Apple Watch or dedicated golf watch

smit247 · January 6, 2017

Hi all

After selling my Garmin S3 last season and taking a break from golf to get married I'm looking to get back into the game, and have a bit set aside to get a new watch too.

I'm currently debating whether or not to get another dedicated golf watch (garmin S20), or put a bit more towards it and get the Apple Watch series 2.

Question is, are the apps for the Apple Watch as good as the functionality on the s20?

I'm also tempted by the Garmin S20 TruSwing Bundle - does anyone know if the Apple Watch can give you the same level of analytics (or better) on your swing?

Basically I want an Apple Watch at some point, but I need a golf Watch I can rely on when playing in the immediate future (I can wait for the next iteration of Apple Watch if I don't get it now)

If anyone's got any experience of either device they can share i'd really appreciate it

Cheers

Chris

ParHunter · January 9, 2017

The Apple Watch for golf is only as good as the app and currently I don't think that there are apps that are better/more accurate then a Garmin or Skycaddie GPS watch. None of the apps I know of actually give you distances to the near/far point on the green based on from where you approach. They all give distances to fixed front/back points. E.g. if you would approach from a 90 degree angle the front and back distance these apps will give you would be roughly the same. Or if you overhit the green your 'back' distance would be closer then the front distance.

Having said that, FunGolf (not free) is currently my favourite in terms of ease of use, independence of from the iPhone (once you have started the round) and its features (e.g. it shows distance rings every 10 yards which is nice). A lot of people seem to like hole 19 (probably because it is free) but I didn't like it (no auto advance to next hole, no green view etc)

smit247 · January 9, 2017

Interesting... have you had any experience with Golfshot pro at all? Seems to be a lot of good reviews for it floating about

Yanki01 · January 9, 2017

i wear my 42mm SS watch on a daily basis. prior to owning the AW, i did not wear a watch on the course. i do use Golfshot Plus app on my iPhone and have been for years, great app and really enjoy it. i've used the watch paired with the app a few times and it's nice, though the GPS is still reading where your phone is and not from the watch. i ride 100% of the time so you obviously can't drive the cart onto the tee box. this app is also +/- 5-7yrs from a rangefinder i've noticed. still good enough for me and my handicap.

the apps for the AW are limited in use. I won't use my AW during rounds anymore. there's more to do on the iPhone than the watch during the round. i can pin a spot where i want to hit the ball and get the yards, can't do that with the AW. it's a great watch, just not much outside of that.

ParHunter · January 10, 2017

Interesting... have you had any experience with Golfshot pro at all? Seems to be a lot of good reviews for it floating about

I bought GolfShot when it came out but now they went to the subscription model and I only get a distance to the centre (no front or back and no green view). So if I have to pay for it I might as well try a new spp. The killer feature for FunGolf is the green view with the distance rings. Unfortunately they removed the front/back distances but they said they would consider adding them back. You can still figure it out with the distance rings but it would be more user friendly if they would display them.

Oh and Btw with FunGolf you can pick your spot on the watch by using the digital crown.

TJG6X2 · January 10, 2017

I recently got the Apple Watch as well hoping that there was a great App out there that would calculate the distances from the watch itself. Considering that the Series 2 with GPS was just released in the last 6 months, I am hoping that someone will come out with something for the Apple Watch before the upcoming Spring.