Garmin recently debuted the Approach G3 golf GPS sys­tem. The G3 is billed as the Approach G5’s pocket size lit­tle brother. It’s basi­cally only a half of an inch shorter than the G5 but weighs a con­sid­er­able 1.5 ounces less. The Approach G3 also retails for $100 less than the G5.

Sounds great! Why would any­one not choose the new Approach G3 over the proven Approach G5? There are two rea­sons why one would still choose the G5.

The new Garmin Approach G3 has a 2.6 inch screen while the G5 has a 3 inch screen. Since we are talk­ing about touch­screen golf GPS sys­tems, screen size is a major fac­tor in usability.

The biggest rea­son the G5 is still supe­rior is it’s new stat track­ing capa­bil­ity. You can now track putts per round, fair­ways and greens hit, and the aver­age dis­tance of every club in your bag on the G5. Even though these new fea­tures are deliv­ered to exist­ing G5’s with a firmware update, they have been made not avail­able on the Approach G3.

The Garmin Approach G3 is a great choice if you’re look­ing for a smaller, lighter touch­screen golf GPS sys­tem and can live with­out the stat track­ing. The G3 has all the other great fea­tures of the G5 includ­ing dis­tance to any point on the hole, man­ual pin posi­tion­ing and course preview.

Tech­no­rati Tags: Garmin, Golf GPS Systems