Samsung Galaxy Active2 44mm GPS Watch Golf Edition Review

Samsung Galaxy Active2 44mm GPS Watch Golf Edition Review

The product of a joint enterprise with GolfBuddy, the Galaxy Active2 Golf Edition GPS Watch comes in three strap designs. We tested the 44mm version, which is the middle of the three in terms of size but is still one of the thinnest and most compact GPS watches on the market.

In all honesty, the setting up process was frustratingly laborious, involving different apps and a few passwords to pair the watch with the phone to get the courses downloaded and the watch set up. You start a round of golf by tapping on the top of the home screen to access the free Smart Caddie app, which comes preloaded with a lifetime subscription usually worth £76.

The home screen in golf mode displays the front, middle and back distances in a surprisingly clear and bright fashion given the modest size of the screen along with the hole, its par and your score. To switch holes manually, you use the unique rotating touch bezel via a circular motion with your finger around the edge of the display, something I've not experienced before when testing the best golf watches.

From the home screen, you can also access the hole maps with which you can choose either a graphical representation or a satellite image depending on which works best for you visually.

There’s a moveable pointer for the fairway and green, which is easy to operate, as well as the option of arcs or lay up circles to optimise strategy and club selection when laying up. On a small number of courses worldwide (mostly in Korea we understand), the flag will switch to a rainbow colour scheme to signify that Green Undulation technology is available, showing all the slopes on the green in great detail.

You can also keep track of your score and to minimize distractions, the end of the strap secures underneath the rest of the strap, meaning you haven’t got to worry about it coming loose during a swing.

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 off the course with its timeless, simple design and you can also view incoming emails if you want to stay connected to the outside world.

What really sweetens the product here is how this model is regularly on offer at retailers. We have seen the watch, in both black and pink, heavily discounted with as much as 60% off on occasion. This therefore is a model that provides outstanding value given how much you can find it for.