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Garmin Fenix 3


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Alright, You guys can go ahead and give me crap right away, but I'm about to spout some blasphemy. 

 

The best Golf GPS device, as well as the best "Smart" watch on the market today, isn't marketed as either.

 

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I want to introduce you to the Garmin Fenix 3, a "multi-sport" watch. Marketed primarily at triathletes, Garmin has quietly created what I believe is the best package, best collection of features and form available today. It is not cheap, but once I cover the feature set, I think you will come to agree with me, it is a bargain.

 

When I switched to the Fenix 3 in February of 2015, I bought it for training, and racing an Ironman. Keep in mind, I am not fast, so I was going to need a battery life that could survive a 16 hour race. You read that right, 16 hours of active GPS tracking. It needed to track swim, bike and run, as well as the transitions between them. It needed to connect to heart rate monitor, speed & cadence sensors and even a power meter for the bike. For what I needed, it fit the bill. It's little sibling, the $399 920XT did too, but the 920 *looks* like a sport watch. This one I can wear with a coat an tie, and it doesn't look slightly out of place. I do prefer the analog face to the digital, but it supports that so who cared right ?

 

For the last year, it has been the only watch I've worn, and I wear it all day every day, and here is what I have learned. 

They don't market it as a smart watch, but it is. It connects via Bluetooth to either android or iOS phones (sorry no Windows Phone Support), using that connection, it display notifications from your phone on your wrist. It shows your calendar, the weather, and can control your music on your phone. Unlike certain other high profile 'smart' watches, when that phone isn't available it remains a fully functional GPS tracking device. One that is waterproof to 50 meters. Oh, I mentioned the 16+ hours of active GPS tracking worth of battery life? Yeah, that too.

 

In addition, it has a full step/and stair counter built in, so no more Fitbit either. 

 

It always supported tracking hiking, and a few other activities out of the box, but In early January, things got interesting.

 

Garmin announced that they would be bringing some new tracking modes to the Fenix. Rowing and Standup Paddleboarding were the ones that got the press. However, ever so quietly, they also added another feature.

 

The Garmin Approach has been the Garmin GPS Golf wrist device for a couple of years now, and it's is good with some quirks, chief among them was getting golf courses configured on them. Well, with those announcements, they took the ideas, concepts and implementation from the Approach and added them to the Fenix 3, via a free software update. 

I got my nerdy little mitts on the new software and got to test it out on the course last weekend, and let me say that this is very very right. 

 

So let's talk about the courses. It uses the same library as the Approach, but now, when paired to your Smart Phone, it can download and install the courses via your phone and Bluetooth. Once the courses are on your device, you don't have to scroll through a list, the course is selected via GPS. So too is the hole you are on. As you tee each hole, it gives you yardages, complete with layups. But where it really gets interesting, is that once you tell it to start a round, it gets smart. As you approach the green, it flips to scoring mode automatically.

 

At the end of the round, it uploads your statistics to Garmin's website (if you wish), but also displays the last round on your wrist as an optional screen. 

 

All in all, it functioned well above expectations, was accurate to within a yard compared to the Laser Range finder being used by my cart mate, and was far more efficient to use than any smart phone app I've used.

 

So, about that price? $499 for the base Fenix 3 like I have. But they also offer two additional models, the Fenix 3 HRM which adds an optical heart rate monitor to the back of the watch, and a   Fenix 3 Sapphire that adopts a Sapphire glass crystal instead of the traditional scratchable Gorilla glass screen and some nicer/dressier band options. 

 

While expensive, when you take the price of a Fitbit (100-200), a good watch (200+) and a range finder (150+)  You are in the same ballpark, and if you look at smart watches that still require the phone to be in range, well, this is suddenly a bargain when you factor in battery life issues with the current crop of smart watches. 

So if you are in the market for a Golf GPS, or a Smart Watch, I highly recommend that you find your local Triathlon Shop and give the Garmin Fenix a good long look..

 

 

Dru - Owner, President & Janitor, Druware Software Designs

RH 13.1 Handicap in soggy Georgia 

WITB
* 1W 10.5* @ PXG 0211 ( HZRDUS Smoke Black X-Stiff )
* 3W PXG 0211 ( HZRDUS Smoke Black X-Stiff ) 
* 5W 18* Tailor-made AeroBurner ( Stock Stiff )
* 7W  Sub70 949x ( HZRDUS Smoke Black X-Stiff )
* 5i-PW @ PXG 0211 ( Gen 1 )
* 52 @ Hogan Equalizer
* 56 @ Sub70 
* 60 @ Hogan Equalizer
* Carbon Ringo 1/4
* Vice Pro Plus

 

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I just ordered the Sapphire version this week.. Delivers on Monday!!!!  

 

i cannot wait!

 

N.

Driver - Ping G430 Max 9° | Ventus Blue TR 
Hybrid - :srixon-small: ZX 16° & 18° | GD Tour IZ S

2 Iron - :srixon-small: ZU65 17° | AeroTech SteelFiber 110icw S

Irons -  :srixon-small: ZX7 MKII  4-Pw | TTDGTI S400, std length  1° flat
Wedges - :cleveland-small: RTX 6 Tour Rack 50° 54° 58° | TTDGTI S400, std length 1° flat

Putter -  L.A.B. Golf Link.1 | LA Golf P135 shaft | Garsen Quad Tour grip
 

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I just ordered the Sapphire version this week.. Delivers on Monday!!!!  

 

i cannot wait!

 

N.

 

I think you will love it. I have beat the hell out of mine. Wish I had gotten the sapphire. I will probably swap out to a sapphire this summer before IM70.3 Augusta

Dru - Owner, President & Janitor, Druware Software Designs

RH 13.1 Handicap in soggy Georgia 

WITB
* 1W 10.5* @ PXG 0211 ( HZRDUS Smoke Black X-Stiff )
* 3W PXG 0211 ( HZRDUS Smoke Black X-Stiff ) 
* 5W 18* Tailor-made AeroBurner ( Stock Stiff )
* 7W  Sub70 949x ( HZRDUS Smoke Black X-Stiff )
* 5i-PW @ PXG 0211 ( Gen 1 )
* 52 @ Hogan Equalizer
* 56 @ Sub70 
* 60 @ Hogan Equalizer
* Carbon Ringo 1/4
* Vice Pro Plus

 

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I have been on the fence about this watch for quite some time..  I simply have loved my Forerunner 220 for running, but have wanted something else for daily wear. Since Garmin has now included the golf app and SUP, I think that this is a very simple decision for me. 

 

Next up is the right TT bike..

Driver - Ping G430 Max 9° | Ventus Blue TR 
Hybrid - :srixon-small: ZX 16° & 18° | GD Tour IZ S

2 Iron - :srixon-small: ZU65 17° | AeroTech SteelFiber 110icw S

Irons -  :srixon-small: ZX7 MKII  4-Pw | TTDGTI S400, std length  1° flat
Wedges - :cleveland-small: RTX 6 Tour Rack 50° 54° 58° | TTDGTI S400, std length 1° flat

Putter -  L.A.B. Golf Link.1 | LA Golf P135 shaft | Garsen Quad Tour grip
 

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I think you will love it. I have beat the hell out of mine. Wish I had gotten the sapphire. I will probably swap out to a sapphire this summer before IM70.3 Augusta

 

Have a great race!!   BTW....

Driver - Ping G430 Max 9° | Ventus Blue TR 
Hybrid - :srixon-small: ZX 16° & 18° | GD Tour IZ S

2 Iron - :srixon-small: ZU65 17° | AeroTech SteelFiber 110icw S

Irons -  :srixon-small: ZX7 MKII  4-Pw | TTDGTI S400, std length  1° flat
Wedges - :cleveland-small: RTX 6 Tour Rack 50° 54° 58° | TTDGTI S400, std length 1° flat

Putter -  L.A.B. Golf Link.1 | LA Golf P135 shaft | Garsen Quad Tour grip
 

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I have been on the fence about this watch for quite some time..  I simply have loved my Forerunner 220 for running, but have wanted something else for daily wear. Since Garmin has now included the golf app and SUP, I think that this is a very simple decision for me. 

 

Next up is the right TT bike..

 

Talk to me when you start shopping seriously. I'm a huge bike nerd, and with the change to disc brakes coming to road race bikes this season, and the wide spread adoption of electronic shifters from both shimano and sram, any bike I bought today would be viewed as a stepping stone to a disc & electronic shifting setup within 2 years. 

 

That said, though I love my Orbea, if I was buying today? Fuji Norcom Straight 1.3. Bang for the buck, there is nothing close, and oh my can it fly.

Dru - Owner, President & Janitor, Druware Software Designs

RH 13.1 Handicap in soggy Georgia 

WITB
* 1W 10.5* @ PXG 0211 ( HZRDUS Smoke Black X-Stiff )
* 3W PXG 0211 ( HZRDUS Smoke Black X-Stiff ) 
* 5W 18* Tailor-made AeroBurner ( Stock Stiff )
* 7W  Sub70 949x ( HZRDUS Smoke Black X-Stiff )
* 5i-PW @ PXG 0211 ( Gen 1 )
* 52 @ Hogan Equalizer
* 56 @ Sub70 
* 60 @ Hogan Equalizer
* Carbon Ringo 1/4
* Vice Pro Plus

 

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Have a great race!!   BTW....

 

Thanks, I've set a beast of a goal for myself. I wanna break 5 hours, which is going to be tough, but I like a challenge.

Dru - Owner, President & Janitor, Druware Software Designs

RH 13.1 Handicap in soggy Georgia 

WITB
* 1W 10.5* @ PXG 0211 ( HZRDUS Smoke Black X-Stiff )
* 3W PXG 0211 ( HZRDUS Smoke Black X-Stiff ) 
* 5W 18* Tailor-made AeroBurner ( Stock Stiff )
* 7W  Sub70 949x ( HZRDUS Smoke Black X-Stiff )
* 5i-PW @ PXG 0211 ( Gen 1 )
* 52 @ Hogan Equalizer
* 56 @ Sub70 
* 60 @ Hogan Equalizer
* Carbon Ringo 1/4
* Vice Pro Plus

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have been on the fence about this watch for quite some time..  I simply have loved my Forerunner 220 for running, but have wanted something else for daily wear. Since Garmin has now included the golf app and SUP, I think that this is a very simple decision for me. 

 

Next up is the right TT bike..

 

Also, if you can, get the heart rate band with the running dynamics in it. Some really nifty information there. I was stunned to find that I was having cadence issues, despite running wth a metronome.

Dru - Owner, President & Janitor, Druware Software Designs

RH 13.1 Handicap in soggy Georgia 

WITB
* 1W 10.5* @ PXG 0211 ( HZRDUS Smoke Black X-Stiff )
* 3W PXG 0211 ( HZRDUS Smoke Black X-Stiff ) 
* 5W 18* Tailor-made AeroBurner ( Stock Stiff )
* 7W  Sub70 949x ( HZRDUS Smoke Black X-Stiff )
* 5i-PW @ PXG 0211 ( Gen 1 )
* 52 @ Hogan Equalizer
* 56 @ Sub70 
* 60 @ Hogan Equalizer
* Carbon Ringo 1/4
* Vice Pro Plus

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Talk to me when you start shopping seriously. I'm a huge bike nerd, and with the change to disc brakes coming to road race bikes this season, and the wide spread adoption of electronic shifters from both shimano and sram, any bike I bought today would be viewed as a stepping stone to a disc & electronic shifting setup within 2 years. 

 

That said, though I love my Orbea, if I was buying today? Fuji Norcom Straight 1.3. Bang for the buck, there is nothing close, and oh my can it fly.

 

The Straight 1.3 is a little out of my budget at the moment...  Saving for the kids college fund is taking priority.  I did find a Norcom 2.5 for $1100.00 in really good shape.  Very close to pulling the trigger.

Driver - Ping G430 Max 9° | Ventus Blue TR 
Hybrid - :srixon-small: ZX 16° & 18° | GD Tour IZ S

2 Iron - :srixon-small: ZU65 17° | AeroTech SteelFiber 110icw S

Irons -  :srixon-small: ZX7 MKII  4-Pw | TTDGTI S400, std length  1° flat
Wedges - :cleveland-small: RTX 6 Tour Rack 50° 54° 58° | TTDGTI S400, std length 1° flat

Putter -  L.A.B. Golf Link.1 | LA Golf P135 shaft | Garsen Quad Tour grip
 

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Thanks, I've set a beast of a goal for myself. I wanna break 5 hours, which is going to be tough, but I like a challenge.

 

Ambitious!  That time places you in the top 10 for my age group...  based on last years results.  What do you typically turn the bike leg in?

Driver - Ping G430 Max 9° | Ventus Blue TR 
Hybrid - :srixon-small: ZX 16° & 18° | GD Tour IZ S

2 Iron - :srixon-small: ZU65 17° | AeroTech SteelFiber 110icw S

Irons -  :srixon-small: ZX7 MKII  4-Pw | TTDGTI S400, std length  1° flat
Wedges - :cleveland-small: RTX 6 Tour Rack 50° 54° 58° | TTDGTI S400, std length 1° flat

Putter -  L.A.B. Golf Link.1 | LA Golf P135 shaft | Garsen Quad Tour grip
 

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