The company brand name Garmin has now applied its know-how in GPS to the sport of golf. This is because golf is a sport where particular importance is placed on knowing one’s accurate position. The company has thus, produced a product called Garmin Approach S1. This product has built the GPS system into a light and simple watch interface. The product just weighs fifty two grams. Its exterior is really that of an all-weather watch that has bold numbers on its screen. Even amidst the sunlight in the golf course, the text or numbers on its screen can be easily seen. The controller includes 4 buttons. The bottom left has the OK or menu button. The top left has the light or power button while on the right side, the up & down buttons are placed that could guide you through the navigation of the device.
The product also has a battery that could last for up to 3 weeks for standard functions. On the other hand, it would only last for eight hours if on GPS setting. This is enough for 1 to 2 golf rounds already. The watch also includes an odometer to keep track of walking distance. This device is in fact legal to use as the US Golfing Association has already stated so. It could thus become part of every golfer’s wish list in the coming months.
Pros and Cons
The Garmin Approach S1 is convenient to use since it is hands-free. The golfer could just look at it every once in awhile but focus on the golf swing. Also, if there was one thing good regarding the set-up process is that there was no actual need to set-up anything. The Garmin Approach S1 practically sets up the time zone as well as the time automatically. Also when you put it in GPS mode, the system would automatically take note of your position given that you are playing in one of the six hundred preloaded courses in Australia. Unlike other devices, this product does not need any downloads nor any subscriptions. Garmin is actually doing all the adding of golf courses themselves with no need of user intervention for its preloading. However, if you travel outside Australia such as in Canada or the United States, the maps for the golf courses there that sum up to upto sixteen thousand five hundred courses, would need to be purchased for approximately $50. This works likewise for preloading the 5,400 courses in Europe.
This product is truly light and easy to use. Perhaps its only bad point is that doing the recharging for the device could be quite awkward. Inspite of its good points, the device would not be a replacement to physical markers found in the actual golf courses. However, it sure could be a of great help for golfers to gauge more accurately the distance towards the hole. Since the device gives data on how far the golfer is in relation to the hole, then he could make better decisions on which clubs to use and the type of swing to play.