How to putt with a Garmin R10 in GSPro

Last updated 2026-09-30

The short answer: the Garmin R10 doesn't read putts, and Garmin has said it won't. In GSPro you have three ways to handle the green:

Let GSPro putt for you with its auto putt modes. Works on GSPro's own Garmin R10 license.
Putt a real ball under a camera (webcam putting). Needs GSPro's Open API license.
Add a separate putting device. Next to an R10, that almost always means the Open API license too.

Here's what each one involves, what it costs you on the green, and what to check before you switch anything.

Why the R10 can't putt

It's the hardware, not a setting you missed. On Garmin's own R10 forum, the answer to a request for putting was: "our development team has no plans to add putting to the R10. This is due to the overall design, which prevents it from being able to track putts." (Garmin forum)

GSPro's R10 setup guide says the same thing: "The Garmin Approach R10 does not support putting. Be sure to select one of the auto putt modes before starting a round of golf." (GSPro R10 guide)

So no firmware update or menu option is coming to save you. What matters is what handles the green instead.

Option 1: Let GSPro handle the green

This is the official route and the simplest one. You buy GSPro with the Garmin R10 license (or convert your existing key), pair the R10 with Windows, and GSPro Connect talks to it for every full shot. On the green, you pick one of GSPro's putting options in match setup (GSPro match setup):

Auto-Putt Fixed scores your putts from circles around the hole. You can set the circle sizes in GSPro's game settings.
Auto-Putt Random picks a result for you.
Pick Your Putt lets you enter how many putts you took. The honest way to use it: roll the putt on your real mat from about the right distance, then type in what you actually made.
A gimme circle anywhere from 2 to 20 feet.

Good for: quick rounds, groups, anyone who's happy to hit full shots and keep moving.

The catch: the green stops being part of your round. Your lag putting never gets tested, and a chip that sneaks into the auto-putt circle scores the same as a great one.

License: GSPro's Garmin R10 license. GSPro's R10 guide doesn't ask for a Garmin Golf membership to play.

Option 2: Webcam putting

A camera hangs straight down over your putting mat. It watches the ball leave your putter, measures the ball speed and the start line, and sends that putt to GSPro. GSPro then rolls it on the course's green with the course's slope and speed. Leave it short and it's short. Push it and it's a push.

What it takes:

GSPro's Open API license. Camera putting sends putts into GSPro through its Open API (Open Connect). The Garmin license doesn't open that door, so you'd convert.
A new way to connect the R10. On the Open API license, GSPro Connect no longer talks to the R10 for you, so something else has to. The free community connector springbok added an R10 Bluetooth mode in version 1.04.01 (springbok release notes). GSPro accepts one connection at a time, so the R10 and the camera have to share it.
A camera that really delivers 60 frames a second, a mount 6-8 feet above the mat, and a steady lamp over the mat. The camera is the part people get wrong most often. Here's how to choose one.

The free route: springbok includes webcam putting built on community tracking software. That software recommends an orange ball and tuning the camera's color settings by hand, because "as all webcams are different this can not be done automatically" (cam-putting-py README). Plenty of R10 owners run it. Budget some patience for lighting changes.

Kits: some shops sell "R10 putting kits". One lists a USB camera, lights, cables and "Open Source Software" (example kit). If you'd rather have someone pick the parts, that's what you're paying for. Whatever you buy, check that the camera actually delivers 60 frames a second in your room, not just on the box.

For the full walk-through, read webcam putting for GSPro.

Option 3: A separate putting device

There are dedicated putting gadgets: camera-and-mat systems, infrared gates, and launch monitors that read putts. Before you buy one to sit next to an R10, check two things:

Does it connect to GSPro at all? Some only work in their own app. Some reach GSPro only through community software.
Which GSPro license does it need? A GSPro license is set to one launch monitor type at a time. GSPro's license conversion tool lists "Garmin Approach R10" and "OpenAPI" as separate choices. If the R10 handles full shots and a second device handles putts, you're on the Open API license, with the same one-connection question as webcam putting.

One honest note: if you haven't bought your launch monitor yet and putting matters a lot to you, look at launch monitors that read putts themselves.

What each option needs

Option	What happens on the green	GSPro license	Extra gear
GSPro putting modes	GSPro scores it for you	Garmin R10	None
Webcam putting	You putt a real ball	Open API	60 fps camera, overhead mount, lamp, and a way to connect the R10
Putting device	You putt on the device	Open API, next to an R10	The device and whatever connects it

Switching licenses

GSPro's conversion tool changes your key to a different launch monitor type. Afterward, GSPro tells you to download the latest stable version and clear your GSPro Connect settings (GSPro license conversion). Read the current terms on that page before you switch.

Tips once you putt for real

Turn off Auto Putt in GSPro's match setup, or your real putts won't count. Gimmes are fine.
Keep your phone off the R10. The R10 takes one Bluetooth connection at a time. If Garmin Golf on your phone grabs it (the status light flashes blue), the PC can't reach it. Close the app or turn off the phone's Bluetooth.
Putter in hand means putting. Your putting setup should only send putts when GSPro has the putter selected, and should ignore the R10 while it does. Otherwise a putting stroke over the R10 can turn into a chip.
Light the mat. Evening light and your own shadow are the hardest conditions for a putting camera.

Where PuttBay fits (the R10 part is in beta)

PuttBay is a Windows app that does option 2 in one place, and it's free during the beta.

R10 support is in beta with a small group of hand-picked testers, and it hasn't been tested on every unit yet. Tell us you have an R10 on the beta form.
It reads your putts with a camera over your mat, and GSPro gets full shots from the R10 and putts from the camera in the same round.
While GSPro has the putter selected, it ignores the R10, so a putting stroke never lands in your round as a shot.
Rounds need GSPro's Open API license. On the Garmin R10 license, PuttBay can't add camera putts, but its practice green still works with your camera.

See what works with PuttBay Join the free beta

PuttBay is an independent product and is not affiliated with GSPro, Rapsodo, Garmin, FlightScope or Square. Product names are used only to describe compatibility.