I should admit straight away, I am a golf rangefinder guy but I actually get to test a lot of golf watches too and right now there is a deal on one of the best models currently on the market, the Garmin Approach S70. It currently has 9% off during Amazon Prime Day and when you combine that with the overall performance, I must also admit that I find the deal too good to ignore!
The watch comes with a range of impressive features, including enhanced golf course maps, giving you the ability to pan and zoom for narrowing in on your target distance. Add to this the virtual caddie system, which follows your shot dispersion and helps you select the right club through a range of factors including your historical swing data, elevation, wind speed, wind direction and more.
The Garmin Approach S70 also factors in elevation changes, taking into account whether your shot is uphill, downhill and your typical trajectory for each club in the bag. The S70 takes into account air pressure, wind and temperature for more accurate yardages.
We found in testing that the Garmin Approach S70 worked great both on and off the course (which is something rangefinders definitely don’t do!). Besides getting accurate yardages to greens, bunkers and other features on the course, it is capable of tracking your score, your shot distances and even make club selections. It’s then a simple swipe to check the weather forecast and you can set the watch up with your smartphone so you’re kept in the loop with what’s going on off the course.
We wore the watch for a week and got every phone notification sent to our wrist – every email, iMessage, ESPN news, Linked-In, credit card charges (in real time), calendar events and more. This can be a little overwhelming for some, but customization is available for what notifications you do and don’t want arriving on your watch.
(Image credit: Future)
With preloaded activity profiles for strength, yoga, cardio and more, the S70 also helps set you up with specific exercises so you can prevent injuries and maybe even hit the ball further.
We loved the S70 in testing, noting that despite the range of data and features available, the watch still felt extremely user friendly. For a monthly fee, there’s even more. When connected to an active Garmin Golf membership ($9.99 per month), you can see the greens’ contours, how much they slope, downhill and uphill, too.
(Image credit: Mike Bailey)
Finally, the S70 comes with an impressive battery life, holding charge for up to 16 days in smartwatch mode and up to 20 hours when using the GPS feature. These features have made the S70 one of best Garmin golf watches available, and you can snap it up on Amazon Prime Day and save $70 in the process – but act quick!