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Virtual caddy suggesting I lay up on Par3’s!

p3eps
3 days ago

I’ve noticed this on the last few rounds I’ve played, and I can’t figure it out. 

The Virtual Caddy is continually suggesting the wrong club. On a Par3, it will suggest I hit a PW to a spot on the fairway, when a 7 iron would get me on the green. 

If I tap the VC, I can change the suggestion to a couple of other options - which looks like it’s giving me an option for playing it in 4 shots. 

How do I get it back showing me the correct club like it used to - ie - 7 iron for 155 yards… not play a PW 110 and then a LW 50?!

  • +1 1 day ago

    Virtual Caddie uses your shot data from previous rounds, along with elevation, wind and the layout of the hole to determine which club you should use and where you should aim on your next shot. 

    The recommendation you described was likely suggesting the pitching wedge based on club performance and performance stats. Then the calculation gives the best scenario for the layout of the specific par 3 you were playing. 

    You can tap the icon at the bottom of the screen to get another suggestion if you feel the initial club recommendation is not the best option for shot you are getting ready to take.

  • 0 11 hours ago in reply to Garmin-Cody

    Thanks for the reply. 

    The hole I always notice the odd virtual caddy recommendation is the 18th. It’s about 150yards to the middle of the green - over a large pond. There isn’t really a fairway… however the VC recommends I hit it with a PW into the rough down the side!

    Depending on the flag location and wind, I could be anything from an 8 iron (about 140yards to a 6 iron (about 170yards). A 7 at 155yards is probably the optimum club.  Obviously I ignore the VC and pick the club myself!

    When I use the up and down arrows to get other suggestions, it just moves me further back along the rough… so instead of a PW, then my 50 or 54. It never offers me to go for the green!

    Is it worth clearing my club data and starting again?  I’ve been inputting my clubs into Garmin watch since the S60 introduced it in 2017. Prior to that, I had an S6… and a couple of handhelds before that!

    I don’t know how Garmin can think I don’t have a club that’ll travel 150ish yards for that hole, as it recommends a 7 / 6 iron for other holes of similar distance Shrug tone2‍♂️

  • 0 7 hours ago in reply to p3eps

    I've seen that as well. It was a par 3 over water and the caddie suggested a layup. No idea how it decides that as there are other times I play that hole and it doesn't.

    It would be nice if Garmin shared some details on how this caddie decides on club suggestions. 

    Is it weighted to my most recent rounds, current round, etc? 

    Garmin did post here that the caddie will use all data it has against that club. So if you have 500 rounds of golf with the same clubs, it could be using data from all 500 rounds. Now if it just takes the average of your results over that time period that would poorly reflect how you are playing today.

    Garmin suggestion was to retire and add clubs each season. Fresh start. New data. 

    I'd agree with that as why do I need suggestions based on some round 5 years ago. 

    As well you can exclude a round from performance stats (check box on scorecard page) and it won't be used in any statistics or by the virtual caddie.

    I do this. I check off older rounds so the watch suggestions are only based on last 10 rounds I've played.

  • 0 3 hours ago in reply to p3eps

    Retiring or deleting your clubs would not resolve the concern unless your shot distances have changed, or if the consistency with hitting your current clubs has changed compared to your current rounds of shot data tied to your current bag. 

    Users can choose to retire or delete there clubs to start over with tracking new shot data at any time through the edit function for "My Bag" in the Garmin Golf app...so by all means if you would like to start fresh with tracking your clubs you can. Just keep in mind if your distances and consistency has not changed...you will likely see a similar suggestion being offered based on the shot and stats recorded going forward. 

  • 0 1 hour ago

    I'm currently looking at my "club stats" in the Golf app.  I have a Foresight QuadMAX at home, so know exactly what my distances with each club are.  I did a Foresight "MyBag Assessment" not long ago, as I have a Bushnell X3+ range finder, which can also tell me which club to play.  I know my distances well enough to not need any guidance though, so both that and the VC are a bit of a gimmick!  The Garmin app is showing the distances very similar to what I'd expect as the averages.  The MAX shows some absolutely ridiculous numbers, like 352 with a PW, 395 with a 58deg and 495 with a driver (I wish!!).

    The AVG for 6 iron = 173, 7 = 159, 8 = 144... are all within a couple of yards of what I'd expect.  Based on these distances, I still don't understand why the VC wants me to lay up a 150 yard water hole, when I've just listed 3 clubs above that will get it on the green?  I'll check the other par 3's on my course at the weekend and see what the VC offers me for them... whether they're to the green, or laying up.

    There are going to be occasions where I hit a ball into heavy rough or under a tree - where I might use say a 5 iron to 'punch' it out.  In these instances, should I not be telling the S70 which club I used, as clearly it's going to mess up the data?  As CFAnPEI mentioned, it'd be good to know what parameters the VC works off, so I know whether to not tell the watch which club I hit if I'm using it for something other than a full shot (eg... a bump and run with a 7 iron, a very fat 3 iron that takes a fish supper sized divot or a hack out of knee high rough that goes 10 yards!!)

  • 0 38 minutes ago in reply to p3eps

    Club suggestions offered by Virtual Caddie will always be based on your past shot data, elevation, wind, and hole layout. The Virtual Caddie feature is proprietary to Garmin. The extent of the information that can be provided for Virtual Caddie is outlined on the support article, Garmin Technology page, user manual content and product page descriptions. 

    Automatic and Manual modes are available for Virtual Caddie, to allow versatility for those wanting the feature to make the choice for the user...and to allow users to view specific club types to then make the decision manually. 

    Max/Average Distances: 

    Outlier max distances reflecting inaccurately is due to a process not being completed on the watch to stop a shot measurement from continuing. This then results in a max distance reflecting higher distances than what are typical for that club type. 

    This will typically occur if the watch was not transitioned from one hole to another, or if the round was not ended on the watch after leaving the last hole, and the approach shot still recording after leaving the green resulting in a longer distance measurement for the shot measuring until it is realized the watch is still in an active golf round to save and end it. 

    To correct the outlier distances resulting from a shot continuing to measure from a previous golf round, follow the steps outlined on the Garmin Support page linked here: Correcting Golf Club Stats in the Garmin Golf App and Garmin Connect