Garmin S20 GPS Watch

[platgof]

I have now had mine since Christmas and I can say it is the best golf investment I have ever made. I don't even take the rangefinder out of the bag anymore, no need. I bought another brand, and the spiders get more out of it than I do as the accuracy was horrible. the S20 accuracy, battery life, and hazard feature are just awesome.

[anythingfinite]

Love mine, but the app is atrocious.

So is the tan line.

[howaboutme]

The app has had some major upgrades recently and has gotten better. But agree, it should be better. I'd like to see the web interface better too. It's actually behind the app in terms of options /settings and information.

[platgof]

I am going to check the up grades, thanks.

[platgof]

Went to a Garmin site and they wanted 69.95 to up date my watch. Needless to say I left that site and went to another and was charged nothing. It took 20 minutes to get all the updates in. The first site said I was not registered, but the second recognized me immediately.

[howaboutme]

I'm really not sure what you're talking about, strange. I update my watch through Garmin Express on my computer. Each time I plug it in to charge, it updates. All free. The upgrade I was talking about is the app on your android or iphone, all free. I used it today, all good, shot tracking, everything. Very nice watch.

[platgof]

The updates really worked well today. Scoring was better, and so were courses. I now have auto run hooked up and all updates good to go. I only used 5% of the battery today after walking nine holes. That simply is amazing!!

[moolman]

I just updated my S20 after seeing this post. Looks like there are a couple of things extra. Not sure what the $69.95 fee is, I didn't get one, mine was free.

 

I did order a S62 today for memorial day, let's see if it's any better.

[anythingfinite]

Just curious, what were the updates you all saw? I have had no issues with mine whatsoever but if there are new features, that would be cool.

[howaboutme]

Although I know there have been firmware updates to the watch itself, I couldn't tell if any of them made it better. The biggest change is the mobile app. It has added a lot of options for each shot (assuming you track shots). You can go in and edit club, lie type, in play or out, lost ball, etc. Pretty cool if you're into those things. But because of that, the web page looks ancient as it hasn't caught on to the same options as the mobile.

[anythingfinite]

Okay, my app has all that working. Thanks!

[platgof]

They really upgraded the courses I play. I was surprised at all the improvements. Played 18 and used 11% of battery life, amazing.

[platgof]

Played 16 holes today after work and used 12% of the battery, these watches are amazing.

[brew4eagle]

I just bought the S10. Those with the S20, am I missing anything if I have no interest in tracking shots? I also don't plan to use the app.

[platgof]

You should be just fine. I could have done just as well with the S10 myself as I don't bother with the other features. As long as it has hazard feature your fine.

[brew4eagle]

Yes, has hazards and measures shot distances via holding "ok" for a couple of seconds. Those are the 2 things I'd use in addition to f/m/b distances.

[platgof]

This watch is so good I took my Bushnell out of the bag. I even bought an upgrade yellow and black band for it.

[platgof]

 

[brew4eagle]

If it's even half as good as my Garmin 245 is for running then I'll be quite pleased

[anythingfinite]

Yep. Bought a white band and a blue band for mine.

[howaboutme]

Nice band! Yes, I ended up taking my rangefinder out too. Any ounce helps as I walk and carry most of the time.

[Howie]

Did you get the alternate band through Garmin or another source?

[anythingfinite]

Amazon has a ton of low cost options. Mine were like $8 each. They fit great and were easy to install.

[brew4eagle]

For the S10 you can search garmin 35 bands. I think the S20 uses a different style band, looks like the same band as the forerunner 235 so could search that if 's20' provides limited options.

[platgof]

I got it through ebay and it included the screwdrivers that are needed.

[bobmcbobson]

Anyone have issues after the May update? Mine ended up being seriously inaccurate (like 20yds off most of the time) afterward. I only play my home course (which has 2 18 hole courses) so I don't know whether it was a mapping issue or something else, but prior to that update it was reasonably accurate. I've been using my friend's GPS (an older Garmin model) and my laser to check the accuracy.

 

[Howie]

Haven't noticed that but have experienced my S20 backing out of golf mode after the first hole on three separate occasions over the past month or so. I notice it as I go to input my score. From there I start the round once again, and there aren't any issues subsequent. Weird that this bug occurs at the same point early in the round every time.

[Stuart_G]

 

Try reloading the update. I've had some (rare) issues in the past where similar thing happened. After a course update, everything was about 30 yards off for my home course. But reloading the courses seemed to fix the problem. The data from the server was fine but there was likely some corruption of the data as it was loaded onto the watch when I did it the first time.

[bobmcbobson]

I think I may have figured out the accuracy issue with my watch. I discovered via a Garmin users forum that some users who sync their watch to the Garmin connect app are experiencing a bug that sets the units to metres instead of yards every time they sync. I checked mine last night and confirmed it has been set to metres, so for now I'll just have to remember to check that setting before I start a round.

[platgof]

My friend had the same issue with another brand, and once he figured it out he has been kicking my butt. I need to figure out how to set his back to metres again!