The Garmin Approach S50 Hits the Sweet Spot of GPS Golf Watches

When Garmin unveiled their new Approach S50 golf watch at the 2025 PGA Show, at first, I didn’t quite get it.

Honestly, my initial reaction was, “Why?”

I just didn’t see where the S50 fit in Garmin’s line. They seemed to have it covered with their budget S12, mid-tier S44 (the upgraded replacement to the S42), and their top-end S70 (the upgrade to the on-the-way-out S62).

I wondered, how does a $400 S50 that seems at first glance, to be a confused mashup of all these watches really fit?

And then I started using it, wearing it, testing it. And, man, have I changed my tune.

Not only do I think the S50 fits. I think it stands out. In fact, I think it just might be the best golf smartwatch for most people.

Let me give you all my reasons for coming to that conclusion in this, my full review of the Garmin S50. I’m going to tell you what I like and what I don’t. And I’ll compare the S50 to some of Garmin’s other golf watches to help you decide if this is a golf watch worth buying.

Let’s get into it.

First Impressions of the Garmin Approach S50

I’ve said it many times before, Garmin’s already got such a good reputation that they don’t need to go above and beyond with packaging and presentation.

You know you’re going to get quality when you see the brand name.

And that’s exactly what you get with the S50. The box features the exact same design as all of the other Garmin golf watches, with the same graphics layout as all of their tech products.

And, sure enough, inside you find the quality that you’d expect.

Actually, when I first picked up the Garmin S50, I thought, “Oh, it’s so nice and cute and so much smaller than the other Garmin watches I’ve used.”

The S50 is a 42 mm golf watch with a 1.2-inch face diameter.

There’s actually a version of Garmin’s flagship dedicated golf watch, the S70, with that same size-sized watchface. But the practical wearability of those two watches is quite a bit different.

The S70 is considerably thicker than the S50. Whereas the S70 is a bit chunky when you wear it, the S50 kind of just disappears on your wrist.

The S50 is also Garmin’s first golf watch to come with a nylon ComfortFit band, which adds to that lower profile.

Everything about the Garmin S50 just feels more sleek, more svelte, and, overall, a little bit smaller.

Personally, I really like the look and feel of the S50 and the nylon band. I like how low profile it is.

But, keep in mind, if you’re planning to go swimming with this watch or plan to wear it in the shower, that nylon band is going to take a bit longer to dry out than the standard-issue silicone band.

But considering there is no shortage of watch bands and accessories that you can get from Garmin or from third parties on Amazon for not much money, this is probably a non-issue.

Garmin Approach S50 GPS Watch

$399

The Approach S50 might just be the best Garmin golf watch for most people. Fantastic feature set, with upgradability is a great combo.

Buy Now

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Favorite S50 Features I Noticed Right Away

Both the S50 and Garmin’s new S44 have Garmin’s AMOLED screen, which was first introduced with the S70. This screen looks absolutely fantastic.

One of my big complaints with the older-model, mid-tier Garmin golf watches was that they had that dated MIP display that just wasn’t very bright and crisp and just really didn’t look very good in a modern setting. Especially if you were coming from an Apple watch where you’re used to that big, vibrant screen.

I think it’s very exciting that Garmin is now including their AMOLED screen with all of their new watches. It’s a big deal to get that quality of a screen in the $300 S44 and $400 S50, considering that you used to have to go all the way up to the minimum-$650 S70 to get that kind of display.

And, like I said, on the S50, this AMOLED screen looks excellent. The colors pop. The screen is super responsive. And it might be because the S50 is a little bit smaller, but to my eye, it even looks a bit brighter and crisper than the Fenix 8, which is Garmin’s flagship fitness watch that costs almost three times as much.

Another feature I noticed right away was the 1 through 18 markings around the S50’s bezel. It’s just a really nice way to keep track of your score when you’re playing. Next to each number, as you enter your score, it will have a different color based on what your score was on that hole in relation to par. I really like being able to see those trends throughout my rounds.

That’s one of my favorite Garmin golf watch features compared to their more broad fitness watches, like the Fenix 8 or the older Epix line, that don’t include those 18 golf hole numbers around the bezel.

Getting Started With and Navigating Through the Garmin S50

Pairing the S50 with the Garmin Golf app is simple. It’s super seamless, and after you do it the first time, it works flawlessly.

Another thing I really like about the overall Garmin ecosystem, as someone who has multiple Garmin watches and devices, is that you can easily switch between Garmin products and it will automatically upload the data. They make it very easy to be a Garmin power user.

I recently did a video about how I’ve gone all in on Garmin over the past year:

One thing you’ll notice about the Garmin golf watch line is that, the more expensive the watch, the more buttons that are included. For instance, Garmin’s flagship golf watch, the S70, includes three buttons. And when you get to the Fenix line, you actually get five buttons.

As someone who likes physical buttons and prefers not to have to use a touchscreen for all of my watch navigation, I really like watches that give you more buttons.

With the S50 and the S44, you only have two buttons. And even though I do prefer more buttons, I’ve actually found navigation with the S50 to be pretty straightforward.

Again, the touchscreen is very responsive. And once I figured out that a long hold of the start button unlocks all of the settings and options for the watch, everything got a lot smoother.

As you’d expect in a dedicated Garmin golf watch, getting started with a round is very easy. You hit the start button. You’ll see an option to “Play Golf.” You tap that, and away you go.

The watch’s internal GPS will locate all of the courses in the area and give you options in order of the proximity to where you’re standing. So, almost always, the first choice will be the golf course that you’re physically at when you hit that start button.

The watch is preloaded with more than 43,000 golf courses, so it’s highly unlikely that you’re going to arrive at a course that’s not an option with the S50.

Garmin S50 vs. Garmin S44

Golf-wise, out of the box, the Garmin S50, for $399.99, isn’t too much different from the S44, which costs $299.99.

The one golf feature difference between the two is that the S50 includes basic plays-like distances, meaning it will factor elevation into the yardages to your targets.

Beyond that, the S50 and S44 are the same in terms of golf features. Both include things like:

• Yardages to front/middle/back
• Yardages to layups and doglegs
• Shot distance measurement if you prompt the watch after you hit
• Digital scorecard
• Compatibility with Garmin’s CT-10 and CT-1 shot tracking sensors
• Green view with manual pin position
• PinPointer, which allows you to see where the green is located on blind shots
• Swing tempo

The thing about Garmin golf watches is that they work. Like, flawlessly. They are totally dependable. You know exactly what you’re going to get.

The pairing with the app, when you want to use it for things like shot data storage or to upload your scores, is seamless. All of the features work as advertised. It’s easy and intuitive to move from feature to feature. When it’s Garmin, it just works.

But if the S44 is $299.99 and the S50 is $399.99 and the only golf feature difference is the plays-like distances that come included with the S50, why would anyone pay an extra $100 just for that one feature?

It’s because the S50 provides far more than $100 worth of off-the-course benefits.

Which brings me to my original point.

Why I Think the Garmin Approach S50 Is the Best Golf Smartwatch for Most People

If you just want a great Garmin golf watch, I’d get the S44. The new AMOLED screen is awesome, and the $100 savings compared to the S50 makes it a simple choice.

It’s when you want more than just a plain golf watch that the S50 really shines. In fact, it shines so brightly that I think more people are likely to choose the S50 than any other Garmin golf watch.

The big reason is that the S50 includes a heart rate monitor, whereas the S44 does not. That allows the S50 to do all  kinds of fitness and activity tracking that the S44 can’t do.

That means things like:

• Daily resting heart rate
• Abnormal heart rate alert
• Respiration rate
• Fitness age
• Body Battery
• Stress tracking
• Relaxation reminders
• Meditation and breathwork
• Sleep tracking, analysis, and coaching
• Hydration

So while the S50 doesn’t have all of the advanced fitness tracking and the built-in maps or overall ruggedness of the fenix series, it does have just about all of the health and fitness features that you were going to find in the S70, which costs almost twice as much as the S50.

So, why would you pay so much more for the S70 when the S50 exists?

Garmin S50 vs Garmin S70

First of all, the S70 comes in both 42 mm and 47 mm options. So if you like a bigger watch, the S70 is going to be your better golf watch choice.

But the biggest difference is that, out of the box, the S70 includes more golf features than the S50. The most obvious thing you’ll notice is that, with the S70, the graphics and detail quality on the hole maps are much better than with the S50.

The hole maps on the S70 are just much more representative of what the in-person golf holes actually look like.

With the S50, the hole maps are far more basic.

Another difference is that, with the S50, when you’re scrolling between bunker and hazard distances, you’re not able to use the physical buttons like you can with the S70. With the S50, you have to use the touchscreen.

Also, with the S70, the plays-like distances are more advanced and take into account things like altitude, weather, and wind. On the S50, the plays-like distances are only factoring in slope data.

And finally, the S70 comes with a virtual caddie right out of the box. So the watch itself can track your shots and, over time, learn your game and eventually even make personalized club recommendations. Out of the box, the S50 can’t do that.

So, clearly, the Garmin S70 is the superior golf watch, right?

Well…

It’s Compatible with Garmin Accessories

As Garmin has evolved it’s eco-system, they’ve got a number of products that play well together to improve your call experience and data collection.

Perhaps the coolest device is the Approach Z30 rangefinder. This pairs with the S50 to give you GPS yardages to the green and pin directly in your rangefinder.

For instance, you can shoot the pin, and then on your watch it will show you exactly where the pin is on the green. It then remembers that location, so as you continue playing the hole, the yardage to the pin will update in real time.

It’s even cooler in person, and feels kind of like magic.

If you’re interested in enhanced shot tracking, you can pair the S50 with both the new CT1 sensors, and the higher end CT10 sensors to track every single shot you hit.

The data you’re able to get is amazing. The experience isn’t quite as good as what you get from Arccos, but it’s still well worth considering if you have a compatible Garmin watch like this one.

Here’s Where Things Get Interesting: You Can Upgrade the S50

For the first time ever, Garmin is giving you the option to upgrade your golf watch, specifically with their new S44 and S50 models.

That means that if you pay the $9.99-per-month or $99-per-year Garmin subscription, you can make it so that your Garmin S50 has all of the golf features that the Garmin S70 has. The only exception being wind speed and direction factoring into your plays-like distances – that’s still limited to the higher end watches.

So, all of the sudden, we’ve got a sleeker, potentially more comfortable, and certainly less-expensive-out-of-the-box S50 that can, basically, do everything that the higher-priced S70 can do.

Personally, I love this. I know people hate subscriptions, and I get that. I’m one of those people. But I see this as an opportunity. It allows you to choose whether or not you want the extra data or the enhanced experience.

Or, maybe you don’t want or need these extras initially but don’t want to close the door on the possibility of adding them down the road. With the S50, you now have that flexibility.

And at $99 a year, I think it’s actually a pretty good value considering that this works across all of your Garmin devices. Let’s say you have a Garmin Approach R10 or R50. That same subscription is going to get you Home Tee Hero access, which allows you to play simulated rounds on more than 43,000 golf courses.

The subscription also gives you green contour data on your golf watch, meaning you can see the breaks on all of the greens that you’re playing.

The subscription really provides quite a lot of features and benefits. And the deeper you are in the Garmin ecosystem, the better value it becomes.

So, if you know that you just want a really solid, svelte golf watch that’s going to do a great job, the S50 is an awesome option. But if at some point you decide that you want things like the virtual caddie or the better-looking graphics, you’ve got the option to upgrade.

And comparing the $400 S50 to the $700 S70, you could own the S50 and pay the annual subscription and it would take you three years to catch up to the price of the S70.

You have the same upgrade options with the S44, but with that watch, I’m not sure it’s such a great deal. With the S50, for the right user, I think it’s actually pretty compelling.

To me, the reasons why someone might still prefer the S70 comes down to size and buttons. If you like the idea of a larger watch, the 47 mm version of the S70 remains the choice. And if, like me, you prefer button navigation, the S70’s three buttons versus the S50’s two means that the S70 is the better option.

On a personal note, I’m wearing a watch 98% of the time. Usually it’s the larger Fenix 8 or a mechanical watch. I was kind of excited to try out the smaller S50, and thought it might be a really good change of pace.

For me personally, I do find it a little bit too small. Not due to screen size or anything like that, it just feels a little dainty on my wrist for lack of a better term. So just something to think about if you have larger wrists or prefer larger watches.

Should You Buy the S50?

I think the Garmin S50 is a very compelling package.

While I didn’t initially think that Garmin needed another golf watch tier, the S50 does fit a very specific use case that I think is going to resonate with a lot of people.

If you just want a good-looking golf watch that fits great, has a beautiful screen, is going to allow you to keep score, get yardages, and do all of the basic golf functions, get the Garmin S44. For $300, it’s excellent.

If you want all of those things but you also want a watch that’s going to track your health, fitness, stress, sleep, activities, and a lot more, and if you like the idea of being able to upgrade the golf features, then the S50 for $100 more is a no-brainer.

So where does that leave the S70?

Well, honestly, it’s now a little bit tougher for me to recommend Garmin’s flagship golf watch, considering you’re able to get so much of what the S70 provides with the S50.

Yes, you’d have to pay the $99-a-year subscription to get those advantages with the S50. But a lot of Garmin users are already paying that subscription for things like the added green contour features and Home Tee Hero simulation option.

Again, size options and more buttons do remain as advantages for the S70 and the reason that, for some golfers, it’s still the clear-cut winner.

But for most golfers who are looking for fitness features and a kilelr golf watch? I think the S50 may be the move.

And if I’m looking for even more robust fitness features and more of a lifestyle watch that’s really getting into the nitty gritty of tracking my health and fitness, personally, I’m probably going to spend a little bit more and go for the Garmin Fenix 8, which has been my daily driver for all of those reasons. It’s expensive, sure, at over $1,000, but it gives you way more quality of life, fitness tracking, and health features.

When you shake it all out, I see the S50 as the way to go for a lot of people. It really does hit that sweet spot in the Garmin line.

Final Thoughts on the Garmin Approach S50

If you’re trying to figure out whether to buy the S50, you’re probably also comparing that watch to the S44, S70, and maybe even something from the higher-end lines, like the Fenix 8. Hopefully, this review has helped you with those comparisons.

I’ve used all of these watches extensively. What I can tell you is that there are no wrong answers. All of them are great, it just depends on what you’re looking for.

The S50, because it lands right in the middle of the road, is the likely best golf watch for most people. It’s the one that does enough and costs enough that it’s not the most basic. And also the one that doesn’t go all the way with every last feature so that there is still a savings opportunity.

And now, with the option to upgrade the S50 for those that are interested or really want to go all-in with the Garmin brand, I think it makes it that much of an attractive option for a lot of people.

Garmin Approach S50 GPS Watch

$399

The Approach S50 might just be the best Garmin golf watch for most people. Fantastic feature set, with upgradability is a great combo.

Buy Now

We earn a commission if you click this link and make a purchase at no additional cost to you.