About this Review
If you’ve recently looked at buying new GPS golf watch then you’ll know just how saturated the market has become. With so many makes and models to choose from and prices ranging from £100 to £700 pounds, it can be really difficult to find the right watch for you.
If you’re in the market for a basic golf watch that gives you on-course GPS information with a few extra handy features, and can be used off the course too, then at just over £100, the Shot Scope G5 might be worth considering.
In this review, I’ll tell you everything you’ll need to know about the G5 and share my own personal thoughts and opinions having used it over a period of several months. I’ll discuss how easy it is to set up, comfortable it is to wear, how well its key features perform on the golf course, and whether or not I think it presents good value for money.
15% off the Shot Scope G5
Visit the Shot Scope website using the link below and enter my exclusive discount code, ‘ANDYSGOLF‘, to save an extra 15% on your order.
With this affiliate link, I may earn a small commission on qualifying purchases but at no extra cost to you. This code can be used on a range or products, and worldwide.
Meet the Shot Scope G5
The Shot Scope G5 is an affordable and easy-to-use GPS golf watch that can be used both on and off the course.
Its key features include:
- 36,000 pre-loaded golf courses worldwide
- Distances to front/middle/back of green (in yards or meters)
- Hazard information to reach and carry bunkers/water hazards
- Layup yardages and distances to doglegs
- A digital scorecard
- 2+ round battery life
- Interchangeable colour straps
- General watch mode
Setting up the G5
Out of the box, the G5 is incredibly quick and easy to set up. All you need to do is attach one of the two watch straps to the casing, pop it on your wrist and switch it on. The device comes pre-loaded with over 36,000 golf courses and enough charge to last at least one full round, so technically, you could unbox and put it straight to use at the golf course immediately after delivery.
That said, I’d still recommend first connecting it to the Shot Scope app to check for firmware or course updates, and, giving it a full charge using the supplied USB cable. On the subject of charging, the G5 uses its own Shot Scope-specific cable (the same cable as the X5) and not a standard USB-C cable, so you’ll need to make sure you don’t lose it as no other cable will charge the G5. Whilst it’s not a big deal, the use of a non-standard cable is a bit of a minor inconvenience.
If you’d like to take a closer look at what comes inside the box, how to set the G5 up, and how to use it, check out the two videos below.
Looks, fit and comfort
Given it’s cheaper price point, the G5 wasn’t designed to be an all-singing, all-dancing golf watch, nor was it released to compete with Shot Scope’s premium X5 model. Instead, it was primarily designed for golfers looking for a basic and affordable option. With the G5, you’re not going to get a fancy touch screen, performance tracking, or an visual of the hole you are playing, but that’s to be expected at just over £100. The display is a little rudimentary and navigation is done using the four buttons on the outside of the casing. Whist some users may find this a little dated, the use of physical buttons actually helps to make the device incredibly quick and easy to navigate, and useable in wet weather conditions, where some touch-screen devices can struggle.
Personally, I don’t think the G5 is quite as pretty as the X5 and it’s not going to win any awards for its looks. However, visually, it is a huge improvement on the rather retro looking Shot Scope G3, and I do think it has a nice modern look to it.
At only 42g, it’s so light and comfortable to wear I genuinely forget it’s on my wrist most of the time and it never feels like it interferes with my swing. The silicone straps are comfortable, lock securely in place thanks to the buckle and loops, and are long enough for even those with the thickest of wrists.
Speaking of straps, when buying the G5, you get a choice of two straps from a range of 12 colour options – so you really can mix and match your watch with your outfits and personality.
ON-COURSE PERFORMANCE
Initiating a round on the G5 requires a couple of button presses and only takes around 30 seconds of obtain a GPS connection. The process is so quick and easy I usually start my round whilst standing on the first tee.
Once a round has started, the G5 displays distance information to the front, middle and back of the green on the hole you are currently playing. Distances are dynamic, meaning that they update as you walk closer to or further away from the hole. You can choose to display the distance information on the watch in yards or meters using the watch settings menu. In my experience using the G5, the distance information always updated quickly and I’ve been given no reason to be concerned with its accuracy. Anytime I have compared numbers with on-course marker posts, laser rangefinder readings, or playing partners’ yardages, they’ve always checked out.
Even though the screen resolution is only 176 x 176 pixels, it is bright, vibrant and easy enough to read in varying lighting conditions. I’ve yet to play a round with the G5 where I struggled to read the display in bright or dull conditions. Even when it has started to get a bit dark, the GPS information is still easy to read thanks to the backlit screen.
Although visually the display is quite simple, Shot Scope has done well to fit so much information onto the screen, somehow managing to do so without it feeling cluttered. The standard golf-mode watch screen displays the time, battery life, distance to the front, middle and back of the hole you are playing, hole number, its par, and your cumulative score to par (if scoring is enabled – more on that shortly) all at once. I really like how the distance to the middle of the green is displayed on its own line in larger blue text, making it quick and easy to read at a glance.
The G5 also has two other display views, so if you don’t like the layout of the standard display, you can switch to either show less information on the screen (middle distance only) or show the same information as the standard display but in a different layout.
As well as distance information for the hole you are currently playing, the G5 also has a handy Hazard which shows the location and distance to reach as well as carry bunker and water hazards on the current hole. Better yet, this menu also contains layup information so you can see exactly how far you have to hit your next shot in order to leave yourself 100/150/200 yards to the centre of the green. I find this feature to be particularly helpful when playing longer par 5s where I want to layup to a specific yardage, for example, 100 yards from the green.
Another feature that’s quite interesting is the Last Shot option which allows you to measure how far you hit your last shot. Whilst this data is not logged for performance tracking like it is with the Shot Scope X5, it can still be fun to know how much further you’ve hit your driver than your friends.
In terms of course management, if the hole you are playing has a dogleg, you’ll also be able to see the distance to this within the Hazard menu. This is a particularly useful feature for tee shots or blind approach shots on golf courses that you are perhaps not so familiar with.
As if all of these features weren’t enough already, the G5 also has a built-in digital scorecard. Whilst this is quite basic and requires manual input after completing each hole, it is a handy addition and let’s you keep track of your score to par on the main screen during your round
The only drawback is that your scores are not tracked within the Shot Scope app, so once you finish your round, your score will be wiped. Also, the scorecard can only be used for strokeplay scoring and not stableford, which some of you may find a little disappointing.
Battery life
Shot Scope suggest that the G5’s battery will last for 2+ rounds from a single charge when used in GPS mode (golf mode), and 10+ days in general watch mode. I’ve only tested its battery life over two rounds from a full charge once but it passed with flying colours. This isn’t something I’m usually too concerned about anyway as I only play two rounds on the same day once in a blue moon, so as long as the watch can handle a single round without any issues, that’s good enough for me, and, in all honesty, is probably good enough for most golfers too.
I’ve not yet specifically tested how long the battery lasts over a prolonged period of time in general watch mode, but it easily manages several days on a single charge, so no real concerns there either.
PROS and CONS
Let’s take a closer look at some of the G5’s good and bad points.
Pros
Really competitively priced at just over £100
Has most of the main features amateur golfers need in a golf watch
Quick and easy to set up and use
Free updates with no on-going subscriptions
Lightweight, comfortable to wear and customisable (straps)
Decent battery life (2+ rounds from a single charge)
Shot Scope own mapping so can fix issues or map courses within 48 hours
Shot Scope support is generally excellent
Cons
A little basic in terms of appearance and lacks that premium feel offered by some other watches
Doesn’t display hole/green map overviews
Scorecard isn’t tracked within Shot Scope app so scores are lost after ending round
Summary
If you’re looking for a budget golf watch that allows you to show off your personality and comes with all the main features you’re likely to need on the golf course, then the G5 presents a great option. At just over £100 with my discount code, it’s relatively inexpensive yet offers more features than some of the other slightly more expensive watches currently on the market. Given there are no on-going subscription fees, once you’ve purchased the G5, you’ll not need to spend another penny but will still benefit from free firmware and course updates. It’s easy to set up and use, reliable, and the Shot Scope support is up there with the very best in the industry – so you’re in safe hands with the Shot Scope G5
15% off the Shot Scope G5
Visit the Shot Scope website using the link below and enter my exclusive discount code, ‘ANDYSGOLF‘, to save an extra 15% on your order.
With this affiliate link, I may earn a small commission on qualifying purchases but at no extra cost to you. This code can be used on a range or products, and worldwide.
Thanks again for checking out this review. If you have any questions about the G5 or any other Shot Scope products, drop them into the comments area below and I’ll get back to you as soon as I can.
