Very good question, Anthony.  I think the Grmin S1 and S2 are good choices... from what I've read... also the Bshnell Neo.  Grmin S1 very straight forward with front, middle and back distances.  S2 has quite a few more bells and whistles, but quite a bit more expensive.  I've also been thinking of taking that plunge.  I've been using Golf Pd app on my phone, but sometimes is a bit slow and doesn't catch up... searching.  There are so many choices out there.

I purchased the Bshnell Neo XS after doing a little research and with a pin location sheet that is provided by my club, is pretty spot on. Big plus is that it has the longest battery life before you have to recharge it over the other watches and it also gives you at least two layup and carry distance for hazards and bunkers per hole. Big negative is that sometimes it is slow to change distance if you get a distance for your partner and then walk 5 to ten yards over to your ball on some holes. I would also seriously look at the Sky Cddie watch that you do not have to pay a yearly fee to use it. There are no fees with the Grmin or Bshnell. I still carry a Bshnell laser range finder in my bag for certain holes when I get 100 yards and in as a backup. Usually the watch and the range finder are within a yard or two but it gives me confidence on the yardage being accurate.

ill have to give those a look thank you for the responses

Carl...  that's the same problem I have with my phone app... yardage is slow to change distance at some times.  i can walk 15 yds. sometimes and it doesn't change, then all of a sudden it does... then you're not sure whether or not to trust it.  I just have to wait until it settles in while others are playing their next shot.  The lasers are very nice, but very expensive.  They are fast and reliable though.

I have been using an ESN, model WRX67 watch. I love it, $149. I find it to be very accurate and fast. My play has sped up, and GIR's too. One round it was off by 50 yards! I hit "exit round" started a new one and it was right back on accurate. It shows two hazards, has additional "apps" and looks good. It is comfortable too. A friend just bought the SkyCaddie and returned it right away due to missing features and subscription model. He exchanged it for the Bushnell Neo XS, that seems to be very close to my WRX67 look and software. He does get up to 4 hazards per hole though.

i do carry a laser range finder for inside 100 yards, but highly recommend the GPS watch. Have fun!

FORGET THE GPS'S OF ANY KIND - GET YOURSELF A GOOD LASER AND SPEED UP THE GAME!  

James, you make a fairly good point... and I, as well as many others,  would really like to have one of the Bshnll lasers... but they are expensive.  Seems like they range between $250 and $500.  I will say, I don't let my phone app control my pace of play, or hold anyone up.  If it's slow, then I put it away, take an educated guess, and play the shot.  

IZZO Swami 4000 Golf GPS  

the lasers are the best and by far the most accurate but unfortunately due to a medical condition i cannot not hold one still enough to use one. the technology is vastly improving but still i cannot find one that i can use yet. thats why i was wondering about the GPS watches, ive heard good things about them and the price being fairly reasonable i figured id at least look into them. being 29 yrs old my game has gotten better each year but ive always eyeballed the distances which works about 90% of the time but i want to be right all the time, i want to shoot in the 60's before the end on this year so im doing everything to get there. this would be an easy decision if titleist made a yardage device.....lol. thank you guys for the reviews

Anthony, I've had a Garmin S3 for about a year and like it a lot.  It's drawback is that the battery may not last for one of my 36 hole days.  It does pick up the signals pretty quick and is fairly accurate.  I usually tee off at 7am and there is fog cover most days, it picks up the signal and works just fine even then.  I have one buddy who has a hand held GPS that shows the hole layout and displays a lot more information, it is definitely easier to read, has a carabiner hook so he carries it on a belt loop.  The hand held GPS is a pretty good setup although it eats up batteries pretty quick.  Another buddy has a laser, I like it a lot, easy to use, and you get accurate yardage right to the pin.  If I had it to do over, I think I'd get one of the hand held GPS units.

i would recomend sky caddie. they have great and trusty yardeges and almost my whole family has each one. any kind of sky caddie gps i would buy for sure.

Took the plunge on a Factory Refurbished Grmin G6 yesterday for $180 off the bay.  I've heard that the refurbed electronics tend to be very good... anyone have experience purchasing refurbished GPS?  It does come with the full 1 yr. warranty.

I use Sky Caddie and it's great. You can keep score and track your stats on it and it gives you all the yardages to hazards etc. , with a great display and layout. If you are playing a new course you can get a hole view to see the overall layout of each hole before you tee off. Very useful. I don't think you will get all this out of a watch ?