Garmin Approach S50 review: a mid-range banger that shoots well below its handicap | Tech Radar

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The Garmin Approach S50 is a mid-range golf watch that could give some premium devices a scare

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The Garmin Approach S50 is a brilliant mid-range golf watch that offers it all: from superb on-course performance, to the right balance of fitness and day-to-day functionality, and from its build to its price point, there’s not much to fault here. However, some familiar Garmin golf watch grievances do hold it back a little, but despite those, the S50 really could give some more premium devices the heeby-jeebies.

+Garmin pedigree shines through for golf, fitness, and health

Garmin pedigree shines through for golf, fitness, and health

-Short charging cable combines with Garmin’s inelegant proprietary charging solution

Short charging cable combines with Garmin’s inelegant proprietary charging solution

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Sitting in the mid-range of the brand’s golf watch range, the Garmin Approach S50 is an excellent course companion. It includes all of the brand’s suite of excellent golfing features, as well as just the right amount of extra health and fitness, and everyday functionality to offer a golf-first, near-complete package.

It’s the golfing pedigree that shines the brightest, of course, and it puts those features into action brilliantly as a course companion. It enhanced my time and game on the course with its accurate yardages, automatic shot tracking and score logging, golf course and hole graphics, and the excellent Plays Like feature — which factors in elevation and weather — is brilliant.

The design and build are of excellent quality, too, with the S50 having more of a lifestyle-friendly design and form than others in the Approach range. Combine this with some very friendly day-to-day functionality and a host of fitness and health features that are excellent to use, and the package becomes even clearer.

I still reserve a strong dislike for Garmin’s own proprietary charging method, which only gets more intense when combined with a super short charging cable, but this is a wider problem shared by the S50, not unique to it. Elsewhere, it’s easy to use on-screen, and its battery life is strong, offering more than two rounds of golf’s worth of juice before needing to even consider charging.

All in, however, the S50 could really give some more premium devices a scare with its overall offering, and for those who are put off by the higher-end Garmin Approach S70’s hefty price tag, this could be the perfect solution and new golf course companion.

Garmin Approach S50 Golf Watch (Black) at Amazon for $324.99

Smartwatch mode: Up to 10 days; GPS only: Up to 15 hours

Smartwatch mode: Up to 10 days; GPS only: Up to 15 hours

Coming in right in the middle between the high-end Approach S70 watch and the budget, entry-level Approach S12, the Garmin Approach S50 is targeting the middle ground of its golf watch lineup. And does so successfully from a price and value perspective.

The balance of features on offer, its overall performance, and everything that getting into the Garmin Golf ecosystem gives you, all on an AMOLED watch with the brand’s best on-course elements — while still coming in considerably less than the S70 is excellent. In fact, I’d wager that the S50 might have the S70 worried from a value perspective, as only a couple of compromises could get you down to the S50 from the S70 and save you a bunch of cash.

The S50 is joined in the middle of the Garmin golf watch pack by the S44, released at the same time late last year. This offers a much leaner mid-range experience, without being a totally entry-level device. With the S50 being less than

A small wrinkle for me on price was that I found the default strap to be really sub-par and swapped it out for another from Garmin; this naturally increases the overall cost of the S50, but the freedom to change straps and pick an alternative for one you like is welcome.

Lightweight and robust build but default strap is lame

Broadly speaking, the S50 is the same size as its Approach siblings, and that comes from being built around a 1.2” / 30.4mm display, with no other size options. There’s no chunky bezel here either, and in fact, the S50’s display edge isn’t raised like the S70. As a result, the S50 is much more reminiscent of an everyday smartwatch like the more recent Samsung Galaxy models.

Two compact buttons positioned on the right-hand side, and the easily removable watch strap system on all Garmin watches, round out the design to create a compact and tidy build that can look like a lifestyle watch and is robust to boot.

The screen is lovely and clear. And while it can’t hold a candle to the MARQ Golfer (Gen 2)’s domed screen, which I loved, the S50’s display works well here. Fairways and course maps are a vibrant green on the wrist, figures are crisp and clear at a glance, and even though I don’t like Garmin’s font at all, health features, settings, and menus are all clear and easily readable.

I do far prefer the three-button control on the S70 and MARQ Golfer (Gen 2) for ease of navigation and input, with the latter devices providing more easy ways to navigate systems and menus to get to where you need to be. Of course, given time it soon becomes easy to use and intuitive.

The biggest design gripes I have are with the default strap, which I found, despite its comfort, very fiddly to use every time, and the inelegant Garmin charging solution with a short cable and the port on the back of the watch.

Includes all Garmin’s golf features, including Plays Like

The Garmin Approach S50 includes all the (non-subscription-based) golf features that set the best Garmin watches apart, and that includes the excellent Plays Like feature - Garmin’s own tool which will factor in weather and elevation difference between your location and the target to give you accurate, ‘real’ yardages, not just those based on straight lines on a 2D map.

In fact, positioning itself as the cheapest watch in the range that offers this feature is a very helpful way of identifying itself to golfers who are looking for the best features, but not anything outrageous price-wise. On the course, I found all the yardages to be excellently accurate and well presented on the crystal clear AMOLED color screen, and features like the Auto Shot tech, swing temp meter, and green view (and more) were typically superb to use.

Away from golf, there’s a host of Garmin’s usual, and excellent, health and fitness trackers, which are super for the active golfer looking to monitor their wellness off the course. This sets it apart from the rest of the cheaper watches in the Approach range, and these include features such as sleep tracking, body battery, stress, and more, all of which perform as expected.

As far as daily watch features go, the S50 is perfectly functional and has been a solid if unspectacular companion for messaging, music control, and other daily use.

I found the battery life to be as Garmin described, too, going days and days in normal smartwatch mode before needing to charge, and easily getting two rounds in before having to think about charging it up when using it mainly for golf.

As expected, the Approach S50 is a joy on the course, and offers exactly the top-level of performance I’d expect from a Garmin golf watch. The features are super, the courses are presented clearly, the yardages are accurate, and the full suite of features that includes the Plays Like distance element is all fantastic.

Switching between the Plays Like yardage of a hole and the on-paper yardage of a hole, and navigating courses clearly through the watch’s crisp screen, is a joy. You’ll get all the accuracy you’d expect, which can then be elevated even more with a Garmin Golf Subscription, should you wish.

The health and fitness features are also fantastic (typical Garmin), and perform with accuracy, ease of interaction, and help to ensure the watch offers something away from, or complementary to, the course.

There are a few Garmin-isms that I continue to dislike personally, that the S50 features such as the font and the way it displays the original messages from Whats App chats by default rather than the latest (Garmin has announced that there is better Whats App integration now available for some of its devices — but not its golf watches, at least yet, anyway). Battery life holds up as promised, and I found it to reflect Garmin’s own description pretty much like for like, but the very short cable combined with Garmin’s inelegant solution of where you attach the charger (on the back of the watch, which then has to lie face down, at least initially) makes for a couple more small frustrations.

The aforementioned two-button control system takes a bit of getting used to, especially if you’re coming from a different control setup, but give it enough time, and it’ll become second nature. Until I switched straps, however, I would also argue that the default one hindered the watch’s performance personally, as it detracted from using it and wearing it somewhat.

Offering robust value for money in the mid-range of Garmin golf watches, the S50 encapsulates the best of the golfing elements and combines them with a solid suite of fitness tracking features to offer a good value package.

Offering robust value for money in the mid-range of Garmin golf watches, the S50 encapsulates the best of the golfing elements and combines them with a solid suite of fitness tracking features to offer a good value package.

The default strap is not one I’m a fan of or enjoy, and some Garmin design-isms remain, which hold the design score back a point. The screen, however, is excellent as usual, and the buttons are easy to use and intuitive.

The default strap is not one I’m a fan of or enjoy, and some Garmin design-isms remain, which hold the design score back a point. The screen, however, is excellent as usual, and the buttons are easy to use and intuitive.

Combining excellent golf features from Garmin, including the Plays Like element, with Garmin’s usual brilliance in fitness and health features, and the usual robustness in being an everyday device, the feature-set is a strong proposition on the S50.

Combining excellent golf features from Garmin, including the Plays Like element, with Garmin’s usual brilliance in fitness and health features, and the usual robustness in being an everyday device, the feature-set is a strong proposition on the S50.

Featuring all the Garmin golf feature greatness that you’d expect, the S50 is a brilliant watch on the course and a joy to use to improve one’s game and rounds. It’s supported by strong but unspectacular daily smartwatch performance to offer a full package.

Featuring all the Garmin golf feature greatness that you’d expect, the S50 is a brilliant watch on the course and a joy to use to improve one’s game and rounds. It’s supported by strong but unspectacular daily smartwatch performance to offer a full package.

If you’re looking for a great Garmin golf watch that features everything you could want from the brand’s esteemed lineup of golf features, then this is a superb watch. There are not many detractors here, and the price point means the value proposition is robust, too.

If you’re looking for a great Garmin golf watch that features everything you could want from the brand’s esteemed lineup of golf features, then this is a superb watch. There are not many detractors here, and the price point means the value proposition is robust, too.

If you’re on the hunt for a mid-range golf watch that channels all that Garmin does brilliantly in the field, then the S50 is hard to beat.

The Approach S50 is the cheapest Garmin golf watch, which will still bag you the excellent Plays Like feature.

If you want a watch that will be all-singing and dancing, then you might need to consider investing more into a watch and go for something even more flashy, like the Garmin Approach S70 or even the MARQ Golfer (Gen 2).

Alternatively, if you’re looking to rein in the spending on your golf watch and are happy to consider something even more restrained or don’t fancy loads of bells and whistles, then you can save money with something like the Garmin Approach S12 or Shot Scope G6.

1.8 x 1.8 x 0.5in/47 x 47 x 13.4mm / 1.7 x 1.7 x 0.5in/42 x 42 x 12.6mm

1.8 x 1.8 x 0.5in/47 x 47 x 13.4mm / 1.7 x 1.7 x 0.5in/42 x 42 x 12.6mm

454 x 454px / 390 x 390px; 1.2in/32mm / 1.4in/35.4mm; AMOLED

454 x 454px / 390 x 390px; 1.2in/32mm / 1.4in/35.4mm; AMOLED

Smartwatch mode: Up to 10 days; GPS only: Up to 15 hours

Smartwatch mode: Up to 10 days; GPS only: Up to 15 hours

Smartwatch mode: Up to 16 days/up to 10 days; GPS mode: up to 20 hours/up to 15 hours

Smartwatch mode: Up to 16 days/up to 10 days; GPS mode: up to 20 hours/up to 15 hours

If you’re looking to get the absolute most out of your Garmin golf watch purchase and experience — but without spending the huge price of admission the MARQ Golfer requires — then the Approach S70 is the watch to go for.

If you want to keep the budget down and want to laser in on golfing prowess and focus, then Shot Scope’s G6 is a brilliant GPS-only watch.

I tested the Garmin Approach S50 on the course and off it for several months, playing multiple rounds at my home course in Somerset and a few elsewhere in the UK. I also regularly used it as my daily smartwatch, testing a whole host of its features from fitness and health to messaging.

I compared the Garmin Approach S50 to my TAG Heuer Connected Calibre E4 Golf Edition, and the Garmin MARG 2 Golfer as well as the more affordable Shot Scope G6 GPS watch, while also l, ooking back to my time with the Approach S70 for comparison.

Rob is the Managing Editor of Tech Radar Gaming and Streaming, a video games journalist, critic, editor, and writer, and has years of experience gained from multiple publications. Prior to being Tech Radar Gaming's Managing Editor, he was TRG's Deputy Editor, and a longstanding member of Games Radar+, being the Commissioning Editor for Hardware there for years, while also squeezing in a short stint as Gaming Editor at We PC just before joining Tech Radar Gaming. He is also a writer on tech, gaming hardware, and video games but also gardens and landscapes, and has written about the virtual landscapes of games for years.

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• The Garmin Approach S50 is a mid-range golf watch that could give some premium devices a scare