I can see clear signs of intensifying competition in the golf rangefinder watches market. This is well illustrated by the recently launched SkyCaddie SW2 Watch. The new SkyCaddie watch comes with preloaded and ready-to-play with golf’s only fee-free, ground-corrected precision course maps, covering approximately 35,000 golf courses around the world, including 99% of courses in Great Britain and Ireland.
SkyCaddie rangefinder went through a couple of changes since the previous model. First of all, it became slimmer and lighter. At long last they added Bluetooth Smart technology for easy data syncing and score tracking. Thus, our personal performance data will be saved in the SkyGolf 360 Cloud. The SkyCaddie SW2 Watch provides at-a-glance distances to the Front, Center, and Back of every green.
Other interesting features are the Intelligent Automation and Auto-Course Recognition. These can help us to understand our situation on the golf course. They have also added a Shot Distance function to show us how far we have hit the ball. The SkyCaddie SW2 Watch costs just £129.95 (~$184).
At the very same time, Garmin’s Approach S20 is providing 40,000 golf courses (vs. SkyCaddie’s 35,000) and a new AutoShot feature that is similar to SkyCaddie’s Intelligent Automation and Auto-Course Recognition. The battery life of Approach S20 is a little bit bigger. They also do not charge you for accessing to the maps.
What is good in Approach S20 is that our data will automatically be uploaded and stored in the Garmin Connect mobile app. The S20 also receives smart notifications from compatible smartphones, so users can stay connected with notifications for call, texts, emails and more right on their watch.
Last month, the suggested retail price of Approach S20 was $199.99.
If you ask me, I would prefer Garmin’s Approach S20 as a more sophisticated device. However, I would ask both marketers wouldn’t be easier to develop a smartphone app?
