What do you look for in a GPS Watch?

ddec

I have many leather-bound books
Albatross 2024 Club
Staff member
Joined
Sep 2, 2009
Messages
95,820
Reaction score
24,918
Location
NY
Handicap
The Driver
GPS Watches have added a boatload of features in recent years. I remember being at the PGA Show years ago with @Canadan and we fell in love with that feature set that the TomTom watch added because it was different, but also presented really well. Now we have watches with big screens, some with hole overviews, slope readings, green readings, heart rate trackers, you name it.

My go-to unit is still a basic Bushnell Neo X watch that is older, gives me my distances to certain hazards, as well as the Front, Center, Back of green. It will track my pace of play and mileage. By today's standards, it is pretty bland but gets the job done. So tell me about your GPS Watch, what features you use, which ones you don't, and what you wish it had. When out looking for a replacement, what features, measurements, are you focusing on as a want/need?
 
  • Appreciation
Reactions: JB
Great topic. I used to think I just wanted a quick glance and to see front, middle and back. Yet I have been using a Voice Caddie watch that is really full featured and super fast, and it makes me realize I like a lot more than that.
 
  • Thread starter
  • Staff
  • #3
Great topic. I used to think I just wanted a quick glance and to see front, middle and back. Yet I have been using a Voice Caddie watch that is really full featured and super fast, and it makes me realize I like a lot more than that.

it's a market I haven't spent a ton of time focusing on because I like what I have, kind of in that same mindset you mention, give me my quick F/B/C. But there is so much more information out there now, so it's cool to dive into it a bit.
 
I'll openly admit that I haven't given any of the new watches a legitimately fair shake. I got locked into rangefinders and even let a SkyCaddie SGXw, which is in my perspective incredibly feature rich, sit and collect dust.

With what we're seeing come out, maybe I'm being foolish.
 
  • Thread starter
  • Staff
  • #6
Oh man, that TomTom.. what could have been.

one of those moments...hey look this is actually REALLY FREAKING COOL. Oh and look, there are those Vibram shoes👽
 
Size is always my biggest concern, even for the simple ones. The more features sound nice but scare me off even more.

Shot scope g3 is en route so we will see how that is.
 
one of those moments...hey look this is actually REALLY FREAKING COOL. Oh and look, there are those Vibram shoes👽
what a funny year for the show. Also amazing to think of how far GPS watches have come since then.
 
  • Thread starter
  • Staff
  • #9
what a funny year for the show. Also amazing to think of how far GPS watches have come since then.

yeah it's kind of crazy.
 
I have a garmin S20. I like that I can move the flag around the green to approximate locations to get the yardage to different areas of the green. What is nice with that is that it will give you the front and back yardages based on the line you're on to the flag. That is very useful on some of the greens on our courses when there is a node out behind a greenside bunker.

Important for me coming from an older S2 was battery life. If it can't handle 36 a day, then I'm not interested. Luckily battery life has come a long way. After a round of golf, if fully charged when I start, I am usually around 70% leftover.
 
Great topic. I used to think I just wanted a quick glance and to see front, middle and back. Yet I have been using a Voice Caddie watch that is really full featured and super fast, and it makes me realize I like a lot more than that.

I think this is the same watch @MSEASU just got also. It is really nice and on the list to get. It is time to upgrade my garmin. The watch seems very user friendly.
 
Honestly not a category I have ever paid any attention too. As an Apple watch wearer I don't typically need it since it syncs with a phone app in most cases and I can't see switching to a specific watch just to play golf
 
I have grown very attached to the point and click any distance that I get with the Arccos app on my phone. Having seen the new Voice Caddy A2 Hybrid in action....I'm very intrigued by it's capabilities. It has me on the hard ponder....should I dump Arccos next year and more into a GPS golf watch instead.

I love knowing my actual club data.....🤷‍♂️
 
Also a Bushnell Neo X user. I love having FMB and hazard distances for quick reference, but I use my rangefinder much more than the watch. The shot distance feature is also a nice addition.
 
I think this is the same watch @MSEASU just got also. It is really nice and on the list to get. It is time to upgrade my garmin. The watch seems very user friendly.

I have been a laser person for a long time, but honestly am starting to prefer the GPS. Our course has quite a bit of ups and downs where you might not see the target you are aiming at. The watch has been amazing at giving me those distances.
 
I have been a laser person for a long time, but honestly am starting to prefer the GPS. Our course has quite a bit of ups and downs where you might not see the target you are aiming at. The watch has been amazing at giving me those distances.

It is a huge advantage when playing a new course being able to see what is down the FW. Do all of the VC watches do the slope on the greens?
 
I have the Garmin S62 and wear it as my everyday watch at the moment as the battery life is great - can get a couple weeks out of a single charge with the few rounds I tend to play
In terms of features, I use the F/M/B numbers, but also having the distances to hazards available on this watch over my last one helps me make better decisions about certain shots
The only potential issue with any GPS device is they are only as accurate as the map detail provided by the manufacturer, and I say this as there is a par 3 at my home course where the 'plays like' distance suggests it is uphill from the tee, yet it is actually downhill, so I always need to remember if I have that function turned on - I really need to grab someone with a slope rangefinder to get actual numbers to compare to my watch and see how far out it is

I like the overhead view of the hole, especially if there is a blind shot, and the pinpointer function was used at the weekend when I had a blind approach so I was able to pick a line based on the direction of the green and the hazards I could see on my watch

I use the scorecard function which allows me to track fairways, greens, putts and penalties for the round, then I can pull that data from the Garmin Golf app on my phone if I want to get nerdy with numbers

As a fitness device, it tracks steps, HR, sleep, calories, etc and can record activities other than golf from cardio to yoga and you can see all of this data via the Garming Connect app - who knew my heart rate when sleeping has been as low as 49 BPM

Yes, there are functions I don't use, but I look at more of them than I ever thought I would and seeing some of the information it certainly reflects how I feel
 
I currently use a Garmin 935, have a Garmin Fenix 6 Pro on the way. Features I use most:

Distance F/M/B
Distance to hazards
Score/stat keeping (FW and GIR hit/missed, # of putts and penalty strokes, score)
Club distance tracking/analysis
Round duration/steps taken (integrates with my daily activity tracking)

It has more features that I don't use (ability to move the pin location on greens, etc.), mostly just because I prefer to minimize the amount of fiddling around I do with the watch. Same reason I don't like using a phone app while playing, I don't like having to constantly mess around with it. I start a golf activity on the watch on at the beginning of a round, glance at it when I need yardage, and enter my stats after I walk off the green at the end of a hole - score, FW hit/miss left or right, # of putts and # of penalty strokes. Occasionally I'll pull up the distance to hazards screen, if I don't/can't shoot it with my rangefinder instead, but even that is kinda rare. All the rest of the data I can look at and geek out over in the Garmin Golf app after the round.
 
I use a Samsung Galaxy Watch with Golfwith Smart Caddie (same as what comes with the galaxy golf watch). It gives my F/M/B distances which is normally all I need plus scoring to include putts. If I need more, I use my phone even though the watch gives distances to hazards, but I do not believe it accounts for slope. I use my rangefinder for that if I am not sure.
 
I have been a range finder user for years and recently have been interested in picking up a watch. I had my sights on the voicecaddie T8 and read everything I could about them. Was about to order one but my wife ended up getting me a Garmin s62 for Father’s Day so I will roll with that one. I do like how it looks for an everyday watch
 
I use my watch 24/7. So I love having, and want, not only golf things available, like yardages front, middle, back; yardages to hazards; hole overview; but....I also love steps, heart rate, and sleep stats.
Basically if I have a GPS golf watch, I want it to be universally used all times during the day, not just when golfing.
That being said, my current golf watch does not currently have heart rate or slope or green undulations. My next watch will have those features along with the features my Garmin S40 has now.
 
I have a Garmin S62 and absolutely love it. The F/M/B, hazard carry, hole layout, green shape, custom pin placements, scorecard and stat tracking. All of that are things I use every single round but the thing I like the most about it is the shot tracking and shot distances. It measures my distance on the watch itself after each swing and I can see how far I'm hitting it that day with each club.

I've also used it for times I thought I lost my ball. I know my distances pretty well but my eyes have been known to lose a ball or two after it lands. I checked where I thought the ball was and couldn't find it. Checked my current distance on the watch and I was well short of my distance with that club, went up a little farther and there was the ball. I can also track what club I used for each of those shots without sensors in the club. So I can get my average real playing distances because of that feature as well if I check the Garmin app.

There are some features that I don't use like the swing tempo timer or the pin pointer. I would use that more on courses I don't know but I've messed with it on my home course and it's not the most accurate thing.
 
i use my Garmin s60 as my everyday watch and golf watch. I like it as well. Helpful for distances and finding golf balls like @Muchmore18 mentioned
 
A new VC G1 is on the way. I am looking forward to using it this weekend!
 
This is what I look for.

18A15E3F-0521-4629-824F-BECD85B8A1C6.jpeg
 
Back
Top