Best GPS Golf Watches Under $250 | Bushnell ION EDGE vs Garmin Approach S12 vs Shot Scope V3

For all you golfers out there who just want a wearable made exclusively for golf, we're comparing the best GPS watches under $250! You go to the course to escape the daily grind, not bring it with you. You didn't come here to check your email or your heart rate ... So why pay for all the added fluff when all you want is accurate distances and knowledge about the course and your shots? But who makes these precise golf gadgets with golfing features you can trust? Only some of the biggest names in golf like Bushnell, Garmin, and Shot Scope. In this article, we compare 3 easy-to-use, easy-to-read, highly affordable, all-about-golf GPS watches: The Bushnell ION EDGE, the Garmin Approach S12, and the Shot Scope V3. Read about each GPS watch in their sections and compare golf watch features, styles, and prices in our comparison table below!

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The Bushnell ION EDGE is a golfer's watch. You want something specifically for your golf game that is super easy to use, ultra accurate, and isn't weighed down by a million features and modes and settings (and price tag of only 149.99!) that have nothing to do with golf.

Get more time on the course between charging with longer battery life—15+ hours compared to the previous ION2 Bushnell golf watch. The ION EDGE GPS golf watch also has a NEW touchscreen display. Now you can cycle through your golf features with ease, which include GreenView with moveable pin placement, Dynamic Green Mapping with front and back distances shown based on a golfer’s line of play, a super handy shot distance calculator, and auto hole advance. Get up to six hazard distances per hole, plus 38,000+ preloaded courses worldwide. And with the Bushnell Golf App that is free with your purchase you get access to hyper helpful features like Hole Layouts with Distances and 3D Flyovers with Distance! With auto course recognition, the course shows up on your ION EDGE GPS watch as soon as you show up, with auto course updates via the Bushnell Golf App.

The Bushnell ION EDGE is for golfers who want a strictly golf GPS watch that will help them dial into distances and improve their club selection and shots.

Keep it simple on the course with the Garmin Approach S12 GPS golf watch. For a very reasonable price of $199.99, you get nothing but you and Garmin’s fundamental golf technology on the green all day.

On even the brightest days, the S12’s sunlight-readable screen will connect you with your favorite on-course features. Use Garmin's convenient digital scorecard. Get ultra accurate, easy-to-read distances to the green—front, middle, and back. Locate hazards and doglegs and know how far they are. And you can do all of this on over 42,000 courses worldwide with S12’s preloaded maps of golf courses. Just jump on the course and the Garmin Golf app will auto-search your course.

The Approach S12 weighs only 1.2 oz and is water resistant (5 ATM). Plus, you’ll get a whopping 30 hours of power from this Garmin battery in GPS mode (10 weeks in watch mode!). Want more options for your game? Pair the Approach S12 with the Garmin Approach CT10 club tracking sensors (sold separately) to get more stats on your clubs. Pretty impressive for the most basic watch in the Garmin Approach lineup!

Shot Scope V3 is an advanced, strictly golf, GPS watch for a not-so-advanced price of $219.99. This all-golf wearable comes with built-in automatic shot tracking and statistics platform. Front, center, and back GPS distances and hazards are clearly visible on the daylight readable color screen, while the Power-Sense strap and tracking tags ensure every shot is recorded automatically while you play.

After your round, upload and analyze over 100 statistics on your game with the free mobile app and web dashboard statistics platform, including strokes gained analytics. Complete with over 36,000 preloaded courses worldwide and no additional costs or subscriptions, Shot Scope V3 is a golf GPS watch loaded with features that can help you improve your game!