Garmin S20 GPS Watch

[CactusGolf]

Glad to see software updates are resolving issues. A couple questions... 1.Have any of you used the Garmin vivovit and how does this compare as a fitness monitor? Can you upload and view fitness info on computer or app?

 

2. Could you play a round and get front, middle, back yardages without ever having to push any buttons?

 

3. To access hazard data how many button pushes does it require? Does it automatically return to hole view?

 

Thank you

1. Not sure.

 

2. Yes. The holes should advance on their own.

 

3. One push of the "OK" to get to a menu, another push of "OK" to select "Hazards" and then scroll to the hazard you want (if multiple hazards on the hole) using the UP/DOWN buttons. Not sure if it automatically returns to the hole view, but I doubt it. From playing around with it this weekend, should just be another push of "OK" to return to the Front/Middle/Back view.

[Lennon]

Hello all, I too read this entire thread, but decided to give the s20 a try anyway. I love it, admittedly have not worked through all of the functionality, but distances to f/b/m seem to be spot on, the hazards and lay ups are excellent feature, very helpful and easy to get to, no issues with scorekeeping. I have never owned a rangefinder but have used my buddy's, this seems so much easier to just glance at my wrist to get an accurate yardage. The ability to move the pin seems like a nice feature for better golfers than me and works easily and well. Haven't had any issues with missing scorecards (only 2 rounds so far). I haven't done much with auto shot yet after reading all about the problems. My thought was to learn and test all of the functions that are valuable to me while I am playing golf. After I have evaluated the device on those things, I will start playing around with all the other "nice to have" bells and whistles. I have used the measure shot feature which seems to work, but takes a little getting used to (still not 100% on this yet, but believe it is user error more that watch functionality. After Evaluating the watch based on my method described above, I couldn't be happier with my purchase. I will turn on and try out auto shot next. I bought the garmin tru swing at the same time and have played around with it a bit. I am happy to say I will be keeping the truswing and the s20. I do have some questions and concerns with truswing, but it is already better than the several other similar devices I have tried and returned. Being that this thread is in regards to the s20, I won't go in to the truswing concerns/issues. I will say though that the truswing synchs with the watch perfectly when on the range.

Bottom line, as I said before, at this point, I am extremely happy with my purchase of the s20 and would have no problem recommending it to others.

[Fletch13]

So after a few rounds and a bit of trial and error the watch and app seems to be getting better and they seem pretty good at bring out software updates

 

I would recommend this watch and am happy enough with it but has anyone figured out how to view average club distances...... What's the point tracking them if you can't see them? Otherwise the stats seem like they will be useful

[kaze]

I took it out again last week and I'm pleased to say that, after the update, everything seems to be working okay now.

[pitchinwedge]

Still can't edit after the round. A big no no.

[The_Timmy]

Still can't edit after the round. A big no no.

 

Totally agree!

[macdubh]

I pulled the trigger, wont be here till the 26th at the earliest, seems like Garmin is responsive and do want to rectify the problems although I would have to agree with other assessments that this was brought to market before it was quite ready --- sounds like those that got it early were used as beta testers (not cool) but if the bugs do eventually get worked out and the device lives up to it's potential I will be happy. Will report my experience when I finally get it.

[Jmay1268]

I pulled the trigger, wont be here till the 26th at the earliest, seems like Garmin is responsive and do want to rectify the problems although I would have to agree with other assessments that this was brought to market before it was quite ready --- sounds like those that got it early were used as beta testers (not cool) but if the bugs do eventually get worked out and the device lives up to it's potential I will be happy. Will report my experience when I finally get it.

 

I think I am going to pull the trigger as well. Even if AutoShot is still not 100%, it will still serve as a great GPS watch and scorekeeper until the bugs are fixed. Does anyone happen to know if it matters which hand you wear it on?

[The_Timmy]

I pulled the trigger, wont be here till the 26th at the earliest, seems like Garmin is responsive and do want to rectify the problems although I would have to agree with other assessments that this was brought to market before it was quite ready --- sounds like those that got it early were used as beta testers (not cool) but if the bugs do eventually get worked out and the device lives up to it's potential I will be happy. Will report my experience when I finally get it.

 

I think I am going to pull the trigger as well. Even if AutoShot is still not 100%, it will still serve as a great GPS watch and scorekeeper until the bugs are fixed. Does anyone happen to know if it matters which hand you wear it on?

 

Don't think it matters. I'm righted handed and wear it on my left.

[Surgie]

Have you looked at Microsoft Band 2?

 

Yes, but the battery life is not very good and after reading reviews like the one below, I didn't feel like I wanted one.

 

"The automatic shot tracking? Forget about it. It's not even close to working. We've tested it loads, using many different band to wrist positions and it just doesn't play ball.

After a round, the Health app will give you a nice scorecard and stats like calories burned and heart rate data. None of the golf data will be correct but that's by the by. If you sync up with TaylorMade's myRoundpro platform, you'll also get detailed maps of your shots, and an analysis on your performance. Which would be awesome, if the aforementioned golf data wasn't absolute nonsense.

All in all, just forget the Golf tile exists and definitely do not by the Band 2 instead of a proper golfing wearable."

 

(source: http://www.wareable.com/microsoft/microsoft-band-2-review-1996)

 

+1 on this. Agree with all the above. Plus yardages on some courses can be 100 yards out.

 

Reading this thread as I have just returned my MS Band 2 and looking for a more golf centric alternative.

 

Very close to pulling the trigger on a Garmin - just researching which one.

[tbell1961]

I just got off the phone with Garmin. I had trouble with the Auto shot tracking missing some holes. He advised me that for shot tracking to work properly, you have to walk within 30 feet of the rear set of tee blocks on each hole. I was walking the course and playing the forward tees, so that MAY explain why some holes were missed. The support person acknowledged that this information is not in the manual.

[halliedog]

I just got off the phone with Garmin. I had trouble with the Auto shot tracking missing some holes. He advised me that for shot tracking to work properly, you have to walk within 30 feet of the rear set of tee blocks on each hole. I was walking the course and playing the forward tees, so that MAY explain why some holes were missed. The support person acknowledged that this information is not in the manual.

 

Interesting. I've noticed that mine doesn't advance to the next hole sometimes until I'm actually standing on the next tee box. I really hope they get all this sorted out soon, but love the watch otherwise. Best battery life on the market, and still does F/M/B accurately no matter what (there is one hole on my home course that is is always jacked up on, but it's the same hole every time, so must be a mapping issue).

 

I'm still awaiting a response on how to select which tees you are playing from, as it can affect par/handicap at my course.

[Jmay1268]

I just got off the phone with Garmin. I had trouble with the Auto shot tracking missing some holes. He advised me that for shot tracking to work properly, you have to walk within 30 feet of the rear set of tee blocks on each hole. I was walking the course and playing the forward tees, so that MAY explain why some holes were missed. The support person acknowledged that this information is not in the manual.

 

Interesting. I've noticed that mine doesn't advance to the next hole sometimes until I'm actually standing on the next tee box. I really hope they get all this sorted out soon, but love the watch otherwise. Best battery life on the market, and still does F/M/B accurately no matter what (there is one hole on my home course that is is always jacked up on, but it's the same hole every time, so must be a mapping issue).

 

I'm still awaiting a response on how to select which tees you are playing from, as it can affect par/handicap at my course.

 

Halliedog, would you currently recommend the s20 despite still having some autoshot bugs?

[snagy2000]

Has anyone connected Truswing to their S20? If so, what readings do you get?

[stateman]

I have been looking at both the s20 and the vivoactive. I want "all" the functionality like steps, sleep, running, gps. Golf is the main priority though. Is it safe to say that s20 is golf first but can still do all the other things? Or would vivoactive be the way to go if I truly only care about front/center/back?

[pitchinwedge]

Just had an update to software version 2.50 - anyone know what's new?

[Bernd_08]

Approach S20 software version 2.50

as of March 21, 2016

(520 KB)

 

Change History

 

Changes made from version 2.40 to 2.50:

◦ Fixed possible issue where the unit would lock up in watch mode.

◦ Fixed issue with starting hole being off by one when not starting on hole #1.

 

 

Approach S20 software version 2.40

as of March 16, 2016

(520 KB)

 

Change History

 

Changes made from version 2.30 to 2.40:

◦ Added support for allowing Garmin Connect Mobile to update Time of Day.

◦ Added automatic Daylight Saving Time detection.

◦ Fixed issue related to not being able to set Time of Day manually.

◦ Fixed issues relating to scorecards not being uploaded properly if connected to Garmin Connect Mobile via Bluetooth.

◦ Fixed issue with incorrect club assignment when using Club Tracking feature.

 

 

Approach S20 software version 2.30

as of February 22, 2016

(520 KB)

 

Change History

 

Changes made from version 2.20 to 2.30:

◦ Fixed issues with using Garmin Express to do map updates.

 

 

Source: http://www.gpspower.net/garmin-receivers-firmwares/341435-approach-s20-software-summary.html

[tbell1961]

Maybe someone here can help. I have the s20. I have had trouble measuring a shot. I have turned shot tracking on. When I go to the measure shot screen, it tells me to swing. I swing and nothing? Just the same screen telling me to swing. Do you do anything else once you swing? Also, when you get to your ball do you push the ok button or anything else?

 

Thanks

[thechief16]

I just got off the phone with Garmin. I had trouble with the Auto shot tracking missing some holes. He advised me that for shot tracking to work properly, you have to walk within 30 feet of the rear set of tee blocks on each hole. I was walking the course and playing the forward tees, so that MAY explain why some holes were missed. The support person acknowledged that this information is not in the manual.

 

 

A Ha! That would be useful information. Explains why it was so terrible for me this week. Played the front tees with my old man, and it missed 3 holes.

 

In general, shot tracking really needs some work. Is it that hard to let a user (1) add shots in Garmin Connect and/or (2) hit a button on the watch to mark when they take a shot?

[Surgie]

Has anyone gotten any experience of using shared tee boxes with this device?

 

The course I play has two tees right beside each other. The MS band 2 was pathetic at judging which hole I was playing. Don't want to make that mistake again.

[Bryzey]

My watch is being delivered today. Pretty pumped to use it for the first time over the weekend.

 

I am also getting the truswing later this month for my birthday. Wondering if anyone has both and can share their experience using the two devices together?

[macdubh]

I got my s20 yesterday and used it for 9 holes this evening after work. Everything worked flawlessly although I did not have the club tracking on and had not synced with my iphone as yet. Will give an update after I turn those two things on. At this point in time I would whole heartedly recommend this device.

 

Amazing how much of a dose of reality it is to see how short I am with some of my drives (always thought I was a pretty big hitter) admittedly I did hit one 295 fairly wet soggy conditions, but a couple of them were only around 250 oh well reality check is good to keep the ego under control.

[macdubh]

Maybe someone here can help. I have the s20. I have had trouble measuring a shot. I have turned shot tracking on. When I go to the measure shot screen, it tells me to swing. I swing and nothing? Just the same screen telling me to swing. Do you do anything else once you swing? Also, when you get to your ball do you push the ok button or anything else?

 

Thanks

When I used the s20 for the first time tonite I pushed the measure button once I had arrived at the ball I assume you were pushing the button before you actually hit the ball.

seemed to work well for me that way. The only minor difficulty was figuring how to get back into recording my score if the shot I was measuring was close to green because it automatically takes you to the next hole --- without going back into the score screen and just records the par score that automatically comes up if you don't change it. I did ultimately figure out how to back up and get back to a screen that allows you to edit the score for a previous hole.

Hope that helps.

[The_Timmy]

Maybe someone here can help. I have the s20. I have had trouble measuring a shot. I have turned shot tracking on. When I go to the measure shot screen, it tells me to swing. I swing and nothing? Just the same screen telling me to swing. Do you do anything else once you swing? Also, when you get to your ball do you push the ok button or anything else?

 

Thanks

When I used the s20 for the first time tonite I pushed the measure button once I had arrived at the ball I assume you were pushing the button before you actually hit the ball.

seemed to work well for me that way. The only minor difficulty was figuring how to get back into recording my score if the shot I was measuring was close to green because it automatically takes you to the next hole --- without going back into the score screen and just records the par score that automatically comes up if you don't change it. I did ultimately figure out how to back up and get back to a screen that allows you to edit the score for a previous hole.

Hope that helps.

 

Great point...how DO you go back in to edit a previous hole?

 

[Surgie]

After getting my money back on the MS Band 2.

I finally pulled the trigger on one of these.

 

It should be here middle of next week so I look forward to comparing my MS B2/myroundpro experience with the Garmin offering.

 

Has anyone received any update on whether or not they are going to allow you to move shots after your round?

This was very useful on myroundpro, if a shot wasn't picked up correctly you could click on it and move it (say into a hazard) when you got home to your PC.

Another thing I liked about myroundpro was the fact you could move the pin placement to where you -roughly- thought it was.

 

(I actually had a trick for this, where by I swiped left to add a shot while picking the ball out of the hole. I would then know where the pin was and could delete that shot when I got home)

This was useful for bench marking how close you got on average from 0-25, 25-50, 50-100 etc etc.

[pitchinwedge]

Cannot add or move shots after your round. pfft.

[macdubh]

Maybe someone here can help. I have the s20. I have had trouble measuring a shot. I have turned shot tracking on. When I go to the measure shot screen, it tells me to swing. I swing and nothing? Just the same screen telling me to swing. Do you do anything else once you swing? Also, when you get to your ball do you push the ok button or anything else?

 

Thanks

When I used the s20 for the first time tonite I pushed the measure button once I had arrived at the ball I assume you were pushing the button before you actually hit the ball.

seemed to work well for me that way. The only minor difficulty was figuring how to get back into recording my score if the shot I was measuring was close to green because it automatically takes you to the next hole --- without going back into the score screen and just records the par score that automatically comes up if you don't change it. I did ultimately figure out how to back up and get back to a screen that allows you to edit the score for a previous hole.

Hope that helps.

 

Great point...how DO you go back in to edit a previous hole?

I think others have said that if you save the round you cannot come back in and edit the round. But I was able before I saved the 9 holes I played to back up to a previous hole and edit the score. Sorry I can't give you a button sequence from only doing it once but I just played with the buttons until it gave me the highlighted score for the hole I wanted to edit. I will be able to give you more specific info the next time I play.

Hopefully post round editing can be made possible in the near future with software upgrades.

[Surgie]

Cannot add or move shots after your round. pfft.

 

Very disappointing and was hoping that this would be a feature they were working on.

What's the point in stats if they aren't accurate?!

 

So basically - could this scenario happen... You drive 250 and hit an 8 iron to the heart of a 400 yard green. Go home, realise it didn't pick up your 8 iron, therefore effectively suggesting you drove the green, which in turn makes your new longest drive is 400 yards which also massages the averages etc.

 

Or perhaps the s20 is better at picking up shots than the MS B2 was. Cause the above would happen frequently for me.

[Rubber_Dinghies]

Cannot add or move shots after your round. pfft.

 

Very disappointing and was hoping that this would be a feature they were working on.

What's the point in stats if they aren't accurate?!

 

So basically - could this scenario happen... You drive 250 and hit an 8 iron to the heart of a 400 yard green. Go home, realise it didn't pick up your 8 iron, therefore effectively suggesting you drove the green, which in turn makes your new longest drive is 400 yards which also massages the averages etc.

 

Or perhaps the s20 is better at picking up shots than the MS B2 was. Cause the above would happen frequently for me.

 

 

I have this exact scenario. My long drive is currently 427 yards. I'm big but not that big. Looks like it missed my iron from fairway.

 

I'd agree that the functionality to edit the round tracker afterwards is vital, if this feature is important to you. I think it's a nice touch, but it's not what drove me to get the watch.

 

note: you can delete shots I believe so whilst it's not ideal, you can remove these big drives, you just can't then fix the hole to show what it really should have been.

 

I've been using it for a couple of weeks now and have been loving it on the course. It's comfortable, light and has great battery life. The yardages are good and the hazard features are really solid. Move the pin works well too.

 

Score tracking works fine, and the stats post round are good.

 

All in all, really pleased with my purchase. Only bad side for me currently is that my watch won't sync with my phone. It shows as connected, but doesn't sync any data. I've had some email contact with the support guys so I'm hoping that'll get resolved.

[Bryzey]

I am a beginner and this is my first golf watch and only used once so take this with a grain of salt. Used the watch for the first time today over 18 holes. Garmin connect has been down for the last few hours so I haven't managed to sync and look up that aspect.

 

The watch itself was great. So much better than getting my phone out all the time.

 

Club tracking:

 

-club tracking is easy. Recommend that if you plan to use this go on Garmin connect first (on a computer) and into your gear tab and remove any clubs you don't have in your bag and add clubs that are not there by default. It just asks you after you hit was that 5i? It is usually within a club or 2 and quick and easy to go up and down to the club that was used. By not having clubs in your bag on that list it just streamlines the process a bit.

 

-I did have some weirdness where it stopped asking for a hole or two. I think this was due to the Garmin connect outage that is still currently ongoing.

 

-it does not ask when you make a practice swing(nice). Not sure how it knows the difference.

 

-a negative I found was that it doesn't ask after you make a chip shot around the green as it has the scorecard up. It also didn't ask when I was taking my medicine and chipping out of the trees.

 

Hazards:

 

Only used on a few holes and it was nice. You just press ok and select hazard and you can see how far to the hazard and how far to clear it.

 

Scorecard:

 

Pops up when you get close to the green with your current shot count and you just add your putts. Select if you hit fairway or missed right/left and then it brings up info for the next hole.

 

Overall it was just really nice having an accurate distance to the fmb of green and hazards. Was also nice to not have to get my phone out at all for the game. You select what notifications come through to the watch so phone stays in the bag.