Garmin Approach G6 Golf GPS with $50 Rebate

I don't write many reviews, and that's probably because if something works really well, I feel it should. Or if it fails my expectations, it doesn't surprise me anymore.

That said, The Garmin Approach G6 is simply one of those products that so greatly exceeds my expectations, I have to write a review on it. For several years I've primarily used a laser rangefinder, though for convenience sake I keep trying every new GPS that comes along?hoping I'll find the Holy Grail of yardages in an easy-to-use GPS product.

In the past decade I've tried every model of SkyCaddie ever manufactured, including the latest SGXw. I've tried the Golf Buddy Platinum, a Bushnell, GPS watches, but nothing holds a candle to the Garmin G6?nothing! All the others found their way to eBay or Craig's List at a great loss of money!

One of the inherent features of the G6 is its simplicity. The obvious front, middle and back yardages are always present, but if you desire a distance from you to a water hazard, or sand trap, etc., the touchscreen is so responsive and easy to use I still can't believe it. If you want layup distances, you can drag the cursor to the distance you want, or simply look at the screen and see they are also automatically displayed at 100, 150, 200 and 250 yard arcs from the center of the green.

At any time, you can press one of two buttons (more simplicity) on the G6 and see an expanded view of the green, or press it again and go back to the hole view. That might seem like a minor point, but so many of the other devices make this action more difficult.

My last point about the Garmin G6 is the most important?to me, anyway. It is SO VISIBLE?even in bright sunlight. In fact, because of how the screen is made, it's even more visible in the sunlight. I had mine set for the backlight to go off after 15 seconds, yet every time I looked at it on the course, the screen was very bright and readable. I thought there was something wrong with it and the backlight was staying on, but in fact, the backlight was actually going off as it should, but having it on simply made no difference. The display was as easy to read with the backlight on or off. On a cloudy or overcast day, the backlight does come into play and makes a marked difference.

If you're on the fence about a GPS unit, please do yourself a favor and give the Garmin G6 a try. If you don't like it you can always return it, but I'm betting that will not happen. And don't forget, it has over 27,000 courses pre-loaded and there are no fees at all. You can also update the courses easily online with it hooked up to your computer (Mac or Windows).

One more thing: a couple of reviews I've read said the Garmin G6 was slow acquiring courses before you started play. I have not found that to be true at all. In all cases my unit acquires the satellite in less than a minute or two.

About me: retired, five rounds per week, 7-handicap, 66 years old.

Just go buy it, you will not be disappointed! Take it to your local golf course, go to the first tee, switch it on and by the time you've teed off it's ready to use. It just "walks" you around the course. Anyone that has a Garmin GPS in their car knows how easy they are to use and this is no different. The screen is easy to read in any light condition. In fact it's easier to read in direct sunlight and living in Florida that was a major concern of mine in choosing a GPS for the golf course. The only real negative is that in order to see how much battery life is left you have to plug it into the AC as if you were charging it. It would be nice if you got a battery level indicator when the unit was initially switched on. Having said that, I have consistenly got 4 complete rounds of 18 hole golf before needing to recharge the batteries. A minor negative is the case color. Being black it is easy to leave in golf cart cup holders, which is where I suspect most golfers keep the device while golfing so your golfing partner can share, rather than having it clipped to your belt, which is really not a convenience. A bright green or yellow case would make this less likely to happen.

This is my first golf gps, and Garmin Approach G6 exceeded all of my expectations. I can't see where there is any room for improvements, except for making the display just a bit larger. All of my golf buddies want to use it when playing on the golf course.

Would like the option of a running scorecard instead of score in reference to par. Battery charge indicator only shows when charging from usb and not ac plug. Nice sleek unit, fits well in pocket. Very easy to use. I am glad that I waited for the G6!

I recently bought my G6 and am loving it!

While this is my first golf GPS I did as much research as I could beforehand, including long discussions with my mates who had different GPS units. Since the G6 was brand new there wern't many reviews that I could find by real people but in the end I put my faith in Garmin, and I have to say that the G6 does what it says it would do.

I wanted something with not only the basic functionality one would expect but I bought a new set of clubs and really wanted to have something to help calibrate my distances. Tick!

The standout features for me is its sleek design (fits very comfortably in the palm of one hand and I could operate it fully with just my thumb...caution...I've got relatively small hands!), the simple and easy to use menus and the scoring and club stat functionality.

I don't have any problems seeing the screen however I admit that I have the backlight on at maximum. You can adjust the backlight timer to conserve battery life however but it will comfortably last 2 rounds (even with me playing with it all during each round).

While it has all of my local courses I noticed that some of the bunkers are missing (my guess is that this is because Garmin builds their maps via satellite images, and they can't see those hiding under trees!).

My one criticism would be the manual touch targeting function. With the sze of the screen it is difficult to get really accurate however with my game it will be within the margin or error of all my clubs!

Overall I'm really happy with the G6!