Garmin Approach S2 Golf GPS Watch Reviews

Garmin Approach S2 golf GPS watch is an uncomplicated golf gadget. It pulls up the crucial distances you need for your golf game with high accuracy. If Garmin S1 was the plain Jane, Garmin Approach S2 stepped up the game.

What’s new about Garmin Approach S2 Golf GPS Watch?

It looks like a metrosexual gadget. The dial is a 1”-across the circle with black font. Dial housing is slightly bigger than the S1’s although both weigh the same at 1.8 ounces.

One upgrade that Garmin users demanded of S1 was to have a removable watch strap. S2 integrated this change into its design.

So now, if your strap breaks off, you do not have to chuck the golf GPS watch into the bin.

There are four buttons on the side of the Garmin Approach S2. These are the up, down, power/backlight, and menu buttons. The backlight remains on for about 9 seconds once you switch on the watch.

The Up and Down button helps you scroll down through various options. Menu button opens up the context menu for whatever View you are currently using. You can also use this button to select an option.

The highlights of its functionality include:

Yardages for greens:

Garmin S2 gives you the distances to the front, center, and back of the greens on the main screen. The distance to the middle of the green is in the biggest font size. It is flanked by the back distance on the top and front distance at the bottom.

Accuracy:

One of Garmin S2’s strongest traits is its accuracy. It gives your accurate distances within 3-4 yards.

This is almost the same as Garmin’s more decked up handheld devices like Garmin G8. You will be competing with fairly large rangefinders in terms of accuracy.

With S2, you have the distinct advantage of portability.

Layup/Dogleg:

Layup View gives you the distances to layup. It tells you the yardage to layup to 100, 150, 200, and 250 yards. The dogleg distances are accurate whenever they show up.

Shot Measurement:

Garmin Approach S2 has a shot distance measurement feature. Once you have started the measurement, you can switch to the Hole View and check out the distances. The measurement continues in the background.

Whenever you want to measure a new shot, you have to reset the measurement screen. The only problem is there’s no way to save the shot distances on the Garmin S2 golf GPS watch.

Scorecard:

Although not as evolved as the best handheld golf GPS devices, the Garmin Approach S2 can keep track of your scores.

You have to start the scoring function and S2 will keep notifying you to enter the score after each hole. You can utilize the Up and Down buttons to select your score.

When you are done playing, you can connect the S2 to your computer and view your score on it.

Interesting:

FAQs

1. How to use Garmin Approach S2?

Course maps and details: More than 30,000 courses come preloaded on Garmin Approach S2. You can update them or add new courses from their master database at zero charges. They have the most exhaustive list, of course, maps available for free. The only downside is you cannot save a hazard on S2. So every time you play, it takes a little guesswork to negotiate the hazards.
Watch Mode: Garmin S2 can be used in the watch mode. In this mode, it shows the time and indicates the odometer status.
Auto Hole Advance: S2 advances you automatically on the course once you have taken the shot and moved on. This combines with the scoring feature to send you notifications to save your score.

2. What’s the difference between the Garmin Approach S2 and the S4?

The Garmin S4 has a 10-hour battery life and has a moveable pin function.

3. What is the Garmin Approach S2 battery life?

I found it was about 7-8 hours in GPS mode and 3 weeks on time mode.

Our Verdict

For some golfers, simplicity is the jam. They don’t want to be lured into the button trap where you tap out a complicated button sequence on your golf GPS device to use exotic features. Garmin Approach S2 golf GPS watch suits their needs best.