Budget-Friendly Golf Watches

Below are our picks for the best budget-friendly golf watches. They may not pack as many features as the more expensive watches, but they sure do perform the basics as well or better!


Best Budget-Friendly Golf GPS Watches
Garmin Approach S10 - Read Full Review

The Garmin Approach S10 is the one we've been waiting for! It's small, lightweight, and simple to use. It doesn't try to be a multi-sport watch or a smartwatch. It puts the focus squarely on golf. On the main screen, you will see distances to the front, middle, and back of the green, plus the hole number and par. The shape of the green is also right there on the same screen. Many golfers will never even need to touch the watch after starting a round. If you need hazard information, it's one screen away. You can also keep score on this watch and upload your scores to Garmin Express so your playing history is always available. Although this golf watch has all the features most golfers want, for those looking for stats or hole views, Garmin has other golf watches you will want to check out.

Rating: 4.56  
Weight: 1.2 oz.   Legal: Yes		Garmin Approach S10
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Bushnell Phantom 2 - Read Full Review

This is the perfect golf GPS for 95% of the golfers we serve. The large font and transreflective display make it easy to see in all conditions. The BITE magnet holds firmly to your cart or if you're walking, the included belt clip or carabiner make it easy to find distances when you need them. The new GreenView feature allows for more precise distance by selecting a pin position. This unit charges in under 3 hours and gets up to 18 hours of play. It's super simple to use right out of the box. And, we love that it's fully waterproof so you can leave it up on those rainy days!

Rating: 4.55  
Weight: 2.75 oz.   Legal: Yes		Bushnell Phantom 2
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Garmin Approach G12 - Read Full Review

As expected, Garmin impressed us with this feature-pack golf GPS device. The most exciting thing about the Garmin G12 is the 30-hour battery life! That doubles the battery life of the Garmin G10 and it's 10 hours more than the Bushnell Phantom 2. At this price point, this will be the deciding factor for many golfers. Others will choose this model to use with the Garmin Approach CT10 Club Tracking System. The Garmin Approach G12 matches or exceeds the features of other golf GPS units in the same category. The price is a little bit higher, but if it's in your budget, the battery life, stat tracking, and analysis tools, make this worthy of your shortlist!

Rating: 4.48
Weight: .9 oz.   Legal: Yes
Izzo Swami 6000 - Read Full Review

The Izzo Swami 6000 has a colorful screen with LARGE easy-to-read distances to the front, middle, and back of every green. That alone makes this the ideal pick for anyone who might struggle to see the numbers on other golf GPS devices. Honestly, it's just nicer to look at than others in this price range. We're also impressed by the rave reviews on battery life. Izzo claims 16 hours and users seem to agree. Although the Swami 6000 has a built-in scorecard, users struggled to use it. If you don't record your score before heading to the next tee, it forwards to the next hole and you can't go back until you're 60 yards down the next fairway. That's not exactly the perfect time to enter your score, so we don't recommend this model if scorekeeping is on your desired feature list. The price point on this model is perfect for what it offers. It's easy to see and easy to use. It also provides distances to hazards and doglegs and a strong magnet for mounting to your cart or the included belt clip.

Rating: 4.42  
Weight: 3.4 oz.   Legal: Yes		Izzo Swami 6000
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GolfBuddy Voice 2 SE - Read Full Review

GolfBuddy has a winning formula with its GB Voice line. It's small, easy to use, lightweight, with an LCD screen, as well as voice distances. Plus, it's budget-friendly. The GolfBuddy GB Voice 2 SE increases the battery life over previous models to up to 20 hours. That's the most important feature of this solid performing compact golf GPS. We love it! We also love that you can see distances to the front, middle, and back of each green and also switch over to see the shape of the green when you want. It comes preloaded with 40,000 golf courses and can be updated using GolfBuddy GB Manager.

Rating: 4.41  
Weight: 1.1 oz.   Legal: Yes		GolfBuddy Voice 2 SE
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Bushnell Neo Ion Review

The Bushnell Neo Ion has been retired. Check out our current recommendations for today's best golf rangefinders..

'Bushnell Neo Ion'

Bushnell Neo Ion
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Our Bushnell Neo Ion Review is based upon lots of user feedback. We look for common themes, whether they are praise or complaints and summarize our findings.

Bushnell Neo Ion User Rating: 4.24 Stars 4.24 out of 5 (443 reviews)

Score compiled from multiple sources.

Although there are golf watches that do much more than the Bushnell Neo Ion, this is the golf watch that we believe most golfers should buy! It is simple to use, provides distances to the front, middle, and back of the greens, as well as hazards. In our experience, that is the information that most golfers need and want on their golf watches.

Don’t get us wrong, we love the Garmin golf watches that have smartwatch features and fitness trackers built in, but for the basics, the Bushnell Neo Ion is our top pick!

It’s also available in white and usually it’s much less expensive than other colors. Check it out!

Let’s start with the Neo Ion’s key features:
  • Pre-loaded with 35,000+ courses from 30 countries
  • Outstanding Battery Life will last three full rounds
  • Auto course recognition and auto hole advance
  • Up to 4 Hazard/Layup distances per hole
  • Shot distance calculator
  • Comfortable dual injected silicone sports band
  • Round odometer
  • No membership or download fees

Let’s just say the ratings on this golf watch are excellent – among the best we’ve seen for a golf watch. Bushnell doesn’t get fancy with a touchscreen or graphics, but they continue to make significant improvements with each new golf watch they release. Full battery indicator for Bushnell Neo Ion

The best part of the Bushnell Neo Ion is the battery life. This was the most talked about feature and users loved they could play three full rounds before charging it.

Accuracy in golf GPS devices is often misunderstood and very difficult to compare. The reason is that there are multiple factors that determine the accuracy of the distances, which means that each user’s experience in any given situation may be different. Therefore, most of the time we’ll find both positive and negative comments regarding accuracy. Amazingly, we haven’t heard anything negative about the accuracy of the Bushnell Neo Ion’s accuracy. We’re not saying it will always be perfect, just that there were lots of positive comments and zero negative comments in the feedback we reviewed.

Besides battery life, we think “ease of use” should be the biggest factor in choosing a golf GPS. There was no shortage of positive comments on the subject and again, not even one negative. With that said, there were several users who complained that there were only two hazards or layups listed per hole. Most likely the reason for the complaint is that these users didn’t know how to scroll down to the second page. (FYI: the button on the bottom right of the watch will do it!)

Users really like the look of the Bushnell Neo Ion and felt it improved their games. They overall felt great about the value and also the number of courses.

There weren’t all that many complaints about the Bushnell Neo Ion, but several people did mention that the Auto Course Recognition was slow. After it found the course, there no complaints about the responsiveness.

A few users had defective units and a couple of those users were unhappy with the customer service. There were also a few complaints about the durability of the watchband. Several users also struggled with getting the charging clip connected. I don’t believe any of them considered that a deal breaker, but rather were wishing it was a little easier.

Keep in mind that 80% of the user feedback was positive. We think this is an excellent choice and as of this writing, are putting it at the top of recommended golf watches list.

Bushnell Neo Ion Golf Watch Specifications
Bushnell Neo Ion
Course Download Fees No
Pre-loaded with Courses 33,000
Full Hole Views Yes
Slope / Elevation No
Battery Life 16 hours GPS
Battery rechargeable
Size (Width x Height x Depth) .59 in. x 1.77 in. x N/A in.
Measure Shot Distance Yes
Screen Size .91x.91
Resolution N/A
Display Type monochrome LCD
Weight 1.8 oz.
Rainproof Yes
Touch Screen No
Touch Targeting No
Manual Pin Positioning No
Stat Tracker No
Digital Scorecard No
Computer Analysis Tools No
Ground Verified No
Alternate Targets Yes
Green Rotates to your shot angle N/A
USGA Compliant (local rule) Yes
Notes -
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User Manual for Bushnell Neo Ion

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Garmin vívoactive Review

The Garmin vivoactive has been retired. Check out our current recommendations for today's best golf rangefinders..

'Garmin vivoactive'

Garmin vivoactive
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This is our Garmin Vivoactive review. If you are looking for a model that includes heart rate, check out the Vivoactive HR.

Garmin vivoactive User Rating: 4.00 Stars 4.00 out of 5 (1613 reviews)

Score compiled from multiple sources.

The Garmin Vivoactive gets good reviews as a multi-sport watch. However, there is minimal feedback from golfers on this watch. We don’t think it’s the best golf watch out there, but if you want a multi-sport smartwatch that you can use for golf as well running, biking, swimming, and/or walking, this is a really good value.

If you are looking for a golf watch with a nice activity tracker built-in, we suggest the Garmin Approach S20.

For Golfers: You get distance to the front, middle and back of every green, plus distances to layups and doglegs. It also has a shot measuring feature and a stroke-play scorecard for one player.

What you won’t get that can be found on most golf watches are distances to hazards, green shapes, and in many cases manual pin placements. If you’re not looking for a multi-sport watch, we suggest taking a look at our picks for “Best Golf Watch“.

Beyond Golf: The vívoactive is thin and lightweight, with a very readable screen. Apps for golf, running, swimming, biking and walking are built right into the watch. Garmin has been a leader in all of these sports watch markets for years.

The vívoactive has an accelerometer, so it also serves as a fitness tracker to track your steps and daily activity. It will even remind you if you haven’t been moving for awhile.

Like the latest Garmin golf watches, the vívoactive will have access to notifications from your smartphone. And like any good smartwatch, you’ll also be able to customize the look of your watch face!

Garmin also allows third-party developers to create apps for the vívoactive. That means many other apps will be available and already you can find a weather app, stock market app and more. We think it’s possible that a third-party golf app might even be able to make it a better golf watch in the future.

Garmin vivoactive Specifications
Garmin vivoactive
Course Download Fees No
Pre-loaded with Courses N/A
Full Hole Views Yes
Slope / Elevation N/A
Battery Life 10 hrs / 3 wks
Battery rechargeable lithium
Size (Width x Height x Depth) 1.52 in. x 1.72 in. x .32 in.
Measure Shot Distance Yes
Screen Size 1.13 x .8
Resolution 205 x 148
Display Type color touchscreen
Weight 1.34 oz.
Rainproof Yes
Touch Screen Yes
Touch Targeting No
Manual Pin Positioning No
Stat Tracker No
Digital Scorecard Yes
Computer Analysis Tools Yes
Ground Verified N/A
Alternate Targets Yes
Green Rotates to your shot angle N/A
USGA Compliant (local rule) Yes
Notes Where to start... Smartwatch, fitness tracker, all sports watch.
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Swami Sport GPS Review

The Izzo Swami Sport has been retired. Check out our current recommendations for today's best golf rangefinders..

'Izzo Swami Sport'

Izzo Swami Sport
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Our Swami Sport GPS Review will be completed in the coming weeks, but at first glance we think this unit looks like a great fit for a select set of golfers. First of all, the price is right for anyone on a budget. Secondly, we love the way this unit is designed to clip onto a golf bag. Honestly, other than having a golf watch on your wrist, we think clipping a GPS right on your bag is the most convenient place to have it. The bold, bright color will ensure that you don’t have trouble spotting it!

Izzo Swami Sport User Rating: 3.46 Stars 3.46 out of 5 (138 reviews)

Score compiled from multiple sources.

The unit displays distance to the center in a large font and the distances to front and back in a medium sized font. The hole number, par and time of day are in a small font, but it’s nice that everything shows on the main screen. As the long is it changes holes automatically, there wouldn’t be any need to touch the unit during the round. However, in some Izzo devices, we’ve found that if left in a cart away from the green, the auto hole advance does not work. On this unit, it looks like easy enough to change holes manually with the press of a button.

It’s certainly small enough to carry in your pocket, but accidental button presses could be a problem.

Izzo continues to put out quality low cost golf GPS units that deliver simplicity and accuracy, so we’re anxious to put this one to the test.

Notable Features of the Swami Sport Golf GPS
  • Distance to front, middle and back of the green on the main screen.
  • Pre-loaded with over 30,000 golf courses worldwide.
  • No computer downloads or annual subscription required.
  • Simple and easy to read display
  • Main screen includes hole number, par, and time of day.
  • Rechargeable Lithium Ion Battery lasts up to two rounds.
  • Includes carabineer and USB charging cable.
Izzo Swami Sport Specifications
Izzo Swami Sport
Course Download Fees No
Pre-loaded with Courses Yes
Full Hole Views Yes
Slope / Elevation No
Battery Life up to 2 rounds
Battery rechargeable Li-ion
Size (Width x Height x Depth) N/A in. x N/A in. x N/A in.
Measure Shot Distance No
Screen Size N/A
Resolution mono
Display Type LCD
Weight N/A oz.
Rainproof N/A
Touch Screen No
Touch Targeting No
Manual Pin Positioning No
Stat Tracker No
Digital Scorecard No
Computer Analysis Tools N/A
Ground Verified N/A
Alternate Targets No
Green Rotates to your shot angle N/A
USGA Compliant (local rule) Yes
Notes includes carabineer clip
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GolfRangefinderShop.com is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program. If you buy anything after clicking through, we get a small commission at no extra cost to you. It helps us keep the site up and running, so thank you! We work very hard to obtain the correct information about product features, but cannot make any guarantees about the accuracy. Please double check with the merchant or manufacturer before making a purchase.
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Izzo Swami 4000 Video Review

We love the Izzo Swami 4000 for its simplicity, price and big numbers! Click the image below to play our video review of the Izzo Swami 4000. For our written review, click here.


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