Fenix 5 Plus Golf App - Measure Shot

I went out for a round of golf with my new 5 plus and I can't figure out how to record shot distances. I choose 'Measure Shot' and then I get a message saying to take a swing to start the measurement, but it simply doesn't work. I've tried swinging before and after selecting the message but it just doesn't work. Are there any golfers out there with some tips on how to reliably measure shots?

The ability to measure the distance between two points on the golf course is a critical feature that I rely heavily on and without it I'll have to switch to my old S3 when I golf.

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0 RadAd over 6 years ago

I had a good chat with Anthony at Garmin Support on Friday and in his testing he discovered that after selecting Measure Shot, the measurement is initiated when the club makes contact with something. Today I put that to the test and found that it was still very glitchy. If I swung an iron that hit the turf, it would usually register. But if I hit a driver off the tee, it didn't register a single time. I also experimented with taking a practice swing beforehand that took a little divot, and it only registered about 20% of the time. Not only that, but the few times that I was able to track my tee shot, there does not seem to be a way to measure my approach shot on the same hole. There doesn't seem to be a reset feature that allows you to start tracking another ball.

I'd really appreciate if someone from Garmin Support could look into this. Next to measuring distances to the green and hazards, tracking distances between two points on the course is a critical feature that I rely on dozens of times a round. The measure shot feature on the S1-S4 is perfect and I wish Garmin would go back to a manual button press to start shot measurements. Initiating measurements with a swing is in my experience very flawed and doesn't add any value since I'm already selecting Measure Shot at the ball location.

0 sigsme over 6 years ago

I fully agree with the above. Please give us a way to manually measure a shot. Once in a while I hit a good shot and I am very curious to know how long that shot was. I will have to ask my friends with other golf watches to measure for me.
I think it is a basic human instinct for a golfer who just hit a good driver to see how long it was ... could be a record hit for that golfer.
Sven

0 RadAd over 6 years ago

I fully agree with the above. Please give us a way to manually measure a shot. Once in a while I hit a good shot and I am very curious to know how long that shot was. I will have to ask my friends with other golf watches to measure for me.
I think it is a basic human instinct for a golfer who just hit a good driver to see how long it was ... could be a record hit for that golfer.
Sven

I've officially logged a ticket with Garmin about this. I've been using Garmin golf watches for years (S1 and S3) and this is the first one that doesn't have a reliable measure shot function. On the course, this is one of the top 3 features I use on a golf watch and if the accelerometer can't detect 100% of my shots then manual shot measurement should be decoupled from it.

0 sigsme over 6 years ago

I've officially logged a ticket with Garmin about this. I've been using Garmin golf watches for years (S1 and S3) and this is the first one that doesn't have a reliable measure shot function. On the course, this is one of the top 3 features I use on a golf watch and if the accelerometer can't detect 100% of my shots then manual shot measurement should be decoupled from it.

Another annoying thing is that, for me, the "Measure Shot" menu is only visible if I have selected to keep score with the watch. Which I prefer not to do.

0 RadAd over 6 years ago

Another annoying thing is that, for me, the "Measure Shot" menu is only visible if I have selected to keep score with the watch. Which I prefer not to do.

You should call Garmin and log a ticket. That's the only way stuff like this is going to get fixed. When I called in they said they didn't have any related issues logged.

0 stefano3879 over 6 years ago

Fully echo-ing the above.
The manual shot measurement is really a critical feature, without that we need to carry old watches / other watches to measure properly the shot.
Please consider adding a "manual shot measurement" feature, it's only minor software update, that could be activated via menu or even a long press of a key.
Moreover, on top of being totally inconvenient, auto shot measurement isn't fully reliable as sometime isn't triggered by the swing.
Few common example of when manual shot measurement is needed:
- measuring the distance of a provisional ball and the original one (autoshot measures only the last shot, and you lose the distance of your first ball)
- measuring the distance of a friend shot (e.g. driving contest)
- measuring manually the distance from point A to B, for instance to better prepare for a short approach by walking the distance and inspecting
Please consider this user feedback, we all come from multiple previous Garmin devices and here we're on a critical bug which could be fixed quite easily, as it works on data that the watch is logging anyway on a course (distance between point A and B).
Thanks and available for clarification

0 RadAd over 6 years ago

So I called in this issue a month ago and then i sent Garmin my device files foer troubleshooting purposes. I followed up with them a couple of days ago and I was referred to the generic AutoShot recommendations help page. :( i've once again outlined how to reproduce and reiterated how frustrating this is for golfers. Hopefully I'll have some good news before the end of golf season.

0 stefano3879 over 6 years ago

It's very strange, like the development of this device hasn't been submitted to some actual players review.
To me, even if the Autoshot worked flawlessly (100% - which is NOT the case), it's complementary and must not replace the basic manual measurement feature.
Especially because enabling the Manual measurement would be a piece of cake from a development standpoint, i hope they don't get stubborn on the Autoshot....
They can have Autoshot, if they like it, but in parallel.
Garmin please listen to the loyal users :), and get some golf player in the development team of the Fenix.....

PS: i also logged a claim to the customer support, reply was "we will forward the claim to the developers and they will decide if including the manual measurement feature in the next releases".
To me, it sounds like a no :)

0 RadAd over 6 years ago

It's very strange, like the development of this device hasn't been submitted to some actual players review.
To me, even if the Autoshot worked flawlessly (100% - which is NOT the case), it's complementary and must not replace the basic manual measurement feature.
Especially because enabling the Manual measurement would be a piece of cake from a development standpoint, i hope they don't get stubborn on the Autoshot....
They can have Autoshot, if they like it, but in parallel.
Garmin please listen to the loyal users :), and get some golf player in the development team of the Fenix.....

PS: i also logged a claim to the customer support, reply was "we will forward the claim to the developers and they will decide if including the manual measurement feature in the next releases".
To me, it sounds like a no :)

I'm surprised that this issue hasn't gained more traction frankly. I've been chatting with other Garmin owners at my golf club and they all have a major beef with the unreliability of AutoShot and the lack of a reliable way to measure shots on newer watches such as the S20. The first generation Garmin Golf watches had the user story right with one-touch manual shot measurement, but in the process of trying to improve the product the Garmin development team eliminated a very important feature.

Since I still have an S3 I can use that for the time being, but when the S3 dies I'll have to move to a competitor if Garmin doesn't address this.

0 Gr4z over 6 years ago

I find it very surprising the top end models like the Fenix watches do not have all the features found on a $150 S20. Surely the Fenix should be top end, no holes barred, do everything watch. Especially at the cost.

Measure shot is a really important feature, sadly missing from the Fenix and 935 models. You can bet the watch can do it, but Garmin don't want to enable it. Shame.