Garmin Approach G5 Sports GPS Receiver

Here is my opinion, straight up. The good: No additional fees for courses, solidly built, like the weatherproof feature, keeps score (if you use it but is cumbersome) and touch screen. The not so good: Most always takes 5-10 minutes to find a satellite on power up which is super frustrating and I'm located in the metro Northeast on flat terrain! Screen is dimly lit and very, very difficult to see on a sunny day and gets compounded when you put a high quality screen protector on it. Graphics on screen are tiny and very difficult to read as compared to my friends who have units that present the yardage in large fonts which you can view without picking it up to your nose! A third of the time it doesn't automatically go to the next hole and you find yourself staring at the unit like an idiot trying to advance it and wait for the actual location's distances. God forbid if one of your friends asks for yardage to the hole and you stare at the unit for 30 seconds...their immediate response is that it is a piece of junk!! Battery life is average I suspect, had to buy nicad batteries and a charger after going through two double A's sets in 3 rounds. Accuracy around the green is so-so, as I noticed if you hit 'beyond' the green even by 5-10 yards it wants to advance to the next hole but who cares about yardage here however if you are keeping score, you have to back track and somehow enter you score (I gave up on keeping score when this occurred).
All in all would I buy this again, no. Is the 'visual' layout of the green important for familiar courses, no since 90% of the time I'm playing familiar courses. The way I see it the unit is useful foro Par 3's, fairway bunker distances and your 2nd and 3rd shots to the green. All I want to know is yardage without going blind or fumbling around with satellite reception issues. I own 4 Garmin GPS's for auto's and believe they are one of the leaders in the industry but not so sure about the golfing industry!!

This golf GPS receiver is simple to use with touch screen that is quick and intuitive to use. The latest version of the software can be downloaded free as desired. In my area all the golf courses are on the system except one. There is no annual fee which was a pain with the GolfCaddy I had before purchasing the Garmin G5. When the battery runs low there is a warning and 2 simple AA batteries can be replaced easily. There are several features that can be used such as measuring shot distances with various clubs, changing the green pin placement to determine exact distance to the hole, and changing from one hole to another with a quick touch of the screen. Distances to various hazards such as sand and water can be easily obtained. I am very pleased with this recent Ebay purchase which I was able to acquire used at about 1\2 the retail new price.

I bought the Garmin Approach to replace my Golflogix unit. The approach is working great. Played with friends using lasers and the distance agrement is well within any expectations. I am on my fourth round with the same pair of rechargable batteries and its going strong. It has every course I've played so far and there is no punitive subscription fee. Garmin went out of their way to help me unregister the unit from the prior owner and get it registered to me so any software or firmware upgrades can be downloaded. No problems in direct sun as some report and its a pleasure to use.

I read all kinds of reviews about all available golf GPS units. Noticed lots of negative reviews about all brands including Garmin. I can't find anything really wrong with this product. Everything about it is superior to the Golflogix including the customer service. Ocassionally the auto hole advance doesn't work but it's simply not significant enough to complain.

I purchased this as an upgrade to the skycaddie SG3 I had before. I wanted a unit that used replaceable rechargeable batteries as that is usually the first thing to go. It provides excellent accuracy, it is easy to use, and the touchscreen features to measure distances are great. It may take a couple minutes at power up to find the satellites, but I don't find it unreasonable. The display is easily readable in direct sunlight, however you will have to view it at the proper angle.
The G5 is a definite upgrade over the skycaddie I had before and no more subscriptions and continually downloading courses.

This thing has every course in my area loaded on it. You can also get free updates from Garmin. It's accurate, you don't need to constantly try and get a reading with a laser gun and not know if you were hitting the flag or something behind the green. Fits in my bag easily and is fairly easy to see, even in the sun.

Only things I don't care for are; it takes a while for it to find a GPS signal....sometimes almost 10 minutes. Just remember to turn it on right when you get to the course or you'll be playing the first hole without it. The other thing is the battery life. It lasts 2, maybe three rounds. So, you really need to remember to charge it on a regular basis. I wish it came with a built in battery pack and longer life.

I would buy this item again though....it's probably the best thing I've found on the market as of today.