Garmin Approach S12 vs GolfBuddy GB VOICE 3S+

The Quick Verdict

Get the Garmin Approach S12. At $199.99, it costs $70 more than the GolfBuddy, but you're getting a full green view, on-wrist scoring, 30 hours of GPS battery, and a platform that syncs round data to your phone. The GolfBuddy VOICE 3S+ is the right call only if you want something that literally speaks your yardage to you without you ever glancing down — a genuinely useful use case for golfers who find checking a watch mid-round disruptive.

What They Have in Common

Both are no-subscription GPS devices with roughly 40,000 preloaded courses and free updates. Neither has a color display, touchscreen, heart rate monitor, or smart features. Both give front/center/back yardages and hazard distances. Both are dedicated golf tools — no pretense of being anything else.

Where They Differ

Form factor and interaction model

These are fundamentally different objects. The S12 is a watch — 34 grams on your wrist, chemically strengthened glass, 5 ATM water resistance. You glance at it the way you'd check the time. The VOICE 3S+ clips onto a hat brim, bag strap, or cart, and speaks your yardage aloud. That's not a gimmick: if you hate fiddling with a watch mid-swing routine, a device that says "147 to center" without requiring you to do anything is genuinely useful. The VOICE 3S+ supports 11 languages and 10 voice options, which probably matters more than it sounds if English isn't your first language on the course.

That said, the clip form factor comes with a trade-off. IPX4 water resistance (splashes okay, rain less certain) vs. the S12's 5 ATM (swimmable). If you're caught in a proper downpour, the S12 is the more confident choice.

Course data and on-course information

The S12 gives you a green view — a visual overhead of the putting surface with yardages to front, center, and back based on pin position. The VOICE 3S+ doesn't have a hole map or green view. It gives you the three numbers and hazard distances, and that's the end of it. No visual of what you're looking at, no overhead of the green. The S12 also supports on-device scoring, so you're logging your round as you play. The VOICE 3S+ has no scoring function.

Neither has green contours, virtual caddie, wind data, or plays-like distance — those features live in higher tiers on both brands.

Battery and practical logistics

The S12's 30-hour GPS battery is exceptional — you can play two or three rounds before you need to find a charger. The VOICE 3S+ gets 18 hours in GPS mode, which is plenty for a single round but shorter. The VOICE 3S+ charges via micro USB, which in 2026 means you're carrying a separate cable. The S12 uses Garmin's proprietary clip charger, which is its own annoyance, but at least it's consistent with other Garmin gear you might already own.

Shot tracking

Both handle shot tracking, but differently. The VOICE 3S+ has basic shot distance measurement — you mark a shot, it tells you how far you hit it. The S12 supports manual shot tracking on device, and if you add Garmin CT10 sensors (sold separately, approximately $130 for a set), it automatically logs every club in your bag. That sensor integration is a meaningful upgrade path if you eventually want to know your average 7-iron distance rather than just remembering it. The VOICE 3S+ has no sensor compatibility.

Who Should Buy Which

Buy the Garmin Approach S12 if:

• You want yardage on your wrist without pulling anything out of your pocket
• You log your scores and want them synced to an app after the round
• You're playing in rain regularly and want confident water resistance
• You want the option to add CT10 sensors later for automatic club tracking
• You play 36-hole days or back-to-back days and don't want to think about charging

Buy the GolfBuddy VOICE 3S+ if:

• You'd rather hear yardages than look at anything — your pre-shot routine is disrupted by checking a device
• You frequently play with golfers who speak languages other than English, or that's you
• You want the cheapest capable GPS device with no ongoing costs, full stop
• You play solo and want the caddie-calls-it-out experience without a caddie

The Bottom Line

The S12 is the better golf tool for most people. It gives you more — green view, scoring, sensor compatibility, better water resistance, an extra 12 hours of battery — and it does all of it without requiring a subscription. The $70 price gap is real, but it's not wide enough to justify the VOICE 3S+'s thinner feature set unless the talking-GPS use case genuinely applies to you.

The VOICE 3S+ isn't a bad product. It's just a narrow one — useful specifically for golfers who want audio yardage and nothing else. That's a legitimate need, and if it's yours, it's the right call. For everyone else, the S12 earns its extra $70.

Get the Garmin Approach S12.