Garmin S20 GPS Watch

[Coboz]

Watch is already set to yards, but that is for the distances on the golf course. I'm talking the odometer. 4.45 makes no sense when walking a mile...so this thing is way off and pretty useless on the odometer setting.

[Rubber_Dinghies]

Watch is already set to yards, but that is for the distances on the golf course. I'm talking the odometer. 4.45 makes no sense when walking a mile...so this thing is way off and pretty useless on the odometer setting.

 

I'd noticed the same. Assumed it was defaulted to kilometres rather than miles, which I think would make a bit more sense. I've not found any settings to update this mind.

[JBent9610]

Not that his is any huge savings, but Amazon has the black band and white band watches for $189.99. Teal and slate are both $199.99.

[Surgie]

So my S20 finally arrived and I've had the chance to demo it on the course.

 

I found it very easy to use and was great for FMB yardages.

The autoshot worked quiet well, it only missed maybe 2/3 swings all day.

 

We have a few tee boxes beside each other and the device coped with this immaculately.

The website worked great, synced first time and was able to view shots when I got home.

 

My only question to others is; can you view average yardages for clubs? and is the dogleg yardage meant to be in the 'layup' section? if so my course wasn't mapped for these.

 

 

Overall, I was very impressed with this device - Ten times better than the Microsoft Band 2 that it replaced (you can find my comments on it in its own thread).

There are a few minor things to iron out but all in all I would highly recommend this watch.

[Dan42nepa]

I got one today at dicks... 167.00 20 percent off because it was the display model. I am hoping its not a lemon. I got the slate gray model.

[Coboz]

Watch is already set to yards, but that is for the distances on the golf course. I'm talking the odometer. 4.45 makes no sense when walking a mile...so this thing is way off and pretty useless on the odometer setting.

 

I'd noticed the same. Assumed it was defaulted to kilometres rather than miles, which I think would make a bit more sense. I've not found any settings to update this mind.

 

I think what it may be doing is calculating distance like a fitbit does, off of foot steps and a pre-determined length of step like 30 inches or so. I was walking with little kids, thus taking very small steps and not a full 30" or so steps. Thats the only thing that makes sense..but being a GPS watch, i would have thought it would use GPS for the distance.

[BlackDiamondPar5]

I'd be both surprised and disappointed if the odometer isn't using the GPS. That is one of the things I like about my neo-x, it tells me how far I've traveled even if riding in a cart.

 

Surely another s20 owner can chime in. I looked in the manual on the Garmin site but couldn't find it called out.

[RLL33]

Ditto.

[Coboz]

Well, did a test today. Started the odometer, got in my truck and put the watch on the console. Drove to town and back. It recorded nothing, the timer on the screen was still counting up..but the distance showed 0.00. Then I put it on my wrist and walked to the mailbox and back, and the distance started going up. So I would say this proves it does not use GPS for the odometer, but footsteps. Unfortunately,

[BlackDiamondPar5]

Well, did a test today. Started the odometer, got in my truck and put the watch on the console. Drove to town and back. It recorded nothing, the timer on the screen was still counting up..but the distance showed 0.00. Then I put it on my wrist and walked to the mailbox and back, and the distance started going up. So I would say this proves it does not use GPS for the odometer, but footsteps. Unfortunately,

 

Sounds like a good test. The result is a real bummer :(

Tx

[Fletch13]

Surely the GPS would significantly decrease the battery life and I'd image nearly all activity trackers work off a pre determined aaverage stride length that can be adjusted

 

Think my running watch has about 6 hours GPS and S20 is about 12-15 (quoted at 4 rounds)

 

Like everything else it's a trade off as GPS level accuracy simply isn't needed all the time

[BlackDiamondPar5]

Surely the GPS would significantly decrease the battery life and I'd image nearly all activity trackers work off a pre determined aaverage stride length that can be adjusted

 

Think my running watch has about 6 hours GPS and S20 is about 12-15 (quoted at 4 rounds)

 

Like everything else it's a trade off as GPS level accuracy simply isn't needed all the time

 

Agreed, but when using it in golf mode I'd hope the gps is used for the odometer since it's already on. I guess that would be a good test.

[Fletch13]

Yeah I think that would be a much more valid test.....Im struggling to remember but at the end of a round does it give a summary of time and distance? Be interesting to see if that matched up to the activity trackers distance as well

[BigUps]

Just a heads up for people reading this (like me) that were interested in the S20, but after reading this thread have become a bit skeptical about it. There are 2 watches coming out that may meet your needs as well. The first is the Garmin Vivoactive HR. It will supposedly do golf well and also can be used for swimming, cycling, running and more. It looks like a nice option.

 

The second option is the TomTom Golfer 2. That looks like a more direct competitor to the S20, but it includes a gyroscope for autoshot tracking and does not do any smartphone notifications. The one thing I like about the Golfer 2 is that it vibrates every time it uses autoshot. That little feedback could be nice after reading what may say about the S20.

 

Anyhow, those will be released at a later date so I'm going to continue monitoring this thread in the hopes that Garmin fixes a lot of the bugs everyone has reported in this thread.

[Marand]

Surely the GPS would significantly decrease the battery life and I'd image nearly all activity trackers work off a pre determined aaverage stride length that can be adjusted

 

Think my running watch has about 6 hours GPS and S20 is about 12-15 (quoted at 4 rounds)

 

Like everything else it's a trade off as GPS level accuracy simply isn't needed all the time

 

I surely like my Garmin S6, but its battery life isn't remotely close the reported S20 battery life.

[halliedog]

Surely the GPS would significantly decrease the battery life and I'd image nearly all activity trackers work off a pre determined aaverage stride length that can be adjusted

 

Think my running watch has about 6 hours GPS and S20 is about 12-15 (quoted at 4 rounds)

 

Like everything else it's a trade off as GPS level accuracy simply isn't needed all the time

 

This. Stride length is editable when synced to either Express or Connect (can't remember which, but I believe Connect, where you can also edit your Gear).

[Bryzey]

Watch is already set to yards, but that is for the distances on the golf course. I'm talking the odometer. 4.45 makes no sense when walking a mile...so this thing is way off and pretty useless on the odometer setting.

 

I'd noticed the same. Assumed it was defaulted to kilometres rather than miles, which I think would make a bit more sense. I've not found any settings to update this mind.

 

I think what it may be doing is calculating distance like a fitbit does, off of foot steps and a pre-determined length of step like 30 inches or so. I was walking with little kids, thus taking very small steps and not a full 30" or so steps. Thats the only thing that makes sense..but being a GPS watch, i would have thought it would use GPS for the distance.

 

That is correct I think. If you go into garmin connect on your computer and into your device settings you can change your custom step settings as per below.

 

https://imgur.com/O2N1iFB

 

There is a screen grab of the section I am referring to.

[Abertil]

 

 

My only question to others is; can you view average yardages for clubs? and is the dogleg yardage meant to be in the 'layup' section? if so my course wasn't mapped for these.

 

 

This is something that I'm also interested in, what's the purpose of giving input for clubs unless you can get something useful back.

 

But I've also seen that in Garmin.com it states that some golf statistic features won't be available until Q2, working in development myself, that clearly means earliest end of June...

[Surgie]

Has anyone ever experienced the online stats confusing themselves?

 

I've played the same course 4 times since getting the watch.

Yet the online stats says I've played it 3 times and an identically named course 1 time?! (Hope that makes sense) instead of recognising it was the same course and tees all 4 times.

[Surgie]

Another two rounds since last post.

Both new rounds were recorded as duplicate courses on Garmin Connect.

 

Making Garmin Connect totally pointless for me.

Can see dream score, where I put the ball previous rounds or average stats.

Each round I submit is treated as a brand new course! (it isn't! - its the same course)

 

Unfortunately as a UK customer I can only email them (I think) - and they don't want to know!

Very disappointed. However - watch is still great for on course yardages so everything else would just have been a bonus.

[halliedog]

OK, I was one of the original fan-boys of this watch, and still am to a certain extent. Battery life is awesome (probably best on market), F/M/B is usually pretty dead on accurate, Scoring and Notifications work flawlessly.

 

Now I'm getting more and more "pissy" about the Auto-Shot function. Doesn't even come close to working for me - in fact it worked better straight out of the box before all the "updates". Hardly ever picks up a pitch/chip/bump & run anywhere close to the green. If I forget to select what club I hit on a certain shot, then hit another shot, there is no way to add the one it missed.

 

Bottom line, this watch is great as a basic GPS/Scorecard/Everyday watch, but absolutely stinks at Autoshot - which is it's big selling point. Get your Sh*t together Garmin!

[cbierwiler]

I got the S20 with some trade in credit , now after reading reviews kinda worried. I only want it for gps and scorecard if possible. Does it work good for that? Or better to return and get s2???

[halliedog]

cbier, those 2 things are it's 2nd best attributes, behind number 1 - outstanding battery life. As long as you aren't looking for a cheap alternative to the ones that plug into your clubs, you're good to go.

[halliedog]

Should say, "Notifications" works exactly as described, along with the limited fitness tracking. That's what has me fuming at the moment - the one thing they advertised this thing as doing well (Auto-Shot) is it's worst function.

[cbierwiler]

cbier, those 2 things are it's 2nd best attributes, behind number 1 - outstanding battery life. As long as you aren't looking for a cheap alternative to the ones that plug into your clubs, you're good to go.

[CactusGolf]

I got the S20 with some trade in credit , now after reading reviews kinda worried. I only want it for gps and scorecard if possible. Does it work good for that? Or better to return and get s2???

I like the S20 over the S2 because it gives distances to hazards in addition to the standard GPS and scorecard function.

[RLL33]

Got my S20. First reaction is I like it. The distances are immediate and accurate -- better than with my Neo. So are hazards and layups. It kept score for me flawlessly, displayed the time of round at the end. So, for those of us who wanted those functions and not necessarily the Autoshot and online stuff, it's excellent. Being able to get text and email notifications is also a nice plus for me.

 

However... the odometer thing is def weird. As others have noted, it doesn't use GPS, and since I'm not into counting steps, that's a disappointment. Walked 3 mi yesterday and although it timed my walk accurately, it said the distance was zero. And yet when I played golf, I didn't have the steps thing turned on and it showed a distance of 9 Mi... ! Have no idea what that means...

 

So, it checks as good for me in all areas I wanted except the odometer function. I agree with others that it should be worked on further. Also, one quirky thing that I haven't heard mentioned by others is the simple time display when you're just wearing the watch. It just shows all the numbers oversized and lined up with no separator like a : . So, right now, for instance, it reads in big bold numbers, 1231 for 12:31. Never saw time represented that way. Wouldn't mind having some simple display options in this area besides 12 or 24 hr.

[Atlantagolf]

Just a heads up for people reading this (like me) that were interested in the S20, but after reading this thread have become a bit skeptical about it. There are 2 watches coming out that may meet your needs as well. The first is the Garmin Vivoactive HR. It will supposedly do golf well and also can be used for swimming, cycling, running and more. It looks like a nice option.

 

The second option is the TomTom Golfer 2. That looks like a more direct competitor to the S20, but it includes a gyroscope for autoshot tracking and does not do any smartphone notifications. The one thing I like about the Golfer 2 is that it vibrates every time it uses autoshot. That little feedback could be nice after reading what may say about the S20.

 

Anyhow, those will be released at a later date so I'm going to continue monitoring this thread in the hopes that Garmin fixes a lot of the bugs everyone has reported in this thread.

 

I was one of the early adopters to the S20 and early posters to this thread. My first S20 (serial number 62!) just totally locked up randomly. Working with the Garmin phone service received a replacement (serial number was ~4000). The second one would miss recording about 1/3 of my swings in shot tracker. Again working with Garmin Phone Service received another replacement (serial number ~14000). This weekend played two rounds and didn't miss any tracked shots. :D

 

So as others have said before, this is a great product and Garmin is committed to delivering all the touted features. You just have to be patient while Garmin works the kinks out. If there are readers of this post not willing to have patience, then this product is probably not the one for you now. Garmin has stood behind the product and done right by me.

[Dan42nepa]

Two weeks now and I am enjoying it. Synching to phone and computer works well. I use it for scoring and to track distances for clubs i used. It seems to remember what club i used from a similar distance. I mid iron shot, it more often or not prompts me to confirm the club i just used and it usually is correct.

[thechief16]

Just a heads up for people reading this (like me) that were interested in the S20, but after reading this thread have become a bit skeptical about it. There are 2 watches coming out that may meet your needs as well. The first is the Garmin Vivoactive HR. It will supposedly do golf well and also can be used for swimming, cycling, running and more. It looks like a nice option.

 

The second option is the TomTom Golfer 2. That looks like a more direct competitor to the S20, but it includes a gyroscope for autoshot tracking and does not do any smartphone notifications. The one thing I like about the Golfer 2 is that it vibrates every time it uses autoshot. That little feedback could be nice after reading what may say about the S20.

 

Anyhow, those will be released at a later date so I'm going to continue monitoring this thread in the hopes that Garmin fixes a lot of the bugs everyone has reported in this thread.

 

I was one of the early adopters to the S20 and early posters to this thread. My first S20 (serial number 62!) just totally locked up randomly. Working with the Garmin phone service received a replacement (serial number was ~4000). The second one would miss recording about 1/3 of my swings in shot tracker. Again working with Garmin Phone Service received another replacement (serial number ~14000). This weekend played two rounds and didn't miss any tracked shots. :D

 

So as others have said before, this is a great product and Garmin is committed to delivering all the touted features. You just have to be patient while Garmin works the kinks out. If there are readers of this post not willing to have patience, then this product is probably not the one for you now. Garmin has stood behind the product and done right by me.

This makes it sound like its a hardware problem. In that case, it isnt a great product. It's a defective product. It's a PITA for people to have to call and return multiple products. They should be reaching out to early adopters proactively.