Garmin Approach G30 Handheld Golf GPS Review
This Garmin Approach G30 review article will tell you everything that you need to know about the Garmin Approach G30 Handheld Golf GPS. The best Garmin handheld devices are the Garmin Approach G80, G8 and G30, in that order. The Garmin Approach G80 is better than the Garmin G8 and G30 because it has a larger display, higher resolution, and comes with a launch radar that will acquire stats that will improve your golf swing.
Other important differences are that the Garmin G30 does not have the slope adjustment or blindshot assistance features that the Garmin G80 and G8 have. Also the Garmin G30 does not have the club recommendation feature of the Garmin G8.
For more information about the differences and similarities between the Garmin Approach G80, G8, and G30, please read this article: Garmin G80 vs G8 vs G30.
Best Features of the Garmin Approach G30
• The Garmin G30 has a 2.3-inch color touchscreen display that is smaller than the displays of the Garmin Approach G8 and G80.
• High-sensitivity GPS – acquires satellites quickly to show distance to greens, hazards and doglegs
• Preloaded with more than 40,000 courses worldwide
• Full-color course maps – Beautiful colorful graphics that show you aerial views of the greens, hazards and doglegs
• Touch Targeting – get the distance information to any location by touching the location on the course map
• Green View – view the shape and layout of all putting greens
• Manual pin placement with touchscreen – use the touchscreen to move the flag to the proper position to reflect that day’s pin placement
• Colorful layup arcs at 100, 150, 200 and 250 yards
• Bluetooth-enabled smartphone notifications
• Big Numbers Mode will display the information with a bigger font size, making it easier for people with bad eyes to see
• TruSwing compatibility
• Digital scorecard
• Stat Tracking
• Offers up to 15 hours of battery life on each charge
Garmin Approach G30 Features not found in the Garmin G8
*Garmin G30 is much cheaper than the G8
*Second smallest Garmin handheld device (Garmin G10 is the smallest) – G8: 2.1″(W) x 4.4″(L) x 0.6″(D) vs G30: 2.1″(W) x 3.0″(L) x 0.8″(D)
*G30 weighs less – Garmin G8: 3.97 oz vs Garmin G30: 2.5 oz
The Garmin G30 has smaller dimensions and a lower display resolution compared to the G8:
• Smaller screen diagonal – 3.0 inch (G8) vs 2.3 inch (G30)
• Smaller Product Dimensions (Width x Height x Depth in inches) – 2.1″ x 4.4″ x 0.6″ (G8) vs 2.1″ x 3.0″ x 0.8″ (G30)
• Shorter Length – Garmin G8: 4.4 inches vs Garmin G30: 3.0 inches
• Thicker design – Garmin G8: 0.6 inches vs Garmin G30: 0.8 inches
• G30 weighs less – Garmin G8: 3.97 oz vs Garmin G30: 2.5 oz
• Inferior display resolution – Garmin G8: 240 x 400 pixels vs Garmin G30: 160 x 240 pixels
The Garmin Approach G30 is less expensive than the Garmin G80 and G8 and the Garmin G30 has a smaller size of 2.1″(W) x 3.0″(L) x 0.8″(D) whereas the Garmin G80 and G8 are larger at 2.3″(W) x 4.5″(L) x 0.6″(D) and 2.1″(W) x 4.4″(L) x 0.6″(D), respectively.
To make the choice easier, you should consider that the Garmin Approach G80, G8 and G30 have many of the most popular golfing features in common including full color course maps, touchscreen, touch targeting, layup arcs at 100, 150, 200 and 250 yards, and the ability to view all of your previously saved rounds, player statistics and shots on the device. Also the Garmin Approach G80, G8 and G30 have smartphone notifications with audio tone alerts and big numbers mode that will allow people with poor vision to see the distances better.
Final Verdict
The slope adjusted distances, club recommendation feature, pinpointer blindshot assistance found in the Garmin Approach G80 and G8 are great features that will help you get accurate distances on uphill and downhill shots and choose the right club. Unfortunately, you cannot use these features for tournaments but you can use them during practice rounds to improve your game. So, if you are on a tight budget, then choosing the Garmin Approach G30 is the easy choice because it costs much less and the Garmin G80, G8 and G30 contain many of the same features, including full color course maps, touchscreen, touch targeting, layup arcs at 100, 150, 200 and 250 yards, smartphone notifications with audio tone alerts, big numbers mode, and the ability to view all of your previously saved rounds, player statistics and shots on the device.
