Best GPS Watch & Club Tag System?

[BC617]

Please help!!

 

I have searched google relentlessly to find a GPS watch, club tag, app combination that fits my desires below. I don’t think I’m asking too much here - many products on the market offer these features but I haven’t been able to find a combination that has all of these requirements in one solution.

 

Requirements:

 

- Don’t want to have to carry phone for GPS or club tagging

- Don’t want to manually enter which club I used and from where on the course I hit

- Basic yardages

- How far I hit each shot (automatically)

- Interactive image of holes

- Feature to share my score or round live with friends (via text message or email notification to follow along)

 

BTW: I’m not opposed to wearing a “belt-clip” type of device

 

Thank you for your input!

[NCDuffer]

I love my Shot Scope V3, but it doesn’t provide an interactive image of holes or round sharing.  When you upload a round you can be subscribed to a course and other users can see though.  Prior, I used Golf Pad, but it requires phone tagging.

[dabohammer]

Based on your list, I think the only one that is going to check all of the boxes is the Garmin golf ecosystem. You'll need the tags along with one of their watches and the phone app.

 

I've not used it, but the watches look impressive. 

[Simpsonia]

Sounds like the Garmin S70 with the club tags and membership (for the green contour maps) is pretty much what you're looking for. I have no direct experience with it, but the feature set seems to tick all the boxes. 

 

 

Edited August 7, 2023 by Simpsonia

[AzRoger]

I found the club tags to be more effort than they are worth if you want to get accurate data. They group everything together, they don't take into account mis-hits, head/tail winds, shots when you choke up 1-2" to take something off the shot, punch shots, etc. With a good laser rangefinder you'll learn your exact yardages very quickly for your scoring clubs, for me 8i thru wedges.

[Triple Lindy]

I have the Garmin S62 and thought I’d want to add the CT10 sensors. However, I quickly found that they’re not needed. The S62 senses every shot and as soon as you hit, it prompts you to select the club you just hit. Then you just look down at your watch and select the club by touching it. You don’t enter where you hit from because the GPS records that. After a couple of rounds, the watch will know your distances and will default to what you normally hit from a particular distance, making it even easier to enter the club. If you need to switch, you just scroll up or down from the default. Takes all of 1 or 2 seconds and the elimination of that step is the only convenience that the club tags add. Every shot is then tracked in the Garmin app, by location and distance. Once you have played 5 rounds (I think), the S62 will suggest the appropriate club based on distance and your history. It can even factor in wind. You can change the suggested club and see what your average score would be based on your selection.

 

While all of that sounds really cool, I don’t use it much. I know my game and don’t need the watch to suggest clubs. Where the S62 really shines is in the GPS features. At a glance you get distances to hazards, greens (F/C/B) or any other target you want by just touching the watch. No range finder to mess around with. And your club data is tracked as a bonus. The Garmin app could use some work, but it’s acceptable.

 

On 8/6/2023 at 3:21 PM, BC617 said:

Requirements as met by Garmin S62

 

- Don’t want to have to carry phone for GPS or club tagging - phone not required unless you want wind data

- Don’t want to manually enter which club I used and from where on the course I hit - club entry required, not location 

- Basic yardages - provided 

- How far I hit each shot (automatically) - provided 

- Interactive image of holes - provided 

- Feature to share my score or round live with friends (via text message or email notification to follow along) - provided but after the round, not live.

 

My recommendation would be to get a Garmin watch with the strike sensor built in, which I believe is only in the S62 and S70. Then, if that doesn’t meet your needs, add the club tags.

[Triple Lindy]

19 hours ago, Simpsonia said:

Sounds like the Garmin S70 with the club tags and membership (for the green contour maps) is pretty much what you're looking for. I have no direct experience with it, but the feature set seems to tick all the boxes. 

 

 

That’s a good video to get an idea of how the Garmin watches work. Fyi, the S62 operates almost exactly as the S70 in this video, albeit with a slightly different UI. The 2 features that the S70 adds are the green contours and weather/lie data for “plays like” distances. I believe both of those require a subscription. There’s no subscription required for the S62.

 

At one point in the video, the guy says that you’ll get more accurate data from the CT10 club tags, which I don’t believe is correct. The location data comes from the GPS in the watch, not the tags. The only thing the tags do is keep you from selecting the club, and you can see how easy that is from the video. He’s not using the tags.

[BC617]

On 8/8/2023 at 10:53 AM, Triple Lindy said:

I have the Garmin S62 and thought I’d want to add the CT10 sensors. However, I quickly found that they’re not needed. The S62 senses every shot and as soon as you hit, it prompts you to select the club you just hit. Then you just look down at your watch and select the club by touching it. You don’t enter where you hit from because the GPS records that. After a couple of rounds, the watch will know your distances and will default to what you normally hit from a particular distance, making it even easier to enter the club. If you need to switch, you just scroll up or down from the default. Takes all of 1 or 2 seconds and the elimination of that step is the only convenience that the club tags add. Every shot is then tracked in the Garmin app, by location and distance. Once you have played 5 rounds (I think), the S62 will suggest the appropriate club based on distance and your history. It can even factor in wind. You can change the suggested club and see what your average score would be based on your selection.

 

While all of that sounds really cool, I don’t use it much. I know my game and don’t need the watch to suggest clubs. Where the S62 really shines is in the GPS features. At a glance you get distances to hazards, greens (F/C/B) or any other target you want by just touching the watch. No range finder to mess around with. And your club data is tracked as a bonus. The Garmin app could use some work, but it’s acceptable.

 

 

My recommendation would be to get a Garmin watch with the strike sensor built in, which I believe is only in the S62 and S70. Then, if that doesn’t meet your needs, add the club tags.

 

There is only one issue with the Garmin ecosystem... You cannot share your round/scorecard/shots live with people (at least to my knowledge, even with Garmin's subscription plan).

 

I have an Approach S60 (without the C10 tags) and activated the "Live Track" feature, but it doesn't let you share your scorecard or shots live with friends/family in the way that other apps allow (18 birdies, etc). Live Track seems to be more of a running-oriented feature (shares location, elevation, etc). There may be a way to share your scorecard with fellow Garmin users on a "leaderboard", but my goal is to share my round live with friends outside of the Garmin-verse (maybe via text message, or email notification).

 

I have been looking into the Shot Scope (X5 watch with sensors) and the SkyGolf (GT2 tracker with belt clip "booster") offerings, but I have no experience with these product or brands. From the looks of their apps some of these items may be defunct.

 

I used to use the Game Golf system about 7 years ago, but they may be defunct now as well. Does Arccos allow you to share your round live with people outside of their universe? 

 

Again, i'm open to anything that meets those requirements. I wish Garmin would just add this feature - I really want other people to be able to live vicariously through me on the course!

 

[mantan]

On 8/6/2023 at 3:21 PM, BC617 said:

Please help!!

 

I have searched google relentlessly to find a GPS watch, club tag, app combination that fits my desires below. I don’t think I’m asking too much here - many products on the market offer these features but I haven’t been able to find a combination that has all of these requirements in one solution.

 

Requirements:

 

- Don’t want to have to carry phone for GPS or club tagging

- Don’t want to manually enter which club I used and from where on the course I hit

- Basic yardages

- How far I hit each shot (automatically)

- Interactive image of holes

- Feature to share my score or round live with friends (via text message or email notification to follow along)

 

BTW: I’m not opposed to wearing a “belt-clip” type of device

 

Thank you for your input!

Another vote for the automatic shot tracking with the Garmin GPS watches. I've never got along with club tags. I learned from my fitter that i really need longer irons, but can play OK with the length that they are.  My lead hand is on the very end of the grip, so I feel the 'give' in a sensor during my swing.

 

I really wanted to track club data though. I got the S42 and it has the same auto tracking feature as the S60/62 and S70 listed above. It senses when you hit a ball and automatically tracks your shot for the round. It prompts you to enter the club on the watch, which becomes second nature. You also have the ability to edit/add the clubs in the app after the round.

 

You don't have to carry a phone for GPS or use club tags.  You don't have to edit 'where' you hit, it's automatic. You can enter the club (takes a hot second) or do it afterwards.  It will show all the yardage you need.  And it will show you the performance of each club.  (Averages and Max).  It seems to take out any outliers, but you can also remove them.  (If you punch out with a 6-iron), you can just remove that club ID later from that automatically captures show.

 

As mentioned above, the one downside is you can't share data live during a round.  But I'm not aware of any system that does that.  I bore friends with screenshots afterwards though, lol.

 

I love the S42 so much that I really want to get the S70.  But I've spent a buttload on golf equipment this year and can't justify dropping that much on it right now.  Though it's rendered my rangefinder largely useless.  If I sold it and my S42......