Gamin s40

[ballplayer002003]

So I am thinking about pulling the trigger on this bad boy.  Looks amazing and I don't have a gps unit that is not my phone.  My laser died and don't want to spend 500 to replace it.  How do you guys like the watches?  Any feedback would be great!  This one is selling for 299.

[cnosil]

So I am thinking about pulling the trigger on this bad boy.  Looks amazing and I don't have a gps unit that is not my phone.  My laser died and don't want to spend 500 to replace it.  How do you guys like the watches?  Any feedback would be great!  This one is selling for 299.

There are pros and cons to lasers vs GPS devices and you need to evaluate how you plan on using the device. There is a thread on this already

I am pretty sure you can get lasers well under the $500 mark bust again that might be feature dependent.

Typically the complaints about watch based GPS devices is battery life, determining actual distance to the pin, and size/wearing something on your wrist

While I don’t have a watch I have a handheld GPS that gives front midddle back measurements and up to 4 hazards. For me it is perfect, fits in my pocket and I can check distances anywhere. I have a friend with a watch and he just carries it in his pocket.

For me $299 is more than I would want to spend, I use the bushnell . NEO ghost which is a few years old. the new model is the phantom

[Wedgie]

I have the Garmin s60 and like it but don't love it.  When I got the watch I had the thing working overtime.  I had e-mail, phone calls, text and every notification possible set to on.  The thing was buzzing all day and battery life suffered.  Once that novelty wore off and I turned off all notifications the day-to-day battery life is great.  Garmin claims 10 hours in golf mode but I don't think you'd get that even with everything else off.  I was seeing about a 50% battery drop after a  4 hour round.  This was the case multiple times.

On the course I still use a laser to shoot the flag.  The club tracking is pretty cool.  It has not missed a full shot in about 70 holes of golf this year.  The down side is on approach shots it always thinks you hit the green because it will not pick up chip shots close to the green.  They offer the screw in sensors but I really don't care that much but it is nice to see how far I drive the ball which I get with the current set up.

In green view mode you can move the flag around which will get you close to your needed yardage but it can't beat the laser.  I will say it is easy to use, keeps you moving along on the course and it is nice to view the stats when you are done.  But, to track shots you have to manually input club used after each shot and you have to be in scoring mode meaning you have to keep score on the watch.  All in all a good purchase and I would recommend.

[PlaidJacket]

I'm not a golf watch/gps wearing guy. I do however use both GPS and a LRF. For about the price of your watch I have both. My LRF is a Precision Pro and my GPS is a Garmin Approach G10. I like being able to shoot a pin and then have a reference from the GPS of knowing roughly if the pin is set on the front, middle, back. IMO just shooting a pin without reasonable depth measurements is deceiving. If I were only as accurate as my electronics I'd be set. 

[ballplayer002003]

I have always used a laser and love their versatility, meaning I can shoot the flag, a rock a tree or whatever.  I have always been intrigued by the watches though.  I use The Grint and have the GPS function on there which is pretty good, it just drains my phone battery very fast so I am trying to get away from that.    

[Wedgie]

1 minute ago, ballplayer002003 said:

I have always used a laser and love their versatility, meaning I can shoot the flag, a rock a tree or whatever.  I have always been intrigued by the watches though.  I use The Grint and have the GPS function on there which is pretty good, it just drains my phone battery very fast so I am trying to get away from that.    

I used to use the Grint and the watch is an upgrade from that IMO.  If you need the handicap feature from the Grint just add total score when done.  The watch is so much quicker and I trust the Garmin GPS a bit more.

[ballplayer002003]

2 hours ago, Wedgie said:

I used to use the Grint and the watch is an upgrade from that IMO.  If you need the handicap feature from the Grint just add total score when done.  The watch is so much quicker and I trust the Garmin GPS a bit more.

I just use the Grint for tracking my shots, The watch will also do this from what I understand.  I am pleased though to hear your opinion regarding trust.  Garmin has been doing this from the beginning.

[ole gray]

I love my Bushnell neo however it’s three years old so time for a new one. I don’t hit my irons precise enough for exact yardages so the watch works perfect for me. Everyone of my friends have one. I say go for it!


Sent from my iPhone using MyGolfSpy

[ballplayer002003]

I'm with ya Ole Gray!  I wish I was precise enough to hit an EXACT number but I'm not!  haha

[JohnSmalls]

I have a much older Garmin S3 which has been serviceable, with the exception of the battery life.  It has since been replaced by Shotscope V2, courtesy of MGS testing last year.  IMO, both are great devices.  However, I think the Shotscope is the better value and is where my money would go.

*Unless you plan on wearing the watch outside the golf course.  If that is the case, stick with the Garmin.

[Brian A]

I have a garmin forerunner 935 that also does golf, as 5 yards off isnt going to make or break my shot, I love being able to look down and say ok its XX yds to hole and go for it. Much faster than laser 

[Mischa]

My 2 cents....I had a TomTom Golfer 2 previous to owning a Garmin S40. Reason for change was that I was simply looking for something new and that TomTom stopped updating the watch. Beyond tracking distances and arguing what is better/faster/nicer (watch/laserfinder) I use the watch actively to simply let me focus on the game and the other people in the flight instead of tracking shots. What I was baffled finding out after purchse of the Garmin is that it doesn't track shots... ... Come on how come you launch a golf watch onto the market without shot tracking!

 

Let me explain: I hit a tee shot and then 4 more shots before entering the green (let's assume it's a par 4). So by the time I hit my putter I have hit 5 shots. At the moment of entering the green the watch asks how my strokes I played in total (as it cannot track putting)... but why...WHY does it default to 4 (the par of that hole) and not start with 5 (the number of shots I played until that point). My TomTom watch did this and I could quickly add the number of puts.... I don't understand if the watch tracks my shots (and counts distance and displays all stats on my phone)... that it doesn't track the number of shots I play. If it weren't for the fact that I like the smartwatch part, I would have return the watch....  

Edited August 27, 2019 by Mischa

[Pandaman]

I have an S60 and like it a lot.  I think the S40 functions the same golf wise,  I like the convenience of a watch over a phone app.  Just glance and look, then just fiddle if i need more info.

To get 2 full rounds out of a full charge would be a very close run thing, so definitely worth assuming it is not going to manage it.

Club tracking is ok, but often misses chips etc.  and is independent to the score, which you enter manually.  The TomTom2 has an easy to use manual shot entry feature which the Garmin does not.

The garmin app I like, much more than the TomTom one.  But ot does ignore the missed chips and adds them to the length of the previous shot.

If you like the idea of a watch then give it serious consideration.

[TR1PTIK]

I previously had a Garmin Approach S2 and really liked it. I wanted the extra accuracy of a Laser however and sold it. Now I wish I could just have both. I like the precision of the laser, but it's biggest shortcoming is when I find myself out of position and blocked by trees or hitting a blind shot. It takes a little getting used to having the watch on, but you can't beat the speed of a GPS watch. Simply look down at your wrist and grab a club. No need to bother with grabbing the rangefinder and shooting your target (sometimes more than once to verify an accurate read), then putting it back and grabbing a club. Just my two cents.