Must feng shui use a compass, and does a teacher without one lack the ability to assess it?

Not every approach necessarily requires a compass, but in the feng shui method I currently study and use, it is an important tool. Assessing directions, angles, and a position's relationship to the whole home cannot rely only on an approximate direction.

I previously used Chinese chess divination together with spiritual perception to assess homes. Later I also learned the compass because I wanted to understand what I did not know. After learning, I appreciated more deeply that some judgments require detail, rather than merely placing an object here or there.

However, some teachers assess landforms and layout, while others use their own perceptive methods. I would not say someone definitely lacks ability simply because they are not holding a compass. First understand their method and the reasoning behind their judgment before discussing it, rather than rejecting every different approach using only the system familiar to you.

As for my own present choice, I clearly prefer using a compass rather than stopping at 'a feeling is enough.' I believe some people genuinely have perceptions and can identify certain problems through form and layout. Yet perception can be mistaken. Cross-checking with directions, degrees, and feng shui principles can assist judgment. Discussing the risks of proceeding without a compass is therefore a requirement for myself to understand and verify more. It does not mean having a tool guarantees correctness, or that everyone without one is dishonest.