Bottom Line
Choose it for premium golf GPS, battery life, and real smartwatch utility. Skip it if you want cheap value, open app support, or true on-watch calling.
Best for
Avid golfers who want premium GPS guidance, long battery life, and enough smartwatch and fitness features to justify wearing one watch every day.
Not for
Casual golfers or budget shoppers who mainly want basic yardages, plus anyone who expects broad third-party apps, true calling, or built-in music storage.
Verdict
The Garmin Approach S62 stands out because it gets the core golf job right: reviewers repeatedly praise its GPS accuracy, battery life, course views, and broad feature set. It also avoids being a one-trick golf watch by adding notifications, payments, fitness tools, and useful companion apps. The tradeoff is price, plus some limits around calling, third-party apps, and a proprietary charger. Virtual Caddie is impressive on paper and often helpful, but reviewers were split on how much they wanted to trust or rely on it. For avid golfers who want premium on-course guidance and daily-wear utility, the S62 still comes through as a high-end, well-rounded option.
Pros
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GPS performance is one of the strongest themes, with reviewers saying distances were spot on, on par with rangefinders, and consistently dependable on course.
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Battery life is one of the watch’s standout strengths, with repeated claims of multi-round use, around 14 days in smartwatch mode, and roughly 20 hours of GPS use.
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Build quality gets strong marks thanks to the ceramic bezel and premium-feeling construction that reviewers saw as suitable for both sport and daily wear.
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Menu navigation is widely described as easy to learn, with only a small learning curve before the mix of buttons and touch starts to feel natural.
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Speed and smoothness are strong positives, with reviewers calling the watch fast, fluid, and almost instantaneous in key on-course interactions.
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The larger, sharper color display is generally well liked for maps and hole views, making on-course information easier to read and use.
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Fit is well judged for golf use, with reviewers saying it sits comfortably enough for daily wear and does not interfere with the swing.
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Pairing is generally described as quick and reliable, though one reviewer reported an early setup hiccup before later trouble-free use.
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Durability is supported by comments about the band, materials, and outdoor-ready construction rather than by long-term abuse testing.
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Comfort is one of the watch’s quieter strengths, with reviewers calling it light, comfortable, and easy to wear for long stretches.
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Garmin Golf is described as intuitive, robust, and central to getting the most from the S62, especially for reviewing rounds and stats after play.
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Style is a consistent positive, with reviewers describing the S62 as sporty, modern, slick, and wearable both on and off the course.
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The S62 earns repeated praise for doing much more than golf, blending golf tools with notifications, payments, fitness tracking, and everyday smartwatch utility.
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Garmin’s app stack is described as robust and golf-focused, giving users fitness, shot, and round data without needing a broader smartwatch app ecosystem.
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The silicone band is viewed positively overall, with praise for comfort, function, interchangeability, and a durable feel.
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Cross-platform support is a strength, with reviewers explicitly saying the S62 works with both iOS and Android.
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Touch input is generally effective and is a key part of why the S62 feels more capable than simpler golf watches.
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The interface is praised for making hazard and distance information easy to summon and use during play.
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Physical buttons remain useful alongside the touchscreen, especially for quick navigation and gloved use.
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Outdoor visibility is mostly praised, with several reviewers saying the screen is easy to read in bright sun, though not everyone found it best in class.
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Virtual Caddie and plays-like guidance are feature-rich and often praised, but several reviewers also warn that trust in the recommendations depends on data quality and personal preference.
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Garmin Pay is a recurring convenience win, letting users make touchless payments and leave the wallet behind.
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Phone-linked notifications are a consistent plus, with support for texts, emails, calls, and other alerts helping the S62 feel like a real everyday smartwatch.
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Multiple reviews note Pulse Ox or blood oxygen tracking as part of the watch’s fitness toolkit, but they discuss availability rather than medical-grade precision.
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Water resistance is a clear plus, with reviewers describing the watch as waterproof or safe for swimming and wet conditions.
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Beyond golf, reviewers mention sports modes and fitness tracking for activities like swimming, cycling, running, and other workouts, giving the S62 broader training range.
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Reliability is mostly positive after setup, with reviewers describing later use as trouble-free and the watch as ready when picked up between rounds.
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Stress tracking is repeatedly listed among the health features and is framed as a useful wellness extra rather than a core golf reason to buy the watch.
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Reviewers highlight broader wellness tools like heart rate, steps, Pulse Ox, stress, sleep, and Body Battery, making the watch useful between rounds too.
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Bluetooth phone pairing underpins wind data, notifications, and syncing features, and reviews treat that connection as a normal part of using the watch well.
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Charging speed is only lightly discussed, but one review explicitly says the charger juices the watch up fast.
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Customization is modest but real, with downloadable watch faces and interchangeable strap options giving users some room to personalize the watch.
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Recovery-oriented feedback comes through Garmin’s recharge and Body Battery features, giving users a simple read on how rested they are.
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Value is the main tradeoff: many reviewers think the feature set justifies the price for serious golfers, but several also stress that casual players may be better served by cheaper options.
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Brightness feedback is mixed: some reviewers call the screen super bright, while others say it is dimmer than hoped or less readable than top rivals.
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Music control support is present for phone playback, but the watch is discussed more as a controller than as a self-contained music device.
Cons
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Charging convenience is weaker because Garmin’s proprietary cable is seen as less handy than a standard USB-C solution.
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Third-party app support is a weak point, with reviewers noting that Wear OS and Apple watchOS app breadth is out of reach here.
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Call handling is limited: reviewers note that you cannot truly take calls on the watch, and one review says only Android users get partial text or call controls.
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One review explicitly calls out the lack of onboard music storage, making this a clear weakness for users who want phone-free listening.
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Voice assistant support is effectively absent, with one reviewer explicitly noting that there is no Siri-type feature.
FAQ
Is the Garmin Approach S62 only good for golf?
No. Reviews repeatedly describe it as more than a golf watch, highlighting notifications, Garmin Pay, fitness tracking, and multiple sport modes in addition to on-course tools.
How good is the battery life in real use?
Battery life is one of the strongest themes across reviews. Multiple reviewers cite about 14 days in smartwatch mode, roughly 20 hours of GPS use, and enough juice for multiple rounds between charges.
Does Virtual Caddie actually help?
Usually, yes, but with caveats. Several reviews praise the feature and its wind and slope inputs, while others say trust depends on how clean your shot data is and whether you want the watch making club suggestions at all.
Is the S62 worth the price?
For serious golfers, many reviewers think so because of the GPS quality, battery life, and feature depth. For occasional players who only need simple distances, several reviews suggest a cheaper watch may be the smarter buy.
Reviews we analyzed
Video Reviews
Article Reviews
Best Smart Watch
#1
4.5
Choose it for class-leading battery life, precise GPS, and deep training/tactical tools. Skip it if the price feels excessive, you want LTE, or...
Pros: GPS accuracy, coaching features, app ecosystem, customization options, display quality, outdoor visibility, build quality
Cons: LTE connectivity, charging convenience, value for money, band quality
#2
4.4
Choose it for the bright screen, smooth Wear OS experience, and strong fitness features. Skip it if you need long battery life or...
Pros: brightness, outdoor visibility, user interface, workout tracking variety, activity auto-detection, display quality, reliability
Cons: touchscreen responsiveness, cross-platform compatibility, button controls, blood oxygen tracking
#3
4.3
Choose the Ultra 3 if you want Apple’s biggest screen, strong GPS, and satellite safety in one smartwatch. Skip it if you need...
Pros: display quality, brightness, outdoor visibility, app ecosystem, smartwatch features, water resistance, workout tracking variety
Cons: cross-platform compatibility, size options, value for money, fit, companion app quality, coaching features
#4
4.3
Choose it for top-tier GPS and phone-free LTE safety. Skip it if you do not need those extras or if the big case...
Pros: GPS accuracy, workout tracking variety, pairing reliability, user interface, build quality, fitness tracking accuracy, heart rate accuracy
Cons: size options, fit, value for money, comfort, software smoothness