The Garmin Venu X1 is a golf watch that's trying to be your caddie, fitness coach, and smartphone all rolled into one. If you're tired of guessing distances on the course or fumbling with your phone between shots, this might be exactly what you need.
Right out of the box, the Venu X1 feels premium. The watch weighs just 46 grams, which means it's lighter than most golf balls you'll be hitting! The 1.3-inch AMOLED display is bright enough to read in direct sunlight, and here's the thing — that matters when you're squinting at yardages on a sunny afternoon. The screen resolution sits at 416 x 416 pixels, giving you crisp text and graphics that won't strain your eyes.
The Garmin Venu X1 redefines what a premium fitness smartwatch can do. With advanced tracking, vivid AMOLED display, and long battery life, it’s built for those who want performance and style in one powerful wearable.
I've always been a round watch guy. Something about square watches just screamed "I work in tech" rather than "I play golf." But Garmin did something clever here – they packed a 2-inch AMOLED display into this square form factor that actually makes sense. The 1,304 square millimeters of screen real estate means I can actually see the green contour maps without squinting like I'm reading the fine print on a scorecard. The sapphire crystal screen has already survived two incidents (one involving my golf bag zipper, another with my car door), and there's not a scratch on it. That fiber-reinforced polymer body with the titanium caseback? It feels premium without the weight penalty. I wore this thing for 36 holes in Phoenix heat last month, and unlike my old S62, my wrist wasn't begging for mercy by the back nine.
Here's where things get interesting. The full-color TopoActive maps aren't just pretty visuals – they're legitimately game-changing. Last weekend at Grayhawk, I was playing the Raptor course for the first time. Hole 7 has this nasty false front that isn't obvious from the fairway. The Venu X1 showed me exactly where the tier was, with turn-by-turn guidance that suggested I play to 165 instead of the 158 the yardage marker showed. I stuck it to 8 feet. Without that map, I would've been chipping from 30 yards short.
The PlaysLike feature factors in wind and slope, which sounds gimmicky until you're standing on a raised tee box with a 15 mph crosswind. It told me my 180-yard 5-iron was playing 192. I pulled 4-iron, landed it pin high. My playing partners thought I was some kind of wind-reading savant. I just smiled and tapped my wrist. The Virtual Caddie feature analyzes your performance history and suggests the optimal club for each shot, similar to what you'd find on the premium Approach S70.
Now, about those green contour heat maps – they're locked behind a $99 annual Garmin Golf membership, which initially annoyed me. But after using them for a month, I get it. These aren't just basic slope indicators; they're detailed heat maps showing exact break percentages. At Troon North last week, I read a putt completely wrong until I checked the heat map. It showed a subtle ridge I couldn't see with my eyes. Made the 12-footer for birdie.
I tested the Venu X1 with and without the Garmin CT10 sensors. With the sensors ($229 for a 14-pack), it's deadly accurate. Every shot is logged, distances are spot-on, and it even tracks your club path metrics. But here's the kicker – even without the sensors, the automatic shot tracking works surprisingly well. It missed maybe 2-3 shots per round, usually chips or pitches from close range. For a guy who used to manually enter every shot on his phone (and gave up after nine holes), this is groundbreaking.
The watch learns your game too. After about five rounds, it started suggesting clubs based on my actual distances, not what I think I hit. Turns out my 7-iron isn't the 165-yard weapon I thought it was – it's more like 158. Humbling? Yes. Helpful? Absolutely. My approach shots have been landing on the green way more consistently since I accepted this reality.
I used to roll my eyes at all the health tracking stuff. Who cares about HRV when you're trying to break 80? But the Venu X1's approach is different. The training readiness score combines your training load, recovery, sleep quality, and stress levels into one number that tells you if you should grind on the range or take it easy. Three weeks ago, it showed a readiness score of 35 (out of 100) the morning of a tournament. I ignored it, shot 86. The next week, with a score of 78, I shot 74.
The Body Battery feature is similarly useful. It tracks your energy reserves throughout the day. I've learned that when it drops below 40, my swing gets sloppy. Now I check it before deciding whether to hit the range after work or just head home and rest. The Pulse Ox monitoring seems accurate (I compared it to my wife's medical-grade device), though I'm not sure how much that matters for golf. The sleep analytics are extensive – maybe too extensive. I don't need to know my REM cycles were 3% below ideal. But knowing I only got 5 hours of quality sleep explains why I chunked three wedges in a row. The watch also provides a recovery time recommendation after each range session or round, suggesting how long to rest before your next intense practice.
32GB of storage means I can load music directly onto the watch. Paired with my AirPods, I don't need my phone for my morning range sessions. The voice command feature works well enough – "start golf activity" actually starts golf mode about 80% of the time. Voice notes are clutch for remembering swing thoughts mid-round. Yesterday I recorded "keep your head still through impact" after striping a 3-wood, and listened to it before every tee shot.
Battery life is the real hero here. Garmin claims 8 days in smartwatch mode, and I'm getting 6-7 days with heavy use (daily golf tracking, constant heart rate monitoring, sleep tracking). In GPS mode during rounds, it sips battery – I've played 36 holes and still had 40% left. Even with music playing through Bluetooth, you're looking at 7 hours of use. My Apple Watch friends are jealous.
The WiFi syncs everything to Garmin Connect automatically when I get home. No more plugging in cables or remembering to sync. ANT+ connectivity means it talks to my Garmin speed/cadence sensors on my bike and broadcasts my heart rate to my Peloton. It's a proper ecosystem play. When paired with the Z30 rangefinder, the watch receives real-time pin positions and displays live distances directly on your wrist, eliminating the need to constantly pull out the rangefinder.
The Garmin Venu X1 redefines what a premium fitness smartwatch can do. With advanced tracking, vivid AMOLED display, and long battery life, it’s built for those who want performance and style in one powerful wearable.
Yes, you can confidently use your Garmin Venu X1 while swimming or showering. Its 5 ATM water resistance rating handles depths up to 50 meters, making it perfect for pool and open-water swimming. The watch tracks your swimming workouts, maintains heart rate monitoring underwater, and its touchscreen works reliably when wet. The scratch-resistant sapphire crystal and titanium caseback protect against daily water exposure, while the nylon band withstands repeated moisture contact.
You'll get up to 14 hours of battery life when using GPS and golf tracking features on your Garmin Venu X1. The watch uses all-systems GNSS mode during golf activities, which tracks multiple satellite systems while displaying full-color course maps and calculating distances to greens and hazards. This continuous GPS engagement and processor use means you're covered for multiple rounds before needing to recharge with the proprietary Garmin plug charger.
Yes, you can use the Garmin Venu X1 with both iPhone and Android smartphones. You'll pair it through the Garmin Connect app via Bluetooth, not your phone's settings. While both platforms support core features like notifications, GPS tracking, and Garmin Pay, you'll get fuller functionality on Android. iPhone users can't access on-wrist texting or photo viewing, but all golf tracking, health sensors, and music storage work perfectly on both systems.
You don't need a subscription for basic course maps - the Venu X1 comes preloaded with over 43,000 golf courses worldwide that you can access free. However, if you want advanced features like PlaysLike Distance Icons, Contour Shading, and regular course updates, you'll need a Garmin Golf™ subscription. The membership's available in monthly or annual plans and activates premium golf capabilities beyond the standard maps built into your watch.
Yes, you'll have full access to every feature as a left-handed golfer. The watch's thin, crownless design won't interfere with your swing when worn on either wrist. While the physical buttons are on the right side, you'll primarily use the touchscreen for guidance, making hand dominance irrelevant. Automatic shot detection, distance tracking, course maps, and green contours work similarly for lefties. You won't experience any limitations or usability issues.
You've seen what the Garmin Venu X1 brings to your golf game - from precise GPS distances to detailed course maps and swing metrics. While it's pricier than basic golf watches, you're getting premium features that'll genuinely improve your rounds. If you're serious about lowering your scores and want thorough performance tracking both on and off the course, you won't regret this investment. The Venu X1 delivers exactly what dedicated golfers need.
