Advice on App for Apple Watch

[Sammydreep]

 

 

Looking for some help on the above. Have had a Garmin watch for a few years without any issues and recently received the Apple Watch as a gift.

 

So far I’ve tried SwingU ( couldn’t make it work), Golfshot( it worked but disappeared off the watch every time I move my wrist )The Grint , mixed success. 
I’ve used The Grint on four or five rounds ,couple of times it randomly disappears but easy enough to get back on. 
last week it completely flattened my phone battery,49% usage. 
I switched off 4G & background app refresh and next round had only 1% usage. Cracked it I thought, but today with the same settings it used 21% “ Location activity” 1 minute on screen, 3hr 39 in background .

I probably don’t have the settings correct, any advice on that or on an app that you have successfully used appreciated. 
I only need the gps for distance, nothing else

[Missouri Swede]

I’ve used Golfshot in the past. 18Birdies has a watch app that I used a couple times.  GameGolf has one. There are others, I’m sure.  I currently use the watch app for Arccos, because I use that tracking system.

Not sure about the “disappeared off the watch” problem.  I don’t recall doing anything special for setup, but whenever I raise my wrist with a round going, it’s got my yardage right there (Arccos and Golfshot for sure, I think it did with GameGolf, don’t remember with 18Birdies). Maybe try (in the Apple Watch app on the iPhone): General > wake screen > wake on wrist raise (and) Return to clock after 1 hour.

 I don’t know of a way to improve battery life in the watch, but I usually put my iPhone in low power mode when I play, and that helps prolong the iPhone battery without adversely affecting the golf app function.  But using 21% of battery for a round doesn’t seem excessive (meaning you finished the round with 79% left).

[Sammydreep]

Thanks for your reply. To elaborate  I use the GPS on the watch to conserve the iPhone battery. What I don’t understand is why it only used 1% on Friday but 21% today with the same settings. 
When I raise my wrist to look at the watch, the grint is nearly always open, when  I used Golfshot it was always on the home screen with similar settings. 
I had to keep pressing the button on the watch to get back to golfshot. 

[RayG]

Not sure about the issues with the actual apps. But if you have a 6, you can turn off the "Always On" feature that keeps the face available. Even when it's off, it comes up so quick, you might not even notice. When I first got mine, I left it "on"- battery barely lasted a day. Setting it to off and I can go 2 days of normal use. 

[Kitsu]

I had similar problems with the Apple Watch. I have the series 3. I really loved using it with the Golfshot app. But my problem was with the watch gps and battery. 18 holes with the gps turned on the watch drains so much battery life. I would have to make sure I started the round with a full charge. I also didn't like that I would have to stand there for about 10 seconds after the screen comes on to wait for the gps to recalibrate before each shot. Another tidbit was that Apple Music would keep opening on the watch, even though I wasn't even playing any music, so I'd have to flip between apps on the watch constantly.

I'm currently using a Garmin S20. I love that it's always on, calibrated, and the battery lasts forever. I can literally charge it for 10 minutes and have enough juice to get 9 holes in without a sweat. I'd really like to give Arccos a try, but I'm not sure how I feel about using the Apple Watch again. Plus I don't want to constantly be on my phone again before using either watch options, but I love data tracking and reviewing my previous rounds.

I've also considered upgrading to the Garmin S62 or using the G80, but I don't know how I feel about using a standalone gps, when technically my phone can do that already, just have to be more conservative with the battery life. Maybe get one of those rechargeable batteries for my pushcart. 

[SEMI_Duffer]

10 hours ago, Sammydreep said:

Thanks for your reply. To elaborate  I use the GPS on the watch to conserve the iPhone battery.

This seems backwards to me.  IME the phone has much more capacity than the watch.  My Apple Watch SE doesn't have GPS, but I don't think I'd use it in this application even if it did.

My iPhone SE runs day in, day out, with GPS and Bluetooth enabled full-time.  I don't ever do it, but I could get three days on a charge.  My watch maybe two days--if there's not a lot of screen time.  Plus my phone is easily topped-off in the car.  The watch: Not so much.

10 hours ago, Sammydreep said:

What I don’t understand is why it only used 1% on Friday but 21% today with the same settings. 

¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Who knows?  I use my devices pretty consistently from day-to-day, and the battery charge at the end of each day is pretty consistently the same.  But sometimes one or another of the devices will be much lower than normal for no apparently explicable reason.

10 hours ago, Sammydreep said:

When I raise my wrist to look at the watch, the grint is nearly always open, when  I used Golfshot it was always on the home screen with similar settings. 

That's each app's behavior.  If you want to use Golfshot and that annoys you, post a support request to them.

FWIW: I was looking at the V1 Golf app on the app store the other day.  (My off-season golf instruction people use it.)  I happened to notice the V1 Game: Golf GPS Distances app.  Rates 4.5 out of 5.  I may give that a try.  (I think it may cost money.)  I've currently the Precision Pro Golf app loaded (I haven't used it yet), but it doesn't support the Apple Watch.

39 minutes ago, Kitsu said:

Another tidbit was that Apple Music would keep opening on the watch, even though I wasn't even playing any music, so I'd have to flip between apps on the watch constantly.

That can be annoying, so: How to stop Apple Watch from launching Now Playing

 

[Sammydreep]

On 3/4/2021 at 3:58 AM, RayG said:

Not sure about the issues with the actual apps. But if you have a 6, you can turn off the "Always On" feature that keeps the face available. Even when it's off, it comes up so quick, you might not even notice. When I first got mine, I left it "on"- battery barely lasted a day. Setting it to off and I can go 2 days of normal use. 

Thanks for the tip, I didn’t realise it would come back on so quickly.

Only used around 3% overnight, normally 25/30 %

Its 5pm here, Ive used 30% battery today and that’s with the golf app using gps on a four hour round. 

[Cornrose]

I have used a ton of different watches and devices through the years.  Ultimately I've narrowed my "vital" electronic gear down to a Bushnell rangefinder, a Garmin S20 watch, and the TAG Heuer app on my iPhone. 

The TAG Heuer Golf app is the best iPhone app by far, and better that any SkyCaddy or Garmin GPS-only device.  (The TAG golf watch is amazing hardware, too, but CRAZY expensive – I know... duh, it's a luxury item – and the watch is just a tad bulky, too, though it is significantly slimmer than the Garmin S60/62).

The Garmin S20 is simply the best golf watch available IMHO – this thing is the BOMB, my single favorite electronic golf device by far... 1) small in size, completely unobtrusive – pair it with an after-market simple velcro sports strap and you'll practically forget you're wearing it; 2) efficient, push-button design does exactly what it's supposed to –tracks every shot without any extra fuss; 3) Syncs with satellites and finds golf course more quickly than any other watch I've used (and again, without any fuss); 4) Syncs easily with Garmin Connect on iPhone at end of round to see every shot during the round mapped out; 5) Any necessary after-round edits (like when you forgot to select the club you just hit) are also pretty easy on Garmin Connect;  6) Gives enough basic statistics/data to be aware of generally where you're excelling or not.

Based on the stupendous reviews a couple of my good golf friends have given me, I might try the V1 Game App and my Apple Watch s4 this season – from what they've said, the shot-tracking and especially the amazing data/statistics and the ability to compare to equivalent HCs or to the PGA pros is completely game-changing in terms of personal improvement.

Maybe more than $.02, but that's my view on the subject...

[SEMI_Duffer]

1 hour ago, Cornrose said:

Based on the stupendous reviews a couple of my good golf friends have given me, I might try the V1 Game App and my Apple Watch s4 this season – from what they've said, the shot-tracking and especially the amazing data/statistics and the ability to compare to equivalent HCs or to the PGA pros is completely game-changing in terms of personal improvement.

I've been wondering about that app, so thanks for the info!

I currently have the Precision Pro app installed, but I haven't tried it, yet.  It is not supported on the Apple Watch, so I suspect it's a non-starter.  I don't mind carrying my phone in my pocket, but I don't want to be hauling it out at every swing.