Garmin S20 or X40?

[FairwayDodger]

My Garmin S1 watch no longer lasts through 18 holes.

I'm thinking about a new one and looking at either the S20 or X40. Anyone got either of these? Any feedback good or bad?

 

[dougajmcdonald]

I have the s20 and apart from having to send a faulty version back I've been very impressed with it.

It's the first golf watch I've been happy to use as a watch, and the Bluetooth notifications are cool.

Also the battery life is exceptional, last week I got 54 holes out of it, and 6 days watch usage and it was on 22% when I charged it again!
The interface I find easier than a touch screen and checking hazards and entering scores is straightforward.

The only bad thing is that I tend to wear the watch quite loose and it slides toward my glove hand. When I take a shot, sometimes I press the back button accidentally during a swing. No massive deal but just something to be aware of.

 

[FairwayDodger]

Thanks for that. What's it like for activity tracking? My Fitbit is also knackered so looking to kill two birds with one stone.

 

[Capella]

@dougajmcdonald Doesn't the S20 also have an automatic shottracking to record your round? I think I read that somewhere (and that's something I would be really interested in). Have you used that yet? And does it work as it is supposed to?

 

[dougajmcdonald]

Thanks for that. What's it like for activity tracking? My Fitbit is also knackered so looking to kill two birds with one stone.

As far as activity tracking goes I use it to track my steps during football and badminton and for my sleep. The garmin connect app isn't amazing, but it's functional.
It seems ok, but I've not got a lot to compare it too I'm afraid.

I do like the idea of the HR monitor on the x40 and if I'm honest if I didn't have the s20 I'd have probably got that!

 

[dougajmcdonald]

@dougajmcdonald Doesn't the S20 also have an automatic shottracking to record your round? I think I read that somewhere (and that's something I would be really interested in). Have you used that yet? And does it work as it is supposed to?

@Capella I've not really seen the auto shot tracking in action. Normally when I get to the green it's switched to score entry mode (on its own) and default to par (no I'm not that good!)

When you start a round it asks whether you want to 'keep score' but doesn't ask if you want it tracked. I am heading out for 9 after work so I will see if there are any hidden options I'm missing. EDIT: Just seen 'stat tracking' and 'club tracking' will turn both of those on and see what happens!

 

[adasko]

This seems like a good tutorial of auto shot tracking : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bgvvcj3N01o

 

[spongebob59]

Its still quite buggy, look here :

https://forums.garmin.com/forumdisplay.php?588-Approach-S20

waiting for them to sort mine out !

 

[FairwayDodger]

Its still quite buggy, look here :

https://forums.garmin.com/forumdisplay.php?588-Approach-S20

waiting for them to sort mine out !

Ouch! That's a bit of a nightmare for them. Sounds from the thread like there's a fix now though?

Thanks for the link spongebob!

 

[swasterix]

Hi Capella / FD

Ive had the S20 for a month or two now. Thankfully I haven't experienced any of the issues that have been wrote about so far. In terms of activity tracking, the S20 is a little useless as it only really has a step counter in addition to the golf functionality.

As a golf watch, I think it's brilliant! The battery is unbelievably good when compared to previous Garmin models. I generally use around 25% of the battery during a round, so at a stretch you could get 4 rounds on a full charge.

The FMB distances and hazards are very accurate, as you would expect from a Garmin, and update quickly as you move around the course.

The auto-shot tracking is decent. At the beginning of the round you select whether you want to track clubs or not. If you do, after you take each shot it will ask you to pick which club you hit from a drop down menu. It automatically registers when you take a swing. I don't know how it differentiates, but it does not register if you take a practice swing. At the end of the round you can log in to Garmin Connect either online, or on an app on your phone and review your round. You can see the all the shots you have taken plotted against the course, which is quite cool. If you've tracked your clubs, it starts to build up average distances for each of your clubs.

if I get the chance later on, I'll upload some screen grabs if you like?

As a golf watch I'd highly recommend it, as an activity tracker, don't bother!

 

[And29]

I also have a S20 yardages are spot on my pp has a bushnall and weare within a yard

shot traking is good when it picks up your shot...

i love it iv only charged it a handfull of times, Bluetooth alerts are great!

i would like a different strap option, the holes get full of ****