2015 Most Wanted Golf GPS Watch

Your options for Golf GPS watch technology have expanded far beyond just the distance to the front, center, and back of the green. 2015 is a season of tremendous evolution within the category. Today’s GPS watches can do substantially more than simply reporting distance. A handful of manufacturers have integrated technologies from other devices into their watches, providing more value to the consumer than ever before.

This years’ crop offers swing tempo, swing strength, and other multi-sport functions. As GPS reliability has more or less normalized across all devices, look for these and other feature adaptations to be what differentiates competitive devices moving forward.

Whether you’re looking for a watch that just does the basics, or a watch that syncs with your phone and makes you feel like you’re in an episode of Star Trek, our top choices are sure to deliver.

2015 Golf GPS Watches Tested

• Bushnell Neo XS
• Callaway GPSync Watch
• Garmin Approach S5
• Garmin Approach S6
• Garmin Vivo Active
• Golf Buddy BB5
• Golf Buddy WT5

• Score Band
• SkyCaddie Linx
• SkyCaddie Watch
• TomTom Golfer
• Voice Caddie T1
• Voice Caddie T2

Golf GPS Watch Features

How We Tested

To determine Golf’s Most Wanted! GPS Watch, we scored the following four categories: Features, Ease of Use, and Battery Life.

Test Parameters

Devices were fully charged and fully updated before being put through a normal usage scenario on course scenarios where we evaluated GPS performance, feature set, and battery life.

Noteworthy is that for no device did actual battery life differ enough from the manufacturer’s stated specification to warrant further discussion.

Accuracy was considered, but we found that none of the devices tested reported distances outside the industry accepted deviation of 4 yards, and none was shown to give measurably better numbers than any another. Consequently, accuracy was not a contributing factor in our rankings.

Any feature that requires the user to pay an upgrade fee was not considered for this test.

Testing was conducted under clear skies away from any obstructions.

6 key features were graded on an inclusion basis at a value of 10 points each:

• Hazards Displayed – Presentation of distances to bunkers, ponds, and other obstacles
• Green View – A visual rendering of the green shape and size
• Shot Measuring – Capability to mark point a and point b via gps and generate a measurement. A must-have for determining layup distances.
• Pin Placement – User selectable pin placement on a Green View to more accurately determine target distance
• Scorecard – a digital scorecard for hole by hole scoring
• Swing Tempo – a reading of your backswing and down swing presented as a ratio (tour players average a 3:1 ratio)

From initial setup and syncing of new courses through in-round usage, units were graded from 0 to 20 points on overall ease of use.

A max of 20 points were awarded based on the longest battery life. In this test, 12 hours was the longevity benchmark.

Results: Most Wanted GPS Watch

The S6’s robust feature set includes custom pin placement, touch screen navigation, swing tempo readings, and smartphone integration via bluetooth.

Also worth noting is that unlike most GPS devices that give you distances in front/center/back, the S6 provides its to-the-green measurements as near/center/far, which, as the nomenclature suggests, gives you distances to the nearest and farthest point on the green from where you lie.

The Features You Want:

• Custom pin placement
• Touch screen
• Full color display
• Bluetooth connectivity
• Graphical representation of fairway, hazards, and green in color
• Swing Tempo and Strength data

To be improved:

• A near complete offering, the S6 offers a glimpse of what could be. We’d love to see more swing data (swing speed, hand path, etc.) in future releases.

Runners-Up:

The WT5 does nearly everything you want at a price that rivals other full-feature devices.

The Features You Want:

• Pin placement with green view
• Hazard distances

To Be Improved:

• Limited battery life may not pack enough juice to get you through 36 holes.

One of the easiest to use devices in our lineup, the Bushnell NEO XS combines pure simplicity with the features most want from their GPS watch

The Features You Want:

• Displays distances to hazards as well as front/center/back of the green
• Battery life for days (ok, for an easy two rounds, and maybe a third if you play speed golf)
• Ease of use

To Be Improved:

• Lacks integrated scorecard

The Rest Of The Field

Garmin Approach S5

The Feature You Want:

• Offers the robust feature set of S6 (minus swing tempo and swing strength) for $50 less including the full color display. [View Product]

TomTom Golfer

The Feature You Want:

• Clean design with unique and easy-to-use input/control button.
  [View Product]

Garmin Vivo Active

The Feature You Want:

• Featuring bluetooth/smartphone integration, the Vivo Active is a true multi-sport device that not only handles golf admirably, but is also designed for running, biking, swimming, walking. The most robust offering in the field. Full color display adds to the user experience. [View Product]

Voice Caddie T1

The Feature You Want:

• Simple and intuitive watch that delivers the basics.
  [View Product]

Voice Caddie T2

The Feature You Want:

• Multi-sport capable and includes a swing tempo measurement.
  [View Product]

Callaway GPSync Watch

The Feature You Want:

• Throwback styling with the basic functions you’d expect from a GPS watch. [View Product]

SkyCaddie Linx

The Feature You Want:

• Larger and clear display of the “center of the green” measurement.
  [View Product]

Score Band

The Feature You Want:

• The most basic and easy to use of the devices tested.
  [View Product]

SkyCaddie Watch

The Feature You Want:

• A large display of the center of the green distance with a smooth and clean design. [View Product]

Golf Buddy BB5

The Feature You Want:

• More band than watch, the BB5 features compact design with crisp LED display. Available in six colors the BB5 functions as both a pedometer and a timepiece. [View Product]

Read up on the rest of our Most Wanted articles so you can get the best gear for your game.