Garmin S20 vs S40 – Which Is The Better Value Golf Watch

Garmin S20 vs S40 – Which Is The Better Value Golf Watch

If you are improving at golf or you’ve been around the game for some time, you will start to realize that there are a ton of gadgets that can help you to play better golf and increase your scores quickly. Dedicated golf watches are among the best of these devices as they are accurate, informative, fast and easy to use.

Garmin are the leading name in golf watches on the market right now and they have been for some time. The S20 has been, probably the leading entry level watch on the market for a long time now and the S40 is a recent watch that will cost about twice as much but it offers a ton of extra features like a color touch screen, amazing looks and changeable straps while the S20 is more focussed on simply giving you the information you need, without any flashy extras on its black and white screen.

Let’s take a deeper dive into the features of both of these watches so you can make more informed buying decision and also take a quick look at some of the other Garmin watches that might catch your eye.

	Garmin S20	Garmin S40
Worldwide Courses	35,000	35,00
Color Screen	No	Yes
Touch Screen	No	Yes
Slope	No	No
F/M/B Green	Yes	Yes
Hazards Distances	Yes	Yes
Digital Scorecard	Yes	Yes
AutoShot	Yes	Yes
Auto Hole Progression	Yes	Yes
Changeable Straps	No	Yes
Heart Rate Monitor	No	No
Price	$120	$260

The S20 – Who is It For

The S20 is not a new watch on the market but it has remained at the forefront of golf technology over the years because of the amazing value that watch offers.

There is no fancy bells and whistles and your friends jaws aren’t going to drop when you show up at the golf course with the S20 but if you want a simple advantage on the course that is reliable, dependable and tournament legal, the S20 is the perfect ally to have in your corner.

Key Features

• 35,000 courses worldwide that will load automatically on arrival.
• It will automatically progress you from hole to hole as you sink your putt and move to the next tee box.
• It also has a digital scorecard to keep track of your performance.
• Odometer and step counter to track your fitness.
• Autoshot Track how far you hit each shot and builds up your data on the free Garmin App over time.
• Shows the distance to the front middle and back of the green on every hole from wherever you are standing.
• Shows the distances and carry distance of any hazards that are on the hole ahead.
• Gives various layup options For Dog Legs, Long Par 4’s and Par 5’s.
• Battery Life that lasts 2 rounds in GPS mode or 8 – 12 days in watch mode.’
• Hooks up to your smart phone to give push notifications like calls and texts

Pros And Cons Of The S20

Pros

Reliable

Well Priced

Good Battery Life

Lot Of Features For The Price

Accuracy

Cons

Autoshot Misses Shots

Missing Features Of The Better Models

No Colour Touch Screen

Check Out More Reviews Here:

The S40 – Who Is It For?

The S40 was released in Mid 2019 and it was designed to sit between the Garmin S20 and the Garmin S60.

One of the main benefits of S40 compared to the S60 is in it’s dazzling looks and the lack of a slope features makes the S40 legal for tournaments unlike the S60.

Key Features

• The S40 has easily changeable bands and comes in various different colors and variations.
• You can download custom interfaces for the watch and it will look like you have a different watch everytime you step outside the house.
• 1.2” Color Touch Screen giving you the distance to any point on the hole for ultimate course strategy.
• Should do two rounds in GPS mode on a single charge but maybe best to give it a charge after every round.
• Pedometer and activity profiles for sports like Swimming, Cycling and Running as well as being water resistant.
• Distances To Front Middle And Back of The Green As Well As Any Hazards
• Scorecard
• Autoshot
• Auto hole progression
• Connects to your smart phone via Bluetooth for push notifications like calls and texts

Pros And Cons Of The S40

Pros

• Best Looking Watch From Garmin
• Customizable look and feel
• Watch For All The Time
• Accurate, Reliable And Easy To Use
• Legal for Tournaments

Cons

• Doesn’t Add Anything New Features To The Market
• Quite Expensive
• Screen Can Freeze

Check Out More Reviews Here:

Other Watches To Consider From Garmin

The Garmin S10

The Gamrin S10 is a more stripped down version of the S20. It came out after the S20 but it is for people who just want the most important data without any distractions and for the best price.

It performs as well as the S20 where it counts but missing features including phone connectivity, shot tracking and advanced fitness features.

This will be perfect for senior golfers or anyone who wants a basic watch to use in conjunction with a rangefinder.

The Garmin S62

While Garmin brought out the S40 in 2019, the S62 came out in early 2020 and blew everything that came before it straight out of the water.

• While the S40 improve slightly on the S60 battery life time, the S62 added another external battery to give at least 3 rounds in GPS mode which is unmatched in the game right now.
• It also added a heart rate monitor for all those of us who like other sports, not just golf.
• The colour touch screen is now larger with two on screen buttons added for easy navigation.
• You can now pay using the watch if you hook it up using your credit or debit card.
• It is got a virtual caddie feature to tell which club to play based on your previous shot history and it takes slope and wind into consideration.
• The downside is that it is not legal for tournaments with the slope mode and that it costs twice as much as the S40 at $460 but well worth it if you have the budget and want the absolute best.

Overall Recommendation Between The S20 And The S40

Both of these watches are excellent but if I had to chose one, it would be the S20 for the great value, battery life and the fsact that you get all the features you need for a lot cheaper.

For me, the S40 would only make sense if the look of the watch is really important to you or you want to use the watch in tournaments as it doesn’t have the slop feature. Other than that I would go with the S60 for the better features.

If money is not an issue, the S62 is a best of a watch and has quickly become a best seller and a top rated watch on the market.

For us the winner today is the S20 so make sure to check it out for yourself.

***WINNER***

The Garmin S20

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