Shot Scope X5 GPS watch review: A fascinating way to analyse your golf game

The Shot Scope X5 Golf GPS Watch is a near perfect product that allows golfers to better understand their games' strengths and weaknesses all from the convenience of a beautifully lit touchscreen watch. 

Tracking performance and GPS information are two of the smartest and easiest ways to improve your golf game and the Shot Scope X5 provides both.

We trialed this exciting new watch over a number of rounds to get to grips with not only its on-course performance but also its incredible array of post-round analytics on offer. 

To kick this review off, we'll start by talking about the GPS functions of the X5 watch and then move on to its analytics, which is effectively like having Gary Neville and Jamie Carragher with you in the studio. 

In order to track each golf shot you make you will need to screw in Shot Scope's tags into the grip of each of your clubs.

This is a simple task that should take no longer than five minutes.

Once screwed in the trackers are very secure and you don't have to worry about them coming loose during your round. 

With the setup sorted the GPS was quick to select the course we were playing thanks to the 36,000 pre loaded courses on the watch, and we were ready to go. 

WATCH OUR LATEST SHOT SCOPE X5 GOLF GPS WATCH VIDEO HERE: 

Shot Scope X5: Performance

Once out on the course we wanted to put the GPS functionality to the test and we were delighted with how the watch performed. 

Straight away we really liked the clear and bright display.

Even in bright sunshine the display held up nicely and we didn't have any issue seeing the graphics or numbers on the screen.

Now on to the yardages...

The home screen of the watch shows front, middle and back yardages to the pin as well as hole number, par and score if you have activated it. 

A simple swipe left (like being on Tinder) shows you the reach and carry distances to hazards, which was our favourite feature on the watch.

Knowing yardages to greens is obviously a vital tool to scoring well, but at golf clubs that don't provide course guides, knowing about hidden hazards can be the difference between breaking 80 for the first time or walking off wanting to snap your sand wedge in half. 

Additional information provided for dog legs and lay ups to specific yardages were also very helpful and could make a huge difference when playing a course with a number of blind tee shots or sharp corners. 

Now as we previously mentioned, this is a near perfect product but there are a few issues we did encounter during our testing.

Firstly the touch screen did seem a bit laggy when we were using it. A number of competitors in this category have screens as smooth as we've come accustomed to on a high end smartphone, but unfortunately the X5 left something to be desired in that particular area. While it's by no means a deal breaker for us, it's certainly somewhere that Shot Scope could improve upon. 

The second function that we think could be changed for the better is the lock function. Although easy to turn off, we think the function itself is quite frustrating as it asks you to unlock the screen before every use, which considering how often you will be looking at the watch, is a bit of a pain. 

All in all though the GPS functionality of the X5 is very good and while we were slightly disappointed there was no full hole mapping on offer, we have been told by Shot Scope that function will be coming later this year, which is great news. 

While the GPS aspects of this watch are very good, where it really comes into its own is its performance analysis. 

During the round, thanks to the trackers in the end of each of your clubs, the watch will be working away quietly taking a note of each shot you hit and compiling an extensive report for you to look at when you are having a nice cold drink in the clubhouse, which is exactly what we did. 

Like every shot tracking product on the market, there may be some additional editing that you need to do post round. Whether it's a slight change in putt distance or adding in a green side bunker shot, sadly the tech is not completely faultless. With that being said, the editing process is a fairly simple one and we would highly recommend doing it on your laptop or desktop for best results. 

Now on to the analysis...

When going through your round you are able to look at over 100+ stats and in-depth analytics on all areas of your game. We for example realised that we were losing a great deal of shots on the greens and not only that, we were able to locate exactly how, with most of our putts not reaching the hole. 

You also have the option to compare yourself to golfers with a similar handicap in order to see how and where you could improve your game. You could honestly spend hours going through the various different statistics on offer and we would highly recommend you do so, as its vital information that could prove beneficial both on the course and during practice. 

In summary, the performance analytics on offer from the X5 are usually only available to elite Tour players, but thanks to Shot Scope you can now have them at your fingertips. The X5 is not only a fantastic tool for managing your round but it could also be put to great use as a training tool. Any teaching pro worth their salt would be able to learn a great deal from your data and tailor their teaching as a result. That sounds like a win win scenario to us.

Shot Scope X5: Looks

In terms of looks and everyday wearability, the Shot Scope X5 offers a nice sleek design that wouldn't look out of place in an office environment. The 1.2" display is a nice size and the ceramic bezel offers a subtle look you would expect from any modern smartwatch. 

The silicone strap was very comfortable to wear and it also gives the watch a nice sporty feel.

We tried the watch in black, but it's also available in four other colours including Steel Grey, Prestige White and Midnight Blue.

Should you buy the Shot Scope X5 GPS Watch?

If you are looking for a tool to not only help you improve your play on course but also help you better understand how to improve off it, then the Shot Scope X5 could be the perfect tool for you.

We mentioned how this product is nearly perfect earlier in our review and with a few small tweaks we think Shot Scope is close to creating a tool that could revolutionise how the average golfer approaches their game. 

Throw in good looks and a very reasonable price point, the X5 ticks a lot of boxes and we think you should certainly try it for yourself to fully understand the benefits it could offer you. 

While the touchscreen and shot editing may take a bit of getting used to, the analytics and GPS functionality make it an absolute winner for us. 

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