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The Best Golf Watches 2022
Last updated: May 2022
The rise of smartwatches over recent years has given golfers access to much more accurate course and game management information. Whether its distance to the front, middle and back of the green, distance to water hazards and bunkers, swing speed analysis or shot tracking, the modern golfer can have all of this information and more right on their wrist.
The right golf watch can act as a virtual coach and caddie during your round, providing accurate yardages and insights into your game while you play.
As well as golf watches that provide swing speed data and shot tracking functionality, there are also simpler – and cheaper - watches that provide basic distance information – so it’s important to consider exactly what features you need before buying.
Another thing to consider is whether you need a specialist golf GPS watch, or if a normal everyday smartwatch with a golf app installed will do the trick.
If you’re not sure what golf GPS watch to buy, we explain everything you need to know in our golf watch buying guide below.
Best golf watches
Use the quick links to see our analysis of the top golf watches:
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Benefits – why use a GPS golf watch?
The biggest reason golfers want a GPS watch is to know exactly how far away they are from the pin on approach and pitch shots. All golf courses have some form of yardage markers to the middle of the green e.g. 100, 150, 200 yards, but unless your level with those marker posts there’s always an element of guessing when it comes to which club you should be hitting into the green.
A golf watch solves this problem by giving you accurate distances to the green wherever you are on the course. Most watches have mapped more than 40,000 golf courses, so you can be sure that you’ll get accurate yardages on whatever course you play.
Some of the more specialist golf watches also have a graphic display of each hole you play, so you can get a clear view of where you are in relation to hazards. Some can even suggest what club to play based on wind speed and distance from the pin, while others can also provide detailed analysis of each shot you take – swing speed, distance etc. and track where you hit the ball based on your next shot – giving you a full overview of your shots during a round.
All of this means a golf GPS watch can provide golfers with a huge amount of useful and actionable information while playing a round of golf. In fact, for many modern golfers, a GPS watch is now an essential part of their golf equipment.
Top golf watch brands
When it comes to smartwatches, Apple and Samsung are obviously the top names and there is a growing number of golf apps available on iOS and Android to turn everyday smartwatches into golf GPS watches.
In terms of specialist GPS watches made for golfers, Garmin are perhaps the most popular with their Approach range of golf rangefinder watches.
Sky Caddie and Shot Scope are popular brands that specialise in golf GPS devices like watches, rangefinders and launch monitors, while luxury watch brand Tag Heuer have also branched out into the golf watch market recently.
Elsewhere, golf equipment brand Bushnell have released a basic golf watch and Sat-Nav brand TomTom have also recently released their own golf GPS watch.
For those looking for a good golf watch on a budget, TecTecTec and Golf Buddy have some more affordable golf watches that provide basic distance information without any of the expensive extra features.
What to consider before buying a golf watch
With so many options and different models available, there are a lot of things to consider when choosing the right golf watch for you.
Specialist golf watch or smartwatch with golf app?
The first decision to make is whether you want a feature-packed watch that is designed purely for golf, or an everyday smartwatch with a golf GPS app.
A specialist golf watch will have all the special features such as a graphic display showing course features, wind speed, hazard information etc. as well as yardages. Some will also provide a function to record your score as well as analyse your swing speed, touch screens so you can manually change the pin position and more.
However, a lot of specialist golf watches are quite chunky and may not be suitable for everyday use. If you want to get the most out of your investment in a golf GPS watch by wearing it all day, you may want to consider a standard smartwatch and using one of the many free apps that can provide golf GPS features like distances and shot tracking.
What features do you need?
You also need to think carefully about what features you need in a golf watch, as these can really ramp up the price of the watch.
Do you want a golf watch to give you:
- Distances to the front, middle and back of the green?
- Yardages to various hazards like water and bunkers?
- An overhead map of each hole you play?
- The ability to keep your score and track your progress?
All golf watches and apps will provide accurate yardages for the green, so if that is all you really need from your device you can settle for a basic watch and save yourself some money.
If you want some of the more advances features like a colour touchscreen with overhead maps, custom pin placement, wind direction and even swing analysis, then a more expensive specialist golf watch is for you.
Battery life
A good golf watch should have a battery that lasts for at least one full round of golf, along with the travel time to and from the course ideally.
Most modern golf GPS watches use rechargeable lithium-ion batteries that should have between 9-17 hours of battery life depending on the mode and what features you use – so anything less than that should be avoided.
Fit and feel
A heavy and bulky golf watch might have a lot of features, but it could impact your golf swing. An ideal golf watch should be lightweight and comfortable enough so you barely know you’re wearing it.
Some golf GPS watches also have buttons the outside, whereas some are all operated using a touchscreen, so you should consider which you would prefer when choosing the best golf watch for you.
Touchscreen golf watches tend to be more expensive and have more features – such as coloured overhead maps and green views, while those with buttons are usually the more basic black and white distance readings.
Touchscreen displays are not necessarily easier to use than buttons, and some can take getting used to – especially if you are playing in wet weather.
The best golf watches
We compiled the below list following extensive research of all golf GPS watches available to buy in 2022. This research included hands-on reviews of golf watches, detailed analysis of product specifications and customer reviews.
GARMIN APPROACH S62 GPS WATCH
Top rated golf GPS watch
It may be at the top end of golf GPS watches in terms of cost (current RRP is £479.99), but the Garmin Approach S62 is currently the best golf watch money can buy.
To start with, it is perhaps the most stylish specialist golf watch on the market right now and looks sleek enough to wear all the time, not just on the golf course.
It features a 1.3” screen with a full-colour display which is clearly readable even in bright sunlight. This large screen really comes into its own when you want to use the ‘Green View’ feature, which can display the shape of the green and allows you to zoom in and manually place the pin in the right location.
As well as providing accurate distances to the front, middle and back of the greens, ‘Hazard View’ also lets you quickly scroll through each hazard on the hole and gives a yardage to the front and back to help with your shot selection and strategy.
The Garmin Approach S62 also boasts up to 20 hours battery life when in ‘golf’ mode, and will last over a week on a full charge when it’s just being used as a normal watch.
As well as being loaded with features to help with course management and a stellar battery life, when you connect the S62 to the Garmin Golf app you also get access to a host of stats to track your progress. You get data about your shots gained as well as real-time wind speed and direction, so the watch can actually suggest which club to use based on the distances you usually hit each club.
With it being a Garmin, the Approach S62 watch also benefits from their industry-leading fitness tracking functions and can be used to track your heart-rate and estimate blood oxygen levels. It can also be used to monitor and track other exercise such as walking, running, cycling and swimming.
The Garmin Approach S62 is not only the best golf GPS watch, it also doubles up as a very good everyday smartwatch.
SKYCADDIE LX5 GPS WATCH
Largest colour touchscreen
With a 3.5cm colour screen, the SkyCaddie LX5 is the best golf GPS watch if a big graphic display is your main requirement.
The LX5 gives you clear and detailed aerial views of the hole and has a moveable pointer so you can get accurate yardages to any spot you choose. Arc lines help to improve your strategy and shot selection and you can also zoom in on the green and place the pin position to get a more precise distance.
SkyCaddie have ground-verified over 35,000 courses that are preloaded on the watch, making it one of the most complete and accurate golf GPS watches available.
Although the big screen may look a bit clunky away from the course, the LX5 only weighs 65g and is lightweight and comfortable to wear.
GARMIN APPROACH S42 GOLF WATCH
Cheaper option than the S62
If you want many of the great features Garmin golf watches offer without paying the price of the S62, then the Approach S42 is a great choice.
It is as stylish as the S62, so easily doubles up as an everyday smartwatch and has all of the basic ‘golf mode’ features such as distance measurements to the front, middle and back of the green and shot tracking.
Other features of the Garmin S42 include:
- 2″ colour touchscreen display
- 42000+ preloaded courses
- Green View for accurate green shapes and the ability to drag and drop the pin
- AutoShot game tracking
- Strokes gained analysis
The watch also counts your steps and monitors your sleep patterns, and you can also sync it to your phone to get notifications like calls, texts and emails.
In terms of battery life, the S42 boasts up to 15 hours when in GPS mode and can last up to 10 days on a single charge when in normal mode.
SHOT SCOPE V3 GPS WATCH AND TRACKER
Best watch for shot tracking
The Shot Scope V3 combines GPS distances with shot tracking to help you improve your performance on the course.
The display screen is more basic than some watches on this list and lacks the graphic overhead maps and touchscreen capabilities.
However, if you’re looking for a simple golf GPS watch which clearly tells you how far away from the pin you are, then you can do a lot worse than the Shot Scope V3.
As well as being a solid choice for yardages, you also get access to Shot Scope’s performance tracking technology in the form of 16 automatic shot tracking tags.
These fit onto the top of your golf clubs and can produce a wealth of data about each shot you make.
The shot tracking data includes the distances you hit with each club, the percentage of fairways you hit and greens you reach in regulation, how often you hit it left or right of target, your shots gained data and much more.
If you want a GPS watch that does the basics well and helps you track and improve your game, the Shot Scope V3 is definitely worth considering.
GARMIN APPROACH S12 GPS GOLF WATCH
More affordable Garmin golf watch
It may not be as feature rich or stylish as the more expensive Garmin’s on this list, but the S12 is a very dependable golf GPS watch with enough features to make it great value for money at just £109.00 (current RRP).
The S12 gives you a premium round watch face design, a high-resolution display that is visible in sunlight and a battery life of up to 30 hours in GPS mode.
On the screen you get all the basic information you need, such as yardages to the front, middle and back of the green, distances to hazards, dog legs and lay up areas plus the ability to keep your score and upload your scorecard to the Garmin Golf app.
The Garmin S12 comes preloaded with over 40,000 golf courses and includes the ability to get updates to course layouts via the app.
This watch may be quite limited in terms of off-course functionality, but if you are looking for a simple golf watch that does the basics well at an affordable price, this is definitely worth a look.
Other golf watches to consider
SAMSUNG GALAXY ACTIVE2 GOLF EDITION
Samsung joined forces with GolfBuddy to create their specialist golf GPS watch, which features a small screen which is one of the clearest of the watches on this list.
The Active 2 Golf Edition comes with two screen size options (40mm and 44mm) and has a rotating touch digital bezel to make it even more convenient to navigate while maximising the screen size.
You also get a lifetime subscription to the Smart Caddie app (worth £76 per year) as part of the package.
TAG HEUER CONNECTED GOLF EDITION
Currently retailing at around the £2,100 mark, this Tag Heuer golf watch obviously isn’t for everyone. However, those with a big budget and a taste for luxury sports watch brands will get a lot of features for their money with the Tag Heuer Connected Golf watch.
It has a multitude of shot tracking capabilities without the need to add tags to your clubs, the most interesting of which is the ‘driving zone’ feature, which plots all your drives on a certain hole and colour code them based on your score.
BUSHNELL ION EDGE GPS WATCH
The Bushnell Ion Edge is another simple and affordable golf GPS watch on the market that does the basics to a high standard.
It offers accurate distances to the green, is comfortable to wear and can also keep track of your score.
The graphic display may look basic but it can be easily read in directly sunlight and, despite it lacking in the style stakes, packs in a lot of functionality such as hazard distances, different pin positions and auto-advance through holes.
GOLFBUDDY AIM W11 GPS GOLF WATCH
The Aim W11 is GolfBuddy’s most advanced smart golf watch and boasts features including a full-colour touchscreen which can zoom in and out to make reading the greens and pin positions easier.
The new ceramic bezel represents a great update on the Aim W10 and gives the watch a much more premium feel which can double up as an everyday smart watch pretty well.
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FAQs
In terms of overall features, looks, price and customer reviews, the Garmin Approach S62 is the best golf GPS watch to buy right now.
However, what is ‘best’ for one golfer is completely different to another. Some may prefer a better-looking smartwatch that also has everyday features, where others may prefer a more basic watch that costs a lot less.
The key to knowing which golf GPS watch to buy is to understand exactly what you need it for and then buy the one that best meets those needs.
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