Garmin S70 Health and Tracking - 2024 Forum Review

[cburins]

On 6/21/2024 at 12:46 PM, Coulter said:

@cburins I already know that I want this watch lol but something I’d like to see is how the shot tracking compares to the shot scope watches. I bought a shot scope X5 last year and really like it however it is exclusively a golf watch. Since I’m trying to be more health conscious I am trying to find something that does both really well.

Hey Coulter! Ive done some research on the X5 and here's my opinion on the comparison to the S70. 

Both interfaces are extremely similar, I do prefer the aesthetic of the Garmin as it seems to be a bit more detailed. One feature the X5 doesn't have is the Virtual Caddy. If you're looking to also improve your game this is an extremely helpful tool to do so. The X5 also doesn't provide any info for the weather. The Garmin has a barometer that's also accounts for the weather during the round. 

The shot tracking seems very similar and both phone apps seem to track the same data. In my opinion the Shotscope sensors seems a bit more sleek and fitting that the CT10 Sensors. Overall, I really think it comes down to whether or not you want the health tracking data. The X5 seems like an amazing golfing tool, not health. 

Health wise, the X5 only tracks your steps. There are an insane amount of tracking features for the Garmin and apps are always being developed to improve the Garmin. The price difference is quite significant, but if you're looking for more health related features and golf improvement, I think the Garmin is your best bet. 

If you have any other questions please let me know! 

[NubianRugby]

8 hours ago, VernL4 said:

How did you play?

Meh. He's like a 50 handicap and we're playing in a 2 ball league (you both play the hole and your team takes the best score on the hole) so basically we're playing my score and I shot 49. I was a little aggravated by the lateness and lack of warmup and snapped my first two drives left, which is annoying because my miss is usually a slice. I started opening up the face of the club at address and managed to fix that after a couple of holes but it's hard to recover from 3 doubles to start out. 

S70 is starting to respect my tendency to pull out the driver whenever possible and has stopped suggesting I take 4 iron off the tee, but truthfully the way I've been hitting that thing lately (a consistent 220-240) it's probably not a bad idea. I still miss with it though and there's not much more frustrating than trying to make the "smart" play and hitting a bad conservative shot.

Smoked one 299 over the water from here:

And the latest in a continuing series of missed birdie putts. Hit a nice 6 iron and left my self 30 feet to the hole where I proceeded to throw up on myself with a 3 putt for bogie.

 

[KC Golf]

On 7/2/2024 at 2:31 PM, cburins said:

Well, the struggle continues for the putter sensor. For those of you not familiar, I use a SuperStroke Pistol 1.0 Grip and the CT10 Sensors are not compatible with that kind of grip. 

I was able to get the insert off on one of the sensors, but now the tricky part is finding a way to attach it. 

If anyone has some recommendations please let me know! I was thinking of using some double sided tape and seeing what happens. My only worry is with my putter rattling around in my bag it will fall off. 

Not cordially great, but I used hockey stick tape to tape it to the end of my putter grip.  It worked.  The black tape colour wasn’t too bad either.

[KC Golf]

@GolfSpy_APH This question may have been covered, but has anyone tried pairing this with the new Z30 rangefinder and see if it works well as part of the Garmin eco system?

[GolfSpy_APH]

7 minutes ago, KC Golf said:

@GolfSpy_APH This question may have been covered, but has anyone tried pairing this with the new Z30 rangefinder and see if it works well as part of the Garmin eco system?

I believe the main site wrote a piece on that.

[KC Golf]

1 minute ago, GolfSpy_APH said:

I believe the main site wrote a piece on that.

Will take a look.  The older Garmin rangefinder just took too long to give basic yardages, so hopefully they fixed that.

[Rearviewmirror]

On 6/2/2024 at 6:47 PM, CorentinV said:

First Hypothesis: Does the Garmin S70 Body Battery Score Affect Golf Round Performance?

This post will only cover Body Battery VS Golf Performance and expectations about that. This article is only my first hypothesis and not a definitive conclusion at all. I'll propose new analysis during the nexts weeks and more intensive tests of the watch. 

So, here is my initial answer after a golfing weekend in Bromont, QC, Canada.
To introduce this analyse, here is a bit of context: My week was marked by three distinct golf rounds:
1. Golf 9Chatel (9 holes)
   - Time: End of the day after work
   - Body Battery: 17/100
   - Course: Simple, short, and flat
   - Played alone

2. Chateau Bromont (18 holes)
   - Time: Early morning after a 2.5-hour drive
   - Body Battery: 39/100
   - Course: Complex and hilly with challenging greens
   - Played with my beginner wife (helping her throughout)

3. Royal Bromont (18 holes)
   - Time: Early morning after a good night's rest
   - Body Battery: 60/100
   - Course: Long with many water hazards, narrow fairways, and fast, deceptive greens
   - Played on foot with an experienced local player

Body Battery vs. Course Difficulty
Based solely on my Body Battery, my performance ranking should have been:
1. Royal Bromont
2. Chateau Bromont
3. Golf 9Chatel
However, considering the difficulty of the courses, the ranking would be completely opposite.

Body Battery vs. Performance Insights
After playing these three courses, it was the second scenario that turned out to reflect the weekend reality. I performed better on the 9-hole course (+4) with a very low Body Battery than on the other two courses (+18 / +20). 

Several factors could explain this discrepancy:
- Course Difficulty: The Course Rating/Slope between 9Chatel (32/110), Chateau Bromont (68/122), and Royal Bromont (70.4/130) are significantly different.
- Course Length: The distances varied: 9Chatel (2508y), Chateau Bromont (5778y), and Royal Bromont (6145y).
- Weather Conditions: Bromont had a temperature of 28ºC over the weekend compared to 22ºC at 9Chatel on Wednesday. Fatigue and lack of clarity were more noticeable on the course I walked at Royal Bromont.

Body Battery vs. Sport Condition
Mental Focus: Golf demands a high level of concentration and mental clarity. Performing better on a weekday evening after a stressful day, compared to a weekend round, might be explained by the need to unwind after work versus the pressure to excel on more prestigious courses. Playing relaxed, for fun, as an average player might yield better results than trying to perform at a high level with inconsistent technique.

Physical Endurance: While the impact of the Body Battery on other aspects is less clear, there is a definite correlation between endurance and the Body Battery score. Although I played well on the 9-hole course on Wednesday, I would not have been able to maintain performance over an 18-hole round that evening.

Consistency: For an 18 handicap golfer, consistency is challenging to evaluate, as it is the most variable factor at this level, whether the Body Battery is at 80/100 or 5/100. However, it is evident that when fatigued, finding a rhythm and being competitive is more difficult.

Conclusion
Based on this weekend's experience, my preliminary answer to the hypothesis that there is a correlation between the Body Battery score and golf performance is "NO, the Body Battery score might not be a definitive predictor of golf performance".

However, this remains to be confirmed with future golf rounds because it stand to reason that maintaining a high Body Battery score through good sleep, stress management, and balanced physical activity should contribute to better overall performance on the golf course.

Body battery is almost entirely worked out using a combination of HRV, respiration rate, and resting heart rate. Golf is a bit of a funny one for Garmin because the majority of their algorithms are built around endurance sports like running, cycling, swimming. I think where it shines is when you're walking vs riding, as honestly you're not getting your heart rate up that much most of the time in golf unless you're climbing a big hill.

On 6/11/2024 at 10:59 AM, BallsLeon said:

Dang! I was hoping there would be the option for manual club selection/alternative without tags. Thanks for answering!

The watch should still pick up a shot (the Garmin sensors rely on the impact of the left wrist as well as the sensor data) and you should be able to apply a club to any shot after the fact. I use mine without the CT10 sensors now (Arccos is way better for "what do I do next" data than the terrible Garmin golf app).

I do think the main place Garmin is falling way behind is in the analytics side of things. Only being able to compare yourself to "everyone" or else golfers of the same handicap isn't that useful for golfers who are trying to improve.

[revkev]

On 7/3/2024 at 1:06 PM, cburins said:

This is good to know, thank you! I think double sided tape will be the best move. I might have to sand it down so it's a bit more flush and that the full surface will stick. 

 

On 7/3/2024 at 10:42 AM, Shrek74 said:

Shot Scope has putter tags without the screw but with that double-sided tape stuff. So far I've not had any issues with it. When I put it on, I made sure the top of the putter grip was good and clean. Then after putting the sensor on with the tape, I set it on the sensor (turned the putter upside down) for the rest of the day to help "press" the tape into the putter grip. Not sure that works for everyone or every type of double sided tape, but so far it's worked for me.

FYI, I use the Super Stroke Pistol 2.0 grip.

IMO shotscope is the better tracking system of the lot. Easiest to install and use. However the Garmin watch is more accurate in regards to distances. 
 

Last day of our baseball trip today - we will have about 10 hours on the road depending upon Tampa traffic and weather. It’s been a great trip but no golf - I did bring an old 7 iron along and have done some drills - I’ve also tracked my health - sleep scores are getting better but still not great. Hoping that this really improves once I’m home in my own bed. 
 

Got a bonus side trip through Gettysburg to celebrate the 4th

I miss my dog! 
 

 

Edited yesterday at 11:40 AM by revkev

[BradM]

While it might have already been said here, how would something like this compare to Arccos from a stats/tracking perspective?  While I know it gives a lot of health related metrics, how does it do from just a pure golf perspective?

[CorentinV]

36 minutes ago, BradM said:

While it might have already been said here, how would something like this compare to Arccos from a stats/tracking perspective?  While I know it gives a lot of health related metrics, how does it do from just a pure golf perspective?

Hi @BradM, 

Yes it is the perfect "replicate" it gives you the same data displayed a bit differently but the output is really the same. 
In terms of performance vs Arccos, I prefer using the Garmin watch than the Arccos' app on the phone or Apple Watch, however, my perception is that the Arccos tracking system (with the Link pro for example) is better. 

In addition, the Arccos' sensors and the Arccos' mobile application are a better on every aspects. 
I wrote a post about that: 

Let me know if you have any questions  

[cburins]

Bunker Hill GC - Garmin Review (+9)

Hey Spies, Happy belated Canada and Independence Day! I didn’t realize it was a long weekend and all the courses were booked up. I ended up booking a course Ive never played before because of it. This was a 12 hole Par 3 course! Very odd, but it was beautiful. We played the tips and there were many 200+ yard holes which made it quite the challenge.

To start the round my body battery was at 69 and to finish I was at a 54. I started the day off at a body battery rating of 100! Got a very restorative sleep as I didn’t have to work.

I want to start this review off with the Virtual Caddy Feature!

This feature is absolutely amazing as It tracks all your club distances and dispersions. Overtime its gets even more and more precise as it collects more data. On the first tee it was a 170 yard hole playing down to 158. Usually for me this would be a light 7iron (my 165-170 club), but the Garmin has a barometer that accommodates for wind. We had a back wind and that’s why it recommended my 8 iron.

My shot ended up just short of the green as I caught it a bit fat. Good chip, lip out putt, then tap in to start me off with a bogey.

The Virtual Caddy also accommodates for hazards and will tell you to club down or up to avoid them. It also factors in your left and right misses which is extremely beneficial. Again, with more and more info/stats it really molds to your game.

(the holes had very interesting names!) 

After a month of using the Garmin products I have nothing but good things to say about them. Sure, there are small things that can be said, but this watch is absolutely amazing and Is definitely benefiting my overall health and golf game. I have another Tournament on July 15 and I look forward to competing and having the help from the Garmin.

[NubianRugby]

Had my best round of the season at University of Maryland today, a 92 that should have been lower. The GiR is slightly misleading, a couple of my 3 putt bogies were putts from off the green that the Garmin interprets incorrectly. Good day with the driver is always fun and made a 100 degree afternoon feel a little bit cooler. I did notice a slight mismatch with distances on the cart GPS and the Garmin as well.

 

[GolfSpy_APH]

I ran a little test on the health side of things. I didn't wear the watch for about 12 hours, in part because the kids kept trying to play with it (thank goodness for the lock device mode). I was curious how the body battery would reset and how it would calculate that over time without being used. 

I had a normal day and normal rest and put the watch back on a little later and the body batter reset to 75. I want to run it again to check but it seemed pretty accurate. Although I don't normally start days that high I could see it. 

I did have another anomaly where I had a 99 battery life a few days later which did not feel like that. I went to bed early, but was up early so maybe it was just telling me to go to bed earlier?

The HRV is something I have been paying closer attention to and while I always seem to be in range overnight, there are some nights where I dream and then it goes all over the place. Not something I would say off, just more interesting to take note of. 

The last thing I have come to rely on and really enjoy is the alarm. No more phone alarms here, just the ones set on the watch and it is a much more pleasant way to wake up in the mornings and not nearly as disruptive to the family.