Top positive review
5.0 out of 5 starsA Great Investment for Those Looking to Improve Their Game
Reviewed in the United States on August 19, 2019
I’m a weekend golfer with a handicap in the low 20s and purchased the Garmin Approach S20 primarily for the yardage feature and to assist with club selection and strategy. The name “Approach” is appropriate, because that’s what I use it for—figuring out what club/shot to hit on my second shot to leave myself a pitch onto the green (rather than just gripping-and-ripping a metal or hybrid on all my second shots).
The yardages seem accurate, and the display is very easy to read even in direct sunlight. I was hesitant to order a watch-style GPS as I always have removed my watch when golfing, but my concerns were quickly proven wrong. Unlike my daily stainless-steel watch, the S20 is extremely light and the rubberized band is easily adjusted to fit snug enough that it doesn’t move around during a shot without feeling tight. I’ve actually worn it a bit as a daily watch as well, as the step tracking feature is nice.
After five rounds with the Approach S20, here’s what I like:
1. It clearly displays accurate yardages to the center/front/back of the green. Not only does this help with club/shot selection, but it helps you reaffirm the distances you get from each club and adds to your confidence level.
2. The scoring feature is one I didn’t think I would use, but I actually really like it. As you’re walking off the green the S20 displays the par score for that whole and lets you adjust it up or down. When you sync it with the Garmin Connect and Golf apps, it’s a nice way to keep track of your rounds, and it’s actually not a hassle.
3. Lots of S20 reviews lament the fact that it has somewhat cumbersome buttons instead of a touch screen. As a left-handed golfer who wears his glove on his right hand this is actually a positive as a touch screen wouldn’t respond to my gloved right index finger (but the buttons easily do).
I don’t have any solely negative items to report, but here’s what I have mixed feelings about based on my five rounds:
1. The hazard feature is useful for courses you’re new to or play infrequently by listing distances to a hazard along with the carry length needed. I’ve only used it for one round on a course I hadn’t played in years, but a couple of times the yardages really looked off to me.
2. I like the shot tracker function, and when you sync the watch with the Garmin Golf app it displays your round shot-by-shot in a really cool visual manner. The only problem is it occasionally doesn’t pick up on a swing (so your drive might be recorded as 340 yards even though it really took 2 shots to get to 340). Other times it might list a tee shot at 20 yards because it recorded a practice swing before you stepped up onto the tee box.
3. The informational book you get with the device isn’t the greatest and you really just need to play around with it to figure things out. There are a bunch of functions I haven’t even utilized yet in part because I’m not aware of them all.
Overall, I’d highly recommend the Garmin Approach S20. It’s a nice tool for golfers looking to improve their course management. In just a few rounds I’ve already found the information it provides to be a helpful tool in planning shot selection and building confidence.
