Garmin Approach G3 vs. G5

Re: Garmin Approach G3 vs. G5

Garmin G3

Does anyone have this gps unit?  I just recently bought one from golfsmith but haven't got to use it yet b/c of the weather.  What are your thoughts on it and does it perform well?  I bought it b/c gps is garmins business everyday and felt good about that.  Also using batteries instead of having to use a charger was a selling point (not to mention the no annual fee is a plus).  I almost went with a callaway upro as my supervisor has one and it seemed pretty darn nice. Tell me about yours along with the pros and cons...

I've had the G5 for almost a year now.   Previouly I had the Sky Caddie 3.0

Pro's:

1.  Free courses; no annual subscriptions

2.  Don't have to download a specific course or group of courses ahead of time.  (I traveled from Dallas to Phoenix and Tucson Thanksgiving and played courses that came up automatically with GPS shortly after turning the unit on).

3.  I have found all courses in the Dallas area to be loaded.

4.  New software and course downloads at least once per quarter (does take about an hour to doanload)

5.  I found one hole on my home course was 30 yards off and they corrected it in the next update.

6.  Latest S/W has in addition to scorecard, fairways/putts made and distance shot with each club (that round only).

7.  A calibration screen to align touch points.

8.  Very good and simple touch screen to see distance left to the pin and how far you hit.

9.  Expanded view of hole and you can move the pin location.

10.  I use the Rayovac 4.0 rechargeable AA's.  They hold a charge while setting up for a long time.  I get about 10 hours on them. 

11.  I've checked the distances with my laser range finder and it is accurate within a couple of yards.

Con's:

1.  A thicker unit than I would like. 

2.  The belt clip that comes with it makes it stick out too much and catches on the cart.  I quickly took that off and bought a cell phone holder that works great and streamlines the profile without the belt clip.

3.  It does not come with a charger.  You have to take the batteries out and charge them. 

4.  The screen is hard to see with polarized glassses in the shade.  You have to move it to sunlight.  You can brighten the screen some by changing the battery type setting from "Alkaline" to " Rechargeable NIMH". 

Well, I just bought an Approach G5 from Dick's today.  The only unit they had was the display one, so I got it for 10% off.... about enough to cover the sales tax with a few bucks left over.  I immediately downloaded the current maps, and it definitely changed the display.  It has something called "approach view" now, which is supposed to show tree locations along with other hazards.  I'll be taking it to the course tomorrow for the first time, so we'll see how it works out.  I'm viewing this as an upgrade from the GolfLogix that I've had for 2½ years.

Played 18 today with the Garmin Approach G5. Really nice device. It's dead on for accuracy so far in my home course, verified with my laser. The color touch screen display is easy to read in sunlight, the sequencing of the different functions is logical and easy to follow. You start the first hole. At the end of that hole it asks if you want to keep score. I said yes, and then it asks if you want to track stats. For this round I chose no. Then it takes you to the scorecard, you enter names and scores for up to 4 players. Then you hit the back button and returns to the hole view, then automatically moves to the next hole. After that, when you approach then next tee, the scorecard is displayed, you enter the scores, then hit the back button and it goes to the hole view for the upcoming hole. The green view, pin placement adjustment, hole overview with zoom for more precise position of the target cursor all work with ease.

This was a great upgrade from the front, middle, back that was all I got from my GolfLogix, and no annual fee. At $349 its not cheap, but I think it's the best one going, I did quite a bit of research before I bought, and the Approach G5 won the playoff.

I have been using the Garmin G3  for a couple of months now.  It fits all needs on the golf course and is very accurate.  It can also measure the distance between your shots and keep 4 players score.  You can move the pin placement on the greens to get a more accurate measurement.  The batteries last for 2 rounds, I have rechargeable batteries and keep extra in my bag.  If the batteries go dead, you do not lose your information, just change the batteries in seconds and move along.  I have been looking at the G5 and the only thing I can find different is the size of the screen.  Hope this helps.

If you need a basic golf gps device then I would go with the Garmin G3. The G3, G5, and G6 both have pre loaded courses, no annual fees, and displays the shot distance which are the most important features. One of the advantage that the G5 has is that it has a bigger screen of 3 inches; G3 and G6 have a screen size of 2.6 inches. There are other features that you might like in the G5 and the G6 though.

You should read and compare the specs and price before figuring out which one is best for you. This article is pretty helpful comparing the different Garmin models:

http://deviceraters.com/garmin-approach-g3-g5-g6-comparison/