Garmin Approach G30 Golf GPS

This is a handy, easy-to-use gadget. It worked straight out of the box, although I could use the USB port on my trolley to run it even if the battery was 0%.I connected it to my laptop to charge it fully and was immediately offered course updates by the Garmin Express app. These loaded fairly quickly, but when I switched it back on the following day, the home screen hung for ages. Presumably this was the device configuring the updates. This took at least 5 minutes but the device works completely normally now.I've had a couple of shotgun starts recently and the device knows exactly which hole you are on as soon as you've selected the course.It's got more features than I will use, but I'm very happy with it so far.

My old Garmin approach could no longer connect to GPS. This updated version, although smaller, is easy to read and identifies the course quite quickly. It shows the pictorial layout of each hole with distances to the green and hazards in between, all on the same screen. My friends with watches frequently ask me how far to a hazard and for dog legs, which direction the fairway goes, as they need to press buttons to look at different screens. I fully recommend this product purchased from American Golf.

Great little device. Decent sized screen with plenty of features. I tend to use the main screen with front, middle and back distances. Think this is probably better than a watch which I also considered due to the screen size. It can be a bit on the slow side for GPS to kick in and find available courses but not significantly so. The reason I gave it four stars is I have started wearing winter gloves due to the links breeze. So takes a couple of attempts to get the touch screen to work but it does work eventually. At the price I think it is great. I did have a handheld rangefinder but found my hands shook to much to get an accurate flag distance. Would recommend this product.

Good but could be better

I purchased the Garmin G30 to replace a much-loved (other brand) GPS hand held that eventually died after many years. I thought the Gamin would be a good replacement. I've used it several times and like the scoring feature. The unit is a bit small, and it has frozen up on me several times. I've not tried linking it to my phone. The scoring function is rather good, but you must remember to hit the check mark to record your score, then hit the back arrow twice to return to the hole so that it advances to the next hole. What I find a bit off is I need to select the course I am playing and the hole I am starting on (in the case of shot gun starts). If it has GPS, why does it not know where I am? I accidentally selected the wrong course, and it told me I was 485 yards ... MoreI purchased the Garmin G30 to replace a much-loved (other brand) GPS hand held that eventually died after many years. I thought the Gamin would be a good replacement. I've used it several times and like the scoring feature. The unit is a bit small, and it has frozen up on me several times. I've not tried linking it to my phone. The scoring function is rather good, but you must remember to hit the check mark to record your score, then hit the back arrow twice to return to the hole so that it advances to the next hole. What I find a bit off is I need to select the course I am playing and the hole I am starting on (in the case of shot gun starts). If it has GPS, why does it not know where I am? I accidentally selected the wrong course, and it told me I was 485 yards from the first green. I was at least 5 miles from the entrance to that course.....It makes me wonder how good the GPS really is or if there is a certain amount of canned information in this GPS unit.....Not entirely the performance I expected from a Garmin.

Good for beginner golfers

Took this out for a quick round last weekend, worked just fine, met my basic needs. I've tried smartphone apps but couldn't see the screen in bright sunlight; in contrast, this unit's display is still readable. It's easy to use, relatively intuitive, boots up and finds satellites pretty quickly. Screen resolution is sufficient. It's unobtrusive, didn't bother me whether I carried it in my pocket, stuck it on my push cart, or clipped it into my waistband. You can leave the unit on during the whole round so that the info is always displayed; if you use the belt clip and the slide the unit with screen down, you don't even need to lock the screen. The waistband/belt clip has good retention hold on the unit. It doesn't track shots, but at least it has a measurement ... MoreTook this out for a quick round last weekend, worked just fine, met my basic needs. I've tried smartphone apps but couldn't see the screen in bright sunlight; in contrast, this unit's display is still readable. It's easy to use, relatively intuitive, boots up and finds satellites pretty quickly. Screen resolution is sufficient. It's unobtrusive, didn't bother me whether I carried it in my pocket, stuck it on my push cart, or clipped it into my waistband. You can leave the unit on during the whole round so that the info is always displayed; if you use the belt clip and the slide the unit with screen down, you don't even need to lock the screen. The waistband/belt clip has good retention hold on the unit. It doesn't track shots, but at least it has a measurement function if you want to measure a good drive. Hole auto-advance function is nice, it automatically prompts you to enter a score as you move to the next hole. If you just want quick at-a-glance info, want a decent idea of yardage, and don't want to waste too much time on the course fiddling around with phones or laser rangefinders, give this unit a go.

Good overall golf gps

Played my first round with the Approach G30 on 4/1/17. It started quickly and immediately recognized the course I was playing, but took 2-3 attempts to achieve a connection with the satellite, possibly due to the overcast and misty conditions. Took a few holes to become accustomed to how to properly navigate through all the options for scoring, putts, fairways hit and then advancing to the next hole. People with larger fingers will likely have a difficult time navigating through this device due to it's size, which is even smaller than I anticipated. My previous device was a SkyCaddie SGXw, which is noticeably larger than the G30 and a bit easier to navigate in my opinion. I decided to get rid of the SkyCaddie because of battery issues and the fact that it cost $50 ... MorePlayed my first round with the Approach G30 on 4/1/17. It started quickly and immediately recognized the course I was playing, but took 2-3 attempts to achieve a connection with the satellite, possibly due to the overcast and misty conditions. Took a few holes to become accustomed to how to properly navigate through all the options for scoring, putts, fairways hit and then advancing to the next hole. People with larger fingers will likely have a difficult time navigating through this device due to it's size, which is even smaller than I anticipated. My previous device was a SkyCaddie SGXw, which is noticeably larger than the G30 and a bit easier to navigate in my opinion. I decided to get rid of the SkyCaddie because of battery issues and the fact that it cost $50 per year to register to be able to use. The G30 has no yearly fees for usage and states it's pre-loaded with over 40,000 courses. Played 18 holes in approx. 3 hours and 30 minutes and still had 80% battery life remaining. The yardages appeared to be accurate, within 1-3 yards of my friends laser. Here are a list of the pros and cons. Pros: Starts quickly, noticed the course I was on quickly, yardages and hazards appeared to accurate, big numbers mode makes it easy to see distances for those of us with less then sterling eyesight, able to keep my score after a bit of trial and error, takes awhile to get used to it's smaller size, easy to view your stats via Garmin Connect, charges quickly, battery life appears to be excellent. Appears as though you could likely squeeze in 3 full rounds of use out of this device, if you're rounds don't take 5 hours each. Cons: Depending on the size of your hand and fingers, the small size could be an issue with being able to properly navigate the device, takes quite a few holes to feel your way through the device. Using the touch screen took quite awhile to adjust to, hitting the function you wanted didn't always work the first few times you attempted to use them. Overall I really enjoyed my first venture with the G30, my only wish is that this device be a bit larger in order to promote easier usage. I would recommend this device to most who enjoy a good golf GPS device, that's fairly easy to use and give you all the info and options for scoring stats, distances and hazards that you desire.

Great Device That Doesn't Require A Degree In Rocket Science To Use

Perfect size device that easily fits in the palm of your hand and has a useful amouñt òf information when out on the course. Syncs easily with the Garmin Connect App and their Tru Swing Golf Analyzer. Access to Tru Swing Metrics rìght from the G30 ìs really helpful when pĺaying so you can see what you are doing right or wrong after any shot that has the Tru Swing attached to the club. Screens are easy to navigate and the four còrners allow you access to all the info you need. Scorecard can record scores for a foursome and you can access the scorecard to adjusts scores at any time. Belt clip is handy but nòt ideal as it takes me a little to long to get it back in the clip. I bought there lanyard attachment so I can leave it on my beĺt and raise it to see the info I ... MorePerfect size device that easily fits in the palm of your hand and has a useful amouñt òf information when out on the course. Syncs easily with the Garmin Connect App and their Tru Swing Golf Analyzer. Access to Tru Swing Metrics rìght from the G30 ìs really helpful when pĺaying so you can see what you are doing right or wrong after any shot that has the Tru Swing attached to the club. Screens are easy to navigate and the four còrners allow you access to all the info you need. Scorecard can record scores for a foursome and you can access the scorecard to adjusts scores at any time. Belt clip is handy but nòt ideal as it takes me a little to long to get it back in the clip. I bought there lanyard attachment so I can leave it on my beĺt and raise it to see the info I want. Ì wear a Samsung Gear 3 smart watch so having a golf GPS watch ìs cumbersome and too small to be useful fòr my aging eyes. This is an excellent device that is unobtrusive, light and can actually provide battery life for more than 2 rounds. Rockbottom price and shipping were excellent and Garmin customer service is actually staffed with knowledgeable people who handle inquiries well. The hold time was rather lengthy at 25 minutes but using their leave a call back number made it painless. They called back before their announced hold time and that maķes ìt a pleasure rather than listening to hold music. Anyone looking for an alternative to a large handheld ĢPS or GPS watch should get one of these. As for using my smartphone, no way! Battery drain, data usage, possibility of losing it or damaging it makes it a poor substitutefor a dedicated device. Check the G30 Approach out. You will be pleasantly surprised and there are no subscriptions required for their updates.

Improved golf GPS

I bought it to replace a Garmin G3 that I’ve had for many years. It has all the same functions as before with the benefit of a longer battery life and rechargeable instead of using AA batteries. Big improvement. It is smaller and easily fits in a pocket. The belt clip works very well and the GPS clips easily in and off the belt clip. Selection on the screen requires a finger touch and can no longer be done with the end of a tee or pencil which is not as precise and causes some errors when the menu selections are small type and close together. But getting use to the screen display minimizes the errors. The numbers are larger when scoring and selecting holes which is compatible with the finger touch and makes it very easy to select. Overall it is an improvement on a ... MoreI bought it to replace a Garmin G3 that I’ve had for many years. It has all the same functions as before with the benefit of a longer battery life and rechargeable instead of using AA batteries. Big improvement. It is smaller and easily fits in a pocket. The belt clip works very well and the GPS clips easily in and off the belt clip. Selection on the screen requires a finger touch and can no longer be done with the end of a tee or pencil which is not as precise and causes some errors when the menu selections are small type and close together. But getting use to the screen display minimizes the errors. The numbers are larger when scoring and selecting holes which is compatible with the finger touch and makes it very easy to select. Overall it is an improvement on a good GPS unit and I enjoy using it.

Simply good

Convenient pocket size. Good graphics. Easy to read. I like the measure shot and flag placement features. Sometimes a little slow to update distance. I prefer my scope from about 50 yards or less, but this is great for long shots and hazards. Accuracy is way better than the Swami 6000 that I returned. Looking forward to traveling and using it on courses I'm not familiar with