If the PGA Tour allows rangefinders, will yardage books be a thing of the past? Andrew Redington/Getty Images

What's the difference between a sprinkler head marked with a yardage to the green (or a Kirby yardage marker) and a laser rangefinder? Not much. They both provide a measurement -- and the laser rangefinder, I might add, is most assuredly more accurate.

The biggest difference is in time. You may have to walk 15 or 20 steps, sometimes more, to find a yardage marker and then pace off the distance back to your ball.

Of course, that marker was to the middle of the green, so if you're lucky enough to have a pin-location sheet (usually restricted to tournament play), then you can do the math and decipher the almost-but-not-quite-exact yardage. Or, you can aim a laser rangefinder at the pin and instantly get the laser-precise yardage from your ball without having to pace around.

Why is this relevant now? The Royal & Ancient announced Tuesday that it was changing its position on laser rangefinders. They are now acceptable to use if the course (or the tournament) you're playing allows their use through local rules.

This change has been years in the making. It's difficult to figure what took the R&A so long but apparently it was finally convinced that the use of laser rangefinders has done something we're all in favor of -- speed up play.

It's the biggest no-brainer decision since getting rid of the stymie.

The lifting of the laser ban is great news for the big three of laser rangefinders --Bushnell, Laser Link and Nikon. It's also good news for golfers. It has been obvious that a change of thinking was in the works, but the R&A and the USGA, the other major governing body of golf, move slower than FEMA.

The decision is a victory for Rob O'Loughlin, the man who runs Laser Link from an office in Madison, Wis. O'Loughlin has lobbied hard for the change for five years. He was part of the group that turned SoftSpikes from a you've-got-to-be-kidding idea into mandatory policy at most clubs in the U.S.

O'Loughlin met with the R&A before the 2004 rule changes, and was scheduled to return last June for more lobbying until he was told that the devices would be allowed.

One caveat of the change, though, is that rangefinders can used to used to measure distance only -- and not wind speed or slope of the green, which Bushnell has been working on.

"They finally agreed with me and the reason is that we demonstrated all across this country that Laser Link increased the speed of play," O'Loughlin said. "You get two guys who know what they're doing, five-hour golf isn't necessary. The R&A recognized the value of speed of play."

So how long before you see laser rangefinders in televised competition? Maybe not as long as you think.

"I don't know if the PGA Tour is going to use it," O'Loughlin said. "I know they're concerned about the pace of play. A significant amount of people in [commissioner Tim] Finchem's office told me they'd be interested in finding out how much Thursday's and Friday's playing times could be reduced. The Ben Cranes of the world aren't doing the game a favor right now."

Many pros and caddies already use laser rangefinders in practice rounds to check yardages. Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus are among Laser Link's endorsers -- they've been on board since the start of 2004.

But whether it seeps into tourney play is a much bigger step.

"Commissioner Finchem is concerned with how it looks," O'Loughlin said. "He's in the entertainment business. Having Tiger Woods looking over Stevie Williams' shoulder at a yardage book, that's a traditional look, that's part of the chemistry. I'm not sure they're interested in Tiger and Steve pulling out a laser gun and firing it.

"But over time, they'll get comfortable with it."