Garmin brings its golf GPS technology to a fitness band

If you’re eager to take advantage of the data available with every round you play, but you’re not particularly interested in the added bulk of a golf-specific wrist watch or the battery-sapping inconvenience of using your phone, Garmin’s latest entry in the golf GPS market might be your favorite solution.

The new Garmin Approach X40 is a fitness band type device that not only charts your activity but can guide you through your round, both while you’re playing and later when you’re breaking down all the birdies and bogeys.

The Approach X40 will work as simple or as complex as you’d like to go. Not only does the wristband automatically display yardages for front, middle and back hole locations, it also adds hazard distances, all while tracking your steps, calories and heartrate from 1st tee to 18th green. Its library includes more than 40,000 courses worldwide.

It expands upon basic golf GPS functions through Garmin’s AutoShot round analysis and Garmin Connect. Garmin Connect is an app that allows you to replay each shot in your round and calculates distances with each club, as well as compares how you’re swinging each club and the way you’ve tended to play a particular course. The AutoShot feature simply asks the user to select which club she is using before each swing and then provides a full-round shot-by-shot review.

Finally, since the device can be paired with your phone, the wristband will provide alerts for incoming calls, texts and emails.

The Approach X40 retails for $250.