Please note, the new version of Golf Pad does not support Tizen OS smartwatches. To use Golf Pad with Gear/Galaxy watch (Tizen OS), please install the Golf Pad Classic app on your phone and the regular Golf Pad app on your watch (version 5.6.7).
General troubleshooting
If you can't see the rangefinder distances on your Samsung watch, please check the troubleshooting steps below:
- Verify your watch is supported, see this article
- Make sure you have Premium upgrade
- Follow the instructions in this article to set up the Golf Pad watch app
- Verify Samsung Tizen is enabled in Golf Pad Classic preferences / Smartwatch sync
- Verify watch is shown as connected in the Galaxy Wearable app on your phone
- Start a golf round on the phone and open the Golf Pad app on your watch
- Set up the watch to resume Golf Pad automatically when you look at the watch (see below)
Standalone mode troubleshooting
PLEASE NOTE: Samsung ended support for Tizen-based smartwatches in December 2023, so Golf Pad Classic cannot issue any updates or fixes for them. Standalone feature may be unstable, and unfortunately we have no control over this.
If using standalone mode with GPS-equipped Samsung watch, please see additional troubleshooting steps below:
- Set up standalone mode, make sure you have the latest version of Golf Pad watch app (4.1.1 or later) and Golf Pad Classic phone app.
- Check the 'General troubleshooting' steps above and verify Golf Pad app works well in 'connected' mode
- Enable Standalone mode on your phone in Golf Pad Classic preferences / Smartwatch sync
- Verify GPS location is enabled in watch settings
- Confirm the watch is connected to the phone, then finish current round and start a new round on the phone. Verify rangefinder distances show on the watch
- OPTIONAL: disconnect the phone and watch to get the best accuracy. We recommend to use airplane mode on the watch, but you can alternatively disable Bluetooth on either device.
- Go outside where you have the clear view of the sky. The watch may take several minutes to acquire the signal.
- After you finish playing or at any time during the round, reconnect the phone and the watch to sync scores between the phone and the watch. Scores will be synced automatically once connection is established. Finish the round on the phone to save it in your playing history.
If the steps above did not help or you are seeing an error in the Golf Pad watch app, please proceed to restart both the phone and the watch and check it again. If the problem persists, please open a support ticket.
Improving location accuracy when using standalone mode
Samsung watches use phone's GPS location if the phone is nearby and connected via Bluetooth or Wi-Fi. This is a built-in Samsung optimization aimed at improving watch battery life. This means that you may get inaccurate distances or shot tracking it the phone is nearby, but not in your pocket. For example, if you leave the phone in your golf cart and walk to the fairway, your watch will show distances and track shots based on your cart's location. To prevent this from happening, turn off Bluetooth on your phone or on your watch after starting the round. Alternatively, you can start airplane mode.
Improving Samsung watch battery life
Most users can finish a full 18-hole round with battery to spare on the watch, even when using standalone mode. If your watch runs out of battery quickly, please use the following tips:
- Close all running apps on the watch before starting Golf Pad
- Disable Wi-Fi and Mobile data in watch settings
- Disable screen Always On mode in watch settings
- If using standalone mode, turn on Airplane mode on the watch after starting the round. Turn off after finishing the round so the scores will sync to the phone.
Make Golf Pad distances auto-display when you raise the watch during a round
For Gear watches running Tizen 2 operating system: you can adjust this in settings, right on your Gear watch:
- Tap the settings icon
- Select Display
- Tap on Wake-up Gesture
- Select Last Viewed Screen
With Tizen 3 update, Samsung has removed the option for showing the last used app automatically. We released an updated version of the Golf Pad watch app (3.1.4) that works around the limitation. Please be sure to install the latest version of the Golf Pad app on the watch. You can check the current version by opening Galaxy Wearable app on the phone, and going into Settings / Apps / Golf Pad. Make sure you have version 3.1.4 or higher.
With Tizen 4 and Tizen 5, a new option is added to auto-resume Golf Pad. On your watch, go into Settings / Display / Show last app, then select 'Within 1 hour'. That should take care of auto-resuming Golf Pad during the round whenever you look at the watch.
Other options
If you have the latest version of the Golf Pad watch app, but the GPS distances still do not show automatically during the round, you can make it easier to resume the Golf Pad app using home button double-press action.
Step by step instructions:
- Make sure Golf Pad app is installed on your Galaxy/Gear watch
- Open settings on Gear/Galaxy watch
- Select Device
- Select Double press Home
- Choose Golf Pad
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