GARMIN APPROACH S70 GOLF GPS WATCH REVIEW

GARMIN APPROACH S70 GOLF GPS WATCH REVIEW

The new Garmin Approach S70 Golf Smartwatch is incredibly versatile. While it can’t swing the club for you, it excels at everything else. It provides accurate yardage to greens, bunkers, and other course features. Additionally, it tracks your score, and shot distances, and helps with club selections. You can easily swipe to check the weather forecast and integrate it into your round. When paired with a smartphone, it relays all your notifications, keeping you fully informed.

I find this feature both helpful and a little overwhelming. Within a week of using the watch, I receive email, iMessage, ESPN news, Linked-In updates, credit card charges, and calendar events right on my wrist. Although I may edit these notifications soon, I’m currently fascinated by them. The Garmin Approach S70 is compatible with both iPhone and Android devices.

Furthermore, it allows you to see incoming calls on your phone and even lets you play music via Bluetooth. This smartwatch is also an excellent fitness and health companion, with a heartbeat monitor, step counter, and various fitness programs to help you get in shape for golf. However, its true strength lies in measuring distances on the course and tracking your rounds, just like the best golf watches available.

DISPLAY SCREEN

The Garmin Approach S70 is a remarkable golf watch that offers a range of features to enhance your game. With the ability to factor in wind and the option to relocate the pin position, this watch ensures greater accuracy on the course.

Equipped with over 43,000 preloaded courses, the watch seamlessly transitions from an interchangeable watch face to full-on golf mode with just a push of a button. Upon arriving at the course, the watch automatically downloads the course you’re playing via satellite, starting your round for you. The updated hole maps provide detailed information and can be easily customized to your preference. This is a significant improvement over the previous models, such as the Approach S62 and Approach S42, which had slightly outdated maps. The watch displays distances to various course features like bunkers, trees, and water hazards, and you can even adjust the pin position for precise accuracy.

Now, let’s discuss the watch itself. The Garmin Approach S70 offers a variety of preloaded watch faces, ranging from digital to analog designs, allowing you to personalize your look based on your mood and setting when you’re not on the golf course. The watch is available in two different sizes, 1.2-inch or 1.4-inch AMOLED display, both offering the highest resolution available. During testing, the larger face in black proved to be ideal for golf due to its larger size, but some users may prefer the smaller size for everyday use. The watch band is comfortable, easy to adjust, and feels great while swinging.

EASY TO USE

On the right side, there are three buttons: an action button, a menu button, and a back button. These buttons make it easy to navigate through different functions and screens. The user interface is fairly intuitive, but reading the user manual will reveal numerous possibilities. You have the option to customize your golf settings, including changing the number of sizes and looks. Additionally, after a few rounds, the watch can analyze your performance on the golf course, which is a unique feature not commonly found in other golf GPS devices.

PLAY LIKE DISTANCE

The Garmin device offers several notable features. One of them is “Plays Like Distance” which estimates the shot distance considering factors like uphill or downhill slopes, wind, temperature, and barometric pressure. Another feature is the virtual caddie that suggests club recommendations based on these factors and your playing history (minimum of five rounds). Additionally, you can measure your swing tempo to achieve the optimal backswing to through swing ratio (3.0). To accommodate different golfer speeds, Garmin provides six different timing options, and the watch can indicate if your backswing or downswing times are too fast, too slow, or just right for the selected timing.

GARMIN GOLF MEMBERSHIP

The Garmin Approach S70 offers even more with a monthly subscription. By connecting to an active Garmin Golf membership for $9.99 per month, you gain access to valuable insights about the greens, including their contours, slopes, and elevation changes. While it may not capture every subtle break, it still provides useful information. Additionally, the membership allows you to conveniently download all your rounds.

What sets the Garmin Approach S70 apart from other smartwatches and golf watches is its impressive battery life. In smartwatch mode, it can last up to 16 days on a single charge, and with GPS usage, it can extend up to 20 hours. This means you won’t have to worry about charging it daily or even weekly, especially if you’re not playing golf every day. It uses a USB-C cable for charging, which is compatible with MacBook users, but traditional USB users may need a plug adapter.

With all these features, the Garmin Approach S70 undoubtedly ranks among the top Garmin golf watches available in the market. It offers exceptional value, with the only possible exception being the super-premium Marq Golfer watch. Check out the best Garmin golf watches for more options.