Garmin Approach S70 - what features are legal for tournament play?

Ty_Webb · March 12

Hi all,

The Garmin S70 I believe has a tournament mode which makes it legal, but I'm not sure which features that removes. I know that Pinpointer and "plays like" are both not legal and get switched off in tournament mode, but it doesn't seem that virtual caddie is switched off. Virtual caddie is the watch telling you which club to hit, based on your usual misses with that club and how far away you are. Is that still allowed? There is also a barometer on it - can you use that? And lastly, can you have it show heart rate or any fitness/health info?

Thanks!

Ty

rogolf · March 13

Have you read Rule 4.3a yet? It will help you with some of your questions.

https://www.usga.org/rules/rules-and-clarifications/rules-and-clarifications.html#!ruletype=fr&section=rule&rulenum=4

Mr. Bean · March 13

8 hours ago, Ty_Webb said:

Hi all,

The Garmin S70 I believe has a tournament mode

Out of sheer interest I dug up an Owner's Manual for that device. I cannot find any reference to Tournament Mode.

Personally I would not use a device in a competition unless I am 100% sure it is allowed.

Ty_Webb · March 13

5 hours ago, Mr. Bean said:

Out of sheer interest I dug up an Owner's Manual for that device. I cannot find any reference to Tournament Mode.

Personally I would not use a device in a competition unless I am 100% sure it is allowed.

https://www8.garmin.com/manuals/webhelp/GUID-0F89E6A5-EC1C-4382-964E-27DC4B5FC932/EN-US/GUID-CBFA7E15-FBF2-4C92-A5A7-C9026972D21B.html - not sure if this will help. It's in the golf settings section - 6th or so one down:

"Tournament mode: Disables the pinpointer and plays like feature"

Newby · March 13

1 hour ago, Ty_Webb said:

https://www8.garmin.com/manuals/webhelp/GUID-0F89E6A5-EC1C-4382-964E-27DC4B5FC932/EN-US/GUID-CBFA7E15-FBF2-4C92-A5A7-C9026972D21B.html - not sure if this will help. It's in the golf settings section - 6th or so one down:

Virtual Caddie

Allows you to select automatic or manual virtual caddie club recommendations. Appears after you play five rounds of golf, track your clubs, and upload your scorecards to the Garmin Golf™ app.

BUT see

https://www.garmin.com/en-US/garmin-technology/golf-science/distance-measurement/virtual-caddie/

Before you can use the virtual caddie feature, you must play five rounds with Approach^® CT10 sensors or enable the Club Prompt setting (Activities and App Settings), and upload your scorecards. For each round, you must connect to a paired phone with the Garmin Golf™ app. The virtual caddie provides recommendations based on the hole, wind data, and your past performance with each club.

It looks like a no-no

Edited March 13 by Newby

Imp · March 13

I am very familiar with the Garmin products, have an S62 for many years. Tournament mode disables VirtualCaddie.

https://support.garmin.com/en-US/?faq=sjA1cXNnKf0nLANJY3T627

Requirements to Use Virtual Caddie
Using Virtual Caddie requires that the following has been met.

A compatible Garmin® watch connected to the Garmin Golf™ app.5 rounds played with Club Prompt enabled or Approach® CT10 sensors paired.
NOTE: 5 full scorecards in your account from a previous watch with AutoShot data assigned to clubs will activate Virtual Caddie on your watch.
Cannot be used with Big Numbers or Tournament Mode enabled. See the owner's manual for your watch to ensure those settings are disabled.

Edited March 13 by Imp

Ty_Webb · March 13

Thanks guys - I was between an S70 and an epix pro. All the benefits of the S70 are basically removed by tournament mode, so this frees me up to get the epix. Much appreciated 🙂

Mudguard · March 22

On 3/14/2024 at 4:31 AM, Ty_Webb said:

Thanks guys - I was between an S70 and an epix pro. All the benefits of the S70 are basically removed by tournament mode, so this frees me up to get the epix. Much appreciated 🙂

Does the Epix do more or less than the S70? I have an S62 I think but the S70 doesn't seem like a huge leap so I've not bothered changing.

Ty_Webb · March 22

8 hours ago, Mudguard said:

Does the Epix do more or less than the S70? I have an S62 I think but the S70 doesn't seem like a huge leap so I've not bothered changing.

It does less golf stuff, but more everything else. S70 has a barometer in it which goes into the virtual caddie, which the epix doesn't have. The entry mechanism for scoring and stats is a little different as well. So far as I can tell that's about it.

Imp · March 22

On 3/13/2024 at 11:31 AM, Ty_Webb said:

Thanks guys - I was between an S70 and an epix pro. All the benefits of the S70 are basically removed by tournament mode, so this frees me up to get the epix. Much appreciated 🙂

We have a non-score posting season for 5 months where golf is still played, and I play in a handful of fundraising scrambles in a year. It's a fun widget to have, but I agree, totally useless of the conditions aren't the same (soft vs hard ground, wind blowing certain speed, and duffed shots being considered in total yard ... because average). But the S70 is much, much cheaper.

Enjoy the epix!

Edited March 22 by Imp