Compass turns are not required by the PTS. In my opinion, teaching and
practicing compass turns is a complete waste of time that could be more
profitably spent on more practical maneuvers. OTOH, timed turns make
perfectly good sense....

Compare that with simply rolling into a standard rate turn (still hard to
maintain in turbulence) and watching the seconds tick by. BTW, nobody
expects you to roll out anywhere close to a desired heading when conditions
are really bad.

Yes, compass turns are not in the new PTS. However, I think that it's still a
skill worth learning. I prefer (and teach) using timing for small turns
(heading change 60 degrees or less), and the compass for larger turns. All
you really need to remember is that if the desired heading is north, you roll
out early, and if the desired heading is south, you go past it before rolling
out. This gets you close, and then you used a small timed turn to get closer.
I really think this is easier than trying to figure out the time required for
say, a right turn from 320 to 180. There's also the effect of the turn
coordinator calibration.

But I wouldn't insist on compass turns if the pilot makes acceptable timed
turns.