This is great for a course you’ve never played before as it will show up if there’s a hidden ditch in front of the green and let you know if a blind shot doglegs to the left or right.
On a course you are very familiar with, maybe it would be better if there was a simpler display that just had the front, middle back numbers to just view at a glance?
There’s also a clever feature on here called the ‘plays like distance’ which will let you know if it is playing longer or shorter than than displayed yardage due to elevation changes.
But it doesn’t tell you how much by. It just gives you an arrow up for longer or down for shorter.
This is a touch-screen watch – something that doesn’t always work so well – but with Garmin’s expertise in this area the S60 (and the recently tested G30) work like a treat.
So with a press of the screen you can zoom in a little bit closer and get yardages to bunkers, other hazards or particular points on the fairway.
You can also move the pin to it’s actual location but I’m not sure this is worth it as it involves a bit of guess work. And who is that accurate?
Front, middle, back numbers are ample for the club golfer – particularly if there is a colour-coded flag system in place.
There’s a range of other features like automatic shot detection but these aren’t always picked up and it doesn’t detect putts.
The scorecard is well-worth using as it will then save your round details to the app.
One slight issue I had with the watch being connected to my phone was that it vibrates to let you know you have a WhatsApp message, or Twitter notification, or email etc..
I had to go into the settings and turn all these notifications off as I couldn’t find a way of having the notifications come up without the watch vibrating.
You’re constantly looking at the watch so will see if a notification pops up – you really don’t want it to be vibrating on your back swing.
Garmin S60 review – NCG verdict
I’d say this watch is about as advanced as it gets in terms of the features. It can be used for monitoring your general fitness and lifestyle habits so is offering a bit more than other golf watches.
And it all comes in a really stylish package.
The digital clockface looks brilliant making the S60 a really attractive proposition for people who actually like wearing a watch all of the time.
There are a range of displays to choose from each showing different information like the temperature or how many steps you have walked that day so far.
It is very easy to use, I like the displays and the information on offer is very accurate.
I’m a huge fan of a device that can sync with your phone to keep you connected with the world away from the golf course.
I’d rather be kept informed of missed calls and text messages rather than having to get my phone out of my bag to check.
The S60 allows you to keep the phone out of view but if you receive an important call or message you can wait for a convent time to take your phone out and make a call.
I have no time for courses which put blanket bans on mobile phones.
However, seeing as I couldn’t find a way to turn off the vibration for alerts, I had to turn them all off completely which was a shame.
It wouldn’t deter me from using what is a fantastic product but when paying the best part of £400, I’d not be keen on making compromises.
Details
SRP: £399
Colours available: Black or white
Battery life: 10 days in watch mode, 10 hours in GPS mode
More information can be found on the Garmin website.
