Samsung Galaxy Watch Active2 Golf Edition Smartwatch Review

Smartwatches and fitness trackers are a dime a dozen these days. So what does it take for a smart timepiece to stand out? If you’re Samsung, creating a special golf edition of the Galaxy Watch Active2, and gearing your watch to duffers is a good way to start, since it’s been hard to find a golf shot tracker and coaching tool that also integrates with all the notifications of a regular smart watch. I recently had the chance to spend a few weeks with the Galaxy Watch Active2 Golf Edition 44mm, here’s my review.

Galaxy Watch Active2 Golf Edition – Golf specifics

The truth about this version of the Samsung Galaxy Watch Active2 is that it seems to be basically just a Watch Active2, but with a green and black band and the Golfwith Smart Caddie app pre-installed. That’s really it. But with that said, there’s a lot you can do with this app.

To access it, tap the Golf Buddy emblem on your watch face if you’re using the factory face, or dial up the Smart Caddie app in your apps database.

What can Golfwith Smart Caddie track?

This golf-focused app combined with the smarts of the Watch Active2 can track a number of golf metrics and info:

For starters, you can view satellite or graphic maps of each hole as you’re playing. It will also show you distances to the front, middle and rear of the green.

• Shot history
• Touch targeting
• Score keeping & Shot tracking
• Distances around the green
• Distance from your position to the green
• Distance to intersection point of the hole
• Get detailed green information and view high & low points and slopes
• Record where your shots end up and access them after the round
• View detailed stats on the web
• Change the hole you’re playing on manually
• Switch between left and right green
• Revise or amend an incorrect score

You can change distance from metres to yards and look at the map in either satellite view or graphic.

You can see accurate information on 40,000 courses worldwide at a glance—and you can create your own yardage book to track shots and distances and better your game. Easily access it all on the “Golfwith GOLF GPS” app or website.

While I didn’t have an opportunity to play any golf with this watch as Calgary got October snow, I will be hoping to check it out this winter or first thing next season. If any of you out there have any hands-on experience with this watch for golf use, please post in comments below.

Galaxy Watch Active2 Golf Edition – What’s it like as a watch?

Health & fitness tracking

This watch has a bunch of what I can call expected features that are common in smart watches. It will track your heart rate, it counts your steps, will monitor sleep, automatically track certain workouts and keeps tabs on other health metrics in the Samsung Health app.
Galaxy Watch Active2 automatically detects and tracks seven popular workouts, and you can also manually track more than 40 different other workouts. Plus there’s also a new built-in running coach for real-time feedback on your runs using the advanced accelerometer.

I can say that every day when I walked the dogs, the watch dutifully buzzed my arm to tell me it was recording a walk. Which is about all the major physical activity I got up to during my test.

Comfort & style

With its rounded face and vast array of watch faces to choose from, not to mention nearly infinite band/strap options, how this watch looks is really up to you. The watch case itself is rather thick and a bit boxy, but even on my butter-knife-wrists I didn’t find it uncomfortable or too large. The silicone strap is comfortable and breathable. While I mainly left the watch face on the factory ‘Golf Buddy Green’ golf-focused face, there’s plenty of options to suit your style, your game and your mood.

Galaxy Watch Active2 Golf Edition – Battery life & charging

I very much liked the easy charging magnetic disc that comes with the Galaxy Watch Active2. It’s super easy just to clip it in. It charges fast too. Total battery life is said to be 60-130 hours, depending of course on your usage and notifications etc, but this watch easily lasted me 4-5 days on a single charge, which is a major upgrade from some other smartwatches I’ve reviewed. Even with just 18% battery left, the watch told me I had a full 9.5h of life left.

The watch works with both iPhone or Android and will give you notifications and alerts, and on compatible android devices you can even take phone calls on it too.

Galaxy Watch Active2 Golf Edition – Overall review

Overall, I think the watch itself is pretty great. It’s beautiful, it tells time and connects to your phone to give you alerts and more right on your wrist. When it comes to the golf functionality, it seems like this watch can do a lot. I look forward to getting out on a course with it in the coming months. Find the Samsung Galaxy Watch Active2 Golf Edition 44mm Smartwatch with Heart Rate Monitor at BestBuy.ca.