GPS Watches - good, bad, waste of money?

[Ross61]

I bought a cheap one, can't remember the brand, i think the model was WR67 and the yardages at my home course were miles off. Some holes it was as good as my PP garmin, others I could be stood at the 150 marker and it say 230.

the easygreen wr67 is basically the same watch sat the bushnell watch. The problem is highly likely not to be the watch. The software mapping is probably wrong and needs redoing. Both the easygreen and bushnell use igolf to power the maps. You need to either download the latest update for your course or if you have the latest email igolf to ask them to remap your course. I did this and it was done in a matter of days.

 

[njrose51]

Thanks for all the advice - very much appreciated! I'll get researching.

 

[Davey247]

I have an S2 and the base knowledge of how far away you are is brilliant.

....if however you start relying on it and you one day forgot to pick it up as you leave the house you certainly feel it.

 

[MarkE]

I have the s2. Can be bought for under £100 now. I had the s1 previously but as mentioned, battery life was't great. The s2 is much improved, easily do 2 rounds and has hazard and layup distances over the s1. Whatever one you go for you won't regret it. Best money i've ever spent on golf equipment, really do make a huge difference to your game.

 

[Mike07]

I have the Garmin S2 and rate it highly. Its so simple and most importantly, quick to use! Not messing around with iPhone GPS, rangefinder or a proper GPS unit. Quick glance at the watch and i'm dialled in.

Only problem is remembering to charge it the night before playing.

 

[daveyc2k2]

How much are you looking for it

To be honest I have no idea what they are selling for now.

 

[Mark1751]

I have the Tom Tom gps watch, I really like it but as with lots gadgets it does need to be updated by connecting to a computer which can be tiresome.

I really like the look of the sky caddie linx gt. It's a mix of gps and game golf.

 

[Carpfather1]

Ive got a Garmin s1 and it does the job nicely best thing ive Ever bought golf wise couldn't be without it now so much easier to dial in your irons

 

[mackem]

I bought my Bushnell Neo XS about 18 months ago and have been very happy with it. I think its positive points are that the battery covers 27+ holes, charger has a simple but effective clip (some other watch users complained abut charging issues), great information (front, back, middle plus hazards, end of fairway, bunkers etc) & good course coverage (used in UK, USA, Spain & Portugal). Less hassle than pulling a rangefinder out of the bag but obviously won't tell you distance to a specific point or flag position. When I bought it this watch was cheaper than the Garmin equivalent but pricing may have changed.
I find it useful not just for distances on approach shots but for very long par 4's or par 5's (ok, I admit it - also short par 4's when I have messed up) and its useful to know quite accurately how far away I am so I can try and plan my next shot to leave what I want and not just hit the biggest club that I can. Well, that's the plan anyway.
Not the most attractive of watches to wear off course, but I can live with that. Whatever you go with do try and see one in "real life". The black dial with yellow text version of this watch looked very good and had great contrast which is important for my poor eyesight - but in reality it was grey on black and hard to read.
I think some have too much info on the screen - are you really going to move the flag around the on-screen green?
Hope that helps

 

[SteveJay]

Another vote for the Bushnell Neo XS, great bit of kit in my eyes and endorse all what mackem said above.

One tip I have found, is that I now wear it on my right wrist ( I am right handed). Wearing it on the conventional left wrist resulted in my glove often pressing the button to advance or retreat to the next/previous hole. Easily rectified by a press of a button but wearing it on my left means that doesn't happen so a glance down is all that is needed to ascertain distance.

 

[Cheifi0]

I read somewhere that one company picks one spot for front middle or back yardages irrelevant to your position while has them related to your position. Which company does the later?