they augment them.
Until there's an intelligent AI "thing" like Siri where you can ask any calculation on the course and get a reliable answer, and be shown an illustration on some Heads-Up Display it's yardage books every so often when you need them and a GPS watch for the "every shot" numbers.
Want One for Your Course?
Having gone through multiple iterations over a year's time, I completely understand how people start out with good intentions to create a book, get lost in how complicated and/or tedious the process really is, and never finish. I get it. For a standard 18-hole course, there are literally thousands of objects (markers, sprinkler heads, trees, buildings, etc.) that need to be drawn and managed, not to mention all the measurements that need to be made. Drawings need to be accurate and scalable and uniformly drawn, and objects efficiently re-used; the YouTube videos out there are gross oversimplifications of what's involved.
If you're interested in a custom yardage book for your course, I'd welcome the opportunity to discuss how I might be able to help. Contact me and let me know what I can do for you.