The Best Golf GPS Watch – Reviews and Recommendations

One of the single best golf innovations to come along in quite a while has been the golf GPS devices for use as golf rangefinders. Different from other golf rangefinders like laser rangefinders, golf GPS watches make is super easy to check your yardage with minimal effort.

Golf GPS watches also make some very accurate distance measurements that can help almost any golfer, whether it’s approach shots to the green or from the tee. The best golf GPS watches can do it all, and make you look good while getting your distances.

In this post, we take a look at some of the best golf GPS watches that are available on the market today and give you some expert reviews.

Are you ready? Let’s get started below.

Bushnell NEO XS Golf GPS Rangefinder Watch

This is the affordable option for any golfer having trouble calculating their distance from the green. The dreaded dogleg lefts and rights leave it nearly impossible to see the flag, thus rendering it difficult to choose the appropriate club.

Nevermore, the Bushnell GPS Watch comes ready to play right out of the box. There are no memberships or download fees. Just take it out of the box and head to the course. When putting on the watch you’ll notice that it’s very comfortable and lightweight, as to never disrupt your backswing.

The band is a stretch material that holds in place, even if you sweat a lot. The comfort of the watch on any size wrist is one of the most satisfying qualities of the GPS watch.

It’s also easy to read. No matter the brightness or overcast of the day, you can read the watch and all of its features. If you prefer golfing at sunset and only have time for a quick nine, no problem!

If you feel like starting on the back nine, just input that in the watch and it will readjust instantly. It will calculate the distance you hit your ball as well as the upcoming hazards like bunkers or lakes. The watch is preloaded with over 33,000 courses in more than 30 countries.

You can also play three full rounds of golf on one charge. But of course, with every product comes something to complain about. And it seems like the watch’s software interface is the culprit. Folks have complained of struggling to upload courses and update their maps via the Bushnell website. The step-by-step procedure isn’t too clear and customer support from Bushnell employees has been rendered nearly impossible. But the percentage of golfers totally satisfied with the product to the percentage that are disappointed is overwhelming.

The bottom line is that this is a great golf GPS watch at an attractive price right now on Amazon.

Garmin Approach S2 GPS Golf Watch

The Garmin GPS watch comes in five different colors and has a few features that the Bushnell GPS watch doesn’t offer. Of course, it tells you how far you are from the green and how far you hit your ball.

It is preloaded with almost the same amount of courses that the Bushnell offered and has free lifetime course updates. A satisfying attribute is the ability to keep score on the watch.

When finished with your round, you can save the score and print it out at home if you’d like. Just like Bushnell, it lets you know of upcoming hazards. But it also helps you by offering the distance between you and the nearest layup on a difficult, hazard-filled hole.

Here are its weaknesses. Battery life. It last only eight hours while on GPS mode, which is enough to finish approximately two rounds of golf. It also has several buttons you have to press in order to get to a certain part of the screen you want. And you better press the right buttons because there isn’t a “back” button.

Either way, it’s great at getting accurate distances and for the money, it’s a winner.

Callaway GPSy Golf Watch

Just like it’s competitors, the Callaway GPSy golf watch comes with over 30,000 preloaded worldwide course maps. It will automatically detect which course you’re on once you’ve arrived and will auto-advance from hole-to-hole, which keeps you from having to fiddle with it as often.

It comes with a one-year limited warranty and two color options. It’s comfortable and lightweight and is equipped with an odometer incase you want to track your walking distance traveled. Its interface may not be the sleekest looking one of the bunch, but it gets the job done.

The only problem that has been reported is the battery life. Lasting only ten hours and sometimes less. Hopefully your round doesn’t last that long!

At around $150, this is a very good golf GPS watch.