Why The Garmin Approach S44 GPS Watch Is Kind Of A Disappointment

What We Tried:

There is a lot of cool gear in the golf world that doesn’t always fit into Most Wanted Tests or Buyer’s Guides. You still want to know how it performs. In our We Tried It series, we put gear to the test and let you know if it works as advertised.

Garmin Approach S44 golf watch

Your approachable timepiece tester

John Barba – The one MyGolfSpy staffer old enough to remember sundials

We Tried It: Garmin Approach S44 GPF golf watch

We need to understand something right off the bat. Friends, there are a LOT of GPS golf watches out there. They range from cheap and simple to that Megatron Garmin watch Connor reviewed a couple of weeks ago. That’s a wide range and the new Garmin Approach S44 is about as in the middle as you can get.

We need to put the S44 into the right place in Garmin’s space-time continuum. The Garmin Fenix 8 is the Lamborghini of sports watches. I mean, it has a freaking flashlight. It also sells for nearly $1,100.  It’s also not at the top end of Garmin’s golf watch offering. That would be the MARQ® – Carbon Edition that goes for $3,100.

On the other end of the continuum is the Approach S12 which costs $199. It’s feature-rich for the price but it has a black-and-white screen with basic functionality.

The S44 ($299.99) and its running mate, the S50 ($399.99), are Garmin’s efforts to bridge the gap between the basic S12 and the top-end Approach S70 ($649.99-$699.99).

After using it for a few rounds of Florida golf and wearing it as a watch for the past month, I can say two things about the S44.

First, it’s a dandy wristwatch. It’s lighter and more compact than the S70 and it looks better on your wrist.

Second, it’s only a so-so golf watch.

So-so? How so?

The Garmin Approach S44 GPS watch, for the price, does give you some excellent features. It does all the things you’d expect from a smartwatch like count steps, remind you to get off your ass and move and alert you to texts, emails and phone calls. The S44 also tracks basic workouts like walking, running, biking and swimming. It does other stuff like keep a calendar, tell the weather, track calories burned and a few other niceties.

Oh, it tells time, too.

Tell you what: for $299, it’s probably worth it right there.

When it comes to golf, however, it’s not up to normal Garmin standards.

Where the S70 gives you full hole mapping on its AMOLED display, the S44 gives you an abbreviated look. It’s serviceable but other devices in the same price range give you the entire hole view. You do get the basics: front, middle and back distances plus layup and carry distances for hazards and doglegs. It also has an easy-to-use scorecard system.

You can buy an upgrade package for the S44 that will provide with green maps and “plays like” distances which take elevation, wind and other factors into account. That runs $99 per year.

All that is well and good but where the S44 fell down on the job for me was on the course.

On-course struggles

In its basic task of telling me how far away I was from where I wanted to go, the S44 worked great – until it didn’t. On consecutive rounds, I had the same issue: the watch would not advance to the next hole. After seamlessly jumping from the green view to the scorecard to the next hole for nine or 10 holes, the S44 would, for reasons I haven’t figured out, stay on green view for the previous hole. On a couple of occasions, I didn’t notice it until I was on the fairway, looking at a 140-yard approach and the watch telling me I’m over 250 yards from the green.

The problem isn’t unique to Garmin. I’ve had this happen a time or two with the Shot Scope X5 as well. The on-course adjustment isn’t hard. You go to the main menu and back out of the hole you’re stuck on. Then you select “Change Hole,” scroll to the correct hole, press the button and, voila, you’re back in business.

There are two issues, however. First, it messes up your scorecard. That’s annoying but where it gets problematic is with shot tracking.

The Garmin S44, S50 and S70 watches all offer sensor-free shot-tracking capabilities. The watch detects a shot at impact and then asks you what club you hit. You select the club using the touch screen and the information is stored. After the round, you connect the watch to your computer via the USB-C charging cord. It’ll sync up with the desktop app and upload all the information.

In theory, it’s a great system. There are, however, a few drawbacks.

Glitches are bound to happen, but …

Tee to green, the Garmin Approach S44 GPS watch works fine. It picks up most shots without using sensors. However, if you want to track putts and chips, you’ll need to buy a set of Garmin CT10 sensors ($79.99 for three, $299.99 for 14).

Now, I don’t care whether you use Arccos, Shot Scope or Garmin, any shot-tracking device will miss shots. I found Arccos unusable in this respect while Shot Scope has been the most reliable. The Garmin S44 missed more shots than you’d expect. Additionally, with Shot Scope and Arccos, you can easily add missed shots in post-round editing. The Garmin app makes adding missed tee shots virtually impossible.

When you add in the fact that the S44 tends to get lost on the course and not advance to the next hole, you get shot-tracking data that looks like this:

 I’ve used the S70 on some of the same courses as the S44 and did not experience any of the same quirkiness. Yes, it would miss the occasional shot but not nearly as many as the S44 and it never once got lost going from hole to hole.

Is the Garmin Approach S44 GPS watch a good value?

This may sound crazy after the last several paragraphs but I’m going to have to give it the big ol’ “it depends.“

The Garmin S70 is in every way a superior watch but starting at $649.99, it may be more watch than you want. If you’re looking for a very good smartwatch with serviceable GPS functions and basic shot-tracking but with a quirky personality, the S44 isn’t a bad choice.

If, however, you’re looking for GPS with full hole mapping, shot tracking and a stout analytics package, the Shot Scope X5 ($299.99 with touch screen) or V5 ($249.99 no touch screen) are far better choices. There’s also no annual subscription fee. Neither Shot Scope watch, however, works well as an everyday smartwatch.

If I were choosing between the S44 and an Apple Watch for everyday use, it’s a tougher decision. As I said, the S44 is a dandy smartwatch that doesn’t overwhelm you with features you might never use. It’s a $50 premium over the basic Apple Watch SE but is $100 less expensive than the base model Series 10 and $500 less than the Ultra 2. If you have an Apple Watch, paid-for GPS apps like Golfshot are better at GPS and much better at shot tracking.

The Garmin Approach S44 GPS watch: The final word

To be fair, at this very moment as I write this article, I’m wearing the S44. I have been wearing it every day for the past month. It’s a really good smartwatch in a much sleeker package than the more powerful S70. The battery has been going for two weeks and is still at about 20 percent power and it just now reminded me to get up and move these old bones around.

So, before I go walk the dog, let me leave you with this. If you want a very good everyday smartwatch that’s a serviceable GPS device and a mediocre shot tracker for under $300, you could do worse than the Garmin Approach S44. If you want a far superior GPS and shot-tracking experience for under $300, you can’t do much better than the Shot Scope V5 or X5.

However, If you hit the lottery, go for the S70 or see if Connor will sell you his Fenix 8.