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Plays Like Help Needed From a Garmin S70 Owner

3243985
1 month ago

Considering the purchase of an S70, but have a question that I can't seem to find an answer to on the web or directly from Garmin.

I live at altitude (Denver) and I want the "Plays Like" feature to account for this.  So, when I go to sea level (all else being the same), the Plays Like distances should be greater than the actual distances. 

It appears that the watch has settings for Home / Local course conditions for the Plays Like feature.  This is apparently a manual setting that could be for several purposes.  It could be something that allows you to set "Local Conditions" when the watch cannot successfully communicate with the phone for example.  Or, as I would like, it could be the altitude and weather adjustment factors from my "Home Course" used in the Plays Like calculations instead of assuming some baseline like 30 feet above sea level, 75 degrees, etc.

Can anybody confirm that this setting is in fact the Home Course conditions.  It would be great if somebody has set this values at altitude and has actually seen the altitude adjustment in the Plays Like has added yardage say at sea level.  Also, would be great if anybody could list the settings and / or provide a picture of them.

Finally, if the watch cannot connect to the phone, is wind speed and direction the only thing you lose when calculating "Play Like"?  Are there other features that get compromised when you don't connect to the phone? 

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  • +1 1 month ago

    "Home conditions" are set manually by the user for that PlaysLike Distance setting. 

    The 47mm version of the Approach S70 features a barometric altimeter sensor for elevation and the 42mm size does not. 

    Further breakdown of the Approach S70 specific PlaysLike Distance features is referenceable on the Garmin Support page linked here: Understanding PlaysLike Distance on an Approach S70 Watch

  • 0 1 month ago in reply to Garmin-Cody

    So, let me be precise and unambiguous.

    If I set the Home Conditions to be at 5280 feet and I have a 47mm S70 paired with my phone and I play a dead flat course at sea level with no wind and a temperature in the 70s, will the Plays Like Distance read 200 yards when I have a 189 yard actual distance to the center of the green?

  • +1 1 month ago in reply to 3243985

    The exact adjustment to the distance is not predictable for the specific scenario you are referring to because factors for the distance are based on GPS, the actual slope info for the course map, and the then the home conditions being variable for the location and weather conditions that specific day, and that specific time of day. 

    The combination of the factors I mentioned above, ...and the calculation being proprietary, would not result in the answer to your question above being one I can provide to you with certainty.

    If golfing in Colorado or higher elevations where altitude is important for the slope calculation...for the best results, I recommend entering the altitude at 5280. Then if you travel to another course that has no elevation and is at sea level, ...you should modify the home conditions for PlaysLike Distance accordingly, and set the altitude at 0. The home conditions setting is not designed to have altitude, temperature, and humidity set with incorrect values for the location of the course being played, at the time and day you are playing on it. 

  • 0 1 month ago in reply to Garmin-Cody

    So, if I understand correctly:

    - Home Conditions is really Local Conditions

    - Setting Home Conditions is probably only needed under circumstances where the watch cannot communicate with the phone to get those conditions

    - In my example, if I play at sea level and set the Home conditions to 5280 feet of elevation, the watch would likely subtract yardage for the altitude yardage adjustment component of Plays Like

    - This implies that the altitude portion of the Plays Like calculation is always based on the difference between my current altitude and some fixed altitude value - say maybe sea level or in other words 0 feet.

    - And, this means that I would always get a Plays Like at 5280 feet that subtracts yardage for an altitude adjustment regardless of whether I set the Home Conditions or not.  Further, it implies that I should just disable the "Weather" portion of the Plays Like calculation entirely to get accurate Plays Like numbers when playing courses near my home in Denver (at 5280 feet of altitude)

    Is this correct?

    Finally, it was my understanding that the big sensor difference between the 42mm S70 and the 47mm is single band vs multi-band GPS.  The specs for both, however, list a barometric altimeter as present.  So, each watch should be able to use altitude in computing Plays Like. Can you confirm that each sized S70 watch does indeed have that sensor?

  • 0 1 month ago in reply to 3243985

    - The "Home Conditions" feature is designed to be helpful for setting conditions for the air density if you typically play the same course locally. 

    - On the Approach S70, the PlaysLike Distance view that is referenceable has three icons that each indicate a separation of values based on the difference in distance due to elevation changes, wind speed/direction, and air density. 

    - The elevation value is provided from the barometric altimeter sensor. The weather information is provided via Bluetooth through the sync with the Garmin Golf app. The weather data factors air density, and updates every 20 minutes. As long as your location permissions are enabled for the Garmin Golf app through your smartphone for the correct current location, the sync providing the weather info may be more ideal for more adaptive accuracy throughout the time duration of your round for any more rapid changes in the weather that day.

    - By default, the Home Conditions are set to 0 altitude > 68F/20C for temp, and 0% for humidity to be neutral with the weather data from smartphone being the source for air density. 

    - There is no Both the 42 and 47mm versions of the Approach S70 have multi-GNSS satellites enabled. Both sizes have the option to set home conditions, factor weather, and use wind. 

  • 0 1 month ago in reply to Garmin-Cody

    So, if I understand correctly:

    - Setting Home Conditions is redundant / useless.  Why would I ever need to set it if all those factors are already automatically determined by the watch and phone?

    - The barometric altimeter does not provide barometric pressure which is essentially "air density"?

    - The Garmin website states that only the 47mm S70 has multi-band GPS (and the 42mm does not)

    - The Garmin website spec sheet for each watch says that both have a barometric altimeter sensor

    Again, if the Home Conditions are not either used for either:

    a) Manually set conditions to be used for Plays Like when the watch cannot communicate with the phone

    b) Setting Home Course conditions so that Plays Like can use those values as a baseline for computing Plays Like given the current conditions of the course being played

    If it is neither of these, I see no purpose in the Home Course conditions setting at all.  If it is A above, then its utility is marginal.  If it is B above then its utility is much greater and specifically useful to me.

    I am concerned with the answers I'm getting because some of the additional information provided contradicts other information directly found on Garmin's own website!

    I wish there was somebody, anybody, who could step on a golf course, record the actual and plays like distances as well as the current Home Conditions settings for a given hole.  Then, assuming you are currently within a few hundred feet of sea level, change the Home Conditions to something like an altitude of 5280 and again record the actual and plays like distances on the watch now.  That would definitively answer my most basic question.

  • +1 1 month ago in reply to 3243985

    All available information regarding the "Home Conditions" setting that is available to provide was outlined in my previous response. I would like to clarify that I did not make mention, or use any descriptions attempting to indicate the that there 

    Regarding Multi-Band: Please refer to the section in my last response stating "Multi-GNSS" is compatible on both sizes with "All Systems" being supported and selectable for Satellites on both watch. Both sizes offer the "All Systems" option in settings for GPS which allow access to signals from 5 satellite constellations. 

    The 42mm size S70 does not support Dual Band multiple frequencies, and does not contain the Multi-Band option like the 47mm size does. 

    For more info regarding Multi-Band and Multii-GNSS, please refer to the material outlined on the What is Dual Frequency/Multi-Band GPS? and Global Navigation Satellite Systems Supported by Garmin Watches *Note that in the second support link, the site has not been updated to reflect the Approach S70 in the compatible device list.

    You can search any questions in the article content specific to the S70 on support.garmin.com by entering the specific device name. Garmin Golf Support is available to handle any pre-buy questions via phone, email, and chat if you are unsure about which device would be the best purchase decision for your use-case. 

    Per the information I have outlined in my previous reply, the answer to your question cannot be provided, and cannot be tested for you. Hopefully you can make a determination based on what information is available to you, so you can determine for yourself if the S70 meets your needs. 

    Note: The Approach S70 42mm indeed does include a barometric the altimeter sensor, and I made the mistake of stating the 42mm size option does not include the sensor. Others referencing this thread, please disregard my previous statement. 

  • 0 16 days ago in reply to Garmin-Cody

    For anyone looking for an answer to my original question about the Plays Like Setting of Home Conditions, here you go:

    I purchased an S70 and am happy to report that the Home Conditions and more specifically the Altitude setting did in fact do what I wanted and what I would expect that setting to do.

    Standing on the first tee of my home course (and paired with my phone), I first set the Home Conditions to my actual Altitude, and some reasonable Temperature and Humidity for a day of golf at this course - 5280 ft, 68 degrees, and 14% humidity.  I started the Golf app and waited for it to acquire the GPS satellite and started a round.  The current temp was around 40 degrees or so with low humidity. 

    With these initial settings and starting a round from my home course, this would simulate a typical day for me at a local area golf course - playing a round of golf at my normal altitude.  Now, I would expect to see basically no increase or decrease from the weather conditions factor to the Plays Like distance (as opposed to the elevation or wind factors). In fact, the Plays Like adjustment for weather conditions was +2 - saying that the current weather conditions alone would cause the first hole to play 2 yards longer (probably due to the temperature).  This looks to be about right.

    Next, I changed the Home Conditions Altitude setting to 10000 feet.  This would simulate me setting my Home Conditions as above (normal with an altitude of 5280) and travelling to a course at sea level. Now, I would expect to see basically a 10 to 25 yard increase by the weather conditions factor to the Plays Like distance. In fact, the Plays Like adjustment for weather conditions was +19 - saying that the current weather conditions alone would cause the first hole to play 19 yards longer (due primarily to the change in altitude from my home course to the one I'm playing now).  This also looks to be about right. 

    Finally, I changed the Home Conditions Altitude setting to 80 feet.  This would simulate me setting my Home Conditions as if I normally played at sea level and travelled to a golf course at an altitude of 5280 feet to play (or, if you'd like, travelling high into the mountains to play a round of golf up there).  Now, I would expect to see basically a 10 to 25 yard decrease by the weather conditions factor to the Plays Like distance. In fact, the Plays Like adjustment for weather conditions was -20 - saying that the current weather conditions alone would cause the first hole to play 20 yards shorter (due to the change in altitude from my home course to the one I'm playing now).  Again, this looks to be about right. 

    Hope this helps somebody (else) out there ...