garmin approach g6

[Solutions Etcetera]

I have revisited my app (Approach Stats) as I have been meaning to add some things I want (hdcp calculation, date ranges on stat reporting, and manual scorecard entry for rounds I did not record on the device). As long as I am doing this I might as well add support for G6 as well as Windows.

I first need to confirm the path to the scorecard files on the device is the same as the G3/G5, which is "GARMIN/Garmin/Scorecards/". Can someone confirm that for me?

Next, I need samples of the scorecard XML files as I know their format has changed. Also it would be helpful to know if there are any differences in these files based on how you're scoring the round (Stroke Play, Stableford, Skins and Match Play). If any of you want to help out please PM me.

[tx-ping]

I just bought one and am looking for a screen protector.. which one would you guys who own one prefer, or for that matter, those who don't, but use on your device prefer..

[Ken in Regina]

On the G6 the path is: \Garmin\Data\Scorecards

So a typical scorecard filename would be: \Garmin\Data\Scorecards\2012-06-12_09.01.08_Murray Golf Course.xml

I've attached a zip with a couple of scorecard files. Just rename the file and unzip it.

I never play anything but stroke play. Right now we're getting ready for some company and doing some major landscaping so I won't have time to do any rounds with other forms of scoring. I guess I could fake it by just punching in something with different scoring methods if nobody else has anything useful for you. If you need anything else, just ask.

...ken...

[Solutions Etcetera]

[quote name='Ken in Regina' timestamp='1339949908' post='5113504']
On the G6 the path is: \Garmin\Data\Scorecards
[/quote]

Thanks. Just to be clear… The volume name is "GARMIN", and the filepath to the Scorecard directory on the volume is "/Garmin/Data/Scorecards/"? So the full path to that file would be "/Volumes/GARMIN/Garmin/Data/Scorecards/2012-06-12_09.01.08_Murray Golf Course.xml"

[Ken in Regina]

I'm a Windows guy. When I connect anything that looks like a removable hard drive it shows up with a drive letter. In this case the G6 shows up as the H: drive. So it's H:\Garmin\Data\Scorecards.

I guess that's what you're saying.

...ken...

[Solutions Etcetera]

Looking at your files, I am wondering how different they might be when scores were recorded without stats. Whether the keys are still there but just empty, or not put in the file at all.

Also, have you used any of the "other" scoring modes to see if that changes the data in the scorecard files?

[gphin305]

[quote name='tx-ping' timestamp='1339929148' post='5112378']
I just bought one and am looking for a screen protector.. which one would you guys who own one prefer, or for that matter, those who don't, but use on your device prefer..
[/quote]
I just bought mine as well. Best bet for a screen protector is from any seller who sells them for phones. I bought mine from an Ebay seller.....$3.50 for two. Just cut to size. Just remember, it's probably going to reduce the clarity of your screen somewhat. Even without the screen protector, the type size for the layup distances are barely readable because they are so small.

[motofrog]

[quote name='tx-ping' timestamp='1339929148' post='5112378']
I just bought one and am looking for a screen protector.. which one would you guys who own one prefer, or for that matter, those who don't, but use on your device prefer..
[/quote]

The best screen protector is the Zagg invisibleshield for the Garmin Edge 800 I think it is about $12 on amazon and will last forever.

[schlyer]

Has anyone got definitive word on whether the Garmin G6 is USGA compliant. The Garmin website has a FAQ that shows the compliant items, and the G6 isn't listed. That could be because its relatively new though.

[url="https://support.garmin.com/support/searchSupport/case.faces?caseId={5d9c3850-dc26-11dd-f45b-000000000000}"]https://support.garmin.com/support/searchSupport/case.faces?caseId={5d9c3850-dc26-11dd-f45b-000000000000}[/url]

Am not going to buy if not USGA compliant.

[blazman11]

[quote]

blazman11 - thanks for the tip! just received the new case you linked to amazon. it fits the g6 perfectly. using it tomorrow. thanks again for the tip!!! glad not to use that belt clip again.
[/quote]

Good deal. Glad it worked out for you.

[portman]

I have been using G6 for a little over 2 months and played 8 rounds with it now. Overall, I think it is a great device on the course - but as someone said previously, if you want to track your statistics then you might as well use an iPhone with an app. I think everyone has said enough good things about so I am going to mention a few "slight" negatives:

(1) The U.S. version does not come with a carabiner clip. I thought it is silly vecause a carabiner clip is more versitile than the belt clip. I ended up buying one onlone and have been using it since.

(2) With the carabiner clip I wish the device would hang on my belt upside down. That way when I flip it up to look at it it would end up rightside up.

(3) What's up with the non-functioning memory card slot?

(4) The casing does not look as rugged as G3/G5. It looks to flimsy but that is just my opinion.

Funny I kept using my S1 (the wrist watch one) at the same time I use the G6. I have been using the S1 since late last year and have gotten used to looking up the distance on my wrist. I check course layout and record scores on the G6 and ended up coming home and input the round results manually into Golfshot.

That's all I have. If you have any question regarding to G6 and the other two devices I mentioned - let me know!

[Ripken08]

Picking one of these up this weekend. Look forward to trying it out. Nice to be getting it free

[Ken in Regina]

[quote name='portman' timestamp='1341165525' post='5198848']
(3) What's up with the non-functioning memory card slot?[/quote]

+1

[quote](4) The casing does not look as rugged as G3/G5. It looks to flimsy but that is just my opinion.
[/quote]

For anyone reading this, don't worry. While the case may not look very rugged to some, when comparing it with other similar devices, it's plenty rugged. I have a Garmin eTrex Legend HCx that I use on my mountain bike and motorcycle. It gets bounced around and has been dropped in the mud more than once. So I also have a nice rugged handheld GPS to compare the G6 to.

The G6 case is a nice fit in the hand and has no flex to it. It feels quite solid. I've already dropkicked the G6 a couple of times on the course. Aside from wiping the crud off the screen (and making a mess on the front of my shirt!), it suffered no ill. I've even dropped it in the parking lot a couple of times, once on pavement and once on gravel, and no marks on it yet.

I have no concerns about it being too fragile for me.

...ken...

[Pexeter]

Gphin305, have you gotten yours yet? Any word on it?

[dbdors]

For those of you that have a G6, how does it handle 9 hole courses? Does it start the second 9 at hole 10, or do you have to select the 10th hole? Mine is coming tomorrow, looking forward to getting it. My old SkyCaddie SG5 would auto transition to the 10th hole on the second 9.

[chas521]

[quote name='dbdors' timestamp='1349747840' post='5768441']
For those of you that have a G6, how does it handle 9 hole courses? Does it start the second 9 at hole 10, or do you have to select the 10th hole? Mine is coming tomorrow, looking forward to getting it. My old SkyCaddie SG5 would auto transition to the 10th hole on the second 9.
[/quote]

My understanding is that you'll have to re-start it for the new 9 holes. The device sees it as a different course.

[Crank Bait]

[quote name='Ken in Regina' timestamp='1338780454' post='5025904']
Hi. I'm Ken and I'm addicted to golf.

I have a G6 and have used it for about 8 rounds. The reader's digest version is that it's great for helping you manage your game around the golf course. It gets it done for entering and reviewing scores. And it sucks big time when it comes to stats.

If you don't care about stats and it's in your price range my unqualified recommendation is to buy it. It would be hard to find anything better for managing your game on the course.

If you really care about stats, in-round and aggregate, forget it. It's not going to help you at all.

So now that that's done, let's address the folks who think it's a troll with such strong opinions on a first post and then get on with a more comprehensive review....

In fairness, I need to issue a wind warning. The following is pretty long. I hope it's useful to some.

First, I have read the entire thread.

Second, I'm a veteran of electronic media. I've been using online fora of various kinds since Usenet and FidoNet. For those too young to recognize them, that's early 1980's. I recognize that not all forums think it's the best etiquette to share strong opinions on a first post. However, I don't know what else I could have posted to waste half a dozen posts just to pump my credibility. So I figured I would just jump in with both feet. And hope they don't end up in my mouth.

Third, i have a few years experience using golf GPS range finders. I started using the Intelligolf app on my Garmin iQue (integrated PalmOS and GPS) in 2005. I continued to use Intelligolf on my Palm T/X and Palm Centro (with a Garmin Bluetooth GPS10x) until I got the Approach G6.

Along the way I have used the iGolf (Bushnell) Neo for just over a season. I've used my brother's Sky Caddie a couple of times. And I have been playing with various golf apps on my Android phone for the past couple of months, with varying degrees of unhappiness. FreeCaddy is the one currently installed on the phone but it hasn't been used since I got the G6 and I really don't miss it.

The one I miss is Intelligolf. I hope they do it for Android some day. The interface is getting a little old but it does everything you could ever ask of a golf program. The best part is that it includes a PC app so you can do all your post-game/post-season analysis on the PC rather than squinting to do anything useful on a small screen.

I'm a senior whose eyesight is reaching the point where I can hit the ball farther than I can see. Even with a 3 hybrid on a good day! But I still walk and carry my clubs (Sun Mountain 3.5 carry bag) for three or four rounds a week.

Against that background I can say that the Approach G6 is a stellar device for on-course use. It gets a location lock really quickly. As soon as you hit the PLAY button it gives you a list of the nearest courses. The one at the top of the list will be the one at which you are about to step on the first tee.

It took me a couple of holes to get used to navigating between the two main on-course display screens and back and forth to the score screen and the shot distance measurement screen. It took a little longer to figure out how to end a round. It's not the greatest interface, but compared to most of the Android apps it's not bad.

As a couple of folks have already pointed out, the touch screen is a little ... well, .... touchy. Mostly it hasn't been an issue for me. But I learned quickly that when I want to measure how far I just hit a shot I should just carry it in my hand, not toss it back in my bag or stuff it in my pocket. The odds of the measurement screen not being reset to 0 are just about 0 unless you carry it so nothing can touch the screen. It really needs a standby condition (e.g. GPS is still alive but the screen is turned off until you want to look at it again).

Once you get the navigation figured out and get back to focusing on your game it's a dream to use. It gives a relatively accurate overhead view of the hole you are playing, including the primary hazards (e.g. bunkers, water features, etc.). Of course, just like any halfway decent GPS, it gives you the measurements to the front/middle/back of the green. All pretty hohum for any useful GPS device or smartphone app.

Where it really shines is when you really need the help. That is, those (hopefully rare) occasions when you have managed to somehow stray from the fairway and need guidance to get back to a visible or known position. A simple tap anywhere on the hole display will get you the distance from where you are to that point and from that point to the centre of the green. It sounds simple but it's worth its weight in gold when you need to know how far to hit it. For instance, to a layup point or for a recovery shot back into the fairway.

It takes the guesswork out of recovery and layup shots. I've actually found it most useful for those shorter chipouts/pitchouts where you want to be sure to get it all the way to the fairway but not bash it over the other side and right back into more trouble. I use it for that more than for layup yardages. What does that say about my game??

It's also really nice, once you are in sight of the green, to be able to tap the real pin position on the green rather than having to do a mental calculation based on the pin's relation to the front/middle/back measurement.

I am already completely addicted to those last two features that are based on tapping the screen anywhere on the hole or the green to get those yardages. Sufficiently addicted that you would have to pry the G6 from my cold dead hands.

The viewability of the screen must be mentioned. It's a really great screen for bright sunlight. I'm now sure how they do it but it's sort of reflective so even on the brightest days it's easy to view the screen. On sunny days I turn the backlight completely off. As you might expect, that does great things for the battery life, too. The only day I had to turn the backlight on for a few holes it was a really dark dreary overcast day. Normally I won't golf on such a day but we had started the round in better conditions.

The above features of the G6 are good enough that I'm able, most times, to overlook just how truly awful some of the other features are.

Scoring is so-so. It's easy enough to enter your score. Once you figure out how to get there, you can get a hohum summary of your score any time during the round. I don't fault the lack of a more comprehensive scorecard-like display because it would be just awful on that small screen.

But I expected a lot more than you get when it's connected to a PC. Rather than having a proper PC program that you can upload the scores into for analysis and display, it has a hokey HTML script in one of the folders in the G6's internal memory that you run with your browser. All it does is display a list of the rounds and then displays the round you select from the list.

That's it!!!

If you want to get any aggregate information from your scores, like handicap, average scores on par 3s, 4s,5s, percentage birdies, pars, bogies and so on, you are on your own.

Stats are even worse.

The only thing you can track is the number of putts and whether you hit or missed the fairway.

Those who are about to say it also lets you track Greens In Regulation, hold onto your shirts. It doesn't. Specifically, you cannot tell it you hit the green in regulation. It just guesses.

You enter the number of strokes you took on the hole. You enter the number of putts you took on the hole. The G6 subtracts the two and decides whether it thinks you hit the green in regulation. Mostly it works. But it can also be wrong.

Example: the 9th hole at one of the courses I play is a par 3 with a green that slopes steeply from back to front. On Wednesday I hit the green but hit it to the back of the green when there was a front pin. I putted off the front of the green, chipped it close and tapped in for 4. The G6 does not credit me for a GIR. It's wrong.

It doesn't track any other useful stats like bunkers, up-and-downs, sand saves, etc. And there's no way to display any of the stats even if it tracked them.

I know I sound kind of hard on Garmin regarding the scores and stats but this is an expensive device. I should be able to expect better ... a LOT better. Especially when you consider that Android apps you can buy for $2.99 do a lot better than a device that costs a hundred times as much.

As I said at the start, it's wonderful for helping manage your game on the course. The screen is excellent in bright sunlight. And the battery life is great (I haven't tried it but I'm sure I could get three rounds out of it). For those things it's a keeper.

But if Intelligolf ever becomes available for Android I'll be going right back to it for scoring and stats and using the G6 strictly as a range-finder.

I hope that's helpful for anyone considering a Garmin Approach G6.

...ken...
[/quote]

If you know your score, and the # of putts, and you know what par is for the hole, there is no guessing if you hit it in regulation.

[daverain1]

I would like to clip my G6 into my Clicgear GPS holder on my pushcart, and I need a button back like on a flip phone with belt clip (or like a sky caddie G5). Has anyone found a case with a button back? Or experience with the stick-on buttons?

[milfordj]

[quote name='portman' timestamp='1341165525' post='5198848']
I have been using G6 for a little over 2 months and played 8 rounds with it now. Overall, I think it is a great device on the course - but as someone said previously, if you want to track your statistics then you might as well use an iPhone with an app. I think everyone has said enough good things about so I am going to mention a few "slight" negatives:

(1) The U.S. version does not come with a carabiner clip. I thought it is silly vecause a carabiner clip is more versitile than the belt clip. I ended up buying one onlone and have been using it since.

(2) With the carabiner clip I wish the device would hang on my belt upside down. That way when I flip it up to look at it it would end up rightside up.

(3) What's up with the non-functioning memory card slot?

(4) The casing does not look as rugged as G3/G5. It looks to flimsy but that is just my opinion.

Funny I kept using my S1 (the wrist watch one) at the same time I use the G6. I have been using the S1 since late last year and have gotten used to looking up the distance on my wrist. I check course layout and record scores on the G6 and ended up coming home and input the round results manually into Golfshot.

That's all I have. If you have any question regarding to G6 and the other two devices I mentioned - let me know!
[/quote]

TWO Questions: 1. "Measure the shot" How do you get the little red box in order to drag it to the spot to measure (e.g. "Layup" Spot or distance to "Carry" indicated hazard)? One of the Map Drawings in G-6 Manual on pg 2 Does NOT show a red box to be moved.
2. Shouldn't the distance to various 100-yd, 150-yd, 200 yd "Layup- Arcs" equal the distance to Middle of Green, when added to indicated "Layup-Arc distances" (e.g. If indicated distance TO 150-yd Layup Arc is 90 yds, Shouldn't the total of the 90 yds plus 150 yds (240 yds) = distance to middle of green as indicated in upper rt corner of screen?) Mine NEVER shows that distance and sometimes show a Great Variance?

[Norboo]

Does G6 show the yardages to the hazard and to carry the hazards?

Are the lettering and numbers easy to read without reading glasses?

[dbdors]

[quote name='chas521' timestamp='1349785339' post='5769765']
[quote name='dbdors' timestamp='1349747840' post='5768441']
For those of you that have a G6, how does it handle 9 hole courses? Does it start the second 9 at hole 10, or do you have to select the 10th hole? Mine is coming tomorrow, looking forward to getting it. My old SkyCaddie SG5 would auto transition to the 10th hole on the second 9.
[/quote]

My understanding is that you'll have to re-start it for the new 9 holes. The device sees it as a different course.
[/quote]Since getting my G6 and posting the question, I have determined that you are correct. I have to start a new round for the second nine. This actually sucks. I really like most everything about the G6, but not this feature. As I mentioned, the SG5 did a better job of this.

Has this not been an issue with any of you other users?

[dbdors]

[quote name='dbdors' timestamp='1357179970' post='6156957']
[quote name='chas521' timestamp='1349785339' post='5769765']
[quote name='dbdors' timestamp='1349747840' post='5768441']
For those of you that have a G6, how does it handle 9 hole courses? Does it start the second 9 at hole 10, or do you have to select the 10th hole? Mine is coming tomorrow, looking forward to getting it. My old SkyCaddie SG5 would auto transition to the 10th hole on the second 9.
[/quote]

My understanding is that you'll have to re-start it for the new 9 holes. The device sees it as a different course.
[/quote]Since getting my G6 and posting the question, I have determined that you are correct. I have to start a new round for the second nine. This actually sucks. I really like most everything about the G6, but not this feature. As I mentioned, the SG5 did a better job of this.

Has this not been an issue with any of you other users?
[/quote]I posted an update request on the Garmin site. On the last update they updated the course in question, such that the second 9 holes will register as the back nine. I played the course in question on this past Sunday. When I came around to hole 1for the second 9, hole hole 1 showed as hole 10. This is exactly as needed. So they do seem to listen at the Garmin site.

[rickeyg]

In a Garmin G6 how long do regular AA batteries last? Thanks.

[chas521]

[quote name='rickeyg' timestamp='1370185630' post='7153788']
In a Garmin G6 how long do regular AA batteries last? Thanks.
[/quote]

They don't. Because a G6 uses the plug-in re-charger only. The G5 uses AA batteries.

[rickeyg]

[quote name='chas521' timestamp='1370224302' post='7157022']
[quote name='rickeyg' timestamp='1370185630' post='7153788']
In a Garmin G6 how long do regular AA batteries last? Thanks.
[/quote]

They don't. Because a G6 uses the plug-in re-charger only. The G5 uses AA batteries.
[/quote]

Thanks.