Garmin Approach S60 GPS Watch

The Garmin Approach S60 GPS watch gives a golfer every feature imaginable in an attractive, fully functioning smartwatch that you’ll be happy to wear on and off the course.  I’ve been pretty addicted to it the last few months.  I’ve got a lot of favorite features to discuss, and of course the thing that matters most, on course performance!

Out of the Box

Garmin and their incredible Garmin Connect app offer up one of the most comprehensive fitness and performance trackers available.  I’m a longtime user of Garmin products to track all my weekend warrior sports progress – mostly with their Vivoacitve3 watch.  There’s so much to the app that there is a bit of a learning curve.  You don’t only need to figure out just how to use it, but how you WANT to use it.  

Setting up the actual watch is not very hard and you can select things like watch faces, clocks, and widgets (like weather, steps, notifications, etc.)  There are tons of widgets packed onto it and you can download countless others if you like.  Being a fitness tracker, you can also add any apps for specific activities.  For instance, running, swimming, and steps can be tracked through apps as well.  We’ll talk about the Garmin Golf app – downloaded to your phone separately.  It also offers a really neat Swing Tempo trainer and TruSwing.  TruSwing is a cool separate piece that attaches to your clubs and tracks swing speed, club path, angles, and more.  You’ll need to spend some time with the app and its settings.  There’s a lot, but you can customize it to keep it simple.  But take it from me, add all the bells ‘n’ whistles!

Plenty of fitness trackers and golf GPS watches look fine on the course, but I’d say the Garmin Approach S60 could be an everyday watch too.  It looks great with it’s sleek 1.2” sunlight readable touchscreen display, and only your golf buds will notice that you’re wearing golf gear at work.  Expect to be made fun of, but get the last laugh.  You’ve got the Approach S60 and a huge advantage, so just beat them next time out.

 Garmin Approach S60 – Favorite Features

There are quite a few great features in the Garmin Approach S60, but here are a few of my favorites.

Touchscreen and Solid Buttons 

In addition to the colorful and easy to read screen, it’s a snap to navigate features with the touchscreen.  Important – it’s rare to get an accidental swipe or button push. Not much gets me grumpier than an accessory that can’t keep me on the screen I want!

Impact Tracking 

Sensors in the watch automatically detect when you make contact with the ball.  Garmin also sells additional screw-in sensors that can track exactly which club you’re using.  Not to worry, you can edit you club choice after your shot in the Garmin Golf app should you not have the sensors on your clubs.

Compass Feature 

If you’re at a new course or hit it off the planet like this guy and can’t find the hole, you’re two clicks away from a handy compass.  This gives you precise direction and distance to the green while helping you find your way back from an errant shot.

Tempo Tracker

Again, you’re a few clicks away from helpful data like swing tempo.  It’s easy to lose your rhythm when you’re in the heat of battle, so you can get this real-time feedback to help you out.

Fitness Features and GPS Tracking

While it’s not super relevant to my game, I like that the watch track steps here.  I’m pretty hardcore into Garmin fitness, so I don’t want to lose my 15,000 steps…  I also like how we can get a GPS track of where I walked along the whole course too.

Battery Life 

Well.  We can’t have everything.  Good news is you’ll for sure be able to get one full round in on a full charge.  If you’re going for 36+ holes, you might be in trouble.  I have had to bring my external battery charger in order to give it some juice to get me through round two.  

Stat Collecting

I always enjoy checking my stats after the fact.  You get plenty of data points here. You get the full load of info on driving, approaches, chipping and putting, including all sorts of trends!

On-Course Performance

On the course, the Garmin Approach S60 gets you every bit of data you need to navigate your course in an easy and colorful way.  For me, a really important feature of a golf watch is simplicity.  I hate having to press too many buttons, or not being able see what’s on the screen.  This watch has the most beautiful and vibrant screen with full color, full hole displays.  The basics are presented perfectly.  The exact front/middle are featured prominently on the left side of the screen, and with one press it’ll adjust for elevation.  See the little arrows on the numbers?  Those adjust for elevation.  Don’t forget to turn them off when you’re playing in a tournament!  

Positioned on the right is a visual of the entirety of the golf hole.  Again, with one simple press, it’ll zoom into your landing zone.  While in setup mode, they ask what your average drive distance usually is.  It’s pretty neat – it’ll calculate that for where they expect you to land.  Neat.  Even neater, the Approach S60 tracks the impact on every swing.  If you quack-hook one off the planet, you can reasonably guess if you’re in the general area.

Once you’re off the tee, it’s also very easy to scope out hazards.  The touchscreen lets you use your finger to drag and drop.  Also try the main button to find exact layup distances, distances to 100/150/200 yards, and a few other options.  Very important – there’s no lag.  The watch works quickly as you navigate around the various options.

OK, you laid up on a par 5 (lame!) and you’re ready to hit your lob wedge from 105.  Use your finger to press the green and a detailed map pops up.  You can quickly tap or drag & drop to stick the pin right where you need it and get a perfect yardage.  This takes a bit of practice, and I personally find the simple front/middle/back numbers sufficient for me.  Dart throwers may disagree…

Staying with the theme of quick and easy, once you hole out, the Approach S60 will ask for your score, putts, and penalties.  It already recorded where you hit from, so stats on fairways and greens are there once you’re done.  Now, if you mess something up, it’s easy to hit the main button, access your scorecard and slide your finger around the dial to select the proper hole and edit.

Final Thoughts – Garmin Approach S60 GPS Watch

The Garmin Approach S60 GPS watch offers one of the most comprehensive and easy to use on course experiences of any golf watch.  The most useful features are prominent and a snap to navigate, and it flat out looks great.  Add to that, Garmin Connect lets you compile useful data points that allow you to analyze and improve your game.  This is an everyday smartwatch, a fitness tracker, and one of the best golf watches on the market in one beautiful package.

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