GPS with shot tracking, Heart rate monitoring, No subscriptions - What should I wear?

[Cory O]

Finding myself stuck that there's no one good option to get everything I want in a wrist wearable for golf and daily life. For years, I've worn my FitBit Charge HR daily and always keep up on my steps and heart rate averages. On the course, I've been using phone based GPS apps and would like to get this info on my wrist. I'd also like to get some type of shot tracking with it as well. Last, if I'm paying for a high quality wearable, I'd prefer to not have to pay a subscription for the golf features on top of that. Initially, I thought the Garmin X40 was going to provide everything I wanted, but digging deeper it seems like Garmin isn't even really producing that device anymore and they're not available new, plus while it does everything I want, according to some reviews it doesn't do any of them particularly well. So now I'm trying to decide what I should do. What do you all think? Here are some options I'm considering:

1. Get an Apple Watch. I don't particularly love the look of these, but would get used to it. It goes above and beyond for the fitness and health tracking stuff, but for golf I'd need something separate (like 19hole which would require a subscription to get the features I want, plus no automatic shot tracking).

2. Get a used/refurbished Garmin X40 and hope for the best that it works well enough all around.

3. Two wearables. This is the direction that I'm actually leaning towards. I'll have my FitBit for daily wear (I could upgrade to the Charge 3 for less than $100) and then when I get to the course, I'll move it from my left wrist to my right wrist and put on a Garmin S20 (or something similar) which seems to provide everything I want from the golf side without a need for a subscription. Really my only concern about this is the appearance of having a strap on each wrist (and I suppose there is the slight possibility of some swing issues caused by the extra weight, but I'm not that concerned about it).

So what do you think? Found any options that work for you that I'm not thinking of? Appreciate the help!

[Pandaman]

I have a Garmin S60, and very happy with it. It does step counts, activity tracking etc and I use it as my everyday watch and just switch on the Golf features before my round.  It doesn't do heart rate though, but I believe the new S62 does.

As the S60 is now not the 'latest' you may find them at a discount if an S62 is out of your budget.

[Cory O]

28 minutes ago, Pandaman said:

I have a Garmin S60, and very happy with it. It does step counts, activity tracking etc and I use it as my everyday watch and just switch on the Golf features before my round.  It doesn't do heart rate though, but I believe the new S62 does.

As the S60 is now not the 'latest' you may find them at a discount if an S62 is out of your budget.

Thanks for the reply! the S62 price isn't completely out of question if it does everything I want. I wonder if the face will be a bit big for me to daily wear. Might have to try to see one in person before jumping on it.

[KurtActual]

I went with the double wearables. iWatch off the course, ShotScope V3 on the course. Keeps the number of tan lines to a minimum

[Sparkey67]

Check out the Garmin Vivoactive 4 and Venue.

It's a sports/activity watch but it is very good at golf.

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[Cory O]

Thanks for the advice everyone! Found a Garmin S20 for a steal, so I bought it and will take it to the course for the first time tomorrow, just going to move my FitBit to my right wrist and have the Garmin on my left.

[cdstall]

On 8/18/2020 at 4:27 PM, liermann.mark said:

Check out the Garmin Vivoactive 4 and Venue.

It's a sports/activity watch but it is very good at golf.

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liermann.mark - do you use either of these? Do you have an opinion on them or any of their hybrid counterparts? 

I'm an avid runner and have an older Garmin forerunner that can't do golf. From a running perspective, I love the Garmin and wouldn't trade it out, but I'd be willing to upgrade to a new running watch (something I've been thinking of for a long time) if it could also add a lot of value on the course. I can stomach the expense if I can kill two sports with one stone, so to speak.

[Sparkey67]

liermann.mark - do you use either of these? Do you have an opinion on them or any of their hybrid counterparts? 

I'm an avid runner and have an older Garmin forerunner that can't do golf. From a running perspective, I love the Garmin and wouldn't trade it out, but I'd be willing to upgrade to a new running watch (something I've been thinking of for a long time) if it could also add a lot of value on the course. I can stomach the expense if I can kill two sports with one stone, so to speak.

I have the Vivoactive 3. Have Been debating getting the 4 or the Venu. I bought my 3 to give me golf distance f/c/b in the course and help better track/get more active as I get older.

The golf app works really well, is very accurate and does autoshot. On the 4 and Venu, you can also use the ct10 sensors.

If I was a runner, without a doubt I would get either one. Battery on the vivo4 is great. Venu has an AMOLED display so battery is not as long, but it is a nicer screen.



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[cdstall]

Thanks that’s helpful. I’m leaning toward the 4, but now that I start looking there’s just so many choices! I really appreciate your insight!


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