Best Golf GPS 2024

If you're serious about improving your game and lowering your scores then investing in a DMD (distance measuring device) is a must. These take many forms, including a golf rangefinder or even a golf speaker with in-built GPS, but on of the most popular is a golf gps, which provide quick, accurate and easy-to-access yardages for your upcoming shot as well as hole information that can assist your strategy. 

Within the golf GPS market, devices can take many forms - be it a wearable golf watch or a handheld GPS that can also clip easily to your golf bag. Along with the array of options, they are also priced at different points so there is bound to be a model that suits your needs and budget, depending on the level of information you require. 

These days, you don't just get yardages to the front, middle and back of the green. Most golf GPS devices provide so much more, including information on hazards and overhead maps of the hole which will often help determine your strategy, especially when you're tackling a new golf course. Some will factor in slope, track your shots and even show you the undulations of the green you are approaching. Below, we've created a guide highlighting the leading options within the golf GPS sector, so you can pick the device that's right for your game.

The Quick List

Best Golf GPS

Golf Watches

When it comes to the new Garmin Approach S70 Golf Smartwatch, it’s probably easier to talk about what it can’t do than what it can. In short, it can’t swing the club for you, but it can pretty much do everything else.

Feature-wise, we could get accurate yardages to greens and bunkers, as well as other features on the course like tracking our score, shot distances and even make club selections. What's more, we could easily swipe to see the weather forecast and even integrate that into our round. If you set it up with a smartphone, it can relay all the notifications so you're kept fully in the loop.

The watch comes preloaded with more than 43,000 courses and, by simply pushing one button, you can go from an interchangeable watch face (which can show your last round on the bottom) to full-on golf mode. It's crammed with features and, unlike many smartwatches on the market, the battery life on the Garmin Approach S70 is impressive, as it can hold its charge for up to 16 days in smartwatch mode and up to 20 hours when using GPS.

• Read our full Garmin Approach S70 Watch Review

Sky Caddie LX5 GPS Watch

The stand-out feature on the LX5 is the touchscreen. Bright and crystal clear, it is easy to read in different conditions and without having to hold it close to your face. From the main screen you can see clear front, middle and back yardages, and then swipe in different directions to see the hole map, hazards, score entry or measure your shot distance.

Arc lines help improve strategy while you can zoom in on the green and move the pin position for a more precise distance, with over 35,000 courses, which have been ground-verified on foot, coming preloaded. This watch is lightweight (65g) and comfortable to wear. The styling, along with the fitness features, encourage you to wear it away from the course, too.

• Read our full Sky Caddie LX5 GPS Watch Review

GolfBuddy Aim W12 Golf GPS Watch

Visually, we thought that the Aim W12 is a decent improvement over the Aim W11 from 2021. It looks slicker, a little more streamlined, thanks to the flatter button in the corner, and comes with a premium leather strap as standard (as well as an extra silicon one in the box). 

Along with the aesthetics, we found that the navigation is controlled mostly via the color touch screen, which is clear (360x360 pixels), bright and reassuringly responsive. In testing, we found that we only needed to press the button on rare occasions to go back to the previous screen, which helped us stay focused on our game.

We actually selected the Aim W12 for our 2023 Editor's Choice Awards, with the user experience near faultless. The only negative is that it took slightly longer than expected to locate the course but, overall, it was quick and easy to grasp how to access the different screens and there wasn’t much repeat swiping required.

• Read our full GolfBuddy Aim W12 GPS Watch Review

Shot Scope X5 GPS Watch

For golfers looking to combine shot tracking and GPS information in a wearable, Shot Scope has always made compelling products and the new X5 looks to build on what was on offer from the impressive Shot Scope V3. 

Looks-wise, we felt that the new aesthetics are a lot sleeker than its predecessor, with it offering more off-course appeal without sacrificing its popular shot tracking capability, which comes from new and improved lightweight second-generation tracking tags that screw into the tops of your clubs.

To cover everything this watch offers would take almost an eternity, such is the wide-ranging functionality built in. However, for the price tag, there is a lot of watch on offer and whilst the user experience wasn’t perfect, it was certainly an enjoyable product to use that has the potential to improve decision-making and club selection.

• Read our full Shot Scope X5 GPS Watch Review

Bushnell Ion Elite Golf GPS Watch

The Ion Elite GPS watch is arguably more cutting-edge than its predecessor, with the addition of a color touch screen and plethora of features making it perfect for the gadget-loving golfer.

Providing a comfortable and compact look, one of the stand-out features is how easy it is to navigate. For starters, it has only one button on the side, which serves as a back and on/off button, a concept that is simple to grasp. Everything else is accessed by the touch screen, which is bright, clear, detailed and responsive. 

It provides the basics, such as front, middle and back yardages, but there are also a number of useful features that will save you shots out on the golf course. Accessing your scores and statistics, where this watch stands out is with the Slope functionality, which is very rare even among the best golf watches.

• Read our full Bushnell Ion Elite Golf GPS Watch Review

Best Golf GPS Handhelds

Another quality offering from Garmin is the Approach G80 which is at the premium end of the GPS spectrum. When you consider the number of features available, this comes as no surprise.

Obviously you get distances to the front, middle and back of the green, but they take it one step further with features such as Garmin’s PlaysLike Distance. This gives you distances to not only the target, but it is also adjusted for uphill or downhill shots, which can be easily turned off for tournament play. There is also Green View, which allows you to zoom in on the green to get precise yardages according to wherever the pin is on the day.

Keeping pace with the social world, the Garmin Approach G80 works with the free Garmin Golf app, which lets you compete, compare and connect with fellow golfers – great fun if that’s your thing. All this comes in a slim device with a 3.5″, sunlight-readable, colour, touchscreen display.

• Read our full Garmin Approach G80 GPS Review

SkyCaddie SX550 GPS

The SX550 features a 5.5” full HD colour touch screen and uses in-built WiFi to download the latest, ground-verified courses on foot from more than 35,000 available for improved accuracy. The green view will also dynamically rotate to show full IntelliGreen Pro information from the golfer’s own angle of attack.

All of the courses on the SX550 have all been walked and mapped by one of SkyCaddie’s half a dozen or so trained course mappers. Using professional grade satellite equipment, the team at SkyCaddie have personally walked every hole on every course loaded onto the SX550, mapping out the exact size of fairways, shapes of greens and distances to hazards.

You can feel this extensive course mapping at play as soon as you load the device and the range of information on offer gave us the clearest and most detailed picture of a golf course as we have seen on a GPS device. The SX550 features in our 2022 Editor's Choice awards and could well be one of the best golf GPS devices ever made but, be weary of the annual membership costs that apply after your first year.

• Read our full Sky Caddie SX550 GPS Review

Bushnell Phantom 2 Slope GPS

The original Phantom was a very popular model because of how simple it was to use and now Bushnell has gone a step further with the Phantom 2 Slope GPS. It comes preloaded with 38,000 courses and up to six hazard yardages per hole.

One of the most significant new features is Dynamic Green Mapping, which provides front, centre and back distance measurements no matter which direction the user approaches the green. This is especially useful when you find your golf ball well off the beaten track and conventional 100 or 150 yard markers are well out of sight.

Whether you’re playing your home course for the umpteenth time or you’re playing a new track for the first time, we found having these accurate yardages from any angle gives you the confidence to pull out the correct club and execute the shot. The screen is slightly larger than its predecessor and because the text is 40 per cent larger, it’s easier to read, and should give users no problems even in bright sunlight. 

• Read our full Bushnell Phantom 2 Slope GPS Review

Garmin Approach G12

The handy Approach G12 is a small and simple solution to getting accurate distances at your fingertips. Its compact size allows you to clip it anywhere on your golf bag, trolley or hat. It's very easy to operate and also pairs with the excellent Garmin app to give you a hole-by-hole overview. It is ideal for golfers on a budget that want simple but accurate distances to various points of interest.

There are a host of display options - we love the 'big numbers mode' where the middle distance is displayed bigger than the others and, despite the screen's modest size, it is clear and easy to read in different light conditions. 

You'll get up to 30 hours of usage on a single charge, which is impressive and you can pair it with your smartphone. Download the Garmin Golf app for free and you'll be able to keep your scores, stats and compete with other users in the virtual golf world while also gaining access to full color hole maps. At just under £130/$150 we think the Garmin Approach G12 offers great value and would make a perfect golf gift too.

• Read our full Garmin Approach G12 GPS Review

Best Golf GPS Speakers

Although the Puma PopTop Mini Bluetooth speaker is small in stature, it delivers impressive sound quality and clarity on the golf course, as well as better range than one might expect. 

It's also very easy to pair with a phone for use and it offers user friendly functionality. When testing, we thought it was especially great for walkers, as it can easily be hooked onto a stand bag, with its small size making it easy to store in a golf bag.

Like any speaker, it doesn't have to be on the course where you can use it and, with the PopTop, this is definitely the case, as it works superbly off it. What's more, it is waterproof, as well as dust and sand proof, with the back of the speaker even functioning as a bottle opener. The only slight negative is that the battery life isn't the longest, but it will last a full round of golf before needing to be recharged.

• Read our full Puma PopTop Mini Bluetooth Speaker Review

Bushnell Wingman GPS Speaker

The Bushnell Wingman is a speaker that provide golfers with audible front, middle and back distances with the ability to listen to the music of their choice from their smartphone.

It comes with Bushnell’s Magnetic Bite technology, which allows the speaker to be secured to any golf buggy without the need for an aftermarket accessory. It also offers Auto hole advance, 10+ hour battery life and a USB charging port. It’s pretty easy to set up as you simply pair your phone with the Wingman using Bluetooth and the app is free to download when you buy a Bushnell product.

From there, you can play any audio from your phone, whether that’s music podcasts or anything in between. The sound quality is excellent and it’s very easy to adjust the volume, play and pause. A simple push of the detachable button gives you audible front, centre and back of the green distances for the 36,000+ courses that are available on the app. We found the yardages to be accurate and helpful, although you naturally don’t get an exact yardage to the pin.

Easily one of the best golf speakers on the market, this device is great benchmark to others and a trend that will likely catch on soon.

• Read our full Bushnell Wingman Speaker Review

Blue Tees The Player Magnetic Speaker

Blue Tees are known for producing some of the best laser rangefinders on the market, but its The Player magnetic speaker that we are interested in here. To begin with, it has a premium look and excels in terms of its range (100 feet) and sound quality, which is among the best in the golf speaker category. 

It also features a magnetic strip that allows the speaker to be attached to a riding cart during play, and the magnet holds up well in terms of security during play. Add in the fact that it is also waterproof with an IPX7 rating, and it offers an impressive battery life of over 12 hours. 

Another noteworthy feature is that there are indoor and outdoor modes available to choose from, as this speaker offers more versatility than just being used on the golf course. If there’s one downside to The Player speaker it’s the size, which is on the larger for this category and can make the device difficult to store in a golf bag.

• Read our full Blue Tees The Player Magnetic Speaker Review

How we test the best golf GPS devices

At Golf Monthly we have a comprehensive testing procedure around GPS devices. As you would expect, this involves using different models out on the course, over a number of rounds and importantly in different conditions too because this gives us an idea on how particular models deal with sunlight, rain and wind. 

As the entire team are regular golfers, GPS devices usually get a thorough testing and often get compared to one another side by side to test for things like accuracy, waterproofing, durability and other features. That way we can give honest and insightful feedback to you, the reader. The final thing we wanted to mention in this section is no manufacturer can buy a good review. Our testing team reviews golf equipment and makes its own opinion on how good or bad the product is, for information on how Golf Monthly tests its products, click here.

What to consider when buying a golf GPS device

Your routine

The best golf watches only require a quick glance so they are much quicker than taking a device out of its case, so weigh up if extra detail or less disruption is most important to you.

Your course

If your course has lots of doglegs, blind tee shots, or you play at other clubs in matches or socially, then you might want the extra information a GPS offers over a laser.

Type

As the list above shows, there are different types of GPS device to use and they all have positives and negatives affixed to them.

• GPS Watch - Simplicity and convenience are the key here. If you are the type of player who would rather have a quick glance at their wrist to know the yardage rather than using a larger GPS or laser, then a watch could be the way to go. GPS watches nowadays are a lot more compact, slim-lined and light making them ideal because they do not hamper the swing or distract in any way.
• Handhelds - The chief bonus here is the large screen which gives a lot more detail and the touch screen functionality will be familiar to most users because of modern phones. You get clear hazard information and overhead maps of the hole too which could guide your strategy and save you shots.

Features

There is also a difference in device when it comes to features. Below is a list of some of the ones we consider to be useful to the GPS wearer.

• Clear and accurate distance information - this is a no brainer really but some models are more accurate and clear than others.
• Pre-loaded courses - there is some variation in how many courses are pre-loaded onto some models compared to others.
• Scorecard - rather than have to write down or log scores into an app, on some GPS devices you can mark your score down with ease.
• Stat tracking - particularly useful to those wanting to know more about their game and where they earn or give away shots.
• Green mapping and pin location - some devices give the user the ability to map the green and place the pin in the correct place. This often gives more information to the user on yardage and what club to hit.
• Waterproofing - a waterproof device is very important, especially if you play somewhere that gets a lot of rain
• Battery power - GPS devices normally need charging via a USB after two to four rounds, so consider which would be easiest for you on a week-to-week basis.

FAQs

We hope you enjoyed this guide on the best golf GPS devices. Also make sure you research the best golf simulator, best golf GPS apps and the best golf watches for ladies too because they can truly add to your golfing experience.

GOLF PROMO CODES AND COUPONS

From clubs, balls and tees, to essential sportswear and fitness products, keep it affordable with a little help from our promo and coupon codes.

View Deal