Not too long ago, golfers on a budget had to choose what avenue to go down when it comes to golf tech. One of the best golf rangefinders or watches would prove beneficial when on the course, but opting for a launch monitor could revolutionize your practice sessions on the range. We can’t forget about devices that can help your putting practice either.

Well, Garmin have said to hell with that conundrum, here’s a device with all those features, and we’ll throw in a few more on top of that. Say hello to the G82, the all-singing, all-dancing launch monitor/GPS. Poetically, if you and your golf game are Batman, this thing can be your Robin.

Quite honestly, it is difficult to know where to start with the G82 because even explaining what it is isn’t the easiest task given how many features it has, but here goes - it is a one-of-a-kind product that transforms whether you’re on the course, on the practice putting green or at your driving range. On course, it provides detailed, accurate course information like the best golf GPS. On the range it delivers superb launch monitor data, club mapping and training modes like target practice. You can even take it to the putting green to get feedback on putting stroke length, tempo, and club and ball speed.

First impressions aren’t very exciting, but that isn’t a critique. Garmin products aren’t very flashy and the G82 continues this trend, which I respect - they let the quality of their products do the talking. You get the signature plain grey Garmin box and inside you’ll find the G82, which feels chunky and premium. It feels a lot better than the previous G80 which it is tasked with replacing. Out of the box, you’ll find the device itself along with a magnetic attachment with a carabiner clip.

I’ll begin digging into the off-the-course features, beginning with the launch monitor capabilities. Setting it up could not be easier - attach the magnetic case to the back of the device, prop it up a few inches from the ball and start swinging. You’ll be met with crucial data points like ball speed, club speed, smash factor and tempo instantaneously after each strike.

Connecting the G82 to the Garmin app unlocks another layer of possibilities thanks to the bag mapping feature. Manually input each club and hit a few shots and the G82 will work in tandem with the app to gauge your yardages for each club, which is then inputted into the Garmin ecosystem to help give you club recommendations on the course. It also works in tandem with other Garmin devices like the Z30 rangefinder or the best Garmin golf watches like the S50 for even more immersion. This club tracking can be done automatically if you pair the G82 with the CT10 shot-tracking tags.

For those who like to grind on the greens, they can take their practice to the next level courtesy of the putting practice feature which, as I mentioned above, gives you numeric feedback on factors of your stroke like length, tempo, and club and ball speed.

Now that our bag is mapped, yardages are dialed and our touch with the putter has been sharpened, it is time to hit the course. With 43,000 pre-loaded courses, chances are the G82 will be ready for wherever you tee it up. This is another GPS device, much like the best golf speakers, which I think is better suited for those who ride in a cart during rounds, but walkers like myself can still get the best from the 5” crystal clear display device without too much hassle - it’s actually small enough for you to fit it in your back trouser pocket and although it didn’t personally bother me, it will feel rather chunky in there, similar to a hefty yardage book or scorecard holder.

For those that don’t want a hefty device in their back pocket as they swing, the G82 will clip onto your golf bag courtesy of the magnetic backing. This is stress-inducing given it takes a while to trust the magnetic attachment to keep your device safe and secure. However, the size the magnet inside the G82 means you needn't worry - in nearly ten rounds of golf it only fell off the attachment once, and it was when a friend was jogging down steps with his bag on his back.

When he realized, he was in a panic, thinking he’d lost the $500 Garmin I was testing (it was in my pocket) but as he prepared to run back to the tee I removed it from my pocket, thus ending the joke. However, I reminded him that courtesy of the ‘Find My’ function built into the G82, you’ll get a notification on your phone letting you know you forgot it and where it is.

In terms of it acting as your on-course caddie, it does a great job, which won’t be a surprise to those who have used Garmin golf products before. The display is crisp and the maps are pleasingly detailed - you can upgrade this to satellite aerial imagery if you have a Garmin Golf Membership.

Once connected to the app you’ll get real time wind updates that factor into your Virtual Caddie’s thinking for your club recommendation. Yardages are also adjusted for elevation changes as well as environmental conditions. The green view lets you adjust where the flag is on the green for extra detail, or it’ll do it by itself if you’ve connected your G82 and Garmin Z30 rangefinder to the app. The green contours available through the Garmin Golf membership add another layer of detail, too.

Finally, the digital scorecard is superb and can really enhance your friendly competition rounds. It has you completely covered with the ability to track stroke play, stableford, skins and match play with adjustable handicaps.

There really aren’t many drawbacks I experienced with the G82. How much you’ll get out of it depends on your personality - I personally hate being on my phone or using a screen during rounds and as a walker, I’m unsure how much I’ll use this long term as a GPS device because of that.

However, I haven’t had one practice range session without this thing with me as I tighten my game for the summer season. It is obviously a lot of money at north of $500 but the value of it will depend on how much you use it. There are SO many features, so much so that after a month of use I’m still getting used to the menus and modes, but this will come with time.

If you’re dedicated to your practice routine and hit the course multiple times a week, the G82 could be a godsend for your game. For the weekend warriors, I question the value for money here - but it is very a much a 'it is what you make of it' type scenario.

Nevertheless, we’ve banged on a few times that brands like Garmin set the standard for the golf tech market and the G82 is another example of that - I look forward to seeing how/if rival brands respond.

Since the launch of the S1 watch in October 2010, Garmin has developed a strong reputation for producing some of the best golf watches on the market that provide players with reliable and easy to access GPS information. Now the brand has launched its first product aimed specifically at juniors.

The Garmin J1 Approach is lightweight, easy to wear and has a focus on helping younger players to learn and improve. What’s more, the watch also has parental controls for children under 13.

To find out whether Garmin’s latest creation hits the mark, we asked 24-handicap junior golfer Thomas Oubridge to put it through its paces.

One of the most important elements to any technology that’s designed to help (and not hinder) your game is how easy it is to set up and then use when you’re competing. The good news is the J1 Approach is simple to set up and the local courses are quick to access.

There is also a large color touchscreen as well as physical buttons to navigate through the various features. Alongside the usual distance measuring information, the watch also links to the Garmin app which provides the option to record and monitor your stats.

One of the benefits of a watch like this (over a laser), is that it provides overhead maps that can help with building a sensible strategy. For instance, you are provided with a picture of the green and you can use the touchscreen to drag the pin to the correct location.

Likewise, the watch shows you where the hazards are located on each hole and ideal lay up areas. Just as with the brand's flagship Garmin Approach S70 golf watch, these features are helpful when it comes to knowing where you can and can’t miss.

Overall, the Garmin J1 Approach watch is a great addition to the best Garmin golf watches. It is comfortable, lightweight and it looks smart (whether you are using it on or off the course).

The set up is simple, albeit we had to change some settings for the statistics to be recorded which was a little frustrating. The touchscreen is excellent and it works well to manually set the pin position on the greens.

It is fun, easy to use and can even help improve your scoring.

Golf launch monitors changed forever in 2025 with the launch of the Garmin Approach R50 as it combines a launch monitor and golf simulator all in one device. But what are the other features golfers may not know about that take the experience to the next level?

There’s no question that the 10-inch full colour touchscreen steals the show on the Approach R50. It’s from here users input their desired initial settings, which takes barely a few minutes, and access the three modes of Practice, Play or Connect.

The Practice Mode invites you to choose one of four driving ranges - some have more visual elements and targets than others. For many, the basic grass range is going to where you want to go to work on your swing. The Approach R50 use three cameras to provide 15 club and ball data points. To access the club data you need to remember to apply a sticker to the top of the clubface - it’s simple to do and there are 250 stickers included in the case so you’ll almost certainly never run out!

You have so many options with how you view your shot data. You can have all the numbers on the display at once, you can opt for seeing some of the key metrics alongside your ball flight or even a graphical representation of how the club and ball interact at impact. Connect the Approach R50 directly to a projector (no gaming laptop needed) and you can have a combination of two across the display and the hitting screen. But a fourth option is to see a high speed impact playback video of the moment of truth when the club strikes the ball. This is a really useful option to have if you’re making a swing change and want to see if your ball striking is improving, or if you want to see where you’re striking your wedges on the face.

As well as being completely customisable, you can also add notes to particular shots. So if a certain swing thought triggered improved numbers or quality of strike, you can add that in to refer to next time should you experience a slump in form. Working on your game has never been more fun than with the Approach R50. Yes the data is accurate and the ball flights realistic, appearing on the screen with almost no delay, but the immersive experience it provides really encourages you to hit balls, learn about your technique and make subtle adjustments based on the numbers you’re seeing. It’s almost addictive.

Taking it to the course

But once you’ve honed your swing, you’re going to want to see how it holds up on the course, and the Home Tee Hero golf simulator mode is the perfect testing ground. A small subscription fee unlocks over 43,000 golf courses with enhanced graphics for 2025 that really make you feel like you’re teeing it up on some of the world’s best courses.

But there is a practical benefit of having the simulator functionality built into the Approach R50, having such an extensive course list and the device being easily portable. Before an important round at your home course, you’re able to take your R50 to the driving range or even the practice net (the Approach R50 is camera based, so it doesn’t need to track your ball through the air) and play the first few holes. This makes your pre-round preparation so much more effective - you can hit shots with the clubs you’re about to use, see how the shots fly and make any necessary adjustments. The mulligan feature means you can have another go at certain shots on the course that have you worried if you don’t execute them correctly the first time. Once you’ve nailed them, this will only serve to boost your confidence when you come to this shot in real life.

Play Golf Anywhere, anytime

The final thing golfers will really love about the Approach R50 is how versatile it is. Wherever you like to hit balls or work on your swing, the Approach R50 can get there. It only weighs 4kg and comes with a robust carry case so you can take it to the driving range knowing it will get there in one piece. The fact that the ball placement area is almost directly in front of the unit means that even the worst of shanks shouldn’t make contact!

The four hour battery life means that every session won’t end prematurely and the weekly tournaments provide a platform for competitive golfers to test their skills. For the avid golfer that wants feedback on their swing and the ability to get a tee time anywhere, any time, the Garmin Approach R50 is the perfect choice. Visit garmin.com to find out more.

Are you looking to take your game to the next level? And do you want to get more enjoyment from the sport? Step up the new Garmin Approach R50, golf's only all-in-one launch monitor and simulator!

This new, premium release from Garmin gives golfers the luxury of playing a full virtual round of golf from the comfort of their own home or at the driving range.

The innovative Approach R50 captures every detail of your swing and the shot you're hitting thanks to three high-speed cameras shooting at 1,700fps that track more than 15 ball and club metrics including spin rate, ball speed and both carry and total distance. Face to path is one of those, too, and tracking stickers are provided for you to understand how you deliver the club to the ball. For indoor and outdoor use, spin rate has been improved to give you the most accurate numbers no matter what the weather.

There's even a built-in barometer to measure atmospheric pressure in order to provide accurate carry distances depending on your location!

When you're working on your swing for the season ahead, take advantage of the training mode to become a better golfer and know your game better than ever. It tracks stats for each of your clubs and gives you a shot dispersion chart based on an advanced ball flight trajectory model. The Approach R50 also records your impact in high-speed for immediate visual impact on how you're striking each shot.

And come rain or shine, you can play any of the 43,000 pre-loaded golf courses from around the world, including putting, along with three of your buddies thanks to the Home Tee Hero mode (active Garmin Golf membership required) that utilises the Approach R50's built-in, 10-inch colour touchscreen display that is its own golf simulator.

If you want to take things up a level and create the ultimate home sim experience, just connect the device to a monitor or projector via HDMI. You can also customise what is shown on the external projector/monitor and the in-built screen, so you could have the course you're tackling on the big screen and your launch monitor numbers or impact video replays displayed on the R50 itself.

You can even compete globally and get your name up the leaderboard in weekly tournaments against other Approach R50 users.

The Approach R50 is super easy to setup and stow away, and it comes with a healthy 4 hours of battery life for when you want to take it to the range with you. The included carry case also keeps your device nice and safe.

All this incredible technology and versatility comes in a sleek package that is far more affordable than traditional launch monitors, with the Approach R50 priced at £4,299.99.

So if you're ready to become a better golfer and have more fun away from the course, be sure to check out the Garmin website.

I’ve been reviewing golf equipment for over 10 years now but I struggle to recall a buzz around the launch of a new product as sizeable as what engulfed the unveiling of the Garmin Approach R50. The hype was justified - this was the first (pretty much) launch monitor to also include built-in golf simulator capabilities. Not only did it promise to solve existing issues like expensive subscription add ons and the need for gaming laptops, it also came in at a very appealing price point (under $5,000). But was all the euphoria justified? Well I finally got my hands on the Approach R50 and gave it a thorough test at the indoor studio at Peterborough Milton golf club - here are my findings.

My first impression, having tested a lot of the best golf launch monitors, is that the Approach R50 is a pretty sizeable unit. This works in its favor in one sense when it comes to the screen (more on this soon) but to its detriment in others. While it’s bulky, it’s not heavy or cumbersome, tipping the scales at just over 4kg and is easily portable thanks to the ergonomic design (you can lift up with one hand) as well as the robust case with shoulder strap included, which means you can carry it with you without fear of the unit getting damaged.

The Approach R50 comes to life through the 10-inch full color touchscreen, which is bright, crystal clear and very responsive. Enter your settings and pair it with your Garmin Golf account (if you want to sync your clubs and session data for review at a later time) and you’re then greeted with the three modes to choose from: Practice, Play and Connect.

Practice is the place where golfers can work on their game at one of four simulated driving ranges, depending on how many targets and other visual stimuli you want to look at. The R50 uses three cameras to track 15 club and ball data points, it also uses the cameras to adjust your alignment - which is worth doing at the start of the session by lining up two balls. To get club data, you need to apply a sticker to the top of the clubface, which is a little annoying but doesn’t take long to do and the case includes a pack of 250 stickers, so you won’t run out for a while.

What I really liked about the R50 was how customizable the view of the data was. I could drag up the metrics I was most interested in and see them alongside my ball flight, which isn't something all the best portable launch monitors offer. I could see all the numbers together or I could see them on a graphical representation of impact between club and ball. Hook the R50 up with a screen using a direct connection to a projector via a HDMI cable means you can have a combination of both between screen and unit. I also enjoyed watching the high speed impact playback, which provides a super slo-mo video of the moment of strike. This could be useful if trying to ascertain if a new swing move is leading to an improvement in ball striking, although the front angle arguably isn’t the one most people would choose to view it from.

The numbers certainly stacked up for me versus what I was used to seeing from premium launch monitors like the Foresight Sports GCQuad and GC3. I tried to run the R50 alongside the GCQuad I also had access to at the time, but there was clearly some interference going on that meant neither unit tracked any shots.

There was barely any delay from the ball hitting the screen to the ball flight appearing and while I experienced a couple of questionable ball flights, generally my sessions were seamless. That said, I did struggle to locate the setting that turned on club data initially - by default it won’t show, even if you’ve applied the sticker to the clubface, which was strange and took me a good 10 minutes to find.

The hitting area is pretty generous, perhaps not quite as big as with Foresight but plenty big enough, although this does get smaller when you choose to gather club and ball data, which might become a problem when hitting outdoors on grass and you have to keep moving the unit to get away from divots. The fact that the ball placement area is almost directly in front of the unit means that even the worst of shanks shouldn’t make contact with the unit - no promises though!

As great as the practice experience was, the Play mode is where the most fun is to be had. Garmin has really enhanced the graphics on its Home Tee Hero software and golfers have over 43,000 courses to choose from, so you can play pretty much anywhere you want. You get very cool flyovers of each hole before you tee off and the courses are realistic enough - it makes power deductions for lies in the rough and bunker and it shows you the breaks on the greens. The putting element worked well too after some practice - you can choose how far you want to get gimmies from, I'd recommend somewhere between 6-8 feet as from that distance it starts to get a little awkward.

The greens were also incredibly quick to chip on to, despite being set to a modest 8 on the stimp meter. But being able to play any course in under an hour, whether it’s hooked up to a screen or just using the R50’s display, without any laptop or iPad required, is a game changer. All this enjoyment does come at an extra cost via a Garmin Golf subscription, which works out to £8.99 a month or £89.99 a year. It’s a little annoying, but is par for the course with these things and actually comes in a lot cheaper than some of the software packages provided by competitors.

There is a practical benefit of having the golf simulator functionality built into the R50, having such an extensive course list and the device being easily portable. Before an important round at your home course, you’re able to take your R50 to the driving range or even the practice net (the R50 is camera based, so it doesn’t need to track your ball through the air) and play the first few holes. This makes your pre-round preparation so much more effective - you can hit shots with the clubs you’re about to use, see how the shots fly and make any necessary adjustments. The mulligan feature means you can have another go at certain shots on the course that have you worried if you don’t execute them correctly the first time. Once you’ve nailed them, this will only serve to boost your confidence when you come to this shot in real time.

All in all, my experience with the Approach R50 was an extremely positive one and it absolutely lived up to all the hype. It’s not perfect and I’ve got a few niggles with it - like having to bend or kneel down all the time to change the settings, or the rudimentary look of your session data on the Garmin Golf app, but these are minor qualms. The elephant in the room, perhaps, is that you still require a safe space to hit balls to actually use the R50, which will naturally come at an extra cost that will likely spill over into the thousands. But compared with other products that offer both launch monitor and simulator functionality, the investment would still be relatively modest. The R50 has really moved the needle in the golf simulator space and for anyone contemplating setting up their own indoor golf space, the launch of this product might well tip them over into doing it.

I'm a big Garmin guy. Not only do I love their golf equipment, but I'm a fan of their products that can be used in a range of sports - running, skiing, hiking and more. Seeing as you're reading this on Golf Monthly, chances are you're here for their golf offerings. Firstly, welcome. Secondly, we've got you covered.

Garmin provide some of the best golf watches on the market, so much so that we have made our own guide documenting some of our favorites - the best Garmin golf watches.

Golf watches have become a near essential piece of kit in recent years, helping players with yardages, hole flyovers and green complex. They've become very popular because they can often be worn on and off the golf course, doubling up as a handy in-game companion as well as a trusty time keeper when you're out and about.

In addition to golf watches, GPS systems are considered one of the best golf gadgets to add to your setup. Some of us don't like to play with a watch on our wrist, so the best golf GPS devices offer the benefits of a golf watch without having to wear something that feel a bit clunky on there as we swing.

Finally, we've thrown in the honorable mention of the Garmin Approach R50 which doubles up as both a launch monitor and simulator. It isn't on sale, but given the performance it delivers our jaw hit the floor when we saw the price. It's become a big contender for our favorite piece of golf kit in 2024.

With Black Friday, Cyber Monday and Christmas fast approaching, take a look at Garmin's best offerings ahead of the busy holiday season. If you'd like to keep up to date with all the best deals in the run up to the festive holidays, check out our Black Friday golf deals hub to grab yourself some bargains! But right now let's get to the Garmin deals.

Garmin have made serious waves in the golf equipment game in recent years, producing some of the best golf watches, best launch monitors and other gadgets and gizmos for the golf nerd to feast on. However, their latest eye-catching product may be about to make the biggest splash yet!

Released in early November, the new Garmin Approach R50 is a world-first combination between a launch monitor and a simulator. It's 10-inch screen displays all the information you need and more - metrics, video of club impact and even the simulation graphics of your shot.

It has caused quite a stir in both the launch monitor and simulator industries, sitting at a price point right in between the two - so here is all you need to know about the product itself and how to buy.

Can you use the Garmin R50 as a golf simulator?

Approach R50 has a range of features to give us golfers the luxury of teeing it up 365 days a year, whatever the weather, thanks to its simulation capabilities.

Using the 10” built-in, color touchscreen display, players can virtually tee it up on preloaded golf courses worldwide on an improved version of Home Tee Hero which now allows up to four players to play together.

You can play these courses whilst analyzing your swing data thanks to the three built-in, high speed cameras that capture more than 15 ball and club metrics. What's more, the R50 can be connected to a monitor or projector for the ultimate simulator experience in addition to simply using the R50 on its own.

A training mode simulation is another in-built option, with sessions and specific statistics for each club being saved and allowing players to see and understand improvements over time.

Can you play golf courses on the Garmin R50?

Yes... Lots of them!

In fact, you have over 43,000 preloaded golf courses to choose from and no, that wasn't a typo. We don't think the biggest golf addict in the world could play every course on the R50, but we would like to see them try! Our tester certainly enjoyed the golf course simulation element, as you can find out about in our Garmin Approach R50 review.

How much room does a Garmin R50 need?

Another impressive feature of the R50 is how easy it is to setup.

In terms of space, it's no different than any other launch monitor of simulator - as long as you have the room to swing and hit the ball a few feet in front of you into a net for example, you're good to go.

The R50 can be used both inside and outside, so you can turn your basement or garage into your own little practice range. It's a breeze to set up, features up to four hours of battery life and includes a handy carrying case if you're taking it out of the house.

How much is the Garmin R50?

The Approach R50 premium launch monitor has a suggested retail price starting at $4,999.99 or £4,299.

Although it sounds expensive, when the price is put up against competitors, it is more than reasonable for a really impressive piece of technological kit.

Of course, the R50 will be more expensive than some of the best golf launch monitors due to its simulator capabilities, so it is more wise to compare it with the leading models in that category.

Picking out three of our favorite launch monitors, the Trackman iO indoor simulator ($13,995), Trackman 4 (starting from $21,995) and the Foresight GC Quad ($13,995), you will notice that all come in at much steeper price points.

It's also worth considering that some of these simulators will need to be connected to a gaming laptop, app or smartphone, whilst the R50 does not. The R50 also works both outside and inside unlike other simulators.

How does the Garmin R50 compare to competitors?

We would consider the R50 around the 'mid-price' range of launch monitors and simulators, so how does it compare against options around this price point?

We've reviewed plenty of them and have picked out some of our favorites for this exercise - the Full Swing Kit launch monitor (from $4999), Foresight GC3 (starting from $5999) Golfzon Wave launch monitor and simulator ($3995) and Uneekor Eye Mini ($4500).

The R50 blows the Full Swing out of the water immediately in terms of functionality, with no shot tracer available on the Full Swing, for example.

The GC3 is arguably the leader of this price point, but the R50 comes in at a cheaper price and it would be fairer to compare the R50 to products north of $10,000, given it's performance. We're still trying to wrap our head around how good a deal Garmin have provided here!

For even more detail on how the R50 compares to other market rivals, our very own Dan Parker has you covered in his extensive R50 comparison piece.

Where can I buy the Garmin R50?

We are yet to confirm whether the R50 will go on sale at wider golf retailers, but you can buy it directly from Garmin right now.

Only a few days out from its surprise launch on November 11th, the new Garmin Approach R50 has already caused quite a stir. It's a world-first - the first device to combine launch monitor and simulator capabilities all in one. Typically, launch monitors are required to be paired with a gaming laptop or app on a smartphone or tablet, but the Approach R50's built-in 10in color touchscreen negates the need for any other devices. It's something keen golfers across the world have been waiting for for a long time, and it could be a total game changer.

I suspect the reason the R50 is already dominating golf equipment conversations is that we've never seen anything like this. That it comes with an RRP of $4999 (£4299) is also something of a surprise, putting it slap bang in the middle of a crowded launch monitor/home simulator marketplace. At the very least, it feels as though the R50 could be a serious disruptor to products above and below it in the price spectrum. Read our full Garmin Approach R50 review here but it could well be a game changer. Here, I'm going to take a look at exactly what the R50 offers for its price tag and compare it to the rest of the market.

What does the Approach R50 offer?

Before we compare the R50 to its competition, let's look at what it does, how it does it and what makes it so unique. To gather all its critical launch monitor data, it utilises three high-speed cameras, allowing it to capture more than 15 ball and club metrics. These cameras also record a frame-by-frame video of the club travelling through impact, allowing you to see exactly how your club interacted with the ball at impact.

Its most unique feature is the built-in 10-inch touchscreen, which displays everything from the club metrics, video of club impact and all of the graphics for the simulation mode. The touchscreen is the beating heart of the R50 and is where you will operate it and view content. It does come with an HDMI input, which will allow you to cast the screen onto a larger monitor or projector, all while the built-in screen still displays and functions. By the looks of things, this screen is also totally customisable. You can display different modes, angles and data parameters depending on what you prefer to see.

The simulator aspect of the R50 comes from Garmin's Home Tee Hero, which we've seen on other Garmin devices like the Approach R10. It comes pre-loaded with over 43,000 courses and supports multi-player functionality for up to four players at a time. I criticised the Home Tee Hero when I first tested it for being too cartoonish versus the competition, but even this has been given a total update for the launch of R50. The R50's Wi-fi capabilities also open up opportunities to use third-party apps for an even more in-depth simulator experience.

The R50 can be used indoors and outdoors too. Remember, this is a launch monitor and simulator all built into one, so you can take it to the range with you to use as a launch monitor and use the simulator functionality on the go, no matter where you are. This seems to be the true game-changing aspect of this device.

How does the Garmin Approach R50 compare to the best on the market?

Now we know what the Approach R50 can do, let's compare it to the other devices on the market from a few different price points. I'll work only in dollars, making it easier to compare it to all the other devices in the market in one currency. As we now know, the Approach R50 retails for $4999 (£4299 in the UK) bringing it well below the likes of the Trackman iO indoor simulator ($13,995), Trackman 4 (starting from $21,995) and the Foresight GC Quad ($13,995).

These are the cream of the crop when it comes to launch monitor and simulator devices, and the price represents as much. These devices will argue they offer more comprehensive and accurate levels of data thanks to the more advanced hardware and software used throughout. The GC Quad, for example, uses four high-speed cameras instead of the R50's three. This extra camera gives it a larger hitting area and likely gives it an added edge when it comes to accuracy on club and ball data. That being said, I've not had hands-on time with the R50 yet, so this is just an assumption versus the GC Quad. Another feature the GC Quad can also offer essential putting analysis, which the R50 cannot cover. That being said - despite the $9000 difference - both track the same 15-plus club and ball metrics.

There are some clear gaps in technology and features between the GC Quad and the R50, however, the GC Quad requires even more investment on top of the device alone. Indeed, to use the simulator on the GC Quad you'll also have to invest in a high-end gaming laptop to be able to make the most of the FSX Play gameplay. The ace up the R50's sleeve is that capability is built in, and this is why there is already so much hype around the device. Having used both FSX Play and Home Tee Hero on other Foresight and Garmin devices, the graphics and gameplay on FSX certainly have a more realistic and professional feel about it, so I can certainly see why people would lean toward that.

How does it compare to devices with a similar RRP?

The Approach R50's RRP brings square into battle with a handful of what I would describe as 'mid-price' devices like the Full Swing Kit launch monitor (from $4999), Foresight GC3 (starting from $5999) Golfzon Wave launch monitor and simulator ($3995) and Uneekor Eye Mini ($4500). The GC3 in particular is something of a yardstick when it comes to launch monitors and simulators in this sub-10k price bracket and the R50 should really be held up against these products as opposed to the $10,000 plus models.

To me, the Approach R50 has already blown something like the Full Swing Kit launch monitor out of the water. Coming in at the same price, the apparent usability and features on the Garmin far outweigh those of Full Swing. The Full Swing uses machine-learned doppler radar as opposed to the camera system of the R50, meaning the device sits behind the ball rather than beside it. There is no clear science to support whether camera systems work better than radar, with radar systems tracking the ball to predict club data and vice versa with camera-based systems.

While Full Swing does have a built-in screen, it's significantly smaller than on the Garmin and doesn't offer anywhere near the same functionality and touchscreen ability. The Full Swing offers no shot tracer (unless you subscribe to the Pro License) with the screen and the connected app simply shows the raw data.

While both provide essential 15 ball and club metrics you'd want if you were investing in a device like this, the R50 offers full simulator capabilities for the same price. While you can use the Full Swing as part of a home simulator set-up, you'd have to invest in a laptop and some software to run it from and even more expensive. Once again we're seeing why the R50 has so much buzz around it - it offers fully integrated launch monitor and simulator capacities at more than half the price of the biggest names while already blowing similarly priced devices out of the water.

The Uneekor, which currently isn't compatible with any Apple devices, needs a laptop and a third-party app to use the simulator mode. This is also just a two-camera system rather than the R50's three cameras. The Golfzon Wave, a radar device which has added a putting simulator, also requires the additional investment in a laptop and projector to run the simulator software. As you can see, what the R50 has over every device in this price bracket is the built-in simulator capacity, negating any need for further investments.

What about the cheaper launch monitors?

There are products like the Garmin Approach R10 ($499), Rapsodo MLM2 ($699) and Voice Caddie SC4 ($549) that offer launch monitor data and some simulator capacity, but far fewer metrics and overall functionality. To be honest, this is like comparing a Ferrari to a Kia in a driving test, but it's worth looking at what the differences are for those who don't know.

Both the Garmin Approach R10 and Rapsodo MLM2 are launch monitors with simulator capacities when paired with a smartphone or tablet. Use these two devices with a net and you can play simulator golf for a fraction of the price of the other devices we've spoken about. The devices don't have quite as much tech covering ball and club metrics as some more expensive products, but for the more casual simulator experience, they work very well.

Now what?

Those who have made it this far may have already come to the same conclusion as me - the Garmin Approach R50 is a genuine game changer. To have seemingly efficiently combined launch monitor and simulator capabilities in a highly accurate and premium device is a huge achievement. To have it come in under $5000 could be an even bigger coup for those looking to build a home simulator set-up. No need to invest in laptops or other third-party hardware, the R50 may have just streamlined the whole set-up process.

We haven't got our hands on it just yet, but as soon as we do I'm excited to see if it can live up to its expectations. Hopefully, we can also put it in a head-to-head battle with the Foresight GC3, the device I think the R50 will be battling most closely for market share. Like Manchester United vs Arsenal in the Wenger and Ferguson era, this to me is the battle that will decide the coveted 'Best Launch Monitor Under $10,000' crown. Stay tuned.

Garmin, makers of some of the best technology in golf, has unveiled its new Approach R50 which looks set to be the first launch monitor that also offers a full, in-built simulator experience. Typically launch monitors are required to be paired with a laptop or app on an iPhone or tablet to access a simulated golf course experience, but the built-in 10” color touchscreen display on the Approach R50 means golfers can have everything they need all in one place.

To gather all the critical launch monitor data, the photometric Approach R50 utilises three different cameras to capture more than 15 ball and club metrics, including measured spin rate and spin axis. It can also provide analytics for every club in the bag, including the putter, and replay high-speed impact videos so players can review a close-up look at the way the club interacts with the ball on each shot.

“Whether you want to see specific shot metrics, see how and where the ball comes off your club, or just want to play a round on a rainy day, we’ve got your game.” Dan Bartel, Garmin Vice President of Global Consumer Sales, explained.

The Approach R50 looks set to be yet another impressive technological innovation from the company, following on from the ground-breaking Approach S70 watch that we rated as the best golf watch last year. The R50 comes with more than 43,000 preloaded global courses and can easily be connected to a monitor or a projector, allowing users to turn their garage or basement into their favorite virtual course.

Players can simply mirror the display on their Approach R50 to a projector or external monitor – or customize the setup to their needs. But players can also simply use the screen to do this, whereas on previous devices like the Approach R10 users have had to pair the device to their phone or tablet to see where their shots fly on the golf course.

As an example, golfers can experience immersive virtual rounds with Home Tee Hero on a displayed projector and then can choose to see their launch monitor data or impact videos on the Approach R50 display. Or for golfers who want to simplify their setup, the portable Approach R50 can serve as a simulator all on its own. Golfers can play virtual rounds with up to four players and participate in weekly tournaments with scores posted on a global leaderboard, all viewable from the Approach R50 display.

Available now, the Approach R50 premium launch monitor has a suggested retail price starting at $4,999.99 or £4,299. To learn more, visit garmin.com/golf.

I should admit straight away, I am a golf rangefinder guy but I actually get to test a lot of golf watches too and right now there is a deal on one of the best models currently on the market, the Garmin Approach S70. It currently has 11% off during Amazon Prime Day and when you combine that with the overall performance, I must also admit that I find the deal too good to ignore!

The watch comes with a range of impressive features, including enhanced golf course maps, giving you the ability to pan and zoom for narrowing in on your target distance. Add to this the virtual caddie system, which follows your shot dispersion and helps you select the right club through a range of factors including your historical swing data, elevation, wind speed, wind direction and more. 

The Garmin Approach S70 also factors in elevation changes, taking into account whether your shot is uphill, downhill and your typical trajectory for each club in the bag. The S70 takes into account air pressure, wind and temperature for more accurate yardages. 

We found in testing that the Garmin Approach S70 worked great both on and off the course (which is something rangefinders definitely don't do!). Besides getting accurate yardages to greens, bunkers and other features on the course, it is capable of tracking your score, your shot distances and even make club selections. It's then a simple swipe to check the weather forecast and you can set the watch up with your smartphone so you're kept in the loop with what's going on off the course. 

We wore the watch for a week and got every phone notification sent to our wrist - every email, iMessage, ESPN news, Linked-In, credit card charges (in real time), calendar events and more. This can be a little overwhelming for some, but customization is available for what notifications you do and don't want arriving on your watch.  

With preloaded activity profiles for strength, yoga, cardio and more, the S70 also helps set you up with specific exercises so you can prevent injuries and maybe even hit the ball further. 

We loved the S70 in testing, noting that despite the range of data and features available, the watch still felt extremely user friendly. For a monthly fee, there’s even more. When connected to an active Garmin Golf membership ($9.99 per month), you can see the greens’ contours, how much they slope, downhill and uphill, too. 

Finally, the S70 comes with an impressive battery life, holding charge for up to 16 days in smartwatch mode and up to 20 hours when using the GPS feature. These features have made the S70 one of best Garmin golf watches available, and you can snap it up on Amazon Prime Day and save $60 in the process - but act quick!

While I am a tinkerer when it comes to the clubs in my golf bag, my current rangefinder has held its place in my bag for over five years. It does pretty much everything I would need it to do by giving me accurate yardages and even has slope technology for when playing practice rounds on undulating courses. I thought I was content with my current rangefinder, which is accurate and easy to use, but that was until I tested the new Garmin Approach Z30 rangefinder.

While the looks of the Garmin Approach Z30 rangefinder aren't overly exuberant, the minimalist nature of the device does give it a clean, polished look like all of the best rangefinders have. The device felt premium straight out of the box and came enclosed in a premium and robust case with zipper and elastic strap to keep it secure and protected while in or attached to your golf bag.

New technology sometimes scares me with how complicated it can be to set up and use but that wasn’t the case with the Garmin Approach Z30 rangefinder. The device came with plenty of charge and was ready to use straight from the box. It quickly and easily captured yardages through a crystal clear viewfinder with x6 zoom and the focus can easily adjusted to your preference. 

Through the Approach Z30, you will be given both the yardage to the target and adjusted calculated yardage thanks to Garmin’s Plays Like technology - a yardage based on elevation change. While slope adjusted yardages are something I was used to, the new Garmin Range Relay technology was really impressive and practical.

After pairing your Approach Z30 rangefinder with another device in the Garmin ecosystem - in my case the Approach S70 watch, the two devices work in conjunction with each other to bring to you the most data they can to help you decide on the right strategy and club for the job. My Approach Z30 would also then show how far I had between the pin and the front and back of the green and relayed my yardage onto the screen on my watch as well as showing me where the pin was located on the green. For those who play tournament golf, don’t panic, you can press the ‘mode’ button on the top to put in ‘tournament mode’ where slope feature has been taken off. This is indicated to your playing partners through the blue light on the side of your device. 

As someone who in the past has constantly had to scope out my target multiple times after forgetting my distance, having it come up permanently on my watch saved plenty of time on the course. The birds-eye view of the exact pin location on the green was also great to suss out any bunkers around the green that I may want to avoid and I could play for the best miss into the green.

I also appreciate how the Approach Z30 is fully waterproof and there's a feature called Find My Garmin, where if you ever lose it (I've been known to leave my rangefinder behind many times before!) you can utilise a feature through the Garmin Golf app to see its last known location.

The Approach Z30 rangefinder impressed me so much with its technology and ability to connect with other Garmin devices that it has quickly taken up space in my bag and retired my previous rangefinder. The additional practical features like the magnetic strip make it perfect for when riding in carts and coming to retail at £389, I feel as though this device is superb value for money and seriously worth considering if you’re in the market for a new laser rangefinder.

In a bid to challenge for the title of the best rangefinder of 2024, Garmin has unveiled the Approach Z30 rangefinder, where a trusted formula meets new technology to produce a rangefinder the brand think will change the game.

Four years after the release of the impressive Garmin Approach Z82 rangefinder, the Approach Z30 rangefinder boasts ultra-clear optics with a 6x zoom and 400 yards of range, said to lock onto a target in under a second. Aside from the fast and precise readings promised, it’s the addition of a new Range Relay feature that has us the most excited about the launch of this new product, which is on sale now.

After pairing the Approach Z30 rangefinder with the Garmin Golf app or one of the brands other devices, such as the Approach S70 watch, the rangefinder will transfer the information to the other device, giving the golfer a clear display of the yardage, pin position on the green as well as any other danger around the green such as hazards.

This communication between the devices is something we think is really going to benefit golfers, knowing which pins they can attack and which shots they should play with a little more caution. All in all, it helps golfers paint a really clear picture of what they need to shot-by-shot in order to shoot better scores.

The Garmin golf range is a collection of golf products designed to improve your game through data and the compatibility of the Approach Z30 and other devices should a go long way to helping you make better decisions.

Alongside the impressive Range Relay function, the Approach Z30 will also feature the brand's trusted PlaysLike technology, which gives golfers a better understanding of the distance their shot actually plays after factoring in elevation changes as well as more advanced factors such as air density and wind speed. While all of this is great when playing socially and in practice rounds, using this setting is against tournament golf rules, but can easily be clicked off via a click of a button.

Other features include:

- Tournament mode: An external indicator light lets competitors know that the device is only providing data within the rules.

- Magnetic mount: Conveniently store the rangefinder with an included magnetic mount when riding in a golf cart. It also comes with a handy carrying case with a carabiner, allowing it to hang from a golf bag if walking the course or after a round.

- Find My Garmin: If the Approach Z30 is ever misplaced, players can utilise a feature through the Garmin Golf app to see its last known location.

The Approach Z30 comes to retail at £389 which given the technology included, seems like a real steal but check back on the Golf Monthly website over the next few days for our full review of the Approach Z30.

When deciding on a new GPS watch to use for golf, two key names are likely to pop up - Garmin and Apple Watch. A good GPS watch may not be the first thing on your wish-list to help improve your game, but with ever-evolving technology these devices can in-fact offer a cost effective way to work on your discipline, analyze your swing, learn your distances, and see more of the course from the tee.

There are plenty of options out there when it comes to tech, like perhaps some of the best golf rangefinders on the market, but you may also decide you want to check out the best golf watches available.

Garmin and Apple have both been making significant investments into sports watches: Garmin has long been a leader in GPS devices for outdoor pursuits, while Apple has more recently been increasing its focus on sports and health tracking, most notably with the popular Apple Watch. Additionally whether it's shot tracking or automatic GPS yardages on the golf course, there are loads of ways to use your Apple Watch to its fullest when you're playing golf as well.

I have reviewed plenty of Garmin’s golf-specific watches, including the five-star Garmin Approach S70, and the great value Garmin Approach S12. I have also gone in-depth into the Apple Watch, to explore how golfers can get the most out of these versatile devices. But which of these devices is best for golf? Let's get into it...

Garmin GPS watches vs Apple Watch: Read my head-to-head verdict 

Design

The first and most obvious area to examine in the Apple Watch and Garmin GPS watches is the design. Garmin watches come in a huge variety of different designs and iterations, but there are some areas of the design that remain consistent throughout Approach lines and the Garmin multi-sport devices that also offer golf options - most notably the utilitarian look.

The Garmin devices on offer feature a sleek and sporty look, that will fit in nicely with your chosen golf outfit, or for most other outdoor activities for that matter. With mostly dark color and monochrome colors on offer, Garmin offers a simplicity well-suited to sports, but they are often more chunky than a standard watch, and they could stand out if you’re planning on wearing your watch for more day-to-day activities - great on the golf course, but perhaps a bit out of a place at a wedding or dinner party.

Apple Watches, however, are not specifically designed for golf and instead fit smoothly into your everyday life, and the aesthetics are a clear indication of this. With a low-profile and sleek watch face design, Apple Watches have a much more subtle aesthetic that wouldn’t be out of place in the office, offering you more versatility from your GPS.

It’s also worth noting that both Garmin and Apple watches have a huge range of both brand name and aftermarket watch straps, offering some customization to suit your desired aesthetic, from outlandish colors to more stylish metal straps.

Display

A clear and customizable display is an essential consideration when it comes to a good golf watch. Where the hole graphics on the Approach S62 were somewhat basic, it became immediately apparent to me that the brand really stepped it up with the Approach S70. It has a large, vibrant, detailed and crystal clear display. That being said the brightness can sometimes be lacking in the lower price point models, making it tricky to easily spot where you are on the course and where your next shot needs to go.

However the display plaudits must go to the Apple Watch, owing to its ultra-clear display. Having honed its expertise in touch-screen phones over decades, the Apple Watch features the same flawless display and crisp detail that you’d also expect from an iPhone. Large display, vibrant colors, and fantastic brightness make the Apple Watch the chosen GPS device for golf if clarity of display is key to you.

Features

This may come as no surprise from a brand that specifically tailors many of its products to the golfing world, but in my opinion Garmin is by far the leading choice when it comes to golf features.

With features like Pin Pointer for blind shots, a Virtual Caddie that is smart enough to coach your club choice based on your game, and the technology to factor in wind to your shot when paired with the Garmin app, the features to help improve your game are almost endless on Garmin watches. Some will even account for changes in slope or environmental factors like wind to provide more accurate GPS distances - very clever stuff.

Garmin watches also come pre-loaded with thousands of golf courses and often have outstanding battery life. Garmin’s golfing products also include other fitness tracking options if you’d like to use your watch for more than just your next round.

Of course Apple Watches also come with their own huge array of functions, owing to their app-based systems, and there are plenty of golf apps on offer.

From the free Arccos Caddie app to the Golfshot: Golf GPS+AR app (which costs $99.99), there are plenty of options out there to help you improve your game with the Apple Watch, but these apps don’t come pre-loaded on the device so you will have to test and sample which will work best for you. Some of these apps will also need to be purchased or will come with in-app purchases to maximize their potential, which may put off many golfers if you’d prefer your device to be ready to go at the point of purchase.

Both Garmin and Apple watch are able to offer smartphone notifications, depending on which Garmin model you opt for. Some Garmin watches do offer off-course lifestyle features - the Approach S70 has 24/7 health tracking and activity monitoring, for example, but the more basic models won't offer this. The Apple watch, especially in the Series 9, can monitor things like your sleep and even help find your iPhone. So it's fairly even here depending on what is most important to you. As such I would recommend reading up on each specific model to see what features each watch has, then you can pick on what you most value.

Ease of use

Another vital factor to consider when purchasing a new GPS watch is the ease of use, especially when it comes to the huge array of features that a modern golf watch can offer.

When it comes to getting to the course and receiving those all important GPS distances, I think the Garmin is better designed to do this quickly. Often with the Apple watch, you'll need to open the app on your phone to access the full feature suite on your watch, which takes more time and faff.

You can download golf apps onto your watch, such as Arccos, VPar and Hole19 apps which give automatic yardages to the front, middle and backs of greens, and shot tracking on these apps is pretty intuitive as well. With Arccos, for example, having Apple watch removes the need to use a Link device or have your phone in your pocket.

Many Garmin watches utilize side buttons for navigation as well as or instead of a touch screen depending on the model, which can take time to familiarize yourself with the process. The Apple watch is certainly more intuitive, but the screen isn't overly golf glove friendly, which is a problem if you wear it on the opposite wrist.

Overall appeal

Overall I would say that Garmin watches are the perfect choice for committed golfers looking for that additional edge. With extensive golf functionality and accuracy, as well as off-course features in the more premium models, Garmin devices will benefit enthusiastic players of all abilities. There are also more affordable options for golfers that just want to use it on the course.

The Apple Watch, however, could be a great option for a new golfer who wants ease of use, all-round functionality, and a more day-to-day aesthetic. With Apple Watches, versatile style and simplicity is the main appeal but there are plenty of golf apps that allow you to track your shots, monitor your swing and provide accurate distances that utilize the tech specifically in the Apple watch for a more seamless user experience.

Which one should you choose?

Choose a Garmin GPS watch for golf if…
- You want class-leading, golf-specific features built in from the get-go
- You want the option of a golf watch for less money
- You're not too bothered about wearing the watch off the course

Choose an Apple Watch if…
- You want an easy to use watch with crystal clear optics
- You want a versatile watch that can be used anywhere, for most sports
- You want to benefit for the extra lifestyle features on offer

Garmin Approach S62 GPS Watch Review

Scrolling through the feature list on the Garmin Approach S62 would suggest this promises to be the ultimate golf GPS watch comparable to the TAG Heuer Connected Calibre E4 Golf Edition, offering bucket loads of exciting functionality at a more affordable price point.

We tested it over multiple rounds and have to say it was an enjoyable and relatively seamless experience. It's easy and intuitive to get the watch set up and the touch screen works well in conjunction with the side buttons to navigate through the various options. The color touchscreen display is a full 17 per cent bigger than the previous Approach S60, which makes it easier to navigate and see hole details more clearly on the color maps.

You can even swipe around the edge of the screen to switch between holes quickly if you need to and access distances to hazards as well as the crucial front, middle and back yardages. There's also the option to account for elevation changes and manually move the pin position for more accurate distances, something many of the best golf watches offer.

The hole maps are somewhat basic and dimmer than we'd have hoped, but we were still able to see clearly what lay ahead and move the pointer to areas of interest. If you enable shot tracking, you can tell the watch what club you hit after each shot and after five rounds of doing this the Virtual Caddie feature becomes available, suggesting clubs to hit for upcoming shots.

While this function is not permitted in tournament play, it's a nice feature to have recommendations on clubbing from a device that definitively knows how far you actually hit each club rather than what you think (or hope!) you hit them. Once paired with your phone, the watch can also factor in the wind conditions in real time when suggesting a club, which is genuinely next-level functionality that not many other golf watches offer.

We weren't too fussed about the shot tracking element, but did find the Pin Pointer feature useful on blind shots and efforts from the trees when the green wasn't visible.

The GPS distances stacked up well against our laser and the other leading GPS devices we were testing at the time, although the hole maps on the accompanying Garmin Golf app hadn’t updated to include course changes from a few years ago even though the watch did.

The visual is slick and stylish and would look as at home off the course as on, plus there are lots of fitness tracking options should you want to use it more as a sports watch rather than just a golf GPS. It also has the ability to receive email and text notifications should you so desire. Overall this is undoubtedly one of the best Garmin golf watches out right now but if you want to spend a little less we have also created a guide on the best value golf watches as well. 

Coupon Discount Codes

Garmin Approach S42 GPS Watch - Specifications

Garmin Approach S42 GPS Watch Review

If you head to any golf club on a busy day, you’ll be hard pressed to find more than a handful of groups in which there are no GPS watches in use. And most prevalent among them will likely be a Garmin. Unquestionably one of the best golf watches on the market, we recently put the Garmin S42 Approach to the test and weren’t disappointed. 

Set up was refreshingly straightforward. We downloaded the Garmin app and paired it easily with an iPhone allowing us to see the benefits of the shot tracking. The watch is still very usable without the app however. 

Slotting in between the Garmin S12 and the premium S62 options, we tested the S42 watch on a sunny (but cold) day at Essendon Golf Club. Having never played the golf course before, the watch came in extremely handy. At the set-up stage, it offered us the option of course A or B, which confused us initially, but goes to show the level of detail involved. We've since had it out on several other occasions, allowing us to form an opinion based on things like accuracy, functionality, ease of use, style and value.

Starting with the usual features, yardages to the front, middle and back of each green were accurate and helpful, particularly at a course we’d never played before. On more than one occasion, the shot we were facing looked significantly shorter than it was in reality, so having that reassurance really was great. Additionally, when off the beaten track, it's great to have such easy access to accurate numbers. This is definitely an advantage when compared to a laser device.

The 1.2-inch color screen is also extremely clear, adding to the ease of use. In fact, just this feature alone we think makes it a worthwhile investment. And what’s more, it actually shows you the true shape of every green, rather than just the generic - a feature that we thought alone was worthy of placing in our 2023 Editor's Choice.

But it doesn’t stop there. As well as more than 43,000 preloaded courses worldwide, there is also the option to pair it with the Approach CT10 club sensors for automatic club tracking. When used in conjunction with the Garmin Golf app, this allows golfers to take advantage of the AutoShot round analyzer that records shot distances and plots your way round the course. Once finished, you can look through your scores and review various performance stats that help to target potential areas of improvement. It is features like this that separate watches from the best golf rangefinders, which purely involve zapping the flag in a matter of seconds. 

Away from the course, it’s a sleek and stylish watch that can easily be worn in social settings and also comes packed with fitness and wellness benefits. For example, the S42 can be used to track steps, sleep productivity and even calories. 

Another important thing to highlight is that we barely noticed we had it on. People can often be reluctant to try a GPS watch because they think it'll interfere with their swing but this is absolutely not the case. Other than checking yardages, you wouldn't know it was there.

One thing we would say is that it takes maybe five or so rounds to really get to grips with all the features and get the most out of what’s on offer. And although it comes in at a loftier price point than more basic models, based on our testing, we would certainly recommend seeing this process through as it’s worth it. It is definitely one of the best Garmin golf watches currently on the market.

More Garmin reviews

• Garmin Approach S70 Golf Watch Review
• Garmin Approach S62 GPS Watch Review
• Garmin Approach S12 GPS Watch Review
• Garmin Approach R10 Launch Monitor Review

As the golf season is beginning, we turn our head to some of the coolest golf gear released over the past week. From footwear and clothing, to GPS watches and fairways woods, we have rounded up some of the gear that grabbed our attention and will be seen out on the course this summer.

Garmin Approach S70 Golf Watch

The new Garmin approach S70 golf watch is a tech packed, pocket-sized device that can deliver yardages to pins and hazards, offer club advice and even give you the weather. For an extra monthly fee you can even get green maps on the watch showing the contours - a feature rarely seen before in the golf-tech space. The S70 is available in two screen sizes to suit your needs and is extremely versatile, performing excellently as a smart/fitness watch. Emails can be read and music can be bluetoothed to speakers. This really is a watch that can do it all and immediately is set to rival the best GPS devices and golf watches.

TaylorMade Stealth Bomber Iron

The latest hardware release from TaylorMade is the Stealth Bomber iron. The stealthed out head and shaft combination makes this strong lofted, cavity back iron perfect for executing low bullet stingers while on the course. The combination of this new club and one of the best drivers is almost a guaranteed way of hitting more fairways. This club has a sweet-spot for most impact locations to deliver fast ball speeds, a penetrating trajectory and plenty of roll for when the driver is just a little too much. This driving iron is a thing of beauty, an alternative to the new TaylorMade BRNR Mini Driver and one we’re expecting to see tour players flock towards. Needless to say we can’t wait to get on the course with one ourselves.

True Linkswear Apparel ‘Tour Collection’

The new ‘Tour Collection’ from TRUE Linkswear is a collection of five new items packed with technology that every golfer would appreciate and designed through tour player feedback. We have loved some of the latest TRUE Linkswear products released such as the All Day joggers which are one of the best golf pants we have tested. There are two new shoes in the form of the LUX Tour and OG Tour which will have to live up to the already impressive LUX Hybrid golf shoe. The new LUX Tour polo which has a casual yet tailored fit and the new Quarter Zip is made from sustainable materials offering good stretch and mobility, while the 5-panel hat prioritizes moisture wicking materials to keep you cool when on the course. From head to toe, this new collection has you covered and will be seen on the PGA Tour worn by Full Swing star Joel Dahmen.

Vessel Crimson Red Player IV Limited Edition Golf Bag

Vessel are known for making some of the best golf bags on the market, such as the Vessel VLS stand bag and Sunday III DXR bag. Vessel look to continue that trend with this new Crimson Red limited edition bag for fathers day. The Player IV bag is the next generation of the popular Player stand bag and features an internal base divider for ease of club removal, as well as increased beverage storage and purposeful pockets. A magnetic towel comes complimentary with any golf bag purchase and there are now bundle deals available to buy with this bag exclusively for fathers day, which include the likes headcovers and some of the other best golf accessories such as alignment sticks and shag bags.

Titleist TSR2+ Fairway Wood

The TSR2+ Fairway wood is designed to give golfers the power of a stronger lofted wood while also remaining easy to launch off the turf making it one of the most forgiving fairway woods available. The TSR2+ has a deep face and a larger profiled head compared to some of the best fairway woods, making it the ideal tee-biased fairway wood option, while still producing a ball flight that will stop softly on greens when hit from the fairway. The TSR2+ now being offered in a higher lofted 14.5° head, will appeal to a much wider audience than the already existing 13° head. The TSR2+ was previously a tour-only option and so it will be interesting to see what club golfers make of these two fairway wood offerings.

Titleist Midnight Camo Golf Bag

The Midnight Camo golf bag from Titleist released earlier this week, is an alternate color scheme option of the impressive Players 4 stand bag. This lightweight stand bag option is commonly seen as one of the best golf stand bags because of features such as the premium double strap, aluminium high-grade legs and plenty of storage space on hand. As Titleist make some of the best cart golf bags as well, we wouldn't be surprised if the Midnight Camo bag is released in this style at some point. The Midnight Camo golf bag is designed in blue and black tones and with olive-green YKK zippers and Titleist logo running down the side panel. Running as a special edition, we’re sure these bags will fly out of stock, so act fast if you want to snag one.

FootJoy Midsummer Stratos Golf Shoe

The Midsummer Stratos golf shoe from FootJoy was designed to bring some color and comfort to the fairways. This is one of the best golf shoes for walking in thanks to proven FootJoy technology such as StratoFoam for extreme comfort and NappaLuxe leather for both comfort and stability. The Midsummer variation of this already popular Stratos shoe, on of the best spikeless golf shoes on the market and features a white, navy and green colorway that we think looks great and will please those who like to stand out a little on the course. 

Ellesse SS23 Golf Collection

Italian sportswear brand Ellesse are known for their street wear, but have recently ventured into the golf apparel market with some colorful and modern designs that rival some of the best golf shirts and sweaters. The brand's latest spring/summer collection features blade collar polo shirts in black and neon blue designs with the classic Ellesse logo on the chest. English professional footballer Adam Lallana is the face of the brands new campaign after taking up the sport recently and we’re sure will continue to attract a new and younger audience to the game wearing the Ellesse brand.

Garmin Approach S70 Golf Watch Review

When it comes to the new Garmin Approach S70 Golf Smartwatch, it’s probably easier to talk about what it can’t do than what it can. In short, it can’t swing the club for you, but it can pretty much do everything else.

Besides getting accurate yardages to greens, bunkers and other features on the course, it is capable of tracking your score, your shot distances and even make club selections. You can easily swipe to see the weather forecast and even integrate that into your round. And if you set it up with a smartphone, it can relay all your notifications so you're kept fully in the loop.

I actually found the last feature both helpful and maybe a little overwhelming. For now though, after having the watch for less than a week, I’m continuing to see every email, iMessage, ESPN news, Linked-In, credit card charges (in real time), calendar events, and all my other notifications right on my wrist. I may edit those in short order, but right now, it fascinates me (the Garmin Approach S70 can be paired with either an iPhone or Android). You can also see who’s calling your phone - you can’t answer the call from the watch but you can bluetooth music from it.

This also is a tremendous fitness and health watch with a heartbeat monitor, step counter and all sorts of other fitness programs that you can employ to get yourself in better shape for golf. But like the best golf watches, the Garmin Approach S70 is really good at measuring distances on the course and tracking your rounds.

The watch comes preloaded with more than 43,000 courses, and at the push of a button, you can go from an interchangeable watch face (which can show your last round on the bottom) to full-on golf mode. When you get to the course, it will automatically download the course you’re at via satellite and start your round for you. The updated hole maps give plenty of detail and can be changed easily. This is one of the major advancements over the Approach S62 and the Approach S42, where the maps looked a little dated. You can see distances to different features like bunkers, trees and water, and you can also drag the pin to reflect its current location for even more accuracy.

But let’s talk about the watch itself. It comes with several pre-loaded watch faces, from a variety of digital looks to analogue designs, depending on your mood and the setting (when not in golf mode). The new Approach S70 is also offered in two different sizes - a 1.2-inch or 1.4 inch AMOLED display, which is the highest resolution available. I tested the larger face in black, and figured that’s probably best for golf because it’s, well, larger, however some users might prefer the smaller size for everyday use. The watch band is comfortable, easy to adjust, and feels just fine on the wrist while swinging.

There are three buttons on the right side - an action button, a menu button, and a back button - which are easy to use and navigate through different functions and screens. It’s fairly intuitive, though reading the user manual will open up what seems like endless possibilities. You can customize your golf settings, changing the number sizes and looks, and after a few rounds, the watch can analyze your performances on the golf course, something not many of the best golf GPS devices offer.

Some other features worth mentioning include “Plays Like Distance,” which can provide an estimate of how far a shot will play based on whether it’s uphill or downhill, the wind, temperature, and/or barometric pressure. You can also employ a virtual caddie, which can make club recommendations based on those factors as well as your playing history (minimum of five rounds). You can also measure your swing tempo with the goal of finding the perfect ratio of backswing to through swing (3.0). Because different golfers have different speeds, Garmin provides six different timings, and the watch can let you know if your backswing or downswing times are too fast, too slow or just right for the selected timing. 

For a monthly fee, there’s even more. When connected to an active Garmin Golf membership ($9.99 per month), you can see the greens’ contours, how much they slope, downhill and uphill. Testing has shown this works in showing the main contours of each green, but doesn't account for every subtle break, which makes it only somewhat useful. The membership also allows you to download all your rounds.

And finally, unlike many smartwatches on the market, and certainly golf watches, the battery life on the Garmin Approach S70 is impressive. The Approach S70 can hold a charge for up to 16 days in smartwatch mode and up to 20 hours when using GPS. So you don't have to charge it daily or even weekly, if you're not playing golf every day. It charges via a USB-C cable, which is fine for Macbook users but might create a problem for traditional USB users given a plug adapter isn't included in the box.

All these features undoubtedly make the Approach S70 one of the best Garmin golf watches money can buy, perhaps with the exception of the super premium Marq Golfer watch.

When played at its best, golf is a game of precision. You only have to watch the best players in the world to see how accurate they are with their yardages throughout the bag. While the skill of distance control is one that’s acquired through practice and experience, knowing your number when you’re out on the course is hugely helpful for any skill level. This can mean distance to the pin, knowing the carry number for a fairway bunker and more. Most of us don't have the luxury of a caddy at our disposal, which is where GPS devices come in.

The best golf GPS gear, be it one of the best golf rangefinders, the best golf watches or one of the improving golf GPS devices, helps you to make informed decisions that can lead to lower scores. In recent years they have become increasingly sophisticated in their offerings, but even the more affordable options will typically give yardages to the front, middle and back of the green.

That said, the overwhelming choice can make it a little tricky to find the best device for your game. Is a watch best for you? Perhaps you the ability to play music alongside the GPS function? Fortunately we’ve been testing the best golf GPS equipment and have created this guide to show our favorites across the various GPS sectors.

The Quick List

Best Golf GPS

Best watch overall

The Garmin Approach S70 GPS watch has all the bells and whistles and is a great choice for those who believe that when it comes to information out on the course, more is more.

Like all of the best Garmin golf watches you get an incredible 43,000 preloaded courses all available at the touch of a button. The list of features is extensive to say the least but it does all the basics very well from accurate yardages to greens and bunkers, to keeping your score and tracking shot distances. There are more advanced offerings too, such as the Smart Caddie tool that provides you with club recommendations and Pinpointer, a handy compass that locates the green for you on blind shots. There’s even the option to integrate the weather forecast data into your round so you can take into account the wind.

There’s the option to move between the watch face, which will display your last round at the bottom, to the golf mode, for when you're really digging into the numbers out on the course. We were impressed with the S70’s battery life, with it holding its charge for as much as 16 days when in smartwatch mode and around 20 hours when we were using the GPS, which should be good for four rounds.

• Read our full Garmin Approach S70 Watch Review

Best budget watch

Not everyone wants, or needs, all the features of a watch like the Garmin above. Fortunately there are a number of simpler options that come with a more affordable price tag, too. Our favourite in the budget category is the G6 watch from Shot Scope.

Despite its modest price it can match many of the best golf watches thanks to its array of easy-to-use features. In fact, its simplicity is a large contributor to why it’s been selected for this guide. Once it’s charged and turned on all you have to do is navigate to ‘Play Golf’ on the menu and you’re away. Using the four buttons located on each corner of the watch you can benefit from color maps of each hole, which serve up detail including hazards and yardages to the green. There’s no shot tracking here, though.

The G6 comes with 36,000 preloaded courses. Battery life is decent, we found that each charge is good for about two rounds of golf. It even comes with two interchangeable straps that we found to be perfectly comfortable. As for any potential downsides, we did find the buttons could be a little fiddly to use at times but this doesn’t stop us from recommending it as one of the best value golf watches available.

• Read our full Shot Scope G6 Watch Review

Best GPS device overall

In my review, I described the S82 as a "unicorn" device hat masterfully bridges the gap between a high-end handheld GPS and a portable launch monitor. Once on the course, it functions as a top-tier GPS with over 43,000 pre-loaded maps and a Virtual Caddie that offers club recommendations based on wind and elevation. It is particularly effective for golfers who use a cart, though it is portable enough to fit in a pocket or clip securely to a bag via its magnetic mount. Meanwhile, at the driving range, it transforms into a plug-and-play launch monitor, providing near-instant feedback on ball speed, clubhead speed, smash factor, and tempo.

Designed to be the ultimate companion for both the course and the range, it features a crisp 5-inch display and a premium build that significantly improves upon its predecessor, the G80. While it carries a premium price tag, it justifies the cost by offering a comprehensive suite of tools that eliminates the need for separate gadgets for practice and play.

When we tested the device for accuracy and the yardages were on the money which is unsurprising considering the quality of the best Garmin golf watches and rangefinders. Pair it with the Garmin golf app and you open up a host of additional features from stats on range of categories including fairways hit, number of putts as well as club yardages, to tracking your score on the course, whilst you can also store all your data from range sessions.

• Read our full Garmin Approach G82 Review

Most accurate GPS

SkyCaddie Pro 5X benefits from a 5.5” screen, some 1.5” larger than the SX400 mode, that allows you to truly benefit from its array features, that includes 35,000 pre-loaded courses and what’s called Intellipath technology. Drag the cursor to your intended aim point and yardage and the feature will then show you all the distances to other points of interest including bunkers and water hazards, saving a great deal of time in the process.

We were highly impressed by the Dynamic Holevue system, which keeps the map oriented to your position, showing you exactly what lies ahead in real-time and differentiates it from competing models on the market. The Pinpoint function which allows you to move the flag around on the green for a more personalised yardage is another feature worth mentioning. Furthermore, the Intelligreen Pro feature reveals major undulations on the putting surface before you’ve even reached it. Knowing how the green breaks from 150 yards out helps you miss in the right spots and set up better birdie looks.

It’s worth noting that while the Pro 5X comes with a 12-month Birdie Membership you will need to pay for a SkyGolf subscription once it ends; annual subscriptions range from $29.95 to $59.95 depending on the level of detail and features required.

• Read our full Sky Caddie Pro 5X GPS Review

Best speaker overall

The best golf speakers are something of a niche item but we are seeing more and more pop onto the market as the days go on, which leads to more competition for your custom and, ultimately, better quality products to choose from. The best of the lot, in our opinion, is the GeneSonic Pro - a groundbreaking 2-in-1 speaker that features a detachable, lightweight GPS handheld module with a 3-inch color touchscreen, allowing golfers to enjoy accurate yardages and course visuals whether they are riding in a cart or walking the course.

The sound quality here rivals any Bose or JBL speaker I've had over the years, whilst the detachable GPS comes with 43,000 pre-loaded courses and gives you details for hazard layouts, green shapes and slopes as well as acting as the group scorecard marker, allowing you to track the scores of everyone in your fourball. The detachable GPS also functions as a remote control for your music, making it easy to manage your playlist directly from your bag.

This device screams premium from the moment you unbox it courtesy of the superb build quality, including an IP67 waterproof rating and an incredibly strong magnetic mounting system for cart use.

• Read our full MILESEEY GeneSonic Pro Detachable Golf Speaker Review

Best battery life

Bushnell's Wingman HD makes some notable quality of life improvements to the previous generation to cement its place as one of the best golf speakers money can buy.

A new 3.5" screen display not only shows you what song you're listening to, but also accurate yardages to the front, middle and back of each green as well as any hazards that lie in your way between tee shot and green. Hole flyovers and green previews are also shown on this relatively small but crystal clear display, whilst Bushnell's BITE magnetic strip allows you to easily attach this device to your cart as you whizz round the course.

In terms of its qualities as a speaker, the sound quality is as good as any music speaker I've ever owned (quite a few). It is a worthwhile investment for social golfers looking for a durable, multi-functional gadget that performs as well in their living room as they host a party as it does on the fairways.

• Read our full Bushnell Wingman HD GPS Speaker Review

How we test the best golf GPS devices

Our testing methodology at Golf Monthly is a rigorous process built on years of expertise and our commitment to editorial integrity - it's why we've built a trust amongst our readership over a decade-plus of impartial reviews. We provide our readers with unbiased, informative buying advice, ensuring that no manufacturer can influence our ratings. Our reviews are led by category experts who understand both premium performance and the importance of value. For GPS devices, this involves testing each product across multiple round of golf to verify accuracy and usability. By spending significant time with each unit, we can accurately assess its long-term reliability, battery endurance, and overall impact on course management.

Our testers use a range of the best golf launch monitors, rangefinders, golf watches and GPS devices to gain more knowledge when we are testing golf clubs, be that the best golf drivers, best golf irons or the best golf wedges, particularly when it comes to gauging distances on offer. With any review, we like to test in a range of different conditions, whether that be conditions or style of golf course, we want to see how these devices perform in various contexts.

This includes testing rangefinders in clear but also dull conditions to see how they perform, testing GPS devices out on different courses and testing golf watches, especially those that double up as everyday smart or fitness watches, both on and off the course to explore and test each and every feature. We leave no stone unturned in our testing procedure as we strive to judge and critique every aspect of each device before concluding on our verdict.

For more information on how Golf Monthly tests its products, click here.

What to consider when buying a golf GPS device

Your routine

The best golf watches only require a quick glance so they are much quicker than taking a device out of its case, so weigh up if extra detail or less disruption is most important to you.

Your course

If your course has lots of doglegs, blind tee shots, or you play at other clubs in matches or socially, then you might want the extra information a GPS offers over a laser, although if you can afford it then having both is a useful option.

Type

As the list above shows, there are different types of GPS device to use and they all have positives and negatives affixed to them.

• GPS Watch - Simplicity and convenience are the key here. If you are the type of player who would rather have a quick glance at their wrist to know the yardage rather than using a larger GPS or laser, then a watch could be the way to go. GPS watches nowadays are a lot more compact, slim-lined and light making them ideal because they do not hamper the swing or distract in any way.
• Handhelds - The chief bonus here is the large screen which gives a lot more detail and the touch screen functionality will be familiar to most users because of modern phones. You get clear hazard information and overhead maps of the hole too which could guide your strategy and save you shots.
• Speakers - If you simply want numbers to front, middle and back and you don't care too much about having lots of in-depth information, then there is a lot to be said for having those numbers vocalised to you, so a GPS speaker can be a good choice.

Features

There is also a difference in device when it comes to features. Below is a list of some of the ones we consider to be useful to the GPS wearer.

• Clear and accurate distance information - this is a no brainer really but some models are more accurate and clear than others.
• Pre-loaded courses - there is some variation in how many courses are pre-loaded onto some models compared to others.
• Scorecard - rather than have to write down or log scores into an app, on some GPS devices you can mark your score down with ease.
• Stat tracking - particularly useful to those wanting to know more about their game and where they earn or give away shots.
• Green mapping and pin location - some devices give the user the ability to map the green and place the pin in the correct place. This often gives more information to the user on yardage and what club to hit.
• Waterproofing - a waterproof device is very important, especially if you play somewhere that gets a lot of rain
• Battery power - GPS devices normally need charging via a USB after two to four rounds, so consider which would be easiest for you on a week-to-week basis.

For more buying advice in the technological side of the game, check out our guides on the best golf launch monitors, best golf simulator, or best portable launch monitors.

FAQs

Information-Gathering Tech That Will Help You Play Your Best 

There’s no doubt that the advancements in technology have given the average golfer more information than ever about their own game. Used correctly, the latest tech can be a powerful tool to give you the edge over your opponents and the golf course, as well as give you a better understanding of your own game. However, with so many devices out there, it can be hard to know which ones are best suited to you and your game. With that in mind, let’s take a look at some of the devices out there now that will assist you in gathering information about your game and help you play your best. 

Video: Watch Neil Tappin and Katie Dawkins discuss how to take your golf game from the range onto the course

Understanding how far you hit each club 

Understanding how far you hit each club, including things like average distance and best distance, is probably the most useful way to use information-gathering golf technology to your advantage. Being able to go out on course and confidently understand how far you can carry a 7-iron into the wind, how far your driver goes when you hit a fade, and how far a stock pitching wedge goes is a recipe for success. 

Luckily for all golfers, there is now a myriad of devices that help you gather this information. The most commonly used device for being able to calculate your yardages across the bag is a launch monitor and a great example of an affordable, accurate, and portable launch monitor is the Garmin Approach R10. This compact device comes packed with technology that allows you to understand just how you strike the golf ball and how far you hit each club. When linked with the Garmin App, the Approach R10 can record metrics like carry yardage, total yardage, spin, attack angle, apex height, and deviation distance for all the clubs in your bag. The app then stores this information, allowing you to study the data and gain a clear understanding of your average carry yardage throughout the bag. 

Other devices that can help gather this information are GPS smartwatches. The Garmin Approach S62 GPS Smartwatch is a great example of this thanks to its shot-tracking capability. Each shot is tracked using the brand’s Approach CT10 sensors and the data is curated within the Garmin Golf app. After five rounds of using this functionality, the device will have learned how far you hit each club in your bag and start giving you club recommendations via the Virtual Caddie functionality. What’s more, as the data gets synced up with the app on a smartphone, you can look back over your round to discover which specific areas of the game you need to improve. 

Overall, there are lots of devices that can allow you to better understand how far you hit the ball. One final tip: always focus on average yardage rather than your longest. Playing you more representative, average yardage will no doubt save you a few shots on the course and stop you from falling short of your target too often. 

Hole strategy 

With your knowledge gathered on how far you hit each club, another great thing that information-gathering tech can give you is the ability to plot your way around the course. The Garmin Approach S62 GPS Smartwatch gives a full-hole view, allowing you to begin planning how you want to attack a certain hole from the tee box all the way to the green. With a 17 percent larger screen than the previous Approach S60, the hole view technology on the Garmin Approach S62 gives a crystal clear, full-colour display that highlights where you need to be placing your ball down the fairway. You can also use the touchscreen to see how far specific hazards are away as well as place the pin on the green to really fine-tune your strategy. The Garmin Approach S62 Smartwatch PinPointer technology will also help you locate the pin if you've strayed particularly offline and also offers a 'plays like' distance for when the hole has a dramatic up or downhill slope. 

Gathering strategic information while on the course can also be done using a laser rangefinder. The benefit of this over a GPS smartwatch is that you can zap specific parts of the hole to find out how far away they are. It might be a set of trees in the distance or the lip of an overhanging bunker, but having the freedom to find the key number quickly is another way to carefully plot your way around a golf course. The Garmin Approach Z82 is a unique laser rangefinder that allows you to zap the pin or any other specific spots you require while also giving you a full-hole view through the lens of the device. This provides you with a two-in-one information-gathering device that allows you to take advantage of all of the benefits of a quick and accurate laser rangefinder whilst also utilising the strategic gains of a full-hole map. 

Knowing where hazards are

For those who want more of a stripped-back device, the Garmin Approach S12 provides the key information in a quick and easy way. As with the other smartwatches in the Garmin range, it has 42,000 courses preloaded and offers the player front, middle and back distances to the green as well as yardages to key hazards. Using the ‘Big Numbers’ mode makes these vital pieces of information easy to read all from the comfort of your own wrist. 

Ball striking

A poor round of ball striking can scupper any chances of a good score. The Garmin Approach S60 and Garmin Approach S62 smartwatches have features that allow you to study your swing tempo, a vital metric when considering the quality of ball striking. Knowing how your swing tempo affects the quality of your ball striking can really help you focus on this key element as you compete. Devices like the Garmin Approach R10 can add an extra dimension by capturing information like club path angle, club face angle, and smash factor to give you a clear picture of how well you’re striking the ball. This information can be easily used to understand why you might be hitting a slice with your driver or spinning your irons up too much. Better ball striking always leads to better results on the course. 

Wedge distances

Knowing exactly how far you hit each wedge is vital when it comes to better scoring. Knowing how far a full wedge, half wedge, or three-quarter wedge is vital information to gather if you want to better your scoring from 100 yards and in. Using a laser rangefinder on a driving range to pick out targets can quickly help you gather information about how far you hit each wedge you carry. Picking out different targets on the range for specific yardages can help you drill a specific type of shot and gain a clearer understanding of how to hit certain wedge shots. Adding a device like the Approach R10 to your information-gathering tech, you’ll also be able to accurately gather data on how much backspin you create with your wedges too. This should allow you to take this information out onto the golf course and start flag hunting more often and with even more success. 

Which product is right for you? 

As we've seen, there is a lot of tech that can help you gather information about your own game and the course in front of you - but which product is right for you? Here's our summary.

If you're looking for quick and easy access to on-course yardages like distances to the green and hazards, the Garmin Approach S60 and Garmin Approach S62 GPS Smartwatches or Garmin Approach Z82 laser rangefinder are ideal on-course companions to help you strategise. If you're looking to understand more about your own game and how you strike the ball, the Garmin Approach R10 is a device rich with statistical analysis on every club in your bag while storing key information on average carry yardages for each club. After a true all-rounder? The Garmin Approach S62 Smartwatch will give you all the on-course strategy you'll need with its yardage information, PinPointer technology, 'play like' yardages, and full-hole mapping while also recommending club selection for you. 

Garmin is one of the world's leading tech brands and over recent years it has made a big slash in the golf industry with its market leading GPS technology. A brand synonymous with high-quality products, Garmin is now one of the top names when it comes to the best golf GPS devices. While Garmin excels across all golf GPS platforms, perhaps the area they are most accomplished in is when it comes to producing the best golf watches. Garmin offer some of the best watches across all price categories.

So whether you want something basic that gives you front-middle-back yardages, something a little more upmarket with a bright and easy-to-view display, or an out-and-out fully-fledged smart watch with golf capabilities, there's a Garmin to suit your needs. The reason they are so good is that Garmin has found a perfect balance between usability, convenience and powerful features in all of their watches.

We have tested them all and here we will list the best Garmin golf watches on the market right now. However, if golf watches aren't for you, then why not check out some of the best budget golf rangefinders, best golf launch monitors, or the best golf shot tracking apps and devices too.

The Quick List

Best Garmin Golf Watches

Top pick

There is a strong argument to say that the Garmin Approach S70 is the best golf watch out there on the market currently. Despite the wealth of technology, it is very user-friendly, and it is a perfect option for the gadget-loving golfer. That being said, even the not so tech-savvy golfer should be able to get the hang of this watch fairly quickly.

The S70 delivers fast, accurate yardages at a glance, but also offers deep-dive stat tracking for those who want to crunch the numbers to help gain a further understanding of their strengths and weaknesses alongside dialling in their club selection. With real-time weather integration and a Virtual Caddie that learns your personal yardages after just five rounds, it provides an elite level of insight. It easily earns its spot as one of the most feature-rich watches we have ever tested.

This watch looks fantastic on the wrist as the large screen is bright and colorful. As with most Garmin watches it comes pre-loaded with over 43,000 courses and can swiftly transition from watch face to golf mode at the flick of a button. As a golf watch it's unrivaled, but you can use this watch for general fitness tracking too and it boasts a number of smart watch features.

A lot of golf smartwatches can have poor battery life, but this is not the case with the S70 which can hold its charge for up to 16 days when using it as a standard smartwatch. In golf mode using the GPS you will get 20 hours, which is still very impressive.

• Read our full Garmin Approach S70 Golf Watch Review

Best for golf and health

One of the most complete watches we've ever tested.

'How can Garmin make their watches better?' we asked ourselves ahead of the release of the S50. The answer was making this not only a golf watch, but a fully functional fitness watch too.

Beginning with golf functionalities, 43,000 courses are at your disposal on the crisp 1.2-inch color AMOLED screen, giving you all the information you need in relation to yardages to hazards and the front, middle and back of each green. It's also great how lightweight this watch is - we barely noticed wearing it as we swung the club. Add to that the fabric strap and it's the best watch-wearing experience I've had bar none. Unlike many silicone straps, which have specific holes to fit around your wrist, this fabric strap uses a small Velcro closure that means to can fit it to any size you like. It meant no awkward fit, and the lightweight, low-profile watch barely made an impression on my wrist.

As for the fitness capabilities, this is one of the best watches we've reviewed in terms of day-to-day functionality. It is fully loaded with the best health tracking features modern watches can offer. Heart health can be tracked through the HRV status, blood oxygen saturation can be tracked thanks to the Pulse OX sensor, sleep is tracked in excellent detail, and all your daily activity can be tracked too.

• Read our full Garmin Approach S50 Golf Watch Review

Best looking

The Approach S44 is essentially the S50-Lite. It's easy to wear and has functionalities that allow it to be usefully worn but on and off the course - so much so that I have continued wearing it daily even after I reviewed it in April.

Ahead of our review, we were struck immediately by how good looking this watch is. It's very simple but yet sleek at the same time. There's little fuss in the unboxing process in the sense that it's almost a bit of an anti-climatic feeling once you've opened it up - this sn't a criticism by the way, rather a testament to how a brand is focusing on the important things - the quality of the product.

On the course, this model matches the high standards of the Approach S50, offering a crisp, intuitive display that provides essential data at a glance. The yardage accuracy is exceptional, something we've come to expect with Garmin products, consistently delivering reliable numbers that eliminate guesswork. We found the automated score tracker particularly helpful; it provides a gentle vibration as you leave each green as a reminder to log your strokes - it's a small feature but one that is very well thought out. While it doesn't have the same advanced wellness bells and whistles found in the S50, it remains a capable companion for general exercise, offering fundamental tracking for steps, running, cycling, and swimming.

• Read our full Garmin Approach S44 Golf Watch Review

Best value

The S12 is quite far removed from the more high end options in the Approach family like the S70, S62 and even the S42. It's certainly not as stylish and it lacks most of the golf features as well as the smart watch functionality you get with the more expensive watches, but if you want something simple that does exactly what it says on the tin, this is a great value option.

The S12 has access to over 40,000 courses preloaded so getting set up with the course you are at is quick and easy. Once we arrived at the course for testing we found the overall usability of the watch to be really good. Additionally the testing was a simple, fuss-free experience and it was quite refreshing not having all manner of choices available. It was simple GPS functionality and away we went.

Don't let the simplicity fool you of this watch fool you - the S12 is packed with course data. You’ll get clear yardages to the green, hazards, and layups, with the added benefit of manual pin adjustment for pinpoint accuracy. While shot tracking is a manual process on this model rather than automatic like more expensive models, it remains a powerful tool for learning your distances. With integrated scorekeeping and a high-visibility 'Big Numbers' mode, the S12 delivers everything a golfer needs for a fraction of the cost. It is, quite simply, one of the best value-for-money GPS watches on the market and a regular feature on the Golf Monthly E-Com newsletter each Saturday when we see it on sale, simply because it oozes value for money.

• Read our full Garmin Approach S12 GPS Watch Review

Best features

Prior to the introduction of the S70, the S62 was the flagship offering in Garmin's Approach range and although it has been around for a good few years now, it's still one of the most feature packed golf watches out there and it's available at a considerably reduced price now compared to when it was first introduced.

The S62 pairs a premium screen that is slightly bigger than most models but elite features like a Virtual Caddie that reads wind conditions and slope-adjusted yardages. It’s highly advanced yet remarkably simple to use, with the touchscreen responsiveness making the movable pin feature easy and intuitive, whilst the PinPointer compass is a 'life-saver' for aiming on blind shots - a brilliant feature for those like myself who play a lot of links golf.

With all of these great features on offer it is no surprise that the S62 was included in the Editor's Choice awards at Golf Monthly. Another thing we like is that not only can you use this as an everyday smart watch, but the straps are easily detached so you can purchase different color options to mix and match different outfits.

• Read our full Garmin Approach S62 GPS Watch Review

Best ultra-premium

The MARQ Golfer GPS Watch is simply stunning and that is reflected by the price. It has been built from lovely premium materials including a 46 mm titanium case and a ceramic bezel that has been etched with 1-18 hole markings, making this a real head turner in the clubhouse. It's as much a piece of expensive jewelry as it is a golf watch.

Therefore, as with many golf watches these days, the MARQ is certainly not restricted to just being used on the course and you can proudly wear it anywhere at any social occasion. Don't let that overshadow what it can do on the course though, as it's a fantastic golf watch that has all of the features you'll find in the best golf watches, including the ability to allow for elevation changes, provide insight into what the wind is doing as well as give you the best club selection based on your previous shot history.

It's packed with smartwatch features too and you can also play music through this watch as well as make contactless payments, check your heart rate, and track your daily activity, along with other things. When it came to testing this high-end product we have to say it was something special. It was easy and fun to use and it oozed premium quality. You'll feel like a million bucks wearing this watch, but the price will put it out of reach for many. If you can afford this amazing watch though then you will enjoy it a lot.

• Read our full Garmin MARQ Golfer GPS Watch Review

How we test golf watches

We take our product testing very seriously here at Golf Monthly and we have a comprehensive testing procedure when it comes to golf watches. We do our testing while out on the course and over numerous rounds of golf, while if the watch is also designed for use away from the course we will ensure we test it thoroughly in day to day situations. On the course we aim to test in differing conditions when possible so we can see how these watches perform in the sun, wind, and rain.

Our review process is built on a foundation of trust and expert analysis. Every member of our test team is an avid golfer, meaning we don’t just look at the specs - we live with the technology on the course. By testing devices side-by-side, we can definitively evaluate essential factors like GPS precision, weather resistance, and build quality. This comparative method ensures our reviews are as informative as they are authentic.

We also reiterate that the trust we have built between our brand and our loyal readership is one we value greatly, meaning our only goal when writing reviews is to deliver informative verdicts free from bias. No manufacturer can ever 'buy' a good review, nor can a brand get preferential treatment over another. Instead, we simply call it how we see it.

How to choose the right GPS watch

Features

When shopping for a golf watch, start by separating your 'needs' from your 'wants.' While you might dream of a high-tech caddie on your wrist, make sure the watch you buy first excels at the basics. Every GPS watch on the market delivers core yardages to the green; if that’s all you need, a budget model like the S12 offers incredible value. However, if you want a watch that transitions from the 18th hole to the gym or the office, you should be prepared to invest more in a model that offers the lifestyle features.

Your routine

Are you a speedy golfer who relies on a five-second glance for yardage, or more of a deliberate player who prefers to analyze wind, slope, and hazard carries before pulling a club? For the fast-paced player, a simplified interface like the Garmin S12 provides essential numbers instantly without distraction. Conversely, more deliberate players will find immense value in the Approach S70, where the extra time spent navigating touchscreens and virtual caddie suggestions directly informs a more precise shot.

Golf course

Course layout is key in your decision; keep in mind that for blind shots and doglegs, a GPS watch is your best friend. The PinPointer compass on premium models takes the guesswork out of hidden flags. If your course is open and simple, a laser might be faster, but if you're a traveler or match-play regular, the deep-dive course data on a GPS watch provides the confidence you need to tackle unfamiliar terrain.

Additionally be aware of how many golf courses are preloaded onto different watches as well. Finally for more buying advice around GPS handhelds, take a look at out guide on the best golf watches for ladies.

Versatility

Many brands and watches do not work off the course so if you are looking for something versatile then make sure you check the range of features that watch is offering. The more features, the higher the price, but if you are buying something you plan on wearing all the time rather than just for golf then it's easier to justify paying more.

Budget

With a Garmin for every budget, choosing a watch is a simple matter of features vs. price. If you’re after a high-value, no-nonsense tool, the S12 is the definitive budget pick. But if you want a 'lifestyle' watch that handles everything from club recommendations to emails, it’s worth spending more for a premium model.

FAQs

Why Our Golf Experts Think You Should Purchase A Garmin Golf Watch This Black Friday

When it comes to the best golf watches, users are truly spoilt for choice, with there being an array of options on the market. However, if you are looking for a premium model, we believe one brand stands above the rest and that is Garmin.

Not only can its watches be used for on-course activities, but the best Garmin golf watches can also be used to monitor fitness, check emails, the weather, calls and record day-to-day life. What's more, right now, there are also a number of Black Friday golf deals available on the market, with Garmin products offering discounts from anywhere between $50 and $150.

Why would you need a Garmin watch you may ask? Well, to begin with, the company have been the leading electronic watch manufacturer for many, many years, with its products regularly securing 4.5 and 5 star rankings in our reviews.

Along with their reliability, they also provide the user with a range of features on the course, with the watch giving front, middle and back yardages to the green, as well as distances to hazards and corners of doglegs. Some even track and monitor your round and will even feed you information on the average distance your clubs go, how many fairways and greens you hit and further statistics of your round so you know where you can improve your game.

The items that Garmin offer also help take your game from the range to the course, as they are all specifically designed to benefit you and provide confidence, an aspect which, as a golfer, is often overlooked when you're looking to fire your best score in a medal or Stableford competition.

Now, in the Black Friday sale, you can purchase a number of Garmin watches with incredible discounts, as some products are over $100 off, with this time of year the ideal period to purchase a premium model. This is because it may be some time until you find them at these sort of rates!

However, with such an array of models available it can be difficult to find the right one for you and, if you were to check out the options, you will find a number of watches at various price points. Therefore, it comes down to which particular watch you want, what you want to get from it and how you are going to use it.

Importantly, Garmin has found a delicate balance between usability, convenience and powerful features in all of their watches, with their models providing a bright LED screen, as well as superb ease of use, with two examples of this being the Garmin Approach S12 and the Garmin Approach S42.

Both of these are fantastic models that come in at two different price points. The S12 may not be as stylish or feature-packed as its counterpart, but it still offers superb value for money as it provides the user with 40,000+ pre-loaded golf courses and easy usability.

If though you are a golfer who doesn't just enjoy golf, but also going to the gym and works a lot on the go, then the Approach S62 could be a more suited option, with the watch featuring in our Editor's Choice Awards for 2022.

We believe now is the best time to invest in a Garmin watch, especially given the Black Friday sales and the incredible reductions on offer. Other products from adidas and Callaway, are also available with up to 70% off!

Golf technology is evolving year on year but it does often come at a cost. That's why Black Friday is the best time of the year to target that gadget or gizmo you've been craving. Brands and manufacturers often go tit for tat with sales and reductions to entice willing customers to their stores and websites, meaning if you know where to look you can grab a serious bargain.

This guide is a great place to start. With Black Friday set this coming Friday the 29th of November and Cyber Monday the following week on 2nd December, our e-commerce team have rounded up all the best deals to ensure you can secure one of the best golf watches on the market at a reduced price.

Both days are usually an excellent opportunity to find deals on everything to do with golf, including watches, with the likes of Amazon, PGA TOUR Superstore and American Golf just some of the companies that are offering golf watches in their deals.

To keep you up-to-date with every golf-related deal, be sure to check out our best Black Friday golf deals hub page. Our hub isn't the only place you should be keeping an eye on to grab some great bargains, it's worth bookmarking our Cyber Monday deals hub too and why not check out our guides for the best Black Friday golf bag deals, Black Friday golf ball deals and Black Friday golf set deals!

Quick Links

• Amazon: Big savings on wide range of golf equipment
• PGA Tour Superstore: As much as 51% off on all golf equipment
• Carls Golfland: Clearances on clubs as well as 2-day free shipping on select deals
• Scottsdale Golf: Over 700 products with big savings
• Clubhouse Golf: Up to 70% off select products
• adidas: Buy 2, get 30% off with exclusive code
• Rock Bottom Golf: 25% clearance sale
• Nike: Up to 34% off Nike Golf clothing and shoes
• Garmin: Shop the holiday sale
• Motocaddy: Up to $400 off in Black Friday sale
• TaylorMade: Discounts on Qi10, Stealth 2 and more
• Callaway: Great offers available on clubs, golf balls

US top deals

• Jump to: UK top deals

UK top deals

When is Black Friday?

Black Friday is always the final the Friday after Thanksgiving - the final Thursday of November. As the United States digests their turkey, golf brands are working hard to entice customers to their sales the following day as Christmas Shopping hits high gear. Cyber Monday is the following Monday, providing more awesome deals for those who can't make it to the store in person. It's the perfect time to relieve the stress of last minute panic buying, instead allowing customers the chance to purchase gifts for Christmas with plenty of time to spare.

Why should I buy a GPS golf watch on Black Friday?

One of the main benefits of a good GPS watch is the simplicity. They allow you to simply glance at your wrist to get a yardage rather than have to fiddle about with a clunky GPS device or laser rangefinder.

But it is not the only factor at play because the growth in wearable technology in golf has taken huge leaps of late. Brands like Garmin, Bushnell, Shot Scope, Sky Caddie and more, make golf watches to not only help you get the right yardage, but to also give more information on the course, track your shots, provide fitness features and be versatile enough to use both on and off the golf course.

Because of all this, golf watches don't come cheap. You can expect to pay anywhere from $60 to $500 dollars for a golf smart watch, depending on what kind of technology you're looking for. Golf equipment can be expensive, so when the opportunity arises to save a bit of cash, we should jump at it. Said saved money can then be reinvested in other parts of your setup!

Where should I buy a golf GPS watch?

In the US, some of the best golf retailers include PGA Tour Superstore, Rock Bottom Golf, Walmart and, of course, Amazon. In the UK, the best golf retailers include Scottsdale Golf, American Golf, Sports Direct and Amazon. Amazon can be tricky to navigate (check out our best Amazon Black Friday golf deals) but they're a fantastic retailer for golf watches, lasers and balls in particular.

How to choose a golf watch

So you have decided you want to buy a GPS watch. Obviously there are lots of good deals out there as we have shown above, but what are some of the things you need to consider when purchasing? Let's take a look.

Features

Now you need to think about what features are important to you. If you want to keep things simple, and just want standard GPS information like front, middle, back yardages, then a budget option will do the job.

However if you want more detail on distances, on the course itself, hazard information, or if you want a model with a larger screen, then you can spend a little more to get these things. Some also can help you record your score, track your shots, and many also have fitness features for off the golf course as well.

Golf course

If you tend to play a lot of different golf course as opposed to your home course over and over again, your lack of familiarity with your surroundings can sometimes prove challenging to a good score. A great way to get to know a course you're playing for the first time is one of the watches on this list that can provide detailed yardages and even hole flyovers so you aren't playing it blind.

Battery power

The best golf rangefinders run on powerful batteries that are easily replaced every six months to a year, while GPS devices normally need charging regularly via a USB, so consider if you have the discipline to keep it topped up ready for your next round. If you tend to play 36 holes in a day that will also need to be factored in to your choice as you will need something with a longer battery life.

Versatility

This is an important factor to consider. Do you want to be able to use the watch anywhere? If so many brands make models that can be used on and off the golf course because of the range of features, and overall styling.

Budget

Budget is important when buying any sort of golf equipment because typically there are a range of options across multiple price points. If you're simply looking for yardages to the green or on-course hazards, it could be worth you while to spend a little less and reinvest the money saved in other parts of your golf game. If you can't get enough information on the golf course, paying premium prices for a watch can be worth it - some of the options can feel like you have a tour caddy on your wrist!

For more buying advice on golf tech, be sure to have a read of our guides on the best value golf watches or maybe the best budget golf rangefinder.

Does Garmin do Black Friday?

Garmin is one of the biggest technology brands on the planet and, along with their excellent golf watches, they also offer lots of different products like sat navs and trackers. We usually see the official Garmin website do some kind of sale around Black Friday and we expect more of the same in 2024, and a lot of their products will be on offer at other retailers as well such as Amazon, PGA TOUR Superstore, Carl's Golfland and more.

Garmin Approach S10 GPS Watch Review

Garmin has become a huge name in the golf industry, specializing in producing some of the best golf watches money can buy.  And speaking of money, we all know that the upper end of this market will put a fairly sizable dent in a golfer’s pocket. With that in mind, we were keen to test the entry-level Garmin Approach S10 GPS watch to find out how it compared to its more expensive competitors. 

The first thing to say is that it was well packaged when it arrived and came with instructions that told us how to set it up and get the most out of it on the course. As we envisaged, it wasn’t rocket science, but it was a nice touch all the same. There are a whopping 40,000 courses preloaded, meaning you can be confident in the knowledge that, wherever you’re playing, it will have all the information you require. Just turn it on, select the course, and head to the first tee equipped to play your best. 

We always enjoy the front-middle-back yardages that GPS watches display as, no matter where you are on a given course, a distance is always provided. It’s one of the big advantages products such as this have over even the best golf rangefinders, as you don’t need a clear sight of your target. Additionally, the S10 gave us run-out yardages on doglegs as well as numbers to key hazards. Especially at a new venue, we found this to be invaluable.  

In fact, at no point throughout testing were we unable to find a yardage we wanted or needed. That may happen in the future, but instances will be few and far between. Onto the looks, and while admittedly it isn’t the most stylish watch, that’s fine because it isn’t designed to be. For those wanting to marry style with substance, look to the upper end of the Garmin range. 

What the S10 is, however, is extremely lightweight and sleek. For anyone still hesitant about trying a GPS watch for fear it might be cumbersome and cause distractions, you needn’t worry as there’s more chance of forgetting it’s even there. And not only that, but the strap on the Garmin S10 is actually quite comfortable on the wrist. 

The screen is black and white - again, head elsewhere if you want color graphics - and the information is very clear to read. Even in sunlight, we didn’t struggle with glare. To be honest, from start to finish, the Garmin S10 experience was completely effortless and given the price, it is one of the best value golf watches out there right now. 

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Garmin Approach Z82 Laser Rangefinder Review

While it is one of the most expensive rangefinders on the market, the Garmin Approach Z82 is also one of the most unique and feature-packed offerings on the market and takes what a laser rangefinder can do to the next level. (However if you are more of a watch person, also take a look at our guide on the best Garmin golf watches because the brand makes some of the best in the business.) 

Watch as Joel Tadman tests out a number of different laser rangefinders

Bak to the Z81, the absolute stand out feature on this device is the 2D hole map overlay that is displayed on the side of the view as you look through it. The map provides you front, middle and back distances as well as a full view on the hole ahead to give you a picture of what lies ahead. Furthermore, if you enter your driving distance before you play, the device shows you via the hole map where you should roughly expect a good drive to end up. This was an incredibly useful feature, especially on courses we hadn't played before, and adds a whole new dynamic to what we consider is capable of a laser rangefinder.

Other features include a slope functionality - which can be easily turned on and off at the press of a button - and distances to lay up or carry hazards. All this was also available on the prior Z80 model, but new in the Approach Z82 is the ability to link to the Garmin app and gain access to live wind direction. This, along with the Slope adjusted-distances, can be disabled for competition use and there is now an external tournament mode indicator light to show your playing partners it is legal for use.

It genuinely is one of the best golf rangefinders we have ever tested but what we also loved about the Approach Z82 is that it does the basics really well. The screen is clearer than the prior version and a small vibration lets you know you're locked on to the pin. When you do so, a line on the green in the map shows you how far on the green the pin position is - something you can't normally see from where the shot is being played from.

It's certainly a bit heavier in the hand that some other rangefinders, but we didn't find this an issue when using it out on course and it fits in the hand really nicely thanks to its well designed shape. The battery life has improved somewhat, although in full GPS golf mode it drains it more than most - such is the wide functionality on offer. Now we should mention it does not make our guide on the best budget golf rangefinders, because it does come at the premium end of the price spectrum, but we think the performance is worth it. 

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Garmin Approach S12 GPS Watch Review

The Approach S12 is Garmin’s entry level GPS watch and you get something that’s easy to use and provides accurate distance information throughout the round. The display is clear and updates automatically as you play.

We had no problems locating the course on arrival at Essendon GC and were able to get the correct yardages within a minute or two of starting the set up. The black and white screen of the S12 is slightly smaller than some of the other, more expensive Garmin options. This gives it a basic, inexpensive look but from a purely golfing perspective, it didn’t detract from how effective it was at providing yardages.

We liked how readily the standard front, middle and back yardages were available. For the most part, this was all we needed but yardages to layup areas and hazards were also available which was very handy. You can also manually move the pin position to get a more precise number when hitting into the greens. It is because of features like these that we included this model in our comprehensive best golf watches guide.

Where this watch did suffer in comparison to more expensive models like the S42 and S62 is with the lack of touch screen functionality. To scroll through the different yardage information on each hole you need to press the buttons on the side of the watch. Sounds simple and it is but we found it more fiddly than when using touchscreen watches. It also takes a little getting used to to know which button to press as you search for different information or settings.

One thing we loved about this watch was how lightweight and sleek the strap was. This means you can swing the club without it catching on your clothes or your other wrist. In fact, you would barely know you were wearing it.

For those who sometimes struggle to see the information, the Garmin Approach S12 GPS Watch has a ‘Big Numbers’ mode. By changing the format of the display, it makes the key information a little bigger and easy to see. In all, this is an excellent, if fairly basic GPS watch. It is easy to use and the yardages it provided during our test round were accurate and reliable. As it comes in at such a low price point, it is undeniably one of the best value golf watches on the market at the moment.

We also think this is a great present too, whether it is for yourself or for the golfer in your life. But for more gift ideas for birthdays, Christmas and so on, check out our guide on the best golf gifts.

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Get 37% Off On The Outstanding Garmin Approach S12 Watch Right Now

There are a lot of excellent deals out there at the moment thanks to the Amazon Prime Early Access sale, and one of our favorites is an incredible 44% saving on one of the best golf watches out there, the Garmin Approach S12. 

It comes preloaded with 42,000 golf courses worldwide to give you quick, clear and accurate yardages to the front, middle and back of green, as well as yardages to hazards on the hole. 

The watch also allows you to track your score, measure how far you hit each shot and also has a functionality that allows you to place a pin on the green for an even more accurate yardage out on course. All of this is displayed on a clean and clear display and the watch is available in several colors

• Read our full Garmin Approach S12 GPS Watch review

The reason we love this deal so much, is not just because the S12 is such a good model, and the price is excellent, but also because we have found it can be quite hard to find good deals on Garmin golf products, so when one comes along it stands out. 

Garmin is a brand synonymous with high-quality and our reviews of its products agrees with this. As a result if you want a GPS device or golf watch, then Garmin is one of the best brands to consider. 

Why are they so good? Well Garmin has found a delicate balance between usability, convenience and also powerful features in all of its products at the moment. Garmin also makes its watches in particular look very sophisticated and stylish so you can actually use them both on and off the golf course which is a huge bonus. 

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What Is The Best Smart Watch For Golfers?

Smart watches are becoming one of the top GPS tools you can use and as a result they are becoming more and more popular in today's world, with the devices offering up plenty of great features on your wrist. You'll be able to see notifications, track your health, make phone calls and much more. Lots of active people also use them for exercise and playing music when out and about to save taking their smartphones with them.

On top of all those features, many will also help your golf game. Whilst there are some excellent golf specific watches out there, it can be argued the best golf watches also double as a smart watch and vice-versa. Thankfully there really are lots of options to choose from right now. Here we list some things to consider when purchasing your new smart watch. Also if you would prefer a laser, check out our guide on the best golf rangefinders too or watch the video below where we dissect the key differences between GPS, watches, and lasers. 

What Is The Best Smart Watch For Golfers?

Features

If you have decided you want a GPS watch, now you need to think about what features are important to you. If you’re looking for your standard front, middle and back GPS yardages then a budget watch will do the trick, however there are some incredible watches out there that offer much more.

Alternatively, there are watches which can go into much greater detail when providing yardages, course detail, hazard information and so on. Obviously there are models with larger screens too which can be a particularly useful feature. Some also can help you record your score, track your shots, and many also have fitness features for off the golf course as well. As such, it is worth considering how many features, and which ones, you want your watch to have. Ultimately there are a lot of models out there that are designed as much for off the golf course, than on it, so be aware of how you want the watch to work everywhere. 

If it is a beautiful screen that you're after, the SkyCaddie LX5 may be your preferred option, as it has the largest color touchscreen of any golf GPS watch (3.5cm). Whereas if you're looking for something slightly different, the Samsung Galaxy Active2 watch features technology from GolfBuddy and will work very well for Samsung and Android phone users. Much of the navigation and functionality on this watch is unique to the market, which makes it an appealing prospect to the gadget lover. It also doubles as a versatile fitness watch and you can get incoming emails too. The Garmin Approach S70 or S62 are two excellent models for features.

Versatility

Many brands make models that can be used on and off the golf course because of the range of features, and overall styling. If that is important to you, then several models above will cater to this need. Garmin's designs usually have the functionality to work anywhere and look the part in any situation really, as do the models from Samsung, SkyCaddie and Tag Heuer. 

Apple or Android?

If you're an iPhone user then an Apple watch could be the one to go for. You might not think of an Apple watch as an out-and-out golf GPS device, but many of the best golf GPS apps can be downloaded to use on your wrist.

The Apple watches look seriously cool and offer some wonderful technologies iPhone users will be used to. You can make phone calls from them, watch videos, play music, pay for things, send messages and much more. They also come with customizable straps to ensure that the watch looks and feels just how you want it to.

If you're an Android user then a regular Android smart watch will also serve you well as the aforementioned GPS apps are compatible on both Android and iOS. Whether it's Samsung, Huawei or your favorite lifestyle watch brand, all smart watches will have certain apps and capabilities to help you play better. Just make sure you know what you're looking - whether it's a beautiful display, a great battery life or a multitude of features to help you off the course too.

Budget

If you're looking for something at the cheaper end of the scale you will find it, as there are plenty of great devices on the market at some very reasonable prices. If you're just looking for a smart watch to offer up GPS yardages on the course and tell the time off of it, you won't need to spend much more than $150. We think models like the Garmin Approach S12, Bushnell iON Edge and Shot Scope V3 watches are all excellent examples of this.

If you've got more money to play with, a Fenix watch from Garmin or the ultra-premium MARQ will have you covered with a huge amount of features - they each lay claim to being near the top of the list when asking what is the best smart watch for golfers. Additionally the Tag Heuer Connected Golf Edition watch looks and performs great on and off the course, and you'll certainly be the envy of your four-ball. Importantly there is a watch seemingly at every price point so be aware of how much you are willing, or able, to spend here and pick a model accordingly. Also we actually did a cheap vs expensive watch test so watch that if you want more of an idea on the performance differences based on price point.

When looking at your golf setup, there are a number of ways of improving your game without even swinging a golf club. One of the ways to lose shots out on the course is by treating yourself to a GPS watch, an item that will provide you with yardages and confidence for when you're looking to hit a shot.

However, there are even problems here as there is such an array of technology-based items available on the market. Do you go for one of the best golf watches that money can buy? Or perhaps you fancy a handheld device like one of the best golf rangefinders...

There really is so much on offer and that's why we, at Golf Monthly, have looked at two of the best GPS watches on the market in the Garmin Approach S62 and SkyCaddie LX5, models that provide a premium performance that will give you confidence over the 18 holes.

Having tested both models, which one is best for your game and which one will suit you more? Here, we take a look and compare the two.

Garmin Approach S62 vs SkyCaddie LX5 GPS Watch: Read Our Head-To-Head Verdict

Design

As you are likely wearing the watch all day, it is important that it looks good and feels comfortable to wear. No-one wants it to become a hassle and, thankfully, with these models that isn't the case, as both perform admirably in the design department.

We begin with the Approach S62, which ranks as one of the best Garmin golf watches on the market. Thanks to slick and stylish aesthetics, the watch wouldn't look out of place off the course and, what's more, it is 4g lighter than the SkyCaddie, as well as being slightly smaller.

Although the SkyCaddie is marginally heavier at 65g, which is nothing really, it is very comfortable to wear, with the styling, along with fitness features, encouraging you to wear it away from the course. As mentioned, it is slightly more awkward to wear than the Garmin, as the SkyCaddie is a tad chunkier.

Display

Although the Garmin takes the edge in the design, we give the display portion to the SkyCaddie. The LX5 is essentially a shrunken down version of the impressive handheld SX400 and SX550, models that feature in our best golf GPS guide.

Such is the bright and crystal clear display on the SkyCaddie, it is arguably the stand-out feature. Firstly, it is easy to read in different conditions and without having to hold it close to your face. The definition on the hole graphics is also truly stunning, allowing you to see every detail of what lies ahead, while we also liked how the LX5 recommended the optimum driving position based on feedback from the SkyCaddie mappers who have walked the holes.

There's no denying that the Garmin Approach S62 is sleek, stylish and easy to navigate. However, the hole maps are more basic and aren’t as large or bright as the LX5. As such, they aren’t as easy to interpret quickly and take longer to load when scrolling.

It is worth noting though that the colour touchscreen display is 17 per cent larger than on the previous Approach S60 and that we were still able to see clearly what lay ahead and move the pointer to areas of interest. Overall though, it's the SkyCaddie that holds the cards in this department.

Ease of use

Ease of use is arguably the most important factor when it comes to a GPS watch and, in this category, it's difficult to split the two, with both matching each other when it comes to usability.

To begin with, the S62 is easy to set up and the touch screen works well alongside two of the side buttons to navigate through the options. You can even swipe around the edge of the screen to change holes quickly if you need to and access distances to hazards as well as the crucial front, middle and back yardages. 

As mentioned, the LX5 has that same level of usability as well. From the main Big Numbers screen, which also displays front, middle and back yardages, you can swipe in four directions to access features like the hole map, hazard list or scorecard and then swipe back to return. It soon becomes second nature.

One slight negative is that moving the crosshair is a little fiddly, and your finger always seems to be slightly in the way, but the generous screen size helps to negate this. It really comes into its own in situations where laser rangefinders fall down, like on blind shots and when hazards aren’t visible, and will be very useful on new courses.

Features

Personally, we think the Garmin Approach S62 edges it in the features department. Not only does it have a Pin Pointer for blind shots, but also a Virtual Caddie that, after five rounds of logging shots, will start suggesting clubs and the ability to factor in wind when connected with the Garmin app.

It is also pre-loaded with 41,000 golf courses, which is 6,000 more than the SkyCaddie, as well as its battery life being 20 hours compared to the LX5's two rounds. Lastly, there are lots of fitness tracking options on the Garmin, should you want to use it more as a sports watch rather than just a golf GPS. There's also a feature to receive email and text notifications.

Whilst the LX5 offers everything most golfers need, it doesn't have the variety of the Garmin or the off-course features. The battery life does comfortably last two rounds though and there is also a three-year Worldwide Membership plan included which adds value and longevity to the investment. 

You can also add performance stats, like putts taken and fairways hit, which can then be synced to the SkyGolf360 app for easier analysis. The SkyCaddie is also pre-loaded with 35,000 courses which is still an awful lot!

Accuracy

One of the last sections which is possibly the most necessary is the accuracy of the two GPS watches. In testing, we found that the S62 often matched up with the LX5, but some shots were more than a few yards out. 

What's more, the maps on the Garmin app also hadn’t incorporated course changes from a few years ago, whereas the LX5 seemed to compare against our laser slightly more favourably, with the distances displayed being closer to what we were expecting. They also updated quickly as we walked.

Overall appeal

Overall the Garmin Approach S62 is a watch for the gadget lover who wants the very latest features, the ability to track shots and to use it off the course as well. It’s expensive, but it’s one of the very best watches around.

The LX5 on the other hand is for the golfer who seeks simplicity. It is ideal for golfers who want a wearable watch but with the detail of a handheld GPS. The three-year SkyGolf360 Pro membership is a great touch and adds even more value to what is a fine performer.

Which one should you choose?

Choose the Garmin Approach S62 if…
- You are looking for a watch that can be used on and off the golf course
- You want a watch that will last over time and is simple to use
- You require a watch that is not distracting to wear on your wrist

Choose the SkyCaddie LX5 if...
- You are after a watch that will give you accurate yardages
- You are looking for a watch that is a smaller GPS golf device with a stunning display
- You have slightly larger wrists and want something a tad bulkier

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Rapsodo MLM vs Garmin Approach R10 Launch Monitor: Read Our Head-To-Head Verdict

When it comes to the best golf launch monitors, some can cost upwards of over $10,000. Many professionals on Tour will tend to use the likes of the Foresight Sports GCQuad, or the Full Swing Kit Launch Monitor, but these are well out of the price range of the amateur golfer who wants to know their numbers and figures around their swing.

Thankfully, brands are offering cheaper alternatives which still offer premium performance. The models in this piece come in at around the $600 range, making them a lot cheaper than other models on the market.

Rapsodo may be a brand that isn't recognized by many golfers but, with their Mobile Launch Monitor, you can see there is a lot of quality available at your fingertips. It works in conjunction with the free Rapsodo app on your iOS smartphone indoors or outdoors and provides a simple and effective start-up procedure that will improve your game.

In this piece, it goes up against the Garmin Approach R10 Launch Monitor, which is crammed with many useful features. What's more, Garmin is known for producing some of the best golf watches and best golf GPS kit on the market. Therefore you know it is going to be a good performer.

Ease of use

We begin with the Rapsodo MLM which, as stated above, works in conjunction with the free app on your iOS smartphone. To set up, simply create an account, log in and then rest your phone in the front slot and position it six feet behind the ball. 

A handy feature is that the lines on the screen and the GPS overhead view help you align it correctly and select your hitting direction for enhanced accuracy. It is worth noting that navigating through the app on a small screen is a touch fiddly and the Rapsodo does weigh 70-grams more than the Garmin, although this shouldn't be too much of a factor.

To begin with, we did admittedly have some issues getting the Garmin Approach R10 to pair with our IOS devices initially but, once rectified, getting it set up and ready to use is a brisk process using the magnetic tripod included.

Like the Rapsodo, the R10 does feature an alignment aid to help setup the device. However, the red line on top isn’t overly effective in helping align the device. The app is relatively intuitive to navigate though, swiping in different directions to access different data screens.

Accuracy

Beginning with the Garmin this time, which does offer more club and ball data points, including spin, clubface angle and path as well as launch direction. There’s no normalization feature to account for range balls, but the shot patterns matched up well with what we saw and the distances seemed to tally up well with our expectations.

The Rapsodo also performs nicely in this department, as the data stacked up very well with what we were accustomed to, with subtle differences in strike creating small changes in launch and carry distance.

There were a few anomalies that were easily discounted, and the data points are fairly basic but there’s enough on offer to form valid opinions about your clubs’ performance - we also liked seeing the standard deviation for each club.

Features

Along with the accuracy, the Rapsodo MLM has a clever feature where you hold the club in front of your phone's camera and it will automatically record the club you're hitting. 

What's more, it also provides a video playback of your swing with a shot tracer graphic, which most of the time reflected the shot we just hit. It also uses your phone’s GPS to see where all of your shots land on your actual range or course.

Again, the Garmin matches up very well in the features department too. As well as the variety of data points, we really enjoyed the free trial of the Home Tee Hero feature, which is effectively a golf simulator allowing you to play over 42,000 preloaded golf courses worldwide.

We played our home course and the display and graphics had a charming arcade style. The shot results were true to life and it made our range session more fun and useful.

Versatility

Aside from the ease of use, both models are stacking up very nicely. However, it's the Rapsodo which is let down in this category as it is only compatible with iOS devices, specifically the iPhone 7 and up, as well as the iPad 2017 and up.

Currently, it's not compatible with Android devices, but it does come in both an outdoor and net mode tailored to the two most common practice scenarios, with Rapsodo also providing a compact carry case that easily clips on to your bag.

When it comes to versatility with the Garmin Approach R10, you are provided with a clip that allows you to position your phone upright in a more convenient position on the floor; this allows you to see the data. You can also clip it to your bag to automatically video your swing, which is part of the app and it also comes in a relatively compact carry case, which makes it easy to transport to your practice sessions.

Overall Appeal

Despite a few issues at the driving range, the Garmin Approach R10 is a compelling package in the portable launch monitor market. We think that the Home Tee Hero is a stand-out and unique feature and, what's more, the variety of data points and accuracy seems comparable with more premium launch monitors.

Compared to the R10, the Rapsodo is a little more affordable and more suited to the golfer that is content with more basic information about their shots. Not only does it provide basic information, but it is easy to get set up and the app is well-designed. However, the fact it is only compatible with iOS devices is a stumbling block; hopefully that may change in the future.

Which one should you choose

Choose the Rapsodo MLM if…
- You are looking for a launch monitor which is easy to set up for practice
- You want an accurate device that will give you basic information on your swing
- You are looking to add to your setup at home

Choose the Garmin Approach R10 if...
- You want a launch monitor which will make your practice sessions more fun
- You are wanting a launch monitor that can double up as a simulator
- You are wanting a launch monitor that, once setup, is easy to navigate through

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Golf watches have become all the rage of late because of the combination of GPS capability, versatility, usability, and not to mention most of them are just very cool pieces of gear. Importantly, not only do brands like Garmin make top of the range models like the MARQ which costs thousands, but these brands also make watches at the complete opposite end of the price spectrum, meaning we can all invest in a model if we want.

But why would you want a golf watch in the first place? Well as we mentioned above watches usually come with GPS functionality meaning you can turn up to a golf course and know how far you are from the flag or certain hazards. Watches these days are also very comfortable and are highly convenient because you can just glance at your wrist to get a yardage rather than have to get a laser rangefinder from your bag. Watches also tend to be easy to use, offer a degree of style and versatility, and many also come with other features like fitness tracking and so on.

From our testing we have found there are lots of golf watches that offer all of these performance factors, but also a lot of value too because they don't break the bank. This guide is therefore a list of those watches. Additionally if you are more of a laser kind of golfer, then take a look at our guide on the best budget rangefinders as well.

The Quick List

Best Value Golf Watches 2026

Top pick

The Shot Scope G6 is a great example of a watch that takes the simple approach, and for many golfers, it’s all the better for it. Setup was easy and despite the lack of touch screen, navigation was simple. It didn't compromise on features either, enhancing the value.

For example you get color hole maps, distances to hazards and doglegs, lay up points and a built in scorecard. I like how you get distances to reach and carry them and it was obvious to me which hazard the numbers were referring to when cross referencing them with the hole maps. I also liked the ability to move the pin location around by cycling through a host of positions to get a more specific distance if you’re feeling aggressive and want to go flag hunting.

The screen size is generous, easy to read, and I liked the lightweight sleekness of the G6 as well.

Overall given its affordability, the G6’s performance is to be commended. While it’s not an ‘all singing, all dancing’ watch when it comes to complete performance, we found that out on the course it provided us with all the key numbers and a few extra elements as well.

• Read our full Shot Scope G6 GPS Watch Review

Best simplicity

Although the S12 is a not as stylish as its upgrade the S42, it does come in at a cheaper price point, making it great value for money. It has over 40,000 preloaded courses, so finding the course you are playing is quick and easy. Once on the first tee it gives you plenty of information like distances to bunkers, water hazards and where the ideal layup spots are. The main feature of this watch is the front, middle and back yardages giving you great information for finding the green, you are also then able to out exactly where the flag is on that green to give you a more exact yardage.

A standout feature of the S12 is its manual shot-tracking capability, allowing players to precisely measure how far they each club by registering the distance between where they've swung the club and where they take their next shot - over time this allows players to gain a further understanding of exactly how far they hit each club, a crucial aspect for those who want to shoot lower scores.

The watch also facilitates seamless scorekeeping and basic stat tracking, offering immediate insights into areas of your game that need refinement. For those who find small text difficult to read, the 'Big Numbers' mode is a very useful feature which ensure the screen remains perfectly readable even in the most challenging lighting conditions. Despite the black and white screen, and it being slightly smaller than other watches, this watch still oozes value for money. It has great features and does those features well, giving you a great golfing watch at a fraction of the price compared to the bigger ones.

• Read our full Garmin Approach S12 Review

Best for style

If you want a watch that looks as good as it performs, the A2 is a top-tier choice. Its clean white design is matched by an interface that is extremely easy to master. By pairing a responsive touch screen with four physical buttons, the A2 gives you multiple ways to access its deep feature set. We particularly liked the side buttons during testing which act as a fail-safe for scrolling through menus when your hands are sweaty or in the rain - particularly useful for our UK and Ireland based reviewers! The display’s adaptive brightness is a clever engineering touch that keeps the watch powered for up to 10 full hours of GPS play.

As well as front, middle and back distances, you get the time, battery life, hole and par, yards or meters, and your current score. It will also tell you the number of steps you’ve taken. Swipe to the side and you access the full color hole maps, and swipe again you can see a view of the green and its undulations.

Admittedly the A2 is little more basic than the Voice Caddie T9 and the price reflects this, but for most golfers it provides more than enough information to select the right club on every shot.

• Read our full Voice Caddie A2 Golf Watch Review

Best accompanying app

The Bushnell ION Elite remains a standout user-friendly pick in 2026 and is a great option for the golfer who wants to simply glance at their watch and receive accurate yardages without all the fuss of multiple features - that's not to say this is a feature-less watch, though. The ION Elite successfully bridges the gap between basic golf watches and high-end smartwatches. The main talking point here is that this is the first Bushnell wearable to feature their Patented Slope Technology, giving it the analytical edge usually reserved for laser rangefinders or high-end, high-price watches.

Specifically with the Slope Functionality, a lot of the best golf watches.don't even have this feature. You can access it via the golf settings, where you can choose to toggle the Slope feature on/off. Another great addition is the tournament mode setting, which gives you 100% clarity on whether the set-up is legal for tournament play.

Finally we should mention the accompanying Bushnell app because it elevates the watch further. On the app you have access to hole flyovers and more in-depth performance analysis capabilities, which undoubtedly adds value.

• Read our full Bushnell Ion Elite Golf GPS Watch Review

Best sporty look

The Shot Scope G5 is proof that you don't need an 'all-singing, all-dancing' device to improve your course management. It strikes a perfect balance between simplicity and performance, delivering critical yardages on a generously sized display. Despite its large screen, the watch maintains a minimalistic feel thanks to its streamlined casing and soft silicone strap, meaning it's stylish enough to be worn as a sporty-looking watch off the course.

In terms of golf, once we had selected our course of choice, the front, middle and back yardages were displayed clearly on the screen straightaway. You also get other useful bits of information too like battery life, the time, what hole you're on and the par of that hole, as well as the current score to par you are. You also have access to hazard information which is one click away, and the G5 offers you distances to the hazard and to carry the hazard also. As well as this you get distances to doglegs, lay up areas, and a shot distance measurement feature, you can also access a digital scorecard which helps you keep track of your scoring.

All in all we were really impressed by this watch and how the G5 performed, all the features it offers up are useful and easy to use. A really great aspect of this watch is its sporty look and how lightweight it is, meaning you really do not feel it on your wrist and it doesn't impact your swing.

• Read our full Shot Scope G5 GPS Watch Review

How we test golf watches and GPS devices

When it comes to GPS watches, we have a comprehensive testing procedure at Golf Monthly. We use many different models out on the course for numerous rounds and in different conditions, giving us the best insight in to how these watches function come rain or shine.

The testing team at Golf Monthly is comprised of dedicated, active golfers, which means every GPS watch is subjected to the rigorous test of actual on-course testing on a regular basis. Although our GPS watch testing is headed up by Conor Keenan, a golfer with over a decade of experience caddying at Royal County Down, he is helped out in reviewing watches by a multitude of team members, all of whom have strong experience with these sorts of technology.

This hands-on approach ensures our feedback is rooted in practical experience, with our process involves side-by-side comparisons with industry benchmarks to evaluate accuracy, durability, waterproofing and more. Transparency is the core of our mission and is why we've built such a strong level of trust between our brand and leadership after well over a decade of testing the best golf equipment - no manufacturer can buy a favorable review nor does a brand ever get preferential treatment over another. Whether a product excels or falls short, we pride ourselves on delivering an honest, unfiltered verdict based on how it truly performs.

How to choose a GPS device

Your routine

The best golf watches usually only require you to take a quick glance at them, so make sure you know if you want greater detail or less disruption for your round, as having to get a rangefinder or a different device out of its case or your bag can be long-winded.

Your course

A GPS watch is an invaluable tool for golfers who frequently tackle unfamiliar layouts or courses defined by complex doglegs and blind approaches. By providing a 'bird’s-eye view' of the hole (not every watch in this guide provides this feature, so be aware), these devices offer a preview that is often impossible to gather with the naked eye. Features like PinPointer (which shows the direction of the flag even when it's hidden) and hazard mapping ensure that you can commit to your lines with total confidence.

Features

The market for golf GPS watches in 2026 offers a wide range of functionality, from 'essentials-only' devices on the lower end of the price scale (as seen in this guide) to full-scale tactical computers for your wrist that will cost you a few hundred dollars. Because more features usually mean a higher price tag and potentially more complex menus, identifying your specific on-course needs is the most effective way to ensure you get the best return on your investment.

FAQs

We hope you enjoyed this guide on the best golf GPS devices. Also make sure you research the best golf simulator, best golf GPS apps and the best golf watches for ladies too because they can truly add to your golfing experience.

Garmin Approach S12 vs Bushnell iON Edge GPS Watch: Read Our Head To Head Verdict

When it comes to distance measuring devices in golf, you are really spoilt for choice. Currently, there are a number of laser rangefinders, handheld GPS devices, GPS watches and even apps that can tell you the distance to the flag and much much more. This comparison focuses on two of the best golf watches in the affordable sector - the Garmin Approach S12 and the Bushnell iON Edge GPS Watch.

Both brands are famous for producing some of the best golf GPS' and best golf laser rangefinders, but both are also familiar with producing some great watches that can be used, not just on the golf course, but also off it. 

Garmin is one of the largest technological companies in the world, with the brand producing hundreds and hundreds of gadgets designed to improve your golf. One of its entry-level watches is the Approach S12, a watch that gives a premium performance and won't break the bank. Bushnell may be known for making laser rangefinders, but it also knows a thing or two about making GPS watches, with its iON Edge earning a spot in Golf Monthly's Editor's Choice awards for 2022.

Both are similarly priced but which one is going to benefit your game more? We tested them side by side on the golf course to find out.

Styling

Neither will set the world alight with their looks, but both provide a simple, easy-to-digest viewing experience. Starting with the Garmin Apprach S12, it features a 2.3cm face and three strap options. What we did like, aside from the basic look, is how the middle distance was displayed larger than the others, which made it easy to glance at. What's more, it is incredibly lightweight and the strap is very sleek. This meant that when we swung the club, it didn't interfere or move around. In fact, we barely noticed we were wearing it. 

Bushnell's iON Edge is ever so slightly larger than the Garmin S12, 0.4cm to be exact, but it is still smaller than the many premium watches on the market that offer more detail. It's the same with the styling; although it may not look premium, it was still a decent-looking addition to our wrist that wasn’t overly bulky or heavy. Additionally, due to its sleek and soft feel, it didn’t interfere with our swing or cause any discomfort.

Ease Of Use

Arguably, the most important aspect of any golf watch is how easy it is to use. There's nothing more frustrating than waiting on the first hole and not being able to link up your watch to the correct course and tee. Thankfully, the Garmin S12 doesn't have such issues, with the watch ranked amongst one of the best Garmin watches on the market. At the start, we didn't have problems locating the course on arrival, with the correct yardages appearing on the screen within a minute or two of beginning the setup. 

The only area where the watch suffered was with the lack of touch screen functionality. To scroll through the different yardage information on each hole, you need to press the buttons on the side of the watch. Although it is simple, we initially found it more fiddly than when using touchscreen watches. It also takes a little getting used to, to know which button to press as you search for different information or settings.

The Bushnell was also easy to set up. There is one button on the side, which we correctly figured would boot it up. From there, one swipe to the right gives you the option to begin your satellite search for the correct course. 

The iON does feature a touch screen layout, something which should be easier to use than the Garmin's buttons on the side. However, we found it to be a tad unresponsive, while at the same time being annoyingly sensitive to a misplaced finger. If you're able to master this temperamental aspect though, it is a very good performer for the price.

Features

Both watches provide the basics when it comes to features, with the pair showing the standard front, middle and back yardages, as well as the ability to pinpoint the flag on the green for more accurate distance. What's more, both also display yardages to layup areas and hazards, a useful feature when tackling a new golf course. Both are also able to measure shots and keep your score.

The Garmin has a Big-Numbers mode which, coupled with the sunlight-readable dial, is great for those whose eyesight maybe isn’t what it once was. Although the Bushnell's battery life is only a respectable 15 hours versus the S12's 30 hours and comes pre-loaded with 38,000 courses versus the Garmin's 42,000. But we liked having the ability to move the pin position on the green for a more precise distance and you have the ability to input scores and some basic stats, such as fairways and greens hit. Buying the ION Edge also gives you access to Bushnell's excellent GPS app, which provides 3D hole flyovers and the ability to add in stats about your play, enhancing the value for money.

These may not rank amongst the best golf shot apps and devices, but they will give you the tools you need to improve your scores through better strategy decisions and club selections. 

Versatility

Both models have been designed with golf in mind. However, the Bushnell doesn't really offer the off-course features of the S12, which means the Garmin is arguably a more versatile option. 

With the Garmin, you can download Garmin Connect Mobile to the watch. This means that you can keep track of your steps, calories burnt and even the route of your run. You can also download Garmin Golf, with the ability to set up leagues with your friends, as well as keeping track of your shots on your phone - extremely useful.

Bushnell on the other hand doesn't give you this option, with the watch specifically designed for golf and golf only. Despite it telling the time, the styling is such that you probably wouldn't want to wear it off the course whereas the Garmin gives you more reasons to, including the more modern screen and overall look and feel.

Value

These models are priced around the same point, with both being aimed at the person who don't want to spend upwards of $250-$300 on a distance-measuring device.

There is certainly a lot to like about both. The iON watch from Bushnell is designed for those who want to solely focus on their golf, at a price that won't break the bank. However, if you are perhaps a bit more tech savvy, e.g. you use your phone often, then the Garmin is going to be more useful in your life. Both however offer superb value for money and will provide you the basics you need on the course for a very reasonable price.

Which One Should You Choose

Choose the Garmin Approach S12 if…
- You are looking for an affordable watch that can be used on and off the course
- You want a modern, streamlined design
- You like to track your play via your smartphone

Choose the Bushnell iON Edge if...
- You are after a watch that will give you accurate yardages
- You are looking for a simple, no nonsense display
- You're not bothered about off-course features

Garmin is one of the leading brands in the golf watch space and the MARQ Golfer is the brand’s most premium, feature-packed model you can buy for a mere $1,850/£1,699. In fact, the golf features only make up a small section of its capability (it can track your breathing, blood oxygen levels and even pay for things in shops) but these features alone make it one of the best golf watches on the market.

Opening the box is an exciting experience. Inside you get a spare strap and three CT10 sensors that screw into the ends of your clubs and allow you to try Garmin’s automatic shot tracking system. But, the MARQ Golfer will prompt you to manually enter what club you hit on each shot until you reach the green as well as your score and how many putts you needed. This data is stored and then presented on the Garmin Connect smartphone app once synced after your round for you to analyse.

After five rounds have been logged, you get access to Garmin’s Virtual Caddie that will suggest clubs for upcoming shots based on your history. They’re even more accurate than you think because they can take slope and current wind speed and direction into account. Very cool, right?

During testing, we found that the silicone rubber strap helped the watch stay in position during the swing better than the tritone green jacquard-weave nylon strap because the MARQ Golfer, at 88g, is on the heavy side. It’s also a little bulky compared to others we’ve tried, but not to the point that it gets in the way.

Once charged and powered up, you’re left to work out how to navigate through the menus using the touch screen and the five buttons scattered around. It is frustratingly confusing at the start and while it improves with practice, you never feel like you’re in complete control of where you’re heading. Start your round successfully, however, and you’re greeted with a 2D overhead view of the hole with distances to the front, middle and back of the green. By pressing a button you can scroll through the hazards that lie ahead in distance order, seeing how far it is to reach and carry them, while also seeing lay up points. You’re also able to relocate the pin position for a more accurate distance (pictured above).

Other features we liked include the PinPointer feature (above), that points in the direction of the pin when it isn’t in view, and the fact it will confirm the current wind speed and direction. Both, along with the Virtual Caddie, are not legal for competition use but were very handy during our testing round.

You're also able to toggle on smartphone notifications, so the watch vibrates when you receive an email or text but it's worth disabling the vibrate function so it doesn't disturb you in your backswing. That said, it's nice to feel somewhat connected to the outside world and the MARQ Golfer can do lots of useful things you currently use your smartphone for - like fitness, maps and contactless payments.

This watch has similar golf functionality to the impressive Garmin Approach S62 but the MARQ Golfer has infinitely more appeal off the course, which besides the price is the main point of difference. The premium touches like the 46-millimeter titanium case and ceramic bezel with custom etched 1-18 golf hole markings no doubt enhance the aesthetics, giving it the look and feel of an elegant timepiece. It is easily among the best Garmin golf watches regardless of what you look for, but some will struggle to justify the investment when other models will do a similar job for considerably less money.

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Wearable tech has officially caught up to handhelds. Today’s GPS watches pack elite-level detail into a sleek, wrist-based format that was unimaginable just a few years ago. The main advantage of gps watches remains their seamless integration into the pace of play. By providing instantaneous yardages with a simple glance at the wrist, these devices eliminate the friction of retrieving a rangefinder or navigating a secondary GPS device, allowing for a more focused and efficient pre-shot routine and meaning pace of play on the golf course keeps rolling.

Generally, ladies need to forsake looks if they want an exceptional in-built caddie on their wrist, as the majority of golf GPS watches are fairly chunky and masculine looking. However, brands have improved overall styling and comfort to make the options appealing to both male and female players. For ladies that also lead an active lifestyle away from the golf course, many leading brands have introduced watches that include fitness tracking features, as well as different colors and straps. For example our top pick, the Garmin Approach S62 has immense functionality on and off the golf course.

Given all of this, and the sheer number of watches we have tested over the years, we have collated our favorite golf watches for ladies into this handy guide. However, if a watch isn't your thing, we also recommend checking out our guides on the best golf rangefinders or the best golf launch monitors.

The Quick List

Best Golf Watches For Ladies

Top pick

There is a strong argument to say that the Garmin Approach S70 is the best golf watch out there on the market currently. Despite the wealth of technology, it is very user-friendly, and it is a perfect option for the gadget-loving golfer. That being said, even the not so tech-savvy golfer should be able to get the hang of this watch fairly quickly.

If you want to move past simple yardages and start mastering your club selection, the Garmin S70 is in a league of its own. It’s a dual-threat device that gives you the numbers you need in a split second, while its back-end software crunches your stats to highlight exactly where you’re gaining or losing strokes. With live weather updates and an AI-driven caddie that learns your game over five rounds, it provides a level of immersion that was previously impossible.

The large, colorful screen is a total standout, and because it’s a Garmin, you’ve got instant access to over 43,000 courses worldwide. It switches from everyday mode to 'golf mode' in a heartbeat, making it incredibly intuitive.

A lot of golf smartwatches can have poor battery life, but this is not the case with the S70 which can hold its charge for up to 16 days when using it as a standard smartwatch. In golf mode using the GPS you will get 20 hours, which is still very impressive.

• Read our full Garmin Approach S70 Golf Watch Review

Best value

For an entry level model and one of the best value golf watches on the market, the Garmin Approach S12 is right up there as it has fantastic usability from the get go when loading up one of the 40,000 courses.

The display screen is clear and provides the usual yardages to front, middle and back of the green but, in addition, it provides information on distances to bunkers, water hazards, lay-up yardages, and the option to move the flag around for even greater accuracy. It is a little more clunky to use than other models on this list, and other Garmin models like the S42 and S62, but the value price more than makes up for this.

If you’re tired of squinting at your wrist, this is the watch for you. The Big Numbers mode and glare-proof screen are absolute game-changers for keeping your round stress-free. It’s a classic 'no-frills' model that does the basics brilliantly - it measures the distances of each of your shots and also lets you track your score throughout your round. It doesn't have many off-course features other than telling you the time, but its slick enough in terms of fashion to be worn to the bar on a Friday and not look out of place.

• Read our full Garmin Approach S12 GPS watch review

Best shot-tracking

Shot Scope's V5 looks to build on the impressive Shot Scope V3 and I was so enamored with the number of features on offer (as well as the looks) that I gave this product a spot in our Editor's Choice.

With a sleeker design compared to the V3, I am pleased to note that the excellent shot-tracking features have remained. The information I got was second-to-none thanks to the new lightweight tags that screwed into the top of my clubs. That being said to get the most out of this feature you need to wear the watch on your lead arm and it needs to be within 10cm of the tags in order to pick up shots and we found that it did occasionally miss some. It did not miss enough for it to be a big problem though and overall it's an impressive bit of kit. The sensors allow you to track shots and also give you free access to over 100 performance statistics which includes Strokes Gained.

Overall the performance in my testing was very impressive. A clear improvement for was the V5's button navigation which was a lot less fiddly than the Shot Scope X5's touchscreen navigation. The user experience wasn’t perfect but overall I think it can help the user improve decision-making and club selection. The price also makes it an appealing model to consider, although I do wish there was more than one strap option in terms of color. It is a massive difference in terms of price point, but the Tag Heuer model I tested below has nine to choose from!

• Read our full Shot Scope V5 Golf GPS Watch Review

Best mid-price

Garmin is a brand that leads the way in wearable technology and, whilst there are different models to choose from, I think the smaller size and well-rounded features of the Approach S42 make it a popular choice for ladies.

A premium look without a premium price tag, it’s well made and comes preloaded with more than 42,000 courses worldwide, as well as a 15 hour battery life. Regarding the touchscreen, you receive front, middle and back yardages, which are displayed on the exceptionally clear color screen. I found this screen simple and very easy to use whilst the menu scrolling was straightforward and very intuitive in my opinion.

What's more, if you know the pin locations, it’s possible to move the flag on the touchscreen for an exact yardage and, when used in conjunction with the Garmin Golf app, AutoShot technology allows you to track and record shot distances.

Importantly what makes it so versatile is not just the looks but I like the fact you can also track your number of steps, distance, calories and how you slept making it great for off-course activities. This does create an issue where it does take a little bit of time to get used to using a watch of this quality, and with this many features, but I think the overall performance makes it worth the time spent.

• Read our full Garmin Approach S42 GPS Watch review

Best simplicity

This user-friendly, feature-packed golf watch will certainly catch the eye of many players of differing experience levels. The GolfBuddy Aim W12 is an example of the cutting edge features and designs going into some of the best GPS golf watches on the market right now. GolfBuddy have made several impressive updates here over the Aim W11 released in 2021.

I think the watch looks a lot slicker and has certainly been streamlined thanks to the flatter button in the corner. The face looks to have been blended in better with the the cool looking bezel and it comes with a leather strap as standard. If leather isn't your cup of tea, it also comes with a silicon strap in the box too, which may be more appropriate if you're playing in warmer conditions.

Looking to the touchscreen now, and the display is very bright and reassuringly responsive. The watch will only start displaying distances when you arrive at the first tee which was a little frustrating, and I think the overall look of the hole maps could be improved with a touch more detail or made to look more visually arresting. The graphics on the display were still good though and the maps were easy to navigate, and I should mention the W12 comes with accurate slope functionality which is a welcome feature.

• Read our full GolfBuddy Aim W12 GPS Watch Review

Best premium

Tag Heuer introduced itself to the golf GPS watch scene around the turn of the decade and, since then, they have continued to improve their product with multiple-time DP World Tour winner, Tommy Fleetwood, a brand ambassador. Introducing the Connected Calbre E4 golf edition watch, Tag Heuer have introduced a number of new additions, including an automated shot-tracker, redesigned golf software and a new buckle with magnetic ball marker built into the strap.

The Tag Heuer design and feel is sporty and premium. As expected, the Tag Heuer is crammed with features, such as a 2D view of the hole on the screen. When out on the course, a red dot indicates where you are, moving with distance, suggesting a club for that yardage and, thanks to a tap of the screen, you get front and back numbers, as well as the par of the hole.

One of the standout features is the driving range feature. Essentially, it tracks drives automatically and, using the watch’s accelerometer and gyroscope, it marks the tee shot and then subsequent shots seamlessly to collect the data it needs. Over time, a heat map is created for every hole in the app which then shows where shots landed on previous rounds color-coded by your score. This allows you to see what clubs work best on each tee shot, ideal for optimizing strategy.

Of course I should mention price. The Tag Heuer is at the ultra-premium end of the spectrum and you get what you pay for in terms of overall performance and a named brand in the watch space, but it is worth acknowledging there are cheaper models out there with similar functionality, such as the Garmin S62.

• Read our full TAG Heuer Connected Calibre E4 Golf Edition Watch Review

Specifications table

How we test

At Golf Monthly we have a comprehensive testing procedure when trying to find the best golf watches. This involves using different models out on the course, over a number of rounds and importantly in different conditions too because this gives us an idea on how particular models deal with sunlight, rain and wind.

Our team is out on the course every week, which means we’re constantly putting the latest golf watches through thorough testing. Since new models drop year-round, it gives us the space and time to test each model individually over a set period of time. We love a good head-to-head battle, testing for things like will the watch holds its own in an unexpected heavy shower and how accurate is the GPS compared to a regular laser? We also live with these gadgets off the course. For versatile picks like the Garmin S70, we’re checking out the fitness tech and sleep tracking to see if it’s worth wearing 24/7. And for the data nerds, we’re out there with the Shot Scope V5 and its sensors, double-checking every yard to make sure your stats are spot on.

From this detailed analysis we’re able to offer you impartial advice designed to help you make informed buying decisions. The final thing we wanted to mention in this section is no manufacturer can buy a good review. Our testing team reviews golf equipment and makes its own opinion on how good or bad the product is. Check out how Golf Monthly tests products here.

How to choose

Features

Once you’ve settled on a GPS watch, the next step is to prioritize the features that actually align with your game. The market is split between essentialist models and do-it-all models - knowing where you sit on that spectrum will save you both money and frustration. If you simply need reliable distances to the front, middle, and back of the green, a budget-friendly unit is a perfect, cost-effective choice. However, there are some truly elite options available that offer a lot more than just yardages.

Alternatively, there are watches which can go into much greater detail when providing yardages, course detail, hazard information and so on. Obviously there are models with larger screens too which can be a particularly useful feature. Some also can help you record your score, track your shots, and many also have fitness features for off the golf course as well.

Versatility

You don't have to swap watches when you leave the clubhouse anymore. Many of this year’s standout gadgets are true 24/7 wearables, combining world-class data with the smart features you’d expect from a high-end health smartwatch. If you’re after a device that tracks your steps and your strokes with equal measure, several of our top-rated picks above are built to never leave your wrist.

Your routine

The best golf watch for you depends entirely on how you play and, in particular, what your pre-shot routine looks like. Do you want to just look down, see '155 yards,' and pull your 8-iron? Or do you want to analyze the slope, wind, and green heat maps first? If you're a speedy player, it’s significantly faster to check your wrist than it is to zap a flag with a laser or drag pointers on a handheld screen. If you want to stay in the zone without tech getting in the way, a streamlined watch is the way to go.

Golf course

It’s worth thinking about the characteristics of the courses you play most. If you're constantly dealing with blind tee shots like on a links course or doglegs on tree-lined layouts, a GPS watch acts like a digital scout, giving you numbers to spots a laser simply can't reach. If your course is straightforward, a laser’s simplicity wins out. But if you’re a social golfer who loves a road trip, having a GPS watch is like having local knowledge in your pocket.

Battery power

GPS devices are powered by rechargeable internal batteries that require regular USB-C charging, often every two to three rounds. When choosing, consider whether you prefer the long-term longevity of a replaceable battery or have the charging discipline required to keep a digital device topped up for your next tee time.

Budget

Finally we should mention budget. If you want a simple model then there are budget-friendly options. However if you want to spend more you can with Garmin and TAG Heuer in particular offering ultra-premium models.

For more golf tech buying advice, check out our guides on the best budget golf rangefinders, best golf simulator, or the best cheap golf launch monitors.

FAQs

Garmin Approach G12 GPS Review

The best golf GPS devices come in all shapes and sizes and the Garmin Approach G12 is certainly one of the most compact units on the market. Despite it being only a little larger than a poker chip, it's packed with features and yet remains simple to use. We took it out for a full round Essendon Golf & Country Club and with a quick read of the included instruction booklet we were able to pick up the simple functions and see the distances to the front, middle and back of the green on the first hole straight away.

There are a host of display options - we love the 'big numbers mode' where the middle distance is displayed bigger than the others and despite the screen's modest size it is clear and easy to read in different light conditions. There are other view modes that include the number and par of the hole plus the flag distance and then by pressing the up and down buttons on the left hand side you get access to hazard information and suggested lay up distances. 

The Garmin Approach G12 is very lightweight (25g), small and has been cleverly designed to be clipped to your golf bag, hat or clothes. It's also the perfect size to pop into your trouser pocket but be careful not to accidentally drop and lose it if you do!

The small buttons on the side of the GPS take a little practice to get used to pressing. There are four to click, allowing you to toggle between holes, get your distance to hazards and much more. If you are a bit clumsy with your fingers you might find yourself accidentally clicking through too many times. Thankfully it's easy to go back but if you prefer larger buttons or a more sizeable screen then you might prefer the Garmin Approach G80 GPS, which also doubles as a portable launch monitor. 

You'll get up to 30 hours of usage on a single charge which is impressive. That means if you're on holiday playing golf every day for a week it should last until you get home. With 42,000 courses uploaded to the device globally Garmin's network is certainly extensive.

What sets the Garmin Approach G12 apart from other small units is that you can pair it with your smartphone. Download the Garmin Golf app for free and you'll be able to keep your scores, stats and compete with other users in the virtual golf world while also gaining access to full color hole maps. 

What's more, for a little added investment, you can buy Garmin CT10 club trackers, which will then pair to your Garmin Approach G12 unit to track your shots, giving you accurate yardages. That's mighty impressive for a little unit. At just under £130/$150 we think the Garmin Approach G12 punches way above its price point given the level of features on offer and versatility. It would make a perfect golf gift too.

Coupon Discount Codes

The Garmin Approach G80 is so much more than just a very good GPS device, it’s also a launch monitor. The G80 delivers standard yardages on over 41,000 pre-loaded courses. It detects the course you’re on rapidly and it’s quick to access the various, plentiful features. You can put it in your pocket or clip it to your bag or trolley frame via a special mount (£15.99).

The touchscreen makes the features easy to navigate but the screen is much smaller and even in its maximum brightness setting, is quite dark, pale in colour and hazy, making it difficult to see clearly in certain light conditions. Recent changes to our home course weren’t incorporated, but the distances provided were within a few yards of our laser rangefinder.

The Approach G80 has features such as Garmin’s PlaysLike Distance, giving you distances to the target, adjusted for uphill or downhill shots, which can be easily turned off for tournament play. Green View allows you to zoom in on the green to get precise yardages according to wherever the pin is on the day.

The sunlight-readable touch screen is receptive and you can point to any spot on the hole map for detailed yardage information.

The PlaysLike Distance tool is a useful one outside competition to give you a great feel for the effect of slope on yardages. Pinpointer shows where the green is on blind holes and you can zoom into the green to get accurate yardages to the flag.

But, it's also a launch monitor able to track club head speed, ball speed, smash factor, swing tempo and estimated distance. You simply position it on top of a ball just in front of where you are hitting from. It also works with the free Garmin Golf app, letting you compete, compare and connect with fellow golfers.

There are also games and practice modes that will help you improve – check the tempo of your swing or compete against friends or other golfers anywhere in the world.

Carry distances on the G80's launch monitor differed by around 10 yards with driver compared with the Foresight Sports GCQuad but were much closer with irons and wedges, to the point that it provides a very useful reference for a fraction of the cost.

This is an excellent “two in one” product, both as a GPS unit and a portable launch monitor.

Coupon Discount Codes

Best Black Friday Golf GPS Deals

Technology in golf has grown massively over the last few years and one particular avenue brands like Garmin, Bushnell, GolfBuddy and many more have gone down is golf GPS, which often takes the form of a watch, or a handheld device. 

So why would you want one for yourself? And why is Cyber Monday the best time to get one?

Well a golf GPS system will give you accurate yardages to the hole, green and other hazards you encounter whilst playing golf to help give you confidence that you're pulling the right club out of the bag.

They've been around for years now so the tech on offer currently is highly-sophisticated and comes in various different packages, from tiny devices to larger ones with beautiful screens as well as stylish watches. Most of the time, they are just really cool pieces of kit.

In short, there is not really an excuse for having the wrong yardage anymore and a GPS device is a convenient way for you to make sure you don't come up 20 yards short or hit it over the back. 

Now because of the growth in GPS tech in golf, around and on Cyber Monday there are lots of deals out there so to make sure you don't miss out we have compiled a list of the best golf GPS deals right now.

Why not also visit our Cyber Monday golf deals hub to check even more deals for even more great offers this Black Friday weekend and Cyber Monday week. 

Best Black Friday Golf GPS Deals - US Quick Links

• Get $40 off the excellent Shot Scope V3 GPS watch at Amazon
• Save an unbelievable $250 on the Garmin Fenix 6S GPS watch

Best Black Friday Golf GPS Deals - UK Quick Links

• Get a GPS and Launch Monitor for £349.99
• Need a GPS watch? The Garmin S60 has £110 off right now

Today's Best GPS Deals

US Deals

• Best Black Friday Golf Watch Deals
• Best Black Friday Rangefinder Deals

UK Deals

Want more Black Friday golf deals?

• Best Black Friday Golf Deals 2021 - US
• Best Black Friday Golf Deals 2021 - UK
• Best Black Friday Amazon Golf Deals
• Best Black Friday Golf Bag Deals
• Best Black Friday Golf Ball Deals

When does the Black Friday golf sale start?

Black Friday this year takes place on the 26th of November but there are actually lots of deals to be had throughout the month of November.

Because of how big technology is in golf right now there will be lots of deals online and to help you find the best ones, Golf Monthly will scour the internet and bring them to you in hubs like this one. 

As such we recommend checking back on this page regularly, or if you are after something else, go on the relevant hubs on the Golf Monthly website. 

Also we should mention that if you do miss out on the day itself, do not worry because there is also Cyber Monday too, on Monday 30th. 

We will also do our best to bring you all those good deals too.

Where are the best places to find Black Friday golf deals?

In the US the best golf retailers include Dick's Sporting Goods, Golf Galaxy, Rock Bottom Golf and Walmart.

In the UK, we recommend looking at American Golf, Scottsdale Golf, Sports Direct, Click Golf and of course Amazon.

But as we mentioned above, if you want GPS specific deals we recommend checking this page often because we update it regularly. 

Rather than have to find the deals yourself, we have got you covered. 

What to consider when buying a golf GPS on Black Friday

So what are some of the factors you need to consider and think about before trying to purchase a golf GPS? Let's take a look. 

Your routine - The best golf GPS watches only require a quick glance so they are much quicker than taking a device out of its case, so weigh up if extra detail or less disruption is most important to you.

Your course - If your course has lots of doglegs, blind tee shots, or you play at other clubs in matches or socially, then you might want the extra information a GPS offers over a laser.

Type - As the list above shows, there are different types of GPS device to use and they all have positives and negatives affixed to them.

1. GPS Watch - Simplicity and convenience are the key here. If you are the type of player who would rather have a quick glance at their wrist to know the yardage rather than using a larger GPS, then a watch could be the way to go. GPS watches nowadays are a lot more compact, slim-lined and light making them ideal because they do not hamper the swing or distract in any way.

2. Handhelds - The chief bonus here is the large screen which gives a lot more detail and the touch screen functionality will be familiar to most users because of modern phones. You get clear hazard information and overhead maps of the hole too which could guide your strategy and save you shots.

Additionally you need to have a think about what features you want your GPS to have...

Features to look out for

• Clear and accurate distance information - this is a no brainer really but some models are more accurate and clear than others.
• Pre-loaded courses - there is some variation in how many courses are pre-loaded onto some models compared to others.
• Scorecard - rather than have to write down or log scores into an app, on some GPS devices you can mark your score down with ease.
• Stat tracking - particularly useful to those wanting to know more about their game and where they earn or give away shots.
• Green mapping and pin location - some devices give the user the ability to map the green and place the pin in the correct place. This often gives more information to the user on yardage and what club to hit.
• Waterproofing - a waterproof device is very important, especially if you play somewhere that gets a lot of rain
• Battery power - GPS devices normally need charging via a USB after two to four rounds, so consider which would be easiest for you on a week-to-week basis

Didn't find what you're looking for? Check out the best golf GPS devices on the market right now.

A brand that makes some of the best golf GPS watches in the world, Garmin has been leading the way in wearable technology not just in golf but in other ways like the automotive, aviation, marine, outdoor and fitness markets.

As a result, high-quality is a phrase synonymous with Garmin and we have been fans of models like the Approach S42 for a while now. 

First of all, it’s a great size and feels very well made from the moment you put it on your wrist. We also really liked the analogue display that makes it suitable for wearing in social settings, too. Trust us, versatility is not to be taken for granted in golf gear. 

On the golf course the touchscreen really elevates the usability. One click of the button on the side sparks the S42 into ‘golf mode’ and from there, it’s easy to scroll through the host of features. 

As always, front, middle and back yardages are available but if you know the pin locations, you can click on the display to move the flag and get an exact yardage.

There is also an AutoShot round analyser that tracks and records shot distances, as well as yardages to bunkers, hazards and ideal lay-up zones. 

The final two things we wanted to mention are 1) the fitness aspect because you can track steps, distance, calories and how you slept. 2) The overall look of the watch is right up there with the best. It really looks and feels like a premium product however because it is the middle model of the S12, S42, S62 range, it doesn't come with a high premium price as you can see with the deals below. 

• Read our full Garmin Approach S42 Watch review

Best Garmin Approach S42 Watch Deals

S42 Deals

S12 Deals

Alternatively maybe you want the standard S12? It comes at a slightly lower price point and slightly fewer features as a result. However it still looks great, comes with 40,000 courses preloaded and gives excellent information in relation to yardages, bunkers, hazards and so on. 

We think it is an outstanding product for the price.

S62 Deals

Finally if you want to go all out on the premium design, here are some deals on the S62. A model that made our list of the best golf GPS devices, it is feature packed with a larger screen, caddie function, fitness tracking and plenty more. 

Alternatively if you don't want a watch then check out our guide on the best golf laser rangefinders too. 

Finally why not take a look at some of our favorite Black Friday Golf Deals as well.

Coupon Discount Codes

We list some of the best GPS and laser range finder deals on the internet

Best Golf GPS And Laser Range Finder Deals Right Now

Having a good GPS or laser range finder can help save you strokes on the golf course, so in this article we'll help you pick out one that is best for you.

We've trawled the internet to find some great savings on big name brands like Bushnell, Callaway, Garmin and more, as well as lesser-known brands offering products at bargain prices.

Either way, you'll find something here that will help your game.

Related: Golf Monthly Golf Deals Homepage

Our team at Golf Monthly tests countless products each year which we think puts us in a unique position to give advice on what the best products are, and whether a certain price is value for money.

Because of this position, we think we should pass our knowledge and experience onto you which is the purpose of this piece – to give you the best deals on waterproof products, for the best price.

With some of the products you’ll see a ‘Buy Now’ link. If you click on this then we may receive a small amount of money from the retailer when you purchase the item, but this doesn’t affect the amount you pay.

Best Golf GPS And Laser Range Finder Deals Right Now -

Garmin Approach S60 GPS for £349.99 (Was £399.99)

This feature-packed and stylish offering provides detailed full colour maps for over 40,000 courses on its large sunlight-readable colour touchscreen face. You can use its drag-and-drop functionality to measure lay-up distances and to move pin positions for added accuracy. It can also be used to monitor runs, swims and bike rides for great additional value.

• BUY NOW: Garmin Approach S60 GPS from American Golf for £349.99 (SAVE £50.99)

Callaway 300 Pro Laser Range Finder for £175.95 (Was £299, save £123.05 and 41%)

Comes with 'birdie' technology, where the device chirps once the pin has been locked.

It also features slope technology to measure inclinations and gives adjusted yardages.

• BUY NOW: Callaway 300 Pro Laser Range Finder for £175.95 from Amazon.co.uk/ Amazon.com

Garmin Approach S20 GPS Watch for £159 (Was £199.99, save £40.99)

The S20 suits those after a good value watch with multi-sport functionality and more than just the basic front, middle and back golf features.

Read our review here.

• BUY NOW: Garmin Approach S20 GPS Watch in black for £159.99 from Golf Gear Direct
• BUY NOW: Garmin Approach S20 GPS Watch in white for £159.99 from Golf Gear Direct
• BUY NOW: Garmin Approach S20 GPS Watch in slate for £159.99 from Golf Gear Direct
• BUY NOW: Garmin Approach S20 GPS Watch in midnight teal for £159.99 from Golf Gear Direct
• BUY NOW: Garmin Approach S20 GPS Watch in all colours from $147 from Amazon.com

Bushnell Excel GPS Watch for £139 (Was £179.50, save £40.50)

A very impressive GPS watch available to use off of the golf course too.

Read our review here.

• BUY NOW: Bushnell Excel GPS Watch for £139 from Jam Golf/ Amazon.com from $142

Garmin Approach Z80 GPS/Laser for £499 (Was £550

Read our review here

One of the best range finders on the market now. This groundbreaking device features both GPS and laser yardages!

• BUY NOW: Garmin Approach Z80 GPS/Laser for £499 from Golf Gear Direct/ Amazon.com for $599.99

Shotscope V2 GPS Watch and tracking system for £169.99 (Was £224.99)

The ShotScope V2 featured in Golf Monthly's inaugural Editor's Choice awards.

It contains tags for all 14 clubs which then measure your rounds once synced with the smartphone app.

The watch also gives GPS yardages to the front, middle and back of greens plus hazards.

• BUY NOW: Shotscope V2 GPS Watch and tracking system for £169.99 from Amazon.co.uk/ Amazon.com for $359
• BUY NOW: ShotScope V2 GPS Watch from American Golf for £169.99

Garmin Approach G30 GPS for £179.99 (Was £269.99)

The GPS is preloaded with over 40,000 worldwide golf courses, with free updates to keep you up to date with the latest information to hazards, doglegs and greens. View this information on a 2.3 inch sunlight readable colour touchscreen display that allows you to target to get a more precise reading on your next shot. This compact design can be easily mounted or slipped into your pocket and has a battery life of over 15 hours on one single charge.

• BUY NOW: Garmin Approach G30 GPS from American Golf for £179.99 (reduced from £269.99)

Suaoki Laser Range Finder for £79.99 (£99.99)

• BUY NOW: Suaoki Laser Range Finder for £79.99 from Amazon.co.uk

Bushnell Hybrid Laser Range Finder for £379 (Was £449, save £70)

The Bushnell Hybrid Laser features both laser and GPS yardages.

• BUY NOW: Bushnell Hybrid Laser Range Finder for £379 from Jam Golf

Garmin Vivoactive HR GPS for £199.99 (Was £239.99)

Featuring wrist heart rate technology which means the heart rate chest strap isn't needed for all sports barring swimming.

Can also be used for running, swimming, cycling and skiing.

• BUY NOW: Garmin Vivoactive HR GPS for £199.99 from Discount Golf Store/ Amazon.com for $209.99

Boston Golf Europe Pin Tracker M2 Laser Range Finder for £79.99 (Was £129.99, save £50)

Looking to add a laser range finder this season but don’t want to spend the big bucks? Here’s a very good option for under £80.

• BUY NOW: Boston Golf Europe Pin Tracker M2 Laser Range Finder for £79.99

Golf Buddy WTX Plus GPS Watch for £184 from Amazon.co.uk (Was £214, save £30)

Featuring 38,000 pre-loaded golf courses all mapped out for you on your wrist!

• BUY NOW: Golf Buddy WTX Plus GPS Watch for £184 from Amazon.co.uk

Nikon Coolshot 40 Laser for £209.95 (Was £219.99, save 5% and over £10)

• BUY NOW: Nikon Coolshot 40 for £209.95 from Amazon

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The Garmin Approach CT10 has made it onto the Golf Monthly Tech 50 2018/19 list

Garmin Approach CT10

Price – £259.99 for set of 14 trackers or £69.99 for three tracker starter set

Tech Talk

Garmin has been at the forefront of GPS technology since the company was established in 1989 and they are now a leading force in the golf distance measuring device market.

The CT10 is an automatic shot tracking system that gives the user a huge amount of data on all their shots from driver down to putter.

• BUY NOW: Garmin Approach CT10 from Amazon

The trackers fit in the end of each club and pair with compatible Garmin golf watches to automatically track each stroke, including shot locations and distances.

Data is collected on each shot struck with a club fitted with a tracker and this builds a picture of your game that can be analysed, allowing you to better understand your strengths and weaknesses and identify areas for improvement.

Stats for each club with a sensor installed will show up on your Garmin watch when you pull that club out of the bag.

Add the Garmin Golf app to your compatible smartphone to gather key stats and data you can use to help you work to improve your game. Review your stats in the app for accuracy to the fairway or green and for drives, approach shots, chip shots and putting.

• BUY NOW: Garmin Approach CT10 from Amazon

Game Booster

The lightweight sensors attach securely to the end of a club’s grip and they don’t alter the club’s playing characteristics, so you won’t notice they’re there.

• BUY NOW: Garmin Approach CT10 from Amazon

The data that is collected is extensive and having the ability to analyse your statistics, even to make comparisons to other players in your group, gives you a great understanding of where your game could improve.

Keeping data over a period of time also allows you to identify changing trends in your game and to adapt to those. It’s an excellent tool and one that can give you a brilliant insight into your golf game.

Read our Garmin Approach G30 GPS review to see what we thought of this pocket-sized golf GPS device

Garmin Approach G30 GPS Review

Key Technology

This compact GPS can be worn on your belt, clipped to your bag or left in your pocket. It boasts a 2.3 inch colour touchscreen with colour hole mapping and a Big Numbers Mode that displays yardages clearly. A moveable pointer also aids strategy decisions, while Green View reveals the shape of the green and lets you manually position pins to get laser rangefinder like yardages.

Garmin Approach G30 GPS Review

In terms of shelf appeal there's nothing to fault here. It has a simple power button and boasts the modern curves we're used to with today's phones and tablets. As you'd expect it is lightweight, while it also has a rubber bezel to protect its edges if it is ever dropped.

For such a small unit, this provided us with all the information we needed, all accessed via a responsive touchscreen. The colour hole map (below middle) is the default screen, displaying the key stats along with red, white and blue arcs for 100, 150 and 200 yards to the green. Tapping on this screen also allowed us to work out the distance to a preferred lay-up position.

The screen we used most during testing is probably the large front, middle and back yardage screen (below right), which was easy to use at a quick glance. From here you can touch the green icon in the bottom right corner to bring up an enlarged view of the green where you can move the flag around, but this proved quite fiddly on such a small screen.

We also liked being able to see our group's score on one screen (above left), while pop up phone notifications are a discreet, if not now common, helpful addition. The Garmin Approach G30 can also track putts and fairways hit or missed, which are summarised at the end of your round and can be synched to the Garmin Connect app via Bluetooth.

While it is clearly on the smaller side when compared to other popular GPS units, the G30's chunky bag/belt clip was really solid so we weren't worried about losing it. Its only downfall would be when paired with players with waning eyesight or large fingers, who might struggle with the touchscreen functionality.

Overall this GPS device looks good, offers great functionality and thanks to its compact size has a real USP versus rival GPS units. At £269.99 however, it does cost more than many popular GPS watches, so unless the colour hole views are important to you, you may want to shop around.

Garmin Approach S20 Review - Our verdict on this feature-packed, entry level GPS Watch from Garmin having tested it on the course

Garmin Approach S20 Review

Key technology This entry-level watch displays front, middle and back distances alongside the hole number, par and an outline of the green. Further screens cover hazards, lay-ups and scoring, plus options like ‘Move Flag’ to get a more specific yardages and other activity tracking, such as steps taken.

Will suit Those after a good value watch with multi-sport functionality and more than just the basic front, middle and back golf features.

GM Review The accuracy and simplicity of this device was spot on for basic golf use although other will be keen to delve into the multi-sport side of things.

The styling is modern and versatile for both on and off course wear. It's slim and lightweight, meaning you don't really notice it's on when playing a round.

It took just under a minute to locate the course we were on, which was snappy enough to be ready by the time we got on the first tee, and the distances seemed to stack up with the various yardage posts and fairway plaques we encountered down the opening hole.

Not only that, but they updated quickly - ideal for fast players who just want to glance at the screen quickly before selecting a club.

Sadly, it was much more time consuming when trying to access the various golf-specific features like hazard info, layups and entering a score.

They all required at least one too many clicks and often having to press buttons on either side of the screen and they're often difficult to press one handed. After some trial and error you'll eventually get the hang of it, but it seems to be more complicated than it needs to be.

Which is a shame, because generally it was an enjoyable product to wear and use. The moveable flag pointer is a nice touch for more specific distances than just front, middle and back, as are the smartphone notifications and the fact it provides distances to reach and carry hazards.

It's waterproof too, so having the information is instantly there when playing in bad weather is one less thing to worry about, speeding up play.

Watch our video and read our Garmin Approach S60 GPS watch review to see what we liked and disliked about one of the most feature-laden models available

Watch our video above and read our full Garmin Approach S60 GPS watch review below to see what we liked and disliked about one of the most feature-laden models available.

Key Technology

The Garmin Approach S60 GPS watch features a sunlight-readable touchscreen that integrates detailed hole maps and yardages in full colour. You get quick and precise distances to greens, hazards and doglegs on more than 40,000 preloaded courses (with free lifetime updates).

The Approach S60 is packed with useful golf features like AutoShot, which automatically records the location and distance of each detected shot so you can log your score as you play and analyse your statistics after your round. Touch targeting also lets you select any point on the hole map and get a distance, while the GreenView feature outlines the shape of the green and lets you manually position the pin to that day’s location to get more precise measurements.

As you can see above, it also receives notifications for calls, texts, emails and more, while when paired with the Garmin app it can provide weather forecast data. It also boasts SwingTempo that measures the relationship between your upswing and downswing. You can then use its vibration-based TempoTraining to fine-tune your rhythm in practice. Finally its running, swimming an cycling functions alongside its very stylish look mean it can be used away from the golf course for other sports and for general wear.

Garmin Approach S60 GPS Watch Review

Let us start this review by talking about the styling on offer. As you can see for yourself below, The Garmin Approach S60 can be easily transformed into a watch that doesn't look out of place away from the golf course, a fact many of its competitors can't boast. It's also proved extremely comfortable to wear, owed in part due to how light it is on your wrist. We tested a black silicone watchband, but they are easily interchangeable and there is an assortment available, including leather and stainless steel styles.

The three main screens we flicked between during our months of testing cover everything you need to know while you play. The first has the key numbers to the front, middle and back of the green alongside the hole map, its par and number. In our opinion, many golfers could happily play a round without ever leaving this screen, which was easy to read even in bright sunshine.

The second useful screen has a a close-up view of the green so you can see its shape. This screen also has a flag on it and it allows you to manually move the pin position to wherever it has been cut that day for very precise yardages that rivalled the laser rangefinder we had with us.

The third helpful screen is then the touch targeting display, which allows you to manually move a crosshair to get distances from your to a point such as a bunker or dogleg, and then from that point to the green.

Outside of these key screens there are many, many other options, some of which are more useful than others. You can keep score, track statistics and measure your tempo, while the Garmin Golf app lets users compete in weekly leaderboards and against friends, plus view other players’ rank, score, handicap and more.

We think that there are arguably too many features on this watch for the average golfer to use during a round, but the beauty of the design is that it is easy to ignore the ones you're not fussed about.

On the whole the menus are intuitive and the functionality was good, though the screen did occasionally need a second press to activate your selection, a common issue with any touchscreen technology.

The AutoShot detection proved surprisingly accurate and helped us to keep score, something that we liked a lot. The ability to monitor other sports activities means it also offers a bit more than most golf watches, which you'd expect for something that costs close to £400.

Garmin says that Approach S60 should give you up to 10 hours of battery life in golf mode and up to 10 days in watch mode, but we found it tended to last around 30 holes, or 7 hours, when playing back-to-back rounds, which was frustrating on the days we wanted to squeeze 36 holes in.

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Garmin Approach S60 GPS Watch Revealed - Garmin has unveiled its most feature-packed watch to date with its versatile style meaning there's no reason to take it off

Garmin Approach S60 GPS Watch Revealed

Garmin has launched the Approach S60, its newest GPS golf watch with every golfing feature you'd ever need in a style that looks just as much at home off the golf course.

It comes with a sunlight readable touchscreen display that integrates detailed CourseView mapping and yardages in full colour. It provides quick and precise yardages to greens, hazards and doglegs on more than 40,000 preloaded courses from around the world including free lifetime updates.

Related: Best GPS Devices of 2017

The Approach S60 also features the popular QuickFit watchbands that can be easily interchanged without the need for any tools. They’re available in an assortment of colored silicone, leather or stainless steel styles, and can be interchanged with a number of Garmin multisport watches.

To add another level of fun and competition, the Approach S60 is one of the many Garmin golf watches compatible with the new Garmin Golf app that lets users compete in weekly leaderboards on any golf course no matter when they play it during the week. This free app allows users to compete against friends and fellow golfers on the same course, plus view other players’ rank, score, handicap and more.

“The Approach S60 is as functional of a golf watch as it is a stylish timepiece,” says Martin Resch, Garmin EMEA Senior Product Manager, Outdoor. “It’s packed with industry-leading features golfers have come to appreciate and rely on with our Approach series – like advanced AutoShot, PlaysLike Distance, touch targeting and more – yet, it’s the most stylish golf watch we’ve offered and a statement of one’s passion for the great game of golf in any surroundings.”

Thanks to the Garmin AutoShot game tracking technology, players can easily review, map and analyze all of their shots from each round they play with the Approach S60. It automatically records the location and distance of each detected shot and uploads it to the user’s Garmin Connect account for post-round analysis.

In addition to seeing how far a shot was, players can also use AutoShot data to compare stats from previous rounds, review their club distances and averages, and analyze their tendencies as they fine tune their game. The Garmin Connect mobile app can also be used to receive updates to the courses users play the most thanks to the CourseView auto updater, which automatically sends updates to the device.

Related: Garmin Approach S6 Review

The device's touch targeting allows golfers to measure the distance to any other point on the course. Golfers can use the Green View feature to see the outline of the green on each hole, where they can manually position the pin to that day’s location to get the most accurate measurements. Thanks to the PlaysLike feature, the Approach S60 can also take into account the elevation change between the player and the target and calculates what the distance will play like. For example, if the shot is downhill, PlaysLike will show that the shot will play shorter than it actually is.

It also receives smart notifications from compatible smartphones, so users can stay connected with notifications for call, texts, emails and more right on their watch. What’s more, when paired with the app, the Approach S60 can also provide weather forecast data so players will know if they’re going to stay dry on the course.

The Approach S60 also features SwingTempo that measures the relationship between upswing and downswing, and TempoTraining that uses a 3:1 ratio and gives the user vibrations to synchronize their swing mechanics and fine-tune their swing tempo. When paired with the Garmin TruSwing sensor, it can also provide the user with swing speed and club path angles to improve their swing consistency.

The Approach S60 can get up to ten hours of battery life golfing and up to ten days in watch mode with activity tracking. The Approach S60 is available on June 9th in black or white with a RRP of £399.99. A premium version with the perfected look of a brilliant ceramic bezel and black leather band will also be available for £479.99.

Golf Monthly's Garmin Approach S5 review, a GPS watch with a colour screen that pairs with your phone to recieve smart notifications out on the course

Key technology This feature-packed, touchscreen GPS watch has a full colour, glove-friendly display, with full-hole views of over 38,000 courses internationally. You can manually move the pin positions, while the Smart Notifications feature allows you to receive emails, texts and other alerts from your iOS device. The Garmin Connect for Golf site lets you analyse, share and compare your round with others.

GM Review Given that the unit itself is fairly substantial, the first thing you notice is its light weight. The mix between touchscreen and button navigation is very intuitive, and wearing a glove didn’t affect this whatsoever. The accuracy was impressive, as was the speed at which the device picked up the course and automatically switched holes.

Having hole visuals, as well as a multitude of hazard and lay-up information, really aided course management. Manually being able to move the pin position was also a welcome feature, as were the lay-up distances.

The Approach S5 doesn’t have the Tempo Trainer feature found on the Approach S6, which makes the S5 legal in competitions. The colour hole views and manual pin positioning mean it’s almost like having a top-of-the-range handheld GPS device on your wrist.

In golf mode you should get 36 holes from a full charge – slightly less than other devices but the features justify that. The Smart Notifications facility means you don’t need to be seen using your phone on the course, while the ability to add in your stats as you play helps you assess your game in depth.