SmartWatch for Golf

Seve OB · 12-10-2020 9:17pm

spacecoyote wrote: »

Once it gets into winter conditions I tend to stop using my gamegolf for that reason. If you're not getting realistic or meaningful data I don't see the point

But it is meaningful though.
You play winter golf for probably ⅓ of the year.

spacecoyote · 12-10-2020 10:18pm

Seve OB wrote: »

But it is meaningful though.
You play winter golf for probably ⅓ of the year.

That's fair, and you can select the rounds for stats so you could look at your stats in winter or summer, etc... should probably be making better use alright.

Also I dont like having partial rounds on it, so 9 or 12 hole comps upset the completer in me

DuckSlice · 13-10-2020 8:27am

Seve OB wrote: »

But it is meaningful though.
You play winter golf for probably ⅓ of the year.

Yeah that is a good point. I just wonder how it will mess up my averages. And when it comes back to summer golf will I end up being short all the time.

Think ill keep with it for now, but if its freakish windy then I might disregard the card. Saturday for example, hit a brilliant drive and it went 205 into the wind, next hole downwind was 275yards. They probably average out, but if I could have just as easily only gone 185 into the wind.

DuckSlice · 13-10-2020 9:51am

Another question I have is the handicap that the Garmin Golf app gives me, is it using the WHS to calculate this? it says 8.7 at the moment which is one lower than my actual.

blue note · 13-10-2020 10:48am

I suspect it is. Mine currently has me calculated at 19.1, whereas my actual is 14.0. The watch is taking into account a lot of non-competition rounds and a lot of really terrible ones. But I'm still expecting a couple of shots back at least next month. It will be bittersweet, because it'll be great to be able to compete so much more easily, but it's down I want the handicap to go!

willabur · 13-10-2020 11:58am

Given the course where I play most of my golf is so bloody windy that knowing an exact number is never possible nor useful. So many factors external to my swing, the club and the ball. There is always an allowance for how windy, cold or how elevated I am or the target is.

The stats I find useful are where my tendencies are.
I hit 55% of fairways, 25 left, 20 right. I am way more accurate with my driver than I am with my 5wood

On approaches I am far more likely to miss short left than anywhere else.
SL 41%
SR 29%
LL 15%
LR 14%

Short game - Within 50 yards I get the ball within 6 ft of the hole 40% of the time etc etc

this is all with shotscope.

allybhoy · 14-10-2020 3:54pm

Non watch related, but wondering does anyone here own the Garmin G80, and if you do own it what do you think of it? Seems a very impressive piece of kit for the price, high end Rangefinder and launch monitor all in one. From reviews on youtube of comparing with the likes of GCQuad etc it seems fairly accurate ( within 2-4 yards) on most clubs, excluding driver.

The_Kew_Tour · 15-10-2020 9:57am

allybhoy wrote: »

Non watch related, but wondering does anyone here own the Garmin G80, and if you do own it what do you think of it? Seems a very impressive piece of kit for the price, high end Rangefinder and launch monitor all in one. From reviews on youtube of comparing with the likes of GCQuad etc it seems fairly accurate ( within 2-4 yards) on most clubs, excluding driver.

I dont have it but my brother got it as a Birthday present during summer, and he loves it. My brother is hard to please type too.

Used it in driving range myself and found it very accurate. It's very easy to use and set up.

I personally go for V3 myself as I think it help me better for my game, but if want Rangefider and Launch Monitor in one I would definitely go with G80.

allybhoy · 15-10-2020 2:42pm

The_Kew_Tour wrote: »

I dont have it but my brother got it as a Birthday present during summer, and he loves it. My brother is hard to please type too.

Used it in driving range myself and found it very accurate. It's very easy to use and set up.

I personally go for V3 myself as I think it help me better for my game, but if want Rangefider and Launch Monitor in one I would definitely go with G80.

Yeh to be fair it looks the business especially for the size of the unit, id love to be able to measure ball speed and clubhead speed and get a fairly accurate carry distance on all clubs myself and then try and improve them down the range.

But i only bought the S10 a few months ago for 100 quid on amazon , its grand does the job , hard to justify the extra spend for a brand new G80 to be honest but if i seen one going a bit cheaper on adverts or donedeal id be tempted.

DuckSlice · 16-10-2020 10:38am

allybhoy wrote: »

Yeh to be fair it looks the business especially for the size of the unit, id love to be able to measure ball speed and clubhead speed and get a fairly accurate carry distance on all clubs myself and then try and improve them down the range.

But i only bought the S10 a few months ago for 100 quid on amazon , its grand does the job , hard to justify the extra spend for a brand new G80 to be honest but if i seen one going a bit cheaper on adverts or donedeal id be tempted.

The PRGR might be the launch monitor for you, think it gives swing speed, ball speed and carry. fairly accurate from watching online videos. Planning to get one myself when they are back in stock at my local golf shop.

allybhoy · 16-10-2020 11:02am

etxp wrote: »

The PRGR might be the launch monitor for you, think it gives swing speed, ball speed and carry. fairly accurate from watching online videos. Planning to get one myself when they are back in stock at my local golf shop.

Yeh ive seen them aswell and they look good, but I like the fact the G80 is really good GPS aswell as launch monitor, and i think the launch monitor also tracks and records all your shots whereas the PRGR just measures one shot at a time... big difference in price though

DuckSlice · 16-10-2020 12:05pm

allybhoy wrote: »

Yeh ive seen them aswell and they look good, but I like the fact the G80 is really good GPS aswell as launch monitor, and i think the launch monitor also tracks and records all your shots whereas the PRGR just measures one shot at a time... big difference in price though

Yea it doesn't do that function, but does your S10 do that? I have the S62 which does all that for me. Would be cool if the G80 recorded each swing including speed etc for a round of golf.

allybhoy · 16-10-2020 12:16pm

etxp wrote: »

Yea it doesn't do that function, but does your S10 do that? I have the S62 which does all that for me. Would be cool if the G80 recorded each swing including speed etc for a round of golf.

Nah the S10 is as basic as it gets, barely tells the time

The G80 is not wearable, you have to place it in front of every shot to get launch monitor info, grand in practise rounds, but i dont imagine your playing partners would be too happy with you if you were faffing about with it on every shot.

Seve OB · 16-10-2020 1:13pm

that looks like a great gadget

DuckSlice · 16-10-2020 2:29pm

yea my buddy has one, they are surprisingly small too. I think these gadgets, once they are accurate to +/-5%ish, they would be great for practice. especially the short game.

bigdawg · 19-10-2020 3:40pm

The Garmin S2 can be picked up fairly cheaply and is good at doing front middle back on all the major courses.

Russman · 20-10-2020 5:57am

FWIW, I’ve been using the V3 for the last few months. It’s grand, the only drawback for me is having to wear it on my right arm being a lefty. Ok the styling isn’t amazing but it’s not too bad either.

The shot tracking and stats are very interesting. It really shows how much elevation changes and wind have an impact on our shots here in Ireland, and also how what you think are your tendencies may not actually be true.

I’ve found it does miss the odd shot here and there, particularly recovery shots like pitching out of trouble, but if you take a few practice swings before the shot it supposedly “wakes up” the unit from a sort of sleep or power saver mode that it goes into between shots. Shotscope say it “learns” your game over time and should miss fewer shots - I’ve broadly found this to be the case in the 3 months or so of use. It’s also simple to add in, delete or amend shots on the app afterwards.

If they found a way for me to wear it on my left wrist I’d be delighted but it’s something to do with the sensors on the clubs being too far away from the watch.

dazzday · 20-10-2020 10:28am

I am currently using a Garmin VivoActive 3 for general use, but find the golf features pretty good. It does score tracking, distance to front/middle/back of green and has an autoshot fetaure which detects you are swinging and traks your shot distance. I find its accurate but does miss some shots. One thing that annoys me is you cannot select club and doesnt give putt postions.

I am thinking of upgrading to the Vivoactive 4 or Fenix 6. Both these allow me to select club for autoshot so i can track club distances. Fenix also gives extra advantage of being able to do a manual shot distance if autoshot does not detect.

Thinking then of adding some Gramin CT10 sensors onto my putter and wedges to get better around green tracking.

Leaning away from smartscope or S60 as id like one watch for fitness, daily use and golf if possible.

Other option is go full arccos with link + current watch for distances.

Anybody try a similar set up or have experience with these watches for golf?

PokeHerKing · 20-10-2020 10:35am

dazzday wrote: »

I am currently using a Garmin VivoActive 3 for general use, but find the golf features pretty good. It does score tracking, distance to front/middle/back of green and has an autoshot fetaure which detects you are swinging and traks your shot distance. I find its accurate but does miss some shots. One thing that annoys me is you cannot select club and doesnt give putt postions.

I am thinking of upgrading to the Vivoactive 4 or Fenix 6. Both these allow me to select club for autoshot so i can track club distances. Fenix also gives extra advantage of being able to do a manual shot distance if autoshot does not detect.

Thinking then of adding some Gramin CT10 sensors onto my putter and wedges to get better around green tracking.

Leaning away from smartscope or S60 as id like one watch for fitness, daily use and golf if possible.

Other option is go full arccos with link + current watch for distances.

Anybody try a similar set up or have experience with these watches for golf?

I've been looking into the S62 for all the above reasons you list, its a one size fits all smart watch as far as I can see.

Going to wait for black Friday/Cyber Monday and hope to pick it up slightly cheaper as its fairly pricey.

DuckSlice · 20-10-2020 11:14am

dazzday wrote: »

I am currently using a Garmin VivoActive 3 for general use, but find the golf features pretty good. It does score tracking, distance to front/middle/back of green and has an autoshot fetaure which detects you are swinging and traks your shot distance. I find its accurate but does miss some shots. One thing that annoys me is you cannot select club and doesnt give putt postions.

I am thinking of upgrading to the Vivoactive 4 or Fenix 6. Both these allow me to select club for autoshot so i can track club distances. Fenix also gives extra advantage of being able to do a manual shot distance if autoshot does not detect.

Thinking then of adding some Gramin CT10 sensors onto my putter and wedges to get better around green tracking.

Leaning away from smartscope or S60 as id like one watch for fitness, daily use and golf if possible.

Other option is go full arccos with link + current watch for distances.

Anybody try a similar set up or have experience with these watches for golf?

you should be able to go into the garmin app and add which clubs you used for each shot. I used to do this on my S62 until I realised I could switch club prompt on, and it does it for me. If I duff a shot I just cancel the prompt.

Seve OB · 20-10-2020 11:20am

dazzday wrote: »

I am currently using a Garmin VivoActive 3 for general use, but find the golf features pretty good. It does score tracking, distance to front/middle/back of green and has an autoshot fetaure which detects you are swinging and traks your shot distance. I find its accurate but does miss some shots. One thing that annoys me is you cannot select club and doesnt give putt postions.

I am thinking of upgrading to the Vivoactive 4 or Fenix 6. Both these allow me to select club for autoshot so i can track club distances. Fenix also gives extra advantage of being able to do a manual shot distance if autoshot does not detect.

Thinking then of adding some Gramin CT10 sensors onto my putter and wedges to get better around green tracking.

Leaning away from smartscope or S60 as id like one watch for fitness, daily use and golf if possible.

Other option is go full arccos with link + current watch for distances.

Anybody try a similar set up or have experience with these watches for golf?

If I were you looking a the Garmins, I'd be getting an approach series golf watch ove the Vivoactive and Fenix

Well, actually, iId probably be getting the Approach G80.

dazzday · 20-10-2020 12:41pm

PokeHerKing wrote: »

I've been looking into the S62 for all the above reasons you list, its a one size fits all smart watch as far as I can see.

Going to wait for black Friday/Cyber Monday and hope to pick it up slightly cheaper as its fairly pricey.

S62 looks great... Certainly ticks all the boxes as a fitness watch and a golf watch, particularly with having a hr monitor.

willabur · 20-10-2020 12:43pm

I find the post round experience with Garmin is very limited when compared to Shotscope and Game golf.

PokeHerKing · 20-10-2020 3:15pm

willabur wrote: »

I find the post round experience with Garmin is very limited when compared to Shotscope and Game golf.

Could you elaborate on this please? The S62 will by my first golf watch/range finder. I really like the idea of the sensors and having it essentially tell me what club to take once I rock up to the ball. What are its shortcomings in comparison?

I currently only use my phone and hole19 app but I find it hit or miss as far as distances. Can never be fully certain if your in yards or meters with it but its a free app so can't complain too much.

DuckSlice · 20-10-2020 3:44pm

PokeHerKing wrote: »

Could you elaborate on this please? The S62 will by my first golf watch/range finder. I really like the idea of the sensors and having it essentially tell me what club to take once I rock up to the ball. What are its shortcomings in comparison?

I currently only use my phone and hole19 app but I find it hit or miss as far as distances. Can never be fully certain if your in yards or meters with it but its a free app so can't complain too much.

Just so you know you cant have the caddy on during competition.

CSWS101 · 18-11-2020 12:55pm

Does anyone on here have the Shotscope v3? Looking to get either a GPS or laser.
I have an apple watch so I don't want to get a Garmin & the shotscope seems better with the tracking tags for each club. I've been using Hole19 on my watch it but find it drains the battery but the yardage is fairly accurate. So then it's down to shotscope or a laser/bushnell. Really like the post round analysis feature on shotscope, so that's why I am opting towards it. Lasers would generally be more accurate but lack of post round analysis and front/back yardages would make me more inclined to go for the shotscope. There's a good deal for the Tour V4 bushnell atm on McGuirks, only 50 quid in it so can't make up my mind.

Wanted to see if anyone has some feedback on the shotscope, all the reviews seem good, one downfall I read was some practice swings counting as a shot which can be easily edited with post round analysis. Any feedback/suggestions would be appreciated

Baymax2020 · 18-11-2020 11:51pm

All shot trackers will require some editing at the end of the round, I'm currently using the arcoss system. I find it quite good and I believe that it can connect with your Apple watch.

KevH1984 · 19-11-2020 9:15am

I'm looking to upgrade my GPS watch for Christmas. I currently have a basic Tom Tom that just gives front, middle & back yardages and that's about it. Looking at one of the smart watch types that also can be used for golf. The Samsung Galaxy Active 2 Golf Edition caught my eye, looks very nice and comes with the golf GPS inbuilt with hole view etc on it. Has anybody any experience using this particular model? Thanks.

blue note · 15-04-2021 11:05am

I'm tempted to upgrade my golf watch. I like the look of the garmin venu music sq. Anyone know what it's like for golf? I assume the same as what I currently have (garmin approach s20).

And also, anyone know how to justify it? I'm telling myself I want it for the running tracking, heart rate monitor, etc.

DuckSlice · 15-04-2021 11:39am

I think my buddy got the Venu with the main thing being for golf. I'll ask him and make sure it is. He wasn't impressed with it for golf but said the fitness features and steps/HR etc. were all very good.

Personally i think, if you want a watch for golf, buy one that is designed with golf in mind and has the additional features. But if you want it mainly for exercise tracking then buy one that is designed for that. If its the music feature you want then a golf specific watch is out of the picture.

What's the budget?

blue note · 15-04-2021 11:48am

I probably wouldn't want to go far over €200. I have the approach s20 and for golf it's perfect for me. Quite basic, but I've no complaints. I suspect the venu would be the same.

I'd be getting it for the non golf features such as running.

redzerdrog · 15-04-2021 12:59pm

Garmin have brought out 3 new golf specific watch. The new Approach s42 looks like it is great value for money and have the best of both worlds the Garmin fitness tracking and golf tracking

Think they working out about 300 though but certainly look worth the money

willabur · 15-04-2021 1:02pm

blue note wrote: »

I'm tempted to upgrade my golf watch. I like the look of the garmin venu music sq. Anyone know what it's like for golf? I assume the same as what I currently have (garmin approach s20).

And also, anyone know how to justify it? I'm telling myself I want it for the running tracking, heart rate monitor, etc.

The venu is basically the vivosmart 4 but with a nicer screen, strap etc. The firmware is the same as the vivosmart afaik.

I have the v4 which i do like alot. Its great for general fitness and for golf on course it is perfectly fine. Alot better than shotscope v3 which I also have. Where shotscope surpasses garmin is the after round experience, especially when you accumulate 5 plus rounds. You start to see trends on where you need to work on stuff. That said I think the post round shotscope experience is only okay, I think Game Golf does it better and from what I have read the Arccos system is better again.

Back to garmin, if you are happy with something on the course that is nice on your wrist then go for it

Mantis Toboggan · 15-04-2021 1:16pm

Also consider the vivoactive 3 & 4.

hold my beer · 15-04-2021 1:20pm

etxp wrote: »

If its the music feature you want then a golf specific watch is out of the picture.

Not true at all, the Garmin 3 and 4s do both golf and music very very well

B-D-P-- · 15-04-2021 1:46pm

For 200, get the S60.
I have it, I am not impressed with the screen compared to my Samsung active 2 but the golf app is 100 times better.

Seve OB · 15-04-2021 2:03pm

hold my beer wrote: »

Not true at all, the Garmin 3 and 4s do both golf and music very very well

But they are not golf specific watches

hold my beer · 15-04-2021 2:03pm

B-D-P-- wrote: »

For 200, get the S60.
I have it, I am not impressed with the screen compared to my Samsung active 2 but the golf app is 100 times better.

Where would you get the S60 for 200?

hold my beer · 15-04-2021 2:04pm

Seve OB wrote: »

But they are not golf specific watches

I'd consider them to be golf watches with extra features

Seve OB · 15-04-2021 2:10pm

hold my beer wrote: »

I'd consider them to be golf watches with extra features

They are activity trackers with some golf features.
As pointed out already if you want a golf watch, get one designed for golf

hold my beer · 15-04-2021 2:16pm

Seve OB wrote: »

They are activity trackers with some golf features.
As pointed out already if you want a golf watch, get one designed for golf

Built in golf features, I'd call it designed for golf. Anyway who cares, they're excellent watches for both golf and training.

fearruanua · 15-04-2021 2:50pm

B-D-P-- wrote: »

For 200, get the S60.
I have it, I am not impressed with the screen compared to my Samsung active 2 but the golf app is 100 times better.

You might get the S40 for a little over the 200.

blue note · 15-04-2021 3:14pm

Seve OB wrote: »

They are activity trackers with some golf features.
As pointed out already if you want a golf watch, get one designed for golf

I wonder though are we at the stage where you don't have to choose. I remember using my phone for music and being told it wasn't as good as a dedicated mp3 player. But at that stage it was.

I reckon the venu is the same as my approach s20 from a golf point of view. The only concern that's obvious to me is whether or not it has all the courses preloaded. I won't pretend I don't want a few of the features like distance to hazards, shot tracking, etc. But I think it has them. I'm not sure if there's anything I'd be losing other than battery life.

But my watch isn't great for non golf stuff. I'd like to track my runs, the music could be nice, paying with the watch could be handy. It works for skiing too which I hope would be useful. I think I want to buy myself something too.

hold my beer · 15-04-2021 3:16pm

blue note wrote: »

I wonder though are we at the stage where you don't have to choose

We've been there a good while now in my opinion.

Seve OB · 15-04-2021 3:33pm

I recently upgraded my vivoactive to a Fenix.
I’ve not even bothered to look at the golf on it yet as it would be to depressing, but the specs have it much better. I actually think the specs on it for golf are as good as the top golf models.

Similar with running, Fenix specs much better than vivoactive. This I can comment on and I’ll say that they are miles apart. The vivoactive was grand for running. Found the GPS was not always what it should be though. I might end up doing 5k and adding up to 200m onto it. The running fields were limited.

The Fenix has much more to offer and I’m glad I changed.

So if you want something basic, the basic tracker watches will give you a decent offering but if you want something better and happier to spend a few more quid, but something dedicated to what you really want

DuckSlice · 15-04-2021 4:28pm

etxp wrote: »

I think my buddy got the Venu with the main thing being for golf. I'll ask him and make sure it is. He wasn't impressed with it for golf but said the fitness features and steps/HR etc. were all very good.

Personally i think, if you want a watch for golf, buy one that is designed with golf in mind and has the additional features. But if you want it mainly for exercise tracking then buy one that is designed for that. If its the music feature you want then a golf specific watch is out of the picture.

What's the budget?

Just to confirm it is the Venu SQ music my buddy has. He stopped using it for golf. Its supposed to do the auto-tracking of shots the same as my S62 but his seem to miss a lot of shots where mine always records them. He is very happy with it for the fitness side of things though.

blue note · 15-04-2021 4:32pm

etxp wrote: »

Just to confirm it is the Venu SQ music my buddy has. He stopped using it for golf. Its supposed to do the auto-tracking of shots the same as my S62 but his seem to miss a lot of shots where mine always records them. He is very happy with it for the fitness side of things though.

That's interesting. My s20 tracks my shots and works very well. Not perfect, but I am impressed with the feature. Hmm. Maybe I'll wait for the next model to come out.

TitianGerm · 11-05-2021 6:25pm

The newest version of the Shot Scope is down to £160 on Amazon at the moment. It includes the tags as well.

After the price is adjusted for Irish Vat it comes to £164 (€192 using Revolut).

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B08C311RRK/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_glt_fabc_7RVKRQ58M778W8XAXVZ0

The Big Easy · 11-05-2021 7:16pm

TitianGerm wrote: »

The newest version of the Shot Scope is down to £160 on Amazon at the moment. It includes the tags as well.

After the price is adjusted for Irish Vat it comes to £164 (€192 using Revolut).

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B08C311RRK/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_glt_fabc_7RVKRQ58M778W8XAXVZ0

Thanks, just bought it, have been carrying around the remnants of a loyal S1. Delivery Friday, so won't have to wait long to try it out

TitianGerm · 11-05-2021 7:42pm

The Big Easy wrote: »

Thanks, just bought it, have been carrying around the remnants of a loyal S1. Delivery Friday, so won't have to wait long to try it out

I've the V2 one here that I got at launch. It's had very little use as I didn't play at all last year but I'm very tempted to sell it and just buy the V3

SmartWatch for Golf

Comments