The Garmin Approach G8 is Garmin's top of the range golf GPS. I have been using this product now for 6 months and having owned other GPS devices, feel this offering must be one of the best all round GPS products currently on the market.
The basis of the unit is a 3-inch color touch display that has as standard more than 39,000 international courses pre-loaded. The greatest feature I feel is that this unit offers is the ability to upload updates free for life via a Wi-Fi connection. Yes, no monthly/annual charge and no more connecting the unit to a computer to update it. The unit itself connects very quickly to the satellites and you are not spending vasts amounts of time waiting for the unit to be available at the start of play. Its battery life is approximately 15 hours on full charge, however I do recommend trying to recharge the unit after every use as if you are a week between rounds like most of us, the unit may not last the distance over two rounds when they are a week apart.
Another feature that this Garmin offers is the "Smart Notification" feature. This feature allows you to get SMS's and emails delivered directly from your iphone via Bluetooth to unit. Thus you can have your phone on silent, leave it in your bag and still make sure that important messages can be read when they come in. A tip for using this feature with your iphones is that if you have notifications turned on, they will all flow to this device, meaning you may get way too many messages from sources such as Bloomberg etc that you may not necessary want on the golf course. But overall this is an excellent feature that sets this unit apart.
The standard screen itself is full colour and features layup arcs at 100, 150, 200 and 250 meters/yards (depending on your set up) so you know exactly how far the trouble is and how far you need to hit it when laying up. It also offers touch targeting (right) that lets you touch any point on display and get the precise distance to exact spot selected. This can be fairway, hazard, landing area, or the front, middle and back of the green.
The unit also allows you to Zero in on the pin with Green View feature. By touching the flag on the map to zoom in on the green and then dragging the flag to position it where you see it, providing a precise distance to the area selected from where you are standing.
The unit also acts as a digital scorecard and allows you to not only keep a track of your scores and up to 3 other playing partners, but also offers the ability to keep a track of fairways hit, greens in regulation and putts per round. Stats can be accessed during the round, and even downloaded to your PC afterwards. The scorecard feature allows you to score in the following formats: Stroke Play, Stableford, Skins and Match Play and offers the ability to load with adjustable handicaps. These can also be uploaded to Garmin Connect to allow for a more in-depth history of your games and performance.
A great feature that many GPS units do not offer is the Play Like feature. This features provides the user the distances to the target, adjusted for gradient associated with uphill or downhill shots. You can set the unit to offer club advice, a nice feature, but one that i have chosen to turn off.
So the cons, well there are not too many. The unit itself has auto advance, however I do find that its sometimes not to be trusted if you are on an altered format. The unit will change easily from for instance the 5th to the 6th, however go the 5th to the 7th, it does need a manual adjustment via the screen. Also, The screen does not have a protector, so I recommend getting a generic screen protector as the opportunity for scratches in the golf bag are many.
I often use this unit combined with a laser. To use a laser or GPS unit singularly has pro and cons. To use them in combination offers I feel the best of both worlds. The laser will give you an exact distance to the flag and really that's about it. It takes away thining about landing points on a green. Blind shots and non visibility of the green when using a laser means you could potentially be hitting a shot into trouble. The Garman G8 allows you to really plan how you want to attack a hole. Measurements to hazards, adjustments for gradients, lay up zones and landing spots can all be pin pointed giving you better course management, which is a major difference between a professional and an amateur.
Would I recommend this unit, absolutely. I would like to hear from other users that have experiences with the G8. Remember to sign up to follow my blog. Thanks SJ
The unit also acts as a digital scorecard and allows you to not only keep a track of your scores and up to 3 other playing partners, but also offers the ability to keep a track of fairways hit, greens in regulation and putts per round. Stats can be accessed during the round, and even downloaded to your PC afterwards. The scorecard feature allows you to score in the following formats: Stroke Play, Stableford, Skins and Match Play and offers the ability to load with adjustable handicaps. These can also be uploaded to Garmin Connect to allow for a more in-depth history of your games and performance.
A great feature that many GPS units do not offer is the Play Like feature. This features provides the user the distances to the target, adjusted for gradient associated with uphill or downhill shots. You can set the unit to offer club advice, a nice feature, but one that i have chosen to turn off.
So the cons, well there are not too many. The unit itself has auto advance, however I do find that its sometimes not to be trusted if you are on an altered format. The unit will change easily from for instance the 5th to the 6th, however go the 5th to the 7th, it does need a manual adjustment via the screen. Also, The screen does not have a protector, so I recommend getting a generic screen protector as the opportunity for scratches in the golf bag are many.
I often use this unit combined with a laser. To use a laser or GPS unit singularly has pro and cons. To use them in combination offers I feel the best of both worlds. The laser will give you an exact distance to the flag and really that's about it. It takes away thining about landing points on a green. Blind shots and non visibility of the green when using a laser means you could potentially be hitting a shot into trouble. The Garman G8 allows you to really plan how you want to attack a hole. Measurements to hazards, adjustments for gradients, lay up zones and landing spots can all be pin pointed giving you better course management, which is a major difference between a professional and an amateur.
Would I recommend this unit, absolutely. I would like to hear from other users that have experiences with the G8. Remember to sign up to follow my blog. Thanks SJ
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