You used to SKIP probing? That's wild. A major error could mean scrapping a whole part or wrecking a machine. The extra minute is absolutely nothing compared to that risk.
My old shop in Dayton had a rule about probing, but the foreman never followed it. He said his eyes were good enough for setup. One Tuesday he ran a whole batch of parts with the vise jaw hanging over the edge by half an inch. The sound when the end mill hit it was something else. They fired him on the spot and we all had to stay late to fix the machine.