Best Golf GPS Watches (Updated For 2024)

If you haven't already got yourself a GPS golf watch, this could be the perfect time for you to get one. Walking up to the tee, you probably know how important it is to know the distance to the green to have confidence in which club to use. As someone who typically always “comes up short” when approaching almost every hole on the golf course, I quickly realised I was well off with my yardage measurements. That is so important because that will tell you which club you are going to use. Now, obviously there are various ways of doing this including looking at the scorecard and looking at the sprinkler heads. However, this relies on guessing which relies on taking various things into account. But what about if we take this guess work out of the equation?

In this article, we are going to take out all the guess work and be breaking down the best golf gps watches on the market this year. We’ve analysed over 25 of the GPS watches and spoke to various golf professionals to see which ones are the best value for money as well as giving you the most accurate bits of information.

Also if you are heading out onto the course this weekend, then don't forget to check out our best electric golf trolleys guide which will save you so much energy as you go round as well as our golf training aids. So, without further ado, let's dive in.

Coming in at number one on our list is the Approach S12 and it's a timeless classic. I’m sure you have most likely heard of Garmin even if it’s outside of the golf space. They are probably the most well-known company when it comes to GPS devices. So, its not surprise to see them at the top of the pile.

Garmin as a brand is well known for being the quickest to power up, get connected and for being the most accurate. I can confirm this is the case with the approach S12 golf watch.

I would say in terms of the pricing, this is in the medium range and having tested against the more expensive options, the yardages were almost exact (within about a yard of each other).

Overall, the Garmin Approach S12 is our best rated golf GPS watch and its lightweight design makes it very easy to wear on the golf course. The interface makes it easy to navigate and is perfect for any golfer, no matter which level they play at.

You may have heard of Bushnell before if you are one of our regular readers and it's because we love their rangefinder in our best golf rangefinder article. Their rangefinders are the best in the market for accuracy and for it's premium materials which is exactly what you get with the Bushnell ION elite as well.

It's no surprise that straight out of the box, you can feel the difference in this watch and the more budget friendly options. Everything from the strap, the material and the face all feels very high quality. It's lightweight as well considering that it has more technology and features compared to the average golf watch.

With this watch, you get Bushnell's patented Slope technology which helps make these superior in terms of how accurate their measurements are. Combine this with their impressive holeview and greenview, you can be sure that you get the right club for your shot.

As expected, it did not take us long to get connected to the courses that we tried this on. You simply swipe left and hit the play button in golf mode for the satelite signals to connect up straight away, we didn't need to wait around.

What really impressed us with this watch is the advanced scoring mode that you can use to keep track of your day on the course. You are able to note down whether you hit the fairway, the bunker, the green which will give you a stat at the end of your round for your own analysis. Obviously, if you are a casual golfer whose not interested in this information, there is a basic option where you don't need to enter all this in but this is a great feature if you are looking to improve your game.

Overall, the ION Elite by Bushnell is a fantastic choice if you are looking for a premium option with superior technology. It's simple to use and can be great as a normal everyday watch as well.

Another mention for GolfBuddy on the list and this is the premium option compared to the W10. This is another very pleasant looking golf watch that is very easy to use.

Again, has a large database of golf courses already loaded up and the distance to greens or traps is helpful as well.

As per the W10, the overview of the entire hole is really useful as well as specific distances for any hazards that are coming up on the hole.

Overall, another great gadget which is on the more premium side in terms of prices but does exactly what it says on the tin.

With a bold statement like an average improvement of 4 shots with the use of Shotscope products, you can see why there’s quite a bit of hype for these golf watches. There’s quite a few savy bits of technology within the watch.

First thing you notice out of the box is how small and light it really is. I would say that it’s about the same size as an apple watch. If you tried out the V2 version of this golf watch, they were a little chunkier so definitely a welcomed improvement on the design.

One of the cool bits of technology with this watch is that you are given 16 tags which attach to the end of your club. This helps the golf watch detect which club you are using. I thought this was quite cool and didn’t feel the tag on the end of my club getting in the way at all.

Once you are on the green, the pin collect detects that you are on a green and lets you collect the number putts. Probably not the functionality I was most proud of when I entered the number of putts at the end of each hole and analysed when I got back home.

In terms of initial set-up, it was very simple. Just install the app on your phone and register. With a 10+ hour battery life, it is more than enough for one full round of golf if not two. We highly recommend you give this golf watch a go.

Probably one of the lesser-known brands within golf and one that didn’t have too much about the company itself. However, with the price of this on the market, we had to give this a shot.

Straight out of the box, I loved the retro look of this golf watch. It reminded me of an old G-Shock watch face which was cool.

The charging pin was cool as well as it’s magnetic and attaches nicely into the side of the watch. If you know the difficulty with charging wires breaking and the number of replacements you go through then this will definitely save you heaps of trouble.

Quick tip: One thing I did notice is that it took a little time for the golf watch to connect to the GPS to load up the course, so I’d recommend starting the process as soon as you get to the course instead of on the first tee. You generally want to do that anyway with golf GPS watches but with this one for sure.

Overall, the TW-353 is all about value for money, it's one of the cheapest options on the market with incredible battery life. If you are only look

Another golf watch mention for Garmin on the list and this one is the premium option from the range. Straight off the bat, the first thing we noticed is that it’s one of the best-looking GPS watches on the market.

As per other watches, you start off by connecting it to the satellites which will locate the course you are on. We were shocked at how quickly this watch did that and was able to gather our local course in Chelmsford.

The first feature of the golf watch that stood out for us is the pin-pointer. So, if you are on a course which you haven’t played before, the watch will act like a compass to the centre of the green. As you move around, you will see the cursor move to indicate where the green relative to where you are facing.

This golf gps watch will let you pinpoint where the flag is on the green to give you the exact yardage. This is a great feature as they usually have a standard yardage at the course, so this gives you that little bit of extra accuracy and reassurance.

Overall, is it worth the extra price tag that comes along with this model? If you are a regular golfer who has good control of their distances, then this is a no brainer. The accurate distance information and club selection data will be of great use. It also doubles up as a smart dress watch as it looks so clean. A highly recommended purchase!

You might recognise TecTecTec from our best golf rangefinder for the money article and how the company provided incredible value for money. It’s considerably cheaper than the previous premium watches but does it also do a good job?

One of the stranger features of this watch is the plastic clip on to charge the watch. It’s not something we have seen on any of the other golf watches and admittedly can be a little fiddly.

The rubber watch strap seem very durable and strong so would hold up for a good amount of time. It’s also quite lightweight, probably not as light as the Garmin’s but still doesn’t feel chunky on your wrist.

When we tested it out on the golf course, we were surprised at the battery life as the suggested capacity was two and a half rounds but even after playing three, there was still some power left over.

The GPS itself is great as well, one of the quickest at connecting to the satellites and even outperformed some of the more expensive options.

Sometimes, the more expensive models can have too many features and options on the menu which distract you from your game. This is a very simple golf gps watch that is easy to use and set up.

Another company you may recognise from our top-rated rangefinder article where they produced some very innovative products with the aim of being the most accurate on the market. What’s also quite interesting is that they pride themselves on the most accurate course database with over 38,000 courses worldwide.

This leads us nicely to our first point and how we were surprised that it picked up the first hole of the course we were on without us having to select anything. There’s no fidgeting around trying to connect to the satellites or waiting around.

The golf gps watch has got a good quality screen as it displays three numbers showing the distance to the front, middle and back of the green as well as your current score.

Swiping across from the main screen gives you a view of the hole you are playing which gives you a good amount of information on there like your fairways and hazards.

Overall, a fantastic little gadget that’s slightly on the upper end of the price spectrum which can double up as a normal watch too. Highly recommended!

Another Canmore golf watch on the list and this is the slightly more premium option relative to the one before.

Just like the TW-353, the biggest positive with this one is the large, easy to read display. The information is very clear and doesn’t need you to squint and look for your pair of reading glasses if you have dodgy eyesight.

The only thing to note is that the charger connection can be quite fiddly and take time to get used to. You need to balance the watch for the connector to stay connected and charge it up.

The battery life is also fantastic with more than half of the charge still left over after playing a round of 18 holes.

It can also double up as a normal watch including the Pedometer to record your daily steps. The lightweight and comfortable feel also makes it a great option.

Voice caddie might not be a company you have heard of unless you have done major research on your GPS goal equipment. But, they launched the first ever voice-guided rangefinder and have since grown in popularity after introducing various new products including launch monitors and putting aids. The T9 GPS golf watch is one of their premium offerings which has been a hit with their customers.

Their main unique selling point is the automatic shot tracking option which lets you measure the distance of your shot. They actually introduced this in there previous version of this watch and have kept it on due to its popularity.

There is also a tempo mode which has been introduced with this model allowing you to measure your tempo whether it's a full golf swing or for putting. As you may know from our training aids, tempo plays a massive part when it comes to your golf swing and this feature will let you track that.

Overall, this watch is on the more expensive side compared to our other options but you get some very unique features with the Voice Caddie T9. If you have the room to splash out a little more and feel like the tempo feature would be a benefit to your game, then this will be a fantastic option.

We hope that you enjoyed our article on what we feel are the best golf gps watches and don't forget to check out some of our other ones like our most accurate golf putters on the market and the best golf drivers for beginners.