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The best of the best! We roundup the best golf GPS Watches for 2025
Golf is a game of precision and data. Therefore, more and more golfers are turning to GPS devices for better on course results. Golf technology is continuously evolving and the latest golf GPS watches for 2025 are a prime example of this.
In this guide, we take a look at the best golf GPS watches on the market for 2025. Feature premium brands like Garmin and Shot Scope, our roundup of the best golf GPS watches for 2025 will help you find the perfect device to elevate your game.
This is a premium GPS golf watch. I haven’t yet tested a watch that offers all the important information with such clarity and simplicity. The battery life is also outstanding with up to 21 days in smartwatch mode, and up to 20 hours in GPS mode. I certainly had over 60% of juice left after 36 holes in a day on a recent trip to Devon.
This is a watch that I can wholeheartedly recommend, and it works well as a standalone distance measuring device. To make the best use of the watch, you will probably want to use some of the extra features, such as health monitoring and other activities, as the retail price is a fairly hefty at £599.
It also pairs seamlessly with the Garmin Approach Z30 rangefinder, and I do rather love that combination of watch and rangefinder.
Prior to reviewing this watch, I’d known a bit about Garmin but I hadn’t realised that you could spend anything from £180 to over ten times that figure for a Garmin golf watch.
So, you’re sure to find something in your price bracket, secure in the knowledge that your device is designed with the most advanced and up to date technology.
So here we have a golf watch that offers all the important features you need on the course. The battery life is also outstanding with up to 10 days in smartwatch mode, and up to 15 hours in GPS mode. So that should be plenty for 36 holes in a day. Charging is quick and simple via an included proprietary charger.
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This is a watch that I can wholeheartedly recommend, and it works well as a standalone distance measuring device.
It also pairs seamlessly with the Garmin Approach Z30 rangefinder, and I do rather love that combination of watch and rangefinder.
Prior to reviewing Garmin kit, I’d known a bit about the brand but I hadn’t realised that you could spend anything from £180 to over ten times that figure for a Garmin golf watch.
So, you’re sure to find something in your price bracket, secure in the knowledge that your device is designed with the most advanced and up to date technology.
On the course, I was really impressed with how it performed. From the tee, you can easily check yardages to bunkers or other hazards, then the approach shot gives you clear yardages to front-middle-back. It was easy to load the course you are playing – the GPS signal picked up the location straight away.
Outside of golf, this watch is superb for everyday wear. It offers a comprehensive range of health features, including heart health monitoring via HRV, blood oxygen levels with the Pulse OX sensor, detailed sleep tracking, and overall activity monitoring. This kind of information takes this watch beyond merely a golf watch but if you do not require such info then the S44 might be a more suitable option.
So here we have a golf watch that offers all the important features you need on the course. The battery life is also outstanding with up to 10 days in smartwatch mode, and up to 15 hours in GPS mode. So that should be plenty for 36 holes in a day.
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Overall this is a superb bit of kit and something I now wear everyday as is way more than just a golf features watch. Need to work on my sleep score though….
PROS
Very lightweight
Packed with tech that is of use on and off the golf course
Aesthetically, this Shot Scope watch is definitely something you can wear on and off the golf course, especially with the new options on watch faces so you can give this an individual feel. I would say if I were to wear this off the course all the time, I would probably want some extra functionality that you tend to see in other health and fitness watches. For now I think I will just wear this on the golf course.
Overall this is an impressive piece of kit that will undoubtedly help anyone’s golf game. Shot Scope are continuously updating the watch firmware and the app software so the data you are collecting and the GPS data you see on the course is only getting better.
The Shot Scope G6 combines stylish design with practical features, offering clear yardages, hazard navigation, and full-course mapping that enhance on-course decision-making.
It performs well in most situations, providing quick, easy-to-read data that can help speed up play and improve accuracy.
Overall, at £179, it is a versatile and affordable GPS watch suitable for both casual and serious golfers seeking reliable performance and modern aesthetics.
Out of the box this round faced watch looked pretty appealing. I liked the all black appearance. The size of the face (45mm) looks large enough but not too large. There is a premium leather strap which was very comfortable to wear. It felt pretty lightweight as well – it’s 51 gms to be precise. I was pleased to see just one button to press on the right side.
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I don’t know about you but I’m not a great one for reading instruction manuals and I can happily report that this watch was mostly a doddle to work out. There’s the usual Front/Middle/Back distances, adjusted for slope, if you aren’t playing in a competition. A touch IP feature allows you to tap on the map of the hole to determine lay up distances. On each tee you get a 2D flyover over the hole you’re about to play. There is a green undulation feature (not available on all courses) which is intended to aid your approach play. The list goes on. So how did perform on the course?
The picture above shows an example of the graphic that greets you on each tee. This watch has over 40,000 courses preloaded onto it which sounds plenty. It certainly had no difficulty recognising the four courses we played up in the glorious Scottish Highlands. The GPS satellite can take a few minutes to identify where you are. This may be an issue if you’re the type to screech into the car park and rush onto the first tee. But front, middle and back yardages are probably irrelevant as you try to find your game over the first few holes.
Out on the course, the aim W12 recognises when you have reached the green. It would often ask if you had finished the hole when near the green. If you ignore the question it will automatically progress onto the next hole when you’re on the next tee. This is a really useful feature if you’re using the watch purely for distance. You can set things up on the first tee and just let it run through the round.
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Although I don’t think this will replace my standard wristwatch, the aim W12 was comfortable to wear and not too bulky. I could see myself wearing it on, for example, a golfing holiday and leaving my standard watch at home. And I do think I’ll still be packing my trusty laser – it’s part of my pre-shot routine after all!
Out of the box, this watch looked big and bold. You mighty say it looked a little brash. I liked the large and bright screen. The rubber strap didn’t have a particularly premium feel but was comfortable and easily adjustable. Although I felt that the watch looked just a little large for my slender wrist, it felt ok. Considering the amount of features contained in the package (essentially the same as in the SkyCaddie SX550 GPS handheld) I think this is a pretty impressive feat of engineering. It weighs in at a reasonably lightweight 65 gms.
There are two buttons to the right of the watch. The first is just an on/off button , and the second accesses all the features and settings. Now I have to say that this watch took a bit of learning and was not as simple/intuitive as others I have tested. I did find myself referring to the instruction manual in the early days of testing. But perseverance is rewarded because this piece of kit is jam-packed full of features and detail. As well as the standard Front/Middle/Back distances , there is a so-called dynamic holevue system that gives detailed preview of the hole with suggested drive placement. This comes with a small adjustable (touchscreen) target to enable you to plan lay up distances, and then green distances. The graphics are really good but the touchscreen can be a bit fiddly to operate accurately.
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The picture above shows an example of the graphic that greets you on each tee. This watch has over 35,000 courses preloaded onto it. All courses are hand mapped out by experienced technicians which ensures that you get unrivalled accuracy from SkyCaddie kit. The GPS satellite can take a few minutes to identify where you are. This may be an issue if you’re the type to head straight from the car park to the first tee. But front, middle and back yardages are probably irrelevant as you try to find your game over the first few holes.
Although the graphics are absolutely first-class, the touchscreen did not always respond, and occasionally required a few taps to wake it up. There’s also an auto-dim function, presumably to protect battery life. One of the competitor watches has a motion function which automatically brightens the screen when you turn your hand to look at the screen. That would be a useful feature.
Regarding battery life, I’m not convinced this would be good for 36 holes, admittedly a rarity these days, but that might be a relevant consideration for some.
Design-wise I thought it was very handy that there were two strap loops to feed to strap through. With only having a small wrist and the watch coming with only one length strip, there was a fair bit of the strap lose. The extra loop was great for keeping this secure and stopping it from possible interference.
The 1.28 inch JDI colour touchscreen display uses sunlight readability, meaning that the display is much more visible when outdoors. This works great when using outside but made setting it up inside a little tricky.
The LX2 was a little slow off the mark when it came to loading up courses. For reference, I tried this watch at 3 different courses to see if it was the GPS signal that determined the speed. Whilst the wait for the courses to load up didn’t bother me as I went to warm up before my rounds, if you’re someone who walks from the car park to the first tee, this may be slightly more problematic.
The watches main golf display shows distances to the front, middle, and back of each green. These can be altered between yards and meters, depending on your preferred choice. The bottom panel of the screen displays the hole number, the par and the stroke index. By pressing this panel, you can then see the battery life as well as how many steps you have completed and the elapsed time of the round.
Out on the course, the LX2 would recognise when you had made it to a green. It would often ask if you had finished the hole when near the green however, if you left this notification it would automatically progress onto the next hole once on the next tee. This is a great feature if you’re using the watch purely for distance, it can be set up in the car park and not touched again until the end of the round.
Aesthetically, the Sky Caddie LX2 matches the designs of many smartwatches. As previously mentioned, it goes beyond the features of a stand-alone golf watch and has a range of different features such as alarm and step count to make it a great fitness/golf watch hybrid…especially for the price.
In summary, there is a golf GPS watch for everyone’s needs and price range. Equipped with their own unique feature they deliver accurate distances and readings to help boast your game out on the golf course.
Their unique features, including crystal clear displays, robust GPS functionality, and intuitive user interfaces, make them perfect allies for any golfer aiming to gain a competitive edge. The choice among these options boils down to your individual needs and preferences.
Regardless of your selection, the confidence of having reliable, accurate data at your fingertips is a game-changer on any golf course.
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