10 Best GPS Golf Watch

• Displayhigh resolution, sunlight readable, round case
• Coursesmore than 42,000 preloaded worldwide
• Batteryup to 30 hours in GPS mode
• Distancesfront, back and middle of the green, plus hazards and doglegs
• Scoringkept on the watch, uploads to the Garmin Golf app
• Club trackingworks with Approach CT10 sensors, sold separately

Best for: A golfer who wants yardages and a scorecard and does not want to charge a watch every round

The Approach S12 is the default answer when someone asks which GPS watch to buy. It does the two things a golf watch has to do, distances to the green and a scorecard, and it does them without a menu system to learn. Yardages cover front, back and middle plus hazards and doglegs, and more than 42,000 courses are already on the watch when it arrives.

The reason to pick it over the newer models is the battery. 30 hours in GPS mode is double what the AMOLED watches manage, so a 36 hole day and a practice round afterwards still finish on one charge. What you give up is the picture: the S12 shows numbers, not a rendered hole, and if you want to see where the bunker actually sits you need one of the mapping watches below.

• Display1.2 inch color AMOLED, 43mm case
• Coursesmore than 43,000 preloaded
• Batteryup to 15 hours in GPS mode
• Hazard viewbunkers, water and layups on screen
• Notificationsemails, texts and alerts from iPhone or Android
• Club trackingApproach CT1 or CT10, sold separately

Best for: Anyone who wants one watch for the course and the rest of the week

The S44 is the S12 with a screen worth looking at. A 1.2 inch color AMOLED in a 43mm case turns the same Garmin course data into a rendered hole, and hazard view puts bunkers, water and layup points where they actually are instead of listing them as distances.

It is also the model that works away from the course. Smart notifications from an iPhone or Android arrive on the wrist, which is what makes it a daily watch rather than a piece of golf equipment. The cost is battery: 15 hours in GPS mode is enough for a long day but not for a weekend, so this one gets charged more often than the S12.

• Display1.28 inch color touchscreen
• Interfacesingle button, usable with gloves on
• Slopeplays like distances, with a tournament legal toggle
• MappingHoleView, GreenView and dynamic green mapping
• Coursesmore than 38,000 preloaded
• Battery12 plus hours, USB-C magnetic charger

Best for: Golfers on hilly courses who want the adjusted number rather than the straight line yardage

Slope is the reason to buy this watch. Every other GPS device here gives you the flat distance to the green; the iON Elite adds elevation and shows the plays like number, which on an uphill approach can be a full club. The toggle turns it off for competition, so it does not sit in the bag on tournament days.

Around that, Bushnell built a straightforward golf watch. HoleView draws the hole, GreenView lets you move the pin to the day's position, and dynamic green mapping rotates the green to how you are actually approaching it. The interface is one button and a 1.28 inch touchscreen, and 12 plus hours covers two rounds between charges.

• Displaycolor screen, unisex case
• Mapsfull hole maps rather than yardage numbers only
• Distancesdynamic front, middle and back to the green
• Coursesmore than 38,000 preloaded worldwide
• Shot measurementlast shot distance tracking
• In the boxtwo strap sets, black and gray

Best for: A golfer who wants to see the hole without paying Garmin or Bushnell money for it

The G6 is Shot Scope's answer to the question of what a mapping watch has to cost. It draws the full hole on a color screen and gives dynamic front, middle and back distances that update as you walk, and it sits well below the Garmin and Bushnell models that do the same job.

What it does not do is track for you. The G6 measures your last shot when you ask it to, which is the manual version of what the V5 further down this list handles automatically through club tags. Course updates come through the free app at no charge, and two strap sets are in the box, which is unusual at this price.

• Trackingautomatic performance tracking during the round
• Statisticsmore than 100, including strokes gained and handicap benchmarking
• Distancesgreens, hazards, layup points and doglegs
• Mapsfull course maps on screen
• Coursesmore than 36,000 preloaded
• Subscriptionnone, updates are free

Best for: A golfer who wants to know which part of the game is actually costing shots

The V5 is a tracking system that happens to also be a GPS watch. It records shots automatically as you play and then produces strokes gained numbers and handicap benchmarking, so instead of a vague sense that your irons are the problem you get a figure for it.

As a distance device it covers the same ground as the rest: greens, hazards, layup points, doglegs and full course maps for more than 36,000 courses. The important part is that none of the analysis costs a subscription, which is what separates it from most shot tracking products. Buy it only if you intend to look at the numbers afterwards, because that is where the value sits.

• Green undulationheat maps and arrows showing break direction and elevation
• Displayfull color touchscreen LCD
• Coursesmore than 40,000 preloaded
• Slopeslope mode included
• Trackingautomatic shot and putt logging for left and right handed players
• Subscriptionnone

Best for: Anyone whose scorecard is being ruined on the greens rather than off the tee

Most GPS watches stop working the moment you reach the green. The T11 LT does not: green undulation technology maps the surface with heat maps and arrows that show which way the putt breaks and how the ground rises, which is the one piece of information a yardage number cannot give you.

The rest is a competent mid-priced golf watch. More than 40,000 courses are preloaded, slope mode is included rather than held back for the more expensive T11 Pro, and shot and putt tracking runs automatically for left and right handed players. The screen is an LCD, so it is easier on the battery than an AMOLED but harder to read in flat midday light.

• Display1.39 inch full HD color touchscreen
• MapsHD CourseView, zoom and pan with a movable cursor
• Green readingIntelliGreen shows the true green shape, rotated to your approach
• Membershipthree year prepaid worldwide, more than 35,000 ground verified maps
• Batteryup to two rounds per charge
• ExtrasWiFi, scoring, stats, heart rate and step counter

Best for: A golfer who does not trust automatically generated course data

SkyCaddie's pitch is that a course map is only worth as much as the survey behind it, and the LX5 is the watch version of that argument. More than 35,000 courses are mapped on the ground rather than traced from satellite images, and the 1.39 inch HD touchscreen renders them in enough detail that you can zoom in and drop a cursor on the exact carry you are worried about.

IntelliGreen is the feature people keep it for. Instead of a circle with three numbers, it shows the real shape of the green rotated to the angle you are approaching from, which changes the club choice on any green that runs long and narrow. The three year membership is prepaid, so budget for a renewal later, and note that this listing is the small strap version.

• Interfacefive buttons, no touchscreen and no menus
• Distancesfront, center and back of the green, hazards, shot distance
• Coursesmore than 38,000 preloaded, free updates
• Weight55 g
• Batteryup to 2.5 rounds per charge
• Phonenot required on the course, the app is optional

Best for: A golfer who wants a distance readout and nothing that needs configuring

The ULT-G is the anti-smartwatch. Press the satellite button, pick your course, play. There are five buttons, no touchscreen, no menu tree and no phone required, which is exactly what a lot of golfers want after a season of fighting with an app on the first tee.

For that it gives you the numbers that matter: front, center and back of the green, hazard distances and a shot distance measurement, across more than 38,000 preloaded courses with free updates and no subscription. At 55 g it is one of the lightest watches here, and the battery covers about two and a half rounds. Nothing about it is impressive on paper, which is the point.

• Coursesmore than 38,000 global maps, no update or subscription fees
• Distancesfront, back and center of the green, plus layup and carry to hazards
• i-Caddiepersonalized club suggestions based on your distance to the target
• Automationauto course recognition and auto hole advance
• Scoringdigital scorecard and shot distance measurement
• Batteryup to 10 hours in golf GPS mode, magnetic charger

Best for: A beginner who knows the yardage but not which club covers it

The Swami exists for the golfer who looks at 147 yards and still does not know what to hit. i-Caddie takes the distance to the target and suggests a club, which no other watch in this list does, and it is the reason to choose it over the similarly priced NAVO.

Everything else is standard for the price band and works without fuss. More than 38,000 course maps are preloaded with no update fees, auto course recognition and auto hole advance mean you never touch the watch during a round, and there is a digital scorecard plus shot distance measurement. The battery runs about 10 hours in GPS mode, so it charges roughly every other round.

• Distancesfront, middle and back of the green, plus key hazards
• Coursesmore than 42,000 preloaded worldwide
• Phonenot required once the course is loaded
• Subscriptionnone, course updates are free for life
• Displayhigh contrast, readable in bright sunlight
• Weightlight enough for all day wear

Best for: A first GPS watch, or a spare for the bag when the expensive one is charging

The W1 is the argument that a GPS golf watch does not have to cost 200 dollars. It gives you front, middle and back distances to the green plus the hazards on the hole, from a library of more than 42,000 preloaded courses, and it works on its own once the course is loaded.

What is missing is everything decorative: no rendered hole, no slope, no automatic shot tracking, no notifications. For a golfer who plays a handful of times a year, or for anyone who wants to find out whether a watch beats pacing off sprinkler heads before spending real money, that is the correct set of compromises.