6 Best Golf GPS In 2026 (Watches & Handhelds)

How many times have you walked up to your ball, grabbed the perfect club, and ended up 20 yards long or short of your target? I’m sure you know the feeling, but guess what, having a GPS to give you the yardage can solve your problem.

If I were in the market for a new golf GPS, these are the ones I’d consider (I’m currently using Shot Scope). Not all of them have the most features, but they’re some of the best options at different price points.

You can click one of the links above to jump to a specific device. You can also click here to jump to the section on how to pick the right GPS unit.

Best Watch: Garmin Approach S70

The Pros:

• It’s the highest-quality golf watch
• It comes with features for on and off the course
• It does almost everything you’d want on the course

The Cons:

• The price
• The Garmin app isn’t the best

If you’re in the market for a new golf watch, price isn’t a big factor, and you want the most features, the S70 is the one for you. It’s the best GPS currently on the market and also comes with features you can use off the course.

What I like about it is that it actually looks like a real multisport watch. The way it looks and overall quality means it’s something you’d be comfortable wearing away from the course.

Features like heart rate, stress and sleep tracking, and fitness apps are included. If you’re a fitness/tracking guy, you should find these things useful.

When it comes to the course, the S70 will do pretty much whatever you want. You’ll get the distance to different parts of the course, it has some performance tracking features, and best of all, comes with full hole maps.

One of my favorite features is Playslike, which takes into account elevation when giving you yardage. It’ll also give you club suggestions based on your own personal performance.

The performance tracking is pretty good, but it’s not the best (short-game stats). You can pair the S70 with the Garmin CT10 sensors to get the most accurate info.

Garmin S70

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Watch #2: Garmin Approach S42

The Pros:

• The watch quality is high
• It gives you all the essential features you’d need
• No annual fee

The Cons:

• You need the CT10 sensors to track your stats well
• You have to manually select what club you hit

If you don’t want to spend a fortune on a golf watch and also want to use it off the course, this is probably the one for you. Compared to some golf-specific watches, the S42 actually looks nice and is something you could wear out to dinner.

It’s Garmin’s middle-of-the-range model, which comes with most of what you’d need on the course. It’ll show you course yardages and you can also track your game stats and club distances in the Garmin app (the tracking is manual if you don’t use the CT10 sensors).

What’s cool about this watch is that it comes with some basic off-course features. Things such as a timer and stopwatch, phone notifications, step counter, and running/cycling profiles are included.

The main difference between the S42 and S70 is the amount of features they come with. The S42 doesn’t come with full hole maps, Playslike distances, or club suggestions.

Garmin S42

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Best Handheld: Garmin Approach G80

The Pros:

• The screen is easier to read compared to a watch
• It has everything you’d want on the course
• Can be used at the course and range

The Cons:

• The price
• A watch is more convenient to carry around

If you’re looking for a GPS that comes with the most additional features, this will be the one for you. What’s different about this is that it also comes with a built-in launch monitor.

You can use the G80 to see the distance to any part of the course. You can also use it to see stats about your game like:

• Clubhead speed
• Ball speed
• Carry distance
• Smash factor
• Virtual round

One of the features that separates the G80 from a lot of the other units is PlaysLike. This takes into account elevation and will give you a more accurate distance. 150 yards uphill will play more like 160 yards.

Another cool feature is Swing Tempo & Tempo Training. It’ll basically tell you how fast your downswing is compared to your backswing.

Those are great and all, but the main reason you’d get the G80 is because of the launch monitor. This is what you can use at the range to get a lot of useful data.

The main downside to the G80 is the price. It’s only going to make sense if you don’t care about price or you’ll actually use the launch monitor often.

Garmin G80

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Handheld #2: SkyCaddie SX400

The Pros:

• You can see the distance to every part of the course
• The battery life is better than the watches
• The courses are mapped in person

The Cons:

• It requires an annual fee
• The club tracking isn’t automatic

If you’re in the market for a handheld GPS but don’t care about having a launch monitor, this could be the perfect option for you. It’s one of the more advanced units on the market and the price is pretty reasonable.

Personally, I’d rather not carry things around with me on the course (I’d probably end up losing it). Some people really don’t like wearing watches, so if that’s the case, this is probably the way to go.

The SX400 will tell you pretty much all you’d need on the course and you can also use it to track your club distances and game stats. It’s not going to be as streamlined as the Shot Scope and Arccos systems, but it’s pretty solid.

SkyCaddie SX400

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Best Tracker: Arccos Caddie Smart Sensors

The Pros:

• The initial setup cost is reasonable
• The best game analyzing data
• Comes with advanced GPS data

The Cons:

• It has an annual fee for the full features (after the first year)
• You’ll need cell data and will have to carry your phone (without Link)

If you’re someone who doesn’t like to wear a watch or you don’t want to carry another device around, this will be the one for you. What’s cool about it is that it’s also a game analyzer.

Just like with the Shot Scope, you’ll attach sensors to each of your clubs and it’ll send data to the app. You’ll need to download the Arccos app on your phone or watch to get the GPS feature.

It’s definitely one of the best golf products I’ve ever seen. The app itself is smooth and seamless and I think it provides the most accurate data about your game.

Here are some of the key features:

• GPS data that takes into account elevation, temperature, and wind
• Automatic shot tracking
• Caddie advice (what club to hit and your optimal strategy)

The main downside comes if you’re going to be using your phone (not an Apple watch). You’ll either have to carry your phone in your front pocket or buy the Arccos Link as well.

The second downside is that it requires an annual fee. The first year is included but you’ll have to pay to keep the game analyzing features.

Other than that, these sensors are just as good as the other two units. If you really don’t like wearing watches and you want stats about your game, these will probably be the best option.

Arccos Caddie

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Tracker #2: Shot Scope X5/V5

Pros

• What you get for the price is top-notch
• Comes with more than just GPS info
• Automatically records club distances

Cons

• There are a few features not available (slope, hole layout, scorecard)
• The watch isn’t as good as the Garmin watches
• The app isn’t as good as Arccos

If you’re looking for a golf watch that’ll give you 80% of what you’d want on the course, and you also want to track your club and game stats, this will be the one for you.

It’s the one I’ve been using recently because the price can’t be beaten, it came with a lot of features, and I didn’t have to worry about carrying a handheld unit around.

I had used the Arccos system in the past because it gave me GPS data as well as tracking features. The main reason I decided to switch is that it doesn’t require an annual subscription and I don’t have to pull my phone out anymore.

What I like about Shot Scope is that it automatically tracks my distances for all clubs. I pretty much always guessed my distances and I wondered why my distance control was inconsistent. Some units do this and some don’t.

The second benefit is that it tracks fairway and green stats and you can actually see where all your shots went (on the app). This gives you a good idea of where you need to improve the most. Most watches don’t let you do this.

Here are some additional feature