Give your game a boost of confidence with Garmin's Approach G5, a rugged, waterproof, touchscreen golf GPS packed with thousands of pre-loaded golf course maps. Approach uses a high-sensitivity GPS receiver to measure individual shot distances and show the exact yardage to fairways, hazards, and greens.  Give your golf game a boost of confidence with the Approach G5. | Built for Golfers
Weighing in at just 6.8 ounces with batteries and boasting a transflective color 3-inch touchscreen, the Approach is your featherweight fairway guide regardless of the lighting conditions. IPX7 waterproofing means that the device can withstand accidental immersion as well--but thankfully, you'll be avoiding water hazards, of course. Eliminate the Guesswork
The Approach displays and updates your exact position on stunningly detailed, preloaded course maps throughout the United States. Click to see Garmin's current Approach G5 course listing. Approach's highly sensitive GPS receiver pinpoints your position and removes guesswork from your game. And as you move, Approach automatically updates your position, so you'll always know your yardage. There's no subscription or setup fees, and Approach is compliant with USGA rules. Touch Your Target
Need to measure distances for your next shot? Touch any point on the sunlight-readable display, and Approach shows the precise distance to that exact spot--fairway; hazard; landing area; or the front, middle, and back of the green. Get on the Green
Zero in on the pin with Approach's Green View. Just tap the flag on the map to zoom in on the green--then you can drag the flag to position it where you see it, giving you more accurate yardage. Keep Score Digitally
Approach doubles as a digital scorecard for your foursome. After the game, you can save and review the scores on your computer at home. Add More Courses
Garmin is constantly adding more courses to their map data, as well as updating and improving their course maps for Approach G5. Download the latest courses from Garmin.com. What's in the Box
Approach G5, belt clip, USB cable, quick start manual |
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 First impressions: Amazing! |
| Review Date: August 3, 2009 |
| Reviewer: Darwin, Redmond, WA United States |
It's Sunday night as I type this review. I have had my Garmin a total of three days now. It arrived on Friday, so I put in batteries, connected it to my PC, downloaded the OS upgrades and most current course file (about a 76MB file). I played with the preview function, using it to check my local courses, and also checked out Warwick Hills, where Tiger was storming back on day 2 of the Buick Open. Very cool being able to preview 1000s of courses across the country!
Saturday morning I woke up bright and early and took it out to a course I had never visited before to see just how well this investment would pay off. Looking at the top-down, color view of every hole from tee to green, I knew everything I needed to know to reach the green in regulation--it didn't matter that I hadn't been here before.
On a par 5 with a sharp left dogleg, I used the Garmin to determine the distance to the middle of the left bend. I touched the screen and pinpointed a spot 190 yds to the center of the fairway, with bunkers on the left. I grabbed my 3I hybrid and let 'er rip. Perfect shot! Right in the center of the bend, and a straight shot at the green 250 yds away. A 3W got me to about 50 yds, and then a (lucky) little pitch and I was up and down for birdie!
A few holes later, the Garmin showed me a par 4 that goes out straight and level for about 200 yds. There the fairway ends and it's about 100 yds up a hill to the right with about 20 yds elevation difference to the green. Again, I grabbed my 3I hybrid and whacked the ball about 190 yds just short of the fairway's end. Then I grabbed my PW and knocked the ball up the hill to the elevated green and 2-putted for par. Sweet!
Eventually, it's the 18th hole (par 4) and the grand finale--there's water on the right and fronting the green, with bunkers on the left of the fairway and behind the green. The center of the green itself is about 260 yards off, and while the other 3 golfers in my foursome decide to break out their drivers and go for it, I used the Garmin to determine the best lay up point--about 180 yds to the widest part of the fairway past the water. I grabbed my 4I hybrid, plopped the ball perfectly in the fairway, and I had an easy wedge shot to the green to par the hole, while two of my compadres were flailing away in the bunkers, and the other was digging his ball out of the deep rough beyond and left of the green (I was willing to share my Garmin with them, but they'd all played the course before and "knew" what to do!).
Those are the three "highlight" holes of my first round at this course. The Garmin does everything but hit the ball--that part is still left for me to do, and, unfortunately, I don't always hit the ball so perfectly, or there would have been more highlights!
Nonetheless, the Garmin was the perfect aide for course management, and I know it saved me several strokes. Even though I had never visited this course before, each time I walked up to the tee box I was filled with confidence because I knew exactly what club to use and where to aim. I could see the shape and depth of every green, and I knew where my margin of error was when making my approach.
Sunday morning, I got up early again and took the Garmin out to a course I have visited several times before. Unfortunately for me, my shots were rather inconsistent, to say the least, and I shot a miserable round. However, that was entirely my fault--the Garmin was still an excellent guide throughout. On the rare occasion I did hit my shot straight and true, my distances perfectly coincided with what the Garmin was telling me. And again, each time I made an approach shot, I knew the depth of green and the locations of the hazards, and whether I should err long or short, left or right.
Additionally, I should mention that I've had a competitor's golf GPSR for a couple years now. It's been adequate for the job and was half the initial purchase price of the Garmin, but it was severely lacking in many ways because it:
-- required an annual subscription to download courses;
-- only held 10 courses in memory at a time, so I would have to connect to my computer and download courses if venturing out of my "home" area;
-- only showed distances to a handful of landmarks, e.g. bunker, end-of-fairway, water hazard, etc.;
-- had a monochrome LCD;
-- was NOT a Garmin (I admit, I have a pro-Garmin bias, as I've had two of their hand-held GPSRs and an in-car unit, all of which I've been impressed and satisfied with)!
On the flip side, the Garmin:
-- does NOT require a subscription;
-- provides a touch screen (no confusing manual buttons that do different functions at different times);
-- holds THOUSANDS of courses across the US;
-- shows the ENTIRE hole from tee to green with bunkers, hazards, and distances clearly marked;
-- has a COLOR display;
-- allows me to target specific locations through the fairway, with distance to the target from my current location and remaining distance to the green from the target.
Both units were basically equivalent in the following ways, both good and bad:
-- display shape of green;
-- display front, center, and back green distances;
-- allow movement of pin location for more accurate estimate to pin itself;
-- last about 2 complete rounds using AA rechargeable batteries;
-- allow measuring of shot distance;
-- do not display trees or other obstacles;
-- do not display elevation changes.
I am incredibly satisfied with my initial experiences with the Garmin Approach this weekend. I'll be using it on many more outings this summer and fall, but I especially look forward to visiting more new courses. Now that I'm no longer restricted to 10 courses in memory at a time, I can pick up and go anywhere on a whim, and with the great top-down view of the entire hole from tee to green I'll know exactly where to aim and what club to hit, as if I've visited the course dozens of times before.
A few other notes:
-- I did not use the scorekeeping function--I prefer to use a real scorecard to track some stats.
-- Need to change batteries in the middle of a round? The unit will remember what "page" you were on and return you to it.
-- Manually navigating the holes when previewing a course is a bit awkward--there are "next" and "previous" buttons on the page, but no way to jump from, say, the 1st hole to the 14th without pressing the "next" button 13 times. I think Garmin could improve this by popping up a menu if the user were to press and hold the "next" button for example. This would also be a big help if the course you're visiting decides to flip the front 9 to the back 9, so you can start on the right hole.
-- In the Settings page, the unit lets you enter what type of batteries you're using, e.g. alkaline, NiMH rechargeable, etc. Curious...
-- When previewing a course, go to the "about course" (hole number) button to see the address and phone number of the course, convenient for making your tee time!
-- The ability to target anywhere on or about the fairway is EXCELLENT! Most GPSRs just give you the distance to the green (front/center/back), but that does you no good if you've got a tree or other obstacle in the way. Knowing what the distance is to any part of the hole can really save your bacon when you find yourself blocked and need to get back to the fairway.
-- The map will zoom in automatically as you are playing the hole, showing your current position (a golf ball) and the remaining fairway to the green, so you are not stuck with a view of the entire hole as you approach the green. |
Awesome increase in enjoyment of Golf game
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| Review Date: April 20, 2009 |
| Reviewer: George Madden, Glenmoore, PA |
My son and I used this on a local course for the first time and it performed great. No more looking for markers or taking the time to walk off an estimate (er, OK - especially when I'm not in the fairway). We have some large greens thankfully and being able to simply move the flag on the device for a much more accurate reading is super. Also, those few great drives I had - the G5 made it simple to get the exact yardage (did not break any records though). Only 1 of my 7 (regular home area) courses is not programmed in yet but I see it's on schedule in the next update. If yours isn't, simply let Garmin know like I did. Great unit, now if only my golf got better :-)
Update note: Today (4/26) I downloaded Garmins latest course database to the device and now all my courses are available. |
Works great, easy to use...
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| Review Date: May 25, 2009 |
| Reviewer: Techman, California, USA |
Bought the unit after reading good reviews here. I downloaded the latest database and was pleased to find that it covers all local courses. Very easy to use with touch screen, still have not had to read the manual yet after 5 rounds :) Knowing exact distance (to target, hazards, etc) seems to help build confidence and my game has improved significantly. Played a local private club today (Fazio design), the Approach G5 was so convenient and accurate that our caddy ended up using my GPS instead of his laser range finder. Have not tried Lithium batteries yet, Energizer Max AA lasted 27 holes, Duracell Coppertop lasted longer, 2-3 rounds. Only thing I have not figured out yet is that since my home club has 27 holes, I had to quit each time after first 9 and restart the round by choosing another 9 hole course instead of playing 18 continuously. Maybe time to read the manual :)
Update (7/1/09). Tried Lithium AA batteries from Energizer, after 4 rounds the indicator still shows 3/4 power left. Also, the latest database has 9400 courses! |
Excellent device!
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| Review Date: June 18, 2009 |
| Reviewer: B. Conover, South Carolina |
I received the Garmin Approach G5 GPS golf unit from my husband as a gift several weeks ago. We had debated between this unit and the Upro but finally decided on the Garmin because it seemed more intuitive and quick to use on the golf course. It only has one real button used to turn it on or off (also used to lock/unlock the screen) and everything else is controlled via the touch screen.
I had checked and most of my local courses were already mapped. I've used it for at least 10 rounds and have found it to be very easy to use and the distances are quite accurate. It acquires satellites quickly. I like the ability to place the flag where it actually is. I also like to be able to measure my shots (although I always think I'm hitting a longer shot than I actually do but that's not the unit's fault).
I really enjoy keeping score on the Garmin - also a very intuitive process.
I have played rounds where someone in my group has used a rangefinder and I find the Garmin to be just as accurate and much quicker to use - I just look at the screen to see the distance to the flag without having to line it up or press any buttons.
The screen is easy to read in sunlight even with my polarized sunglasses.
I have been using rechargeable AA batteries and find they last over two rounds.
I like the sturdiness of the unit and don't feel I have to be delicate with it. Occasionally, I have placed it in my pocket and have not found it to interfere with my swing.
I found a few bunkers missing in the mapping of my local course and I sent a request to Garmin from their website to correct these. I also requested two courses (which I play occasionally) to be mapped.
Overall, I am really enjoying using this unit and have found it very helpful in determining distances that I was semi-clueless about before.
Update: There were some bunkers missing on the Garmin G5 mapping of my home course. I had contacted Garmin sometime in June to indicate which holes should be corrected. Today I downloaded a new course update (7/1) and found the bunkers on my course had been corrected. Very good response by Garmin. |
Extremely Useful Tool
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| Review Date: August 27, 2009 |
| Reviewer: Todd B., Chicago, IL |
I've used the Garmin approach for several rounds so far. I generally score in the low to mid 80s on average difficulty courses (slope 124-126). I have not had experience with any other golf GPS device. My decision to purchase the Garmin Approach was based on golf course map availability for my area, durability in wet weather, screen view on bright days, and the reviews of others. I live in Chicago and found that every course I could think of in the area, city to suburbs, was included in the list of courses mapped. Once I had the Garmin Approach out on the golf course, my first thought was to gain the trust of the GPS. As I played my first round with the Approach I continually made comparisons to the yardage markers on the course, and found the displayed information on the GPS to be very accurate (within a yard or two). I paced off several hundred yard lengths and compared the number of paces to the GPS and, again, the device was very accurate...or vice versa, my paces were very accurate in comparison to the GPS : ). I've gone through this routine for every course I've played so far, with similar results. I have not had any issues with viewing the GPS display on bright days. As other reviews mention, the Garmin goes through a set of batteries in about two rounds so rechargeable batteries are a must. I purchased a set of four Enloop AA rechargeable batteries (the Approach requires two AA batteries) that claim up to 1,000 recharges per battery. That works out to be roughly 80 years of use out of a four pack of batteries if you play 50 rounds a year....suffice it to say, battery life is not a problem if you use rechargables. The auto hole change has worked flawlessly on every course. Green size is displayed accurately and the ability to move the pin to the actual location on the green is extremely helpful as many greens could be 30 or 40 yards deep....or more. As has been mentioned in other reviews, the touch screen is great and the menu is intuitive. I often use the movable crosshairs to locate a target that is 100 yards from the pin as this is the ideal position for a full 60 deg. wedge into the green for me. The shot measuring feature is easy to use and works well. Once you have set the shot measuring feature to start measuring your shot, you can navigate back to the course view so that you can study the map to plan your next shot (or help others in your foursome with yardages) while you walk to your ball. When you get to your ball, switch back to "measure shot" and it will display your shot distance. I choose not to use the belt clip (or carabiner clip) for the Approach because the device is small enough to put in my pocket or throw into one of the small pockets in my bag.
The Garmin Approach G5 is an extremely useful tool and I am pleased with the accuracy of the information it provides. I can't claim that it has lowered my scores but I will say that it has changed my club selection on many occasions as I am still in the habit of determining club selection in my head based on the center-of-green. With the adjustable pin location, the GPS lets you know exactly how large the greens are and often times I will change my club selection by one or two clubs. No more guess work on distances, or where to hit the ball (or where not to hit the ball) on errant shots into the rough or next fairway. Sand and water hazards are displayed accurately. All said, I am extremely pleased with the Garmin Approach and ultimately I believe most serious golfers will have a golf GPS in their bags as prices drop.
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