Having a Garmin in your golf bag definitely makes your life a lot easier on the golf course. With a solid brand reputation over the years that offers accurate yardages and a pleasant user experience, let’s hope the Garmin Approach S50 GPS watch lives up to the brand’s excellent reputation.
Following on from recently testing the Garmin Approach S44 watch, I was left very impressed other than missing a few key features that can now be found in the S50 model.
Who Is It Aimed At?
Garmin’s Approach S50 GPS is aimed at golfers who are looking for a mid-priced golf watch that packs all the features they need into a small and lightweight device.
The Approach S50 comes in at £379.99 which is £80 more than the S44 model. The two models are very similar apart from the extra heart rate monitor and lightweight strap. So if you’re looking to track your heart rate and monitor your fitness goals then this watch would be better suited to you.
In case you’re looking for just a golf watch with all the fancy features I’d recommend going to read my review of the S44 watch here.
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The Tech
The Garmin Approach S50 features a vibrant 1.2-inch AMOLED touchscreen display, delivering crystal-clear visuals for quick and easy yardage readings. It provides precise distances to the front, middle, and back of the green, as well as key hazards like bunkers, water, and layup points. With over 43,000 preloaded golf courses worldwide, you’re ready to play straight out of the box.
In addition to its on-course performance, the Garmin Approach S50 also includes smart connectivity features, keeping you in the loop with notifications for calls, texts, emails, and app alerts directly on your wrist.
The S50 also offers built-in score tracking, so you can easily input your scores during the round. When paired with the Garmin Golf app, you unlock access to advanced stat tracking and performance insights to help improve your game over time.
When paired with Garmin’s Approach CT10 club tracking sensors, the S50 unlocks automatic shot tracking, giving you detailed performance data and club-by-club insights to help fine-tune your game.
You can also enhance the watch’s capabilities further with a Garmin Golf membership, which unlocks upgraded features and improved display options. That said, after testing the S50, I’d say this might be more than most golfers need – but I’ll get into that later.
Garmin Approach S50 GPS Watch Review
Looks and Feel
Even before turning the device on, the Approach S50 has a really slim design, that’s lightweight and really easy to attach onto your arm with the Velcro strap. Personally I’m not a massive fan of the Velcro compared to the synthetic plastic / leather straps seen in other Garmins. I can see why Garmin chose this material to keep things lightweight, even if it does feel a bit cheap.
The watch sits very streamlined onto your arm, which I think is very important for golfers when swinging a club so it doesn’t cause any distraction.
The Garmin S50 dials are placed on the right side, which may feel awkward if worn on your left wrist. While the dials are fairly small, they’re still noticeable when hitting full shots. However, when worn on the right wrist, the experience felt much more natural with no discomfort at all. It’s definitely worth considering which wrist you prefer to wear a watch on before making a decision.
Ease Of Use
To power on the Garmin S50, simply hold down the orange button. The display activates instantly, showing sharp clarity and vibrant colours that make the Garmin S50 feel modern, premium, and user-friendly.
The home screen displays key information at a glance, including your step count, current temperature, analog time, and date. Pairing the Garmin S50 with my phone was simple – I created an account and was ready within five minutes. The setup process was quick and hassle-free, which made for a smooth start.
Once paired with my phone, the Garmin S50 delivered notifications instantly. Including messages, emails, and even alerts from my Ring doorbell.
I especially liked the weather feature showing sunrise and sunset times — ideal for planning early morning golf rounds before work.
On Course Performance
I tested the Garmin S50 during a competition, alongside my Bushnell, to compare yardage accuracy between both golf GPS devices.
Setup at the course was pretty instant, it was as simple as search for the course and within 20 seconds I was all ready from the first hole.
Standing on the first tee, the Garmin S50 immediately displayed a full hole overview. It showed key features like fairway bunkers, two greenside traps, and standard front, middle, and back yardages to the green.
The watch uses a simple traffic light colour system to mark 100, 150, and 200-yard layup zones for golfers.
The full hole view stands out, showing the hole’s shape and contours clearly without needing a physical course guide.
As you approach the green, swipe to access a detailed view with manual pin position adjustment for accurate yardages.
This feature is great for visualising different pin placements and planning your approach shots more effectively on the course. You can move the flag to corners or edges of the green to better understand specific carry distances. It’s a smart tool that helps you dial in approach shots and improve precision in your golf game.
I found the yardages very accurate when moving the flag around on the Garmin S50’s green view feature. On some holes, back pin locations showed longer distances on my Bushnell compared to the GPS, which showed shorter yardages. This could be a one-off satellite issue, as overall the Garmin provided exceptionally accurate yardages throughout my round.
Furthermore, the most impressive feature of the device I thought was the battery life. After completing the round I found that there was still 65% of battery left, and to say that the round was over 5 hours I found that really impressive!
Garmin Approach S50 GPS Watch Verdict
For someone who usually relies on laser rangefinders, I found the Garmin Approach S50 GPS an absolute breeze to use. It was super easy to setup, gave me accurate yardages, along with the option to put my scores in and even gave me a full overview after the round. There’s something about having your scores given afterward and fitness overview that filled me with satisfaction.
My only gripe about the Approach S50 watch was the actual strap, I feel like for the cost of the device at £379.99 makes it look overpriced with having a Velco strap. However you do have the option of purchasing an alternate strap online, but it does come at the extra cost.
Would I Use It?
Yes I would! I thought it was an excellent watch and I did enjoy the heart rate monitor compared to the Garmin Approach S44 watch. But for the sake of £80 extra, it may not be worth the upgrade just for that one feature.
Over 5 hour round lets speed it up people yuck