SpeedScore for Garmin — User Manual

Version: 4.8.0 (April 30, 2026) | Supports: 42 Garmin watches

Getting Started

First-Time Setup

When you open the app for the first time, you'll need to link your SpeedScore account:

1. The watch displays a 6-character pairing code
2. Visit speedscore.org and go to Profile → Garmin Watch App
3. Enter the pairing code shown on your watch
4. The watch automatically connects — no manual entry required!

Adding Courses to Your Watch

Before you play:

1. From the web app at speedscore.org, find your course in the database
2. The course syncs to your watch via your phone's Garmin app (phone must be nearby)
3. Course data is stored locally on your watch — you only sync once per course
4. The watch works offline after that as long as you have GPS lock

Main Menu

When you open the app, you see the main menu with these options:

Navigation: Use ▲ and ▼ to move between items, then press SELECT to open.

Starting a Round

Course & Tee Selection

From the main menu, select Start Round:

1. Browse your saved courses (sorted by distance from your current location)
2. Select a course
3. Choose a tee (white, blue, etc.)

Ready Screen

Before the round begins, you can set your starting hole:

• ▲ to increase hole number | ▼ to decrease
• Most rounds start at hole 1, but you can start mid-round or play 9 holes
• START to begin

GPS Lock Indicator

The ready screen shows a colored dot at the bottom indicating GPS signal quality. Wait for a green indicator before starting to ensure accurate stroke detection and distance-to-pin readings.

During Gameplay

What the Watch Tracks

The watch uses GPS, accelerometer, and gyroscope data to automatically detect:

• Strokes: Golf strokes detected using GPS and accelerometer
• Green arrival: When you reach the green (~40 meter radius)
• Hole completion: When you finish and transition to next tee
• Distance to pin: Real-time GPS triangulation
• Course navigation: Arrow pointing to next tee or next green

Round Action Menu

Press START at any time during an active round to open the Round Action Menu. The round clock keeps running while this menu is open — you must explicitly select Pause Round if you want to stop the clock.

In-Play Stats Carousel

Selecting View Round Stats shows a live 4-page summary of your round so far. Use ▲ and ▼ to scroll, or swipe on touch-capable devices. Press BACK to return to the action menu.

Flexible Hole Order

The SpeedScore watch app lets you play course holes in any order. This is handy when you want to skip ahead to avoid slow traffic, jump back to a hole you missed, or play a shorter 9-hole layout starting mid-course.

Browsing Holes with ▲ / ▼

During an active round (while playing or between holes), press ▲ or ▼ to scroll through any hole on the course. The watch displays that hole's distance-to-pin and any recorded score while you browse — your round timer keeps running in the background.

• ▲ — move to the previous hole
• ▼ — move to the next hole
• LAP — snap back to your current active hole at any time

Jumping to a Different Hole

If you navigate to a hole you haven't played yet and press START, the watch shows an "Advance to Hole N?" confirmation menu:

1. Press ▲ / ▼ to browse to the desired hole
2. Press START — confirmation menu appears: "Advance to Hole N?"
3. Select Yes, jump to H-N to skip directly to that hole
4. Select Cancel to go back

Any skipped holes will have no score recorded. You can return to them later using the same navigation.

Editing a Completed Hole from the Carousel

If you browse to a hole where a score has already been recorded, pressing START opens the correction picker directly — no need to go through the pause menu or scorecard. Adjust the score with ▲ / ▼ and confirm with LAP.

Scoring a Hole

Press LAP to End a Hole Recommended

When you hole out, press LAP (lower-right button). The score entry screen appears immediately, showing your default score (configured in Settings → Score Entry → Default Value). Verify the score and adjust if needed; the score will be automatically reorded after the auto-save timeout specified in settings (defaults to 5 seconds).

1. Hole out, then press LAP
2. Score entry screen shows your default score (par, bogey, double bogey, or predicted)
3. Use ▲ to add strokes, ▼ to remove
4. Press LAP to confirm → advances to next hole

Auto-Detect Fallback If you miss LAP

If you don't press LAP at the end of a hole, the app uses GPS to detect when you've departed the green toward the next tee. It then displays the score entry screen once more. If you take no action, it records the default or predicted score and auto-advances to the next hole.

Predicted Score Mode

When Default Value is set to Predicted in Settings → Score Entry, the app uses your GPS trace and accelerometer data to estimate your hole stroke count in real time as you play. This predicted value is shown as the default when the score entry screen opens — you can accept it or adjust.

Undoing a Hole

If you finished a hole by mistake:

1. Press START to open the Round Action Menu
2. Select Undo Last Hole
3. You’ll return to playing that hole with the timer restored

Editing a Past Hole Score

To fix a score after you’ve entered it:

1. Press START to open the Round Action Menu
2. Select View/Edit Scorecard
3. Navigate to the hole you want to fix
4. Press START to open the correction picker
5. Adjust with ▲ / ▼ and confirm with LAP

View Past Rounds

Browse Your Rounds

From the main menu, select Rounds to see a list of all rounds saved on your watch. Each entry shows:

• Date — when you played
• Course name — which course
• Total strokes ±par — how you scored relative to par
• Round time — how long it took
• [!] badge — round hasn't been synced to SpeedScore yet

View Round Details

Tap on any round to get options:

Syncing Rounds to SpeedScore

To upload your rounds to your online SpeedScore account:

1. From the main menu, go to Rounds
2. Select a round and choose Sync
3. The watch uploads the round (requires WiFi or Bluetooth to phone)
4. Once synced, the [!] badge disappears

Synced rounds appear on your SpeedScore profile and in Garmin Connect activity.

End of Round

After Hole 18 (Or Your Last Hole)

When you finish your round, the watch shows a menu:

• Save Round — stores it on the watch and creates a Garmin activity
• Discard Round — deletes it (requires confirmation)

Post-Round Summary Carousel

After saving, you see a scrollable 5-page summary that mirrors Garmin's native activity summaries:

Use ▲ and ▼ to navigate pages. Press BACK to exit and return to the main menu.

Upload Status

The first page shows whether your round was uploaded to SpeedScore:

• ✓ Uploaded — round reached SpeedScore successfully
• [!] Pending — will sync next time you're online
• Error — upload failed (you can retry later from the Rounds menu)

Settings

Open Settings from the Main Menu (pre-round) or from the Round Action Menu (mid-round). Some items are only available pre-round and are hidden while a round is active.

Score Entry (Settings → Score Entry)

All five score-entry settings are grouped in the Score Entry sub-menu.

Data Screen (Settings → Data Screen)

Choose which data screen displays during active gameplay. Use the preview screen to see a live mockup before confirming. The default is Detailed.

HR Alarm (Settings → HR Alarm)

Alerts you with a beep and on-screen overlay when your heart rate crosses a target threshold.

Other Settings

Items marked pre-round only are hidden when a round is active.

Quick Reference Card

Button Mapping — During a Round

Pause Menu Shortcuts

• Undo Last Hole: Pause → Undo Last Hole
• Edit Past Score: Pause → View/Edit Scorecard → START on hole → adjust
• View Stats: Pause → View Round Stats
• Save Round: Pause → Save Round

From Rounds History

• View scorecard: Select round → Scorecard
• View stats: Select round → Stats
• Upload round: Select round → Sync