50 Words or Less
The Garmin Approach S50 GPS Golf Smartwatch provides all the bells and whistles needed to successfully navigate any golf course inside a full color AMOLED screen. Off the course, the Approach S50 separates itself with an impressive range of health and wellness features for those seeking more than just a golf GPS.
Introduction
Garmin is one of the most prominent names in GPS navigation and wearable technology. In the last few years, we have seen a real emergence of wellness and health trackers and up to this point, very few have blended with a golf GPS smartwatch. The Garmin Approach S50 does just that as it merges a high end, technologically advanced golf GPS navigation system with a substantial range of health trackers. I put the Garmin Approach S50 to the test by wearing it 24/7 to see how both the golf navigation and the health tracking could help my game for the new season.
Set Up & Ease of Use
Out of the box, the Garmin Approach S50 Advanced GPS Golf Smartwatch came with a simplified instruction booklet, charging cable and the watch itself with a black nylon band. There is an option for the stock white band in addition to a dozen other styles and colors which can be ordered separately.
The charging cable is the same as most other Garmin watches, which is beneficial if you’ve had a Garmin product in the past. I only needed a few hours of initial charge before I was off and running. I was impressed by how well the battery held a charge. I went almost an entire week without needing to plug it in despite two rounds of golf and 24/7 wear.
Next, I downloaded the Garmin Golf app on my phone and customized a few settings. This is free to use, but there is an additional subscription for some added features costing $100 annually.
Without using the online instruction manual, I had no issue getting acquainted with my new smartwatch. The right side has two push buttons that act as a “play” and “back” button while the rest of the navigation is done right on the large, well-lit AMOLED touch screen.
Lastly, I want to mention that the Garmin Approach S50 can be setup with several additional accessories (sold separately) like club tags to measure shot distance and track stats. While the smartwatch alone can track your last shot, it needs club tags to track your full round.
Features & Accuracy
Garmin aimed to pack the Approach S50 Advanced GPS Golf Smartwatch with as many features as possible. Since this is a golf review, let’s start with the golf features.
The full color display provides a range of distances off the tee, including a “plays like” option with animations of each hole for easy interpretation. For official competitions, a tournament mode setting can be turned on in order to comply with sanctioned events. I found both the objective distance and the “plays like” metrics to be very accurate – within 1 or 2 yards of my laser rangefinder. The only accuracy issue I ran into was one particular course that had reduced GPS signal and struggled to load the hole distances quickly.
On approach shots or a par three, the green view not only provides a front, middle, and back distance, but the pin can easily be adjusted to a more precise hole location. Standing on a tee, the pin pointer will let you know where you’re headed, which can be helpful when playing a new course. Another favorite feature of mine is that while it tracks your score, it also flags each hole number on the bezel according to your score. A par is flagged green, bogeys are yellow, and birdies are blue.
Golf aside, the Garmin Approach S50 is stocked with features such as heart and respiratory rate, steps, calories, and even stress levels. I was most intrigued by the sleep tracker which provided insights on how much recovery I get each night. Not only did it identify factors that are affecting my sleep patterns, it also provided reminders on when to go to bed based upon my stress levels from that day.
In addition, Garmin links directly to your phone and provides real time notifications such as emails, messages, or social media alerts. While there isn’t an option to take action on these notifications from your watch, I used this to triage alerts and prevent pulling my phone out of my pocket unnecessarily. This, in turn helped save my phone’s battery life which was especially helpful on the course. Additional features like weather snapshot, calendar sync, music controller, custom Garmin health coaching, and more can all be seen on their website.
Value
The Garmin Approach S50 Advanced GPS Golf Smartwatch retails for $399. Please consider supporting Plugged In Golf sponsor PlayBetter HERE
Is the S50 worth it? In terms of value, this is essentially two products in one. The first is a fully functioning golf GPS system with all the bells and whistles. The second is a health and fitness application with a full suite of wellness tracking. If you are looking for just a golf GPS watch, Garmin offers the new S44 [review coming soon] for $299, or there’s the Voice Caddie T11 [full review HERE] at the same price point – for Plugged In Golf readers.
However, when you combine all these features together, the Garmin Approach S50 is almost in its very own category. The only other product that can truly compare is the Apple Watch and that needs an entirely separate Golf app and annual subscription.
With that said, if you are in the market for both a golf GPS smartwatch and health and wellness tracking system, the Garmin Approach S50 has tremendous value. Even if you add in the annual $100 upgraded Garmin golf subscription, this smartwatch truly separates itself from the competition. And If you’re dead set on those added features the subscription brings, check out the Garmin S70 [full review HERE] which includes those and more.
Conclusion
The Garmin Approach S50 Advanced GPS Golf Smartwatch is a one of-a-kind marriage of both a high end golf GPS smartwatch and health and wellness tracking system. All of these features are packaged in a beautiful high resolution AMOLED color touch screen that provides user-friendly navigation and course data with accurate distances for any golfer looking to step up their game for the new season.
Buy the Garmin Approach S50 GPS Watch HERE
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One Comment
but does it tell you the time of day?