GPS Watches

[dfreuter415]

I am considering purchasing a GPS golf watch. Has anyone used either the Bushnell or Garmin products? Here are my questions...

1) Do the batteries need charged before every round?

2) How difficult is it to upload courses?

3) How accurate are they?

4) Are they worth the price?

[Clambake]

I don't know about the Bushnell watch, but there is a fairly long thread on the Garmin S1.    I've got one and love it.   To answer your questions with the S1:

1)   I've found a charge will last through 36 in a day, but it does consume some power as a watch only so it really should be charged before each day.

2)   No uploading necessary - courses are all loaded in.    You can also update it easily through their website using the USB charging cable.

3)  Seems very accurate.  I've also got a laser and occasionally carry it too just for fun, and the S1 seems very close.

4)   Yes!    Especially if you get a decent deal....I got my S1 for $150 and it is a great tool for that price

[tuffluck]

I don't know about the Bushnell watch, but there is a fairly long thread on the Garmin S1.    I've got one and love it.   To answer your questions with the S1: 1)   I've found a charge will last through 36 in a day, but it does consume some power as a watch only so it really should be charged before each day.   2)   No uploading necessary - courses are all loaded in.    You can also update it easily through their website using the USB charging cable. 3)  Seems very accurate.  I've also got a laser and occasionally carry it too just for fun, and the S1 seems very close. 4)   Yes!    Especially if you get a decent deal....I got my S1 for $150 and it is a great tool for that price

Do you have an Android or a smart phone? My dad has a Garmin watch and he loves my 99 cent app much more than his silly watch. I personally do not understand why people waste their money. Can anyone provide a good explanation otherwise? Buy the app. It even tracks and records distances of each club.

[1484]

Obviously it's a personal taste thing and everyone needs to do what works for them.  For me, I found it very distracting to pull out my phone, unlock it, load the ap and then enter the data for recording clubs and distance and such.  Also, I get a ton of work email all day long and found it harder to ignore email and focus on my game when I was pulling out the phone up and down the fairway.

I have the Garmin S-1 and really like just glancing at my wrist and then picking the club and swinging away.  No question that you can get the exact same data (and much more) in a $.99 ap or even in some of the free applications, so it's really a choice of "form factor" and what works for you and how you play the game.

[tuffluck]

Originally Posted by 1484

Obviously it's a personal taste thing and everyone needs to do what works for them.  For me, I found it very distracting to pull out my phone, unlock it, load the ap and then enter the data for recording clubs and distance and such.  Also, I get a ton of work email all day long and found it harder to ignore email and focus on my game when I was pulling out the phone up and down the fairway.

I have the Garmin S-1 and really like just glancing at my wrist and then picking the club and swinging away.  No question that you can get the exact same data (and much more) in a $.99 ap or even in some of the free applications, so it's really a choice of "form factor" and what works for you and how you play the game.

i could see how that would be distracting.  though one tip, i turned my screen to only lock after 10 minutes of inactivity, which is rarely the time in between shots unless play is wayyy too slow (at which point a GPS is the least of your problems).  i thought after each round i would set inactivity back to 30 seconds or so, but really i find that 99% of the time it's me locking the screen manually anyway, so 10 minutes is no burden to leave on all the time.  i also turn brightness to max when i play and put the phone in a cupholder when riding.  walking would be more complicated for sure, so i think the watch could be a lot more practical if you walk more than ride.

but i at least can't see any difference between an app and say, a sky caddie.  tracking clubs to me is more enjoyable and informative about my game than approximate distance to the hole anyway, so if i just had a watch i probably wouldn't use it as much.

[Maringolfer]

Do you have an Android or a smart phone? My dad has a Garmin watch and he loves my 99 cent app much more than his silly watch. I personally do not understand why people waste their money. Can anyone provide a good explanation otherwise? Buy the app. It even tracks and records distances of each club.

the problem with using the app is that it sucks your cell battery pretty fast and you have no phone by the end of the round

[Fourputt]

Personally I want more information than just distances to the green.  I want to know how far to carry that hazard, or how far can I hit and still stay short of that bunker?  How far is it to far side of the fairway in that dogleg?  I use my Garmin G5 to answer those questions and more, just as often as I do for distances to the green.  In fact I find it more useful for that because I can get green distances from course markings on most courses if I need them, but I can rarely get distances to other features.  The watches may be less expensive, but the minimal information they give is a total waste.

I had one of the original GolfLogix and it was only marginally more useful than the watch.  It wasn't until I got my Approach G5 that discovered just how useful a GPS can be.  Like the S1 watch it has no fees attached.  All courses are preloaded, and updates are free.

One potential downside to the smart phone apps... there is some question about their legality under the rules, depending on the apps you have loaded.  Using them in competition is a bit of a grey area right now.

[papswing]

I have the Garmin S1 approach, it's a superb tool and really quite accurate, you tend to realise just how much you come to rely upon it the first time you forget to take it out with you!

As for "I personally do not understand why people waste their money". Well its their money, I'm not sure how many watches Garmin have sold, but I dare say its more than a few and the price is really quite reasonable.

I have managed 36 holes from one charge but as a watch it's suppose to last around three weeks, give it a go, you won't be disappointed,

[tuffluck]

My gps uses about 30% of my battery. In fact only once have i had to recharge my phone more than once in a day that i used the golf app. It has never died during a round. It tells you distances to everywhere, and you can press anywhere on the hole to get a distance. In fact i can open the app and figure out the highway is 320y from my couch. So far i have found no shortcomings in the app.

[SloverUT]

I used my cell phone first, then got a Garmin S1 for Christmas.  I absolutely love the watch.  I just check my wrist as I get to my ball and pull the club.  I hated using my cell phone as I like to turn it off when I am on the course.  If you don't have the income, the phone will obviously work.  However, after using both I will say I love my watch.

[awmgolfer]

The reason I don't use an app on my phone is because I compete in tournaments at courses other than my home course. I am going to be buying a laser finder in about a month so when I play these courses I have a legal tool. When I'm just out playing for fun though I definitely use the cell phone, at least until I buy the laser.

[NM Golf]

Originally Posted by dfreuter415

I am considering purchasing a GPS golf watch. Has anyone used either the Bushnell or Garmin products? Here are my questions...

1) Do the batteries need charged before every round?

2) How difficult is it to upload courses?

3) How accurate are they?

4) Are they worth the price?

GPS's are nice, though I am not a fan of the watch for 2 reasons.

1. Limited functionality compared to a full function handheld device

2. Too bulky and heavy on my wrist.

Originally Posted by tuffluck

Do you have an Android or a smart phone? My dad has a Garmin watch and he loves my 99 cent app much more than his silly watch. I personally do not understand why people waste their money. Can anyone provide a good explanation otherwise? Buy the app. It even tracks and records distances of each club.

You can't use the information on your clubs' distances during competition rounds as its against the rules of golf. Tracking them is a slippery slope as well. Plus, many clubs are outlawing the use of cell phones during competition. Not to mention its easier to use a dedicated device. Shall I go on?

Dude did you develop this app or own stock in the company that did? You are pushing it pretty hard.

[tuffluck]

Originally Posted by NM Golf

GPS's are nice, though I am not a fan of the watch for 2 reasons.

1. Limited functionality compared to a full function handheld device

2. Too bulky and heavy on my wrist.

You can't use the information on your clubs' distances during competition rounds as its against the rules of golf. Tracking them is a slippery slope as well. Plus, many clubs are outlawing the use of cell phones during competition. Not to mention its easier to use a dedicated device. Shall I go on?

Dude did you develop this app or own stock in the company that did? You are pushing it pretty hard.

i have nothing to do with the app except purchased it.  there are even free apps that do similar things if you don't want to spend $2, i could care less which you get if either.  but i definitely think they are great if you don't mind using your phone instead of a dedicated device.

hey if all of your reasons for not buying one center around the possibly questionable legality of said app, then don't buy it.  last time i checked for amateurs following every single rule of golf to a T though i came up with a goose egg.

[NM Golf]

Originally Posted by tuffluck

last time i checked for amateurs following every single rule of golf to a T though i came up with a goose egg.

You can put one on there for me. I follow every stinking little teeny tiny rule. And you can also add everybody I play with and many of the people on this forum as well.

[Fourputt]

Quote:

Originally Posted by NM Golf

Quote:

Originally Posted by tuffluck

last time i checked for amateurs following every single rule of golf to a T though i came up with a goose egg.

You can put one on there for me. I follow every stinking little teeny tiny rule. And you can also add everybody I play with and many of the people on this forum as well.

And I.  Golf is a game played by rules.  Rule 1-1:

Quote:

1-1 . General

The Game of Golf consists of playing a ball with a club from the teeing ground into the hole by a stroke or successive strokes in accordance with the Rules .

[tuffluck]

Originally Posted by NM Golf

You can put one on there for me. I follow every stinking little teeny tiny rule. And you can also add everybody I play with and many of the people on this forum as well.

so if your ball lands on a rock or stump or some other hard surface, you will risk breaking your $100+ club hitting off of it?  if you compete that's one thing...you have no choice or otherwise get disqualified.  but if you are just playing for fun that sir is RIDICULOUS!  but to each their own i guess.

[sacm3bill]

Originally Posted by tuffluck

Quote:

Originally Posted by NM Golf

You can put one on there for me. I follow every stinking little teeny tiny rule. And you can also add everybody I play with and many of the people on this forum as well.

so if your ball lands on a rock or stump or some other hard surface, you will risk breaking your $100+ club hitting off of it?  if you compete that's one thing...you have no choice or otherwise get disqualified.  but if you are just playing for fun that sir is RIDICULOUS!  but to each their own i guess.

Unplayable lie. Problem solved.

And btw, to anyone who is *not* playing by every little teeny tiny rule but still claims a handicap: That handicap is only an estimate.

[Fourputt]

Originally Posted by sacm3bill

Quote:

Originally Posted by tuffluck

Quote:

Originally Posted by NM Golf

You can put one on there for me. I follow every stinking little teeny tiny rule. And you can also add everybody I play with and many of the people on this forum as well.

so if your ball lands on a rock or stump or some other hard surface, you will risk breaking your $100+ club hitting off of it?  if you compete that's one thing...you have no choice or otherwise get disqualified.  but if you are just playing for fun that sir is RIDICULOUS!  but to each their own i guess.

Unplayable lie. Problem solved.  Take your penalty and play on.

And btw, to anyone who is *not* playing by every little teeny tiny rule but still claims a handicap: That handicap is only an estimate.

Or guess timate.