​Garmin Approach S20 GPS golf watch is designed to be worn every day

Shot detection and smartwatch skills feature on Garmin's latest wrist caddy
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The Garmin Approach S20 is a brand new smartwatch for golfers, which is designed to be worn on and off the course.

Released alongside the new Garmin TruSwing coaching aid, the latest addition to the company's esteemed range of golf GPS watches comes with mapping data for 40,000 global courses, but also works as an activity tracker, and boasts a few hidden smartwatch skills as well.

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While it's hardly rivaling the Tag Heuer Connected in the design department, the stylish strap doesn't look offensive, and comes in blue and black.

On the course it will provide distances to the front, middle and back of the green and calls out the range to hazards. It can also be used as a digital scorecard, which can be enriched with added information such as fairway accuracy and greens in regulation. What's more, the new Autoshot feature claims to automatically register the position of shots on the course and log them into the Garmin Connect app.

​Garmin Approach S20 GPS golf watch is designed to be worn every day

When you walk off the 18th hole the Approach S20 will also act as a fitness tracker to measure steps, sleep, calories burned, and you'll also get calls, texts and push notifications from your phone displayed.

Adding activity and smartwatch notifications to niche devices in an effort to make them every day devices has been the theme for Garmin over the last year. We've seen it with the new Forerunner 630 and Forerunner 235 sports watches, yet while they're far from stylish, they're small and light enough for hardcore fans.

"With the S20, we're excited to announce a new entry-level golf with distances to hazards," said Dan Bartel, Garmin vice president of worldwide sales.

"With a stylish look, the new AutoShot feature, TruSwing compatibility and activity tracking, the Approach S20 takes golfers seamlessly from the links to everyday life," he said.

The Garmin Approach S20 will be available in February 2016 in black, white and blue for .

TAGGED Garmin Golf

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James Stables

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James is the co-founder of Wareable, and he has been a technology journalist for 15 years.

He started his career at Future Publishing, James became the features editor of T3 Magazine and T3.com and was a regular contributor to TechRadar – before leaving Future Publishing to found Wareable in 2014.

James has been at the helm of Wareable since 2014 and has become one of the leading experts in wearable technologies globally. He has reviewed, tested, and covered pretty much every wearable on the market, and is passionate about the evolving industry, and wearables helping people achieve healthier and happier lives.


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