The Approach S44 and Approach S50 are the two new additions to Garmin's popular golf smartwatch lineup. Garmin is well recognized for making some of the best golf watches on the market, so I was intrigued to see how their Approach S44 performed out on the golf course.
The S44 is a feature-packed watch, featuring a slim, lightweight build and essential tools for golfers looking to improve their game. Equipped with crisp, 1.2-inch colour AMOLED displays, the new smartwatches include preloaded maps of more than 43,000 golf courses and key golf features like hazard view and distance to the front, middle and back of the green to help players hit the right club.
Like the best golf GPS devices, this is a mini caddy to add to your wrist to help plan your next shot, be that navigating a bunker or hazard or receiving help on which club to choose at the right time. This watch also doubles up as a smartwatch that you can wear off the course, albeit without the many health features that are included with the premium Approach S70.
What I like about Garmin is that it lets the quality of its products do the talking. Rarely is there a lot of fuss when unboxing one of its products or any additional bells and whistles - instead, it's almost a bit of an anti-climatic feeling when I unboxed the S44. That isn't a criticism by the way, rather a testament to how a brand is focusing on the important things - the quality of the product.
After removing the watch from the plain but effective packaging I began using it straight away. It came with a full charge which was helpful, although the strap was very rigid for my first few days of use which impacted the comfort and ease of use. This thankfully loosened after a few days but you might struggle to adjust it to your liking at the very beginning.
My first few days wearing the watch did not feature a day on the golf course but rather me using the watch as an everyday smart watch. Connecting my phone to the S44 allowed me to keep a track of my phone notifications on my wrist, check the time, weather, daylight hours, my step count and change my music whilst in the gym and away from my phone. I'm not a massive fan of phone notifications arriving on my wrist, but the Garmin watch allows you to choose which notifications do and don't arrive to the S44 which I found a valuable feature.
I then took this watch to it's natural playground to see how it performed - the golf course. I've never been a big watch guy, always preferring to use some of the best golf rangefinders instead. I've also never been a fan of wearing a watch, or anything for that matter, on my wrist during a round of golf, but given how lightweight the S44 is it really didn't bother me wearing it as I swung the club.
I tested the watch primarily on the Championship Links at Royal County Down and was immediately struck by how clear and concise the display was - one quick glance at my watch gave me the yardage to the front, middle and back of greens which sped up my pre-shot routine compared to when I use my rangefinder.
I also loved the score tracking feature which sends a vibration to your watch as you walk to or reach the next tee box, reminding you to input your score. As a player who tends to mark his card every three or four holes during competitions, this can help avoid scratching down an incorrect score onto your scorecard.
Yardage feedback was largely accurate and consistent. At Royal County Down we have the yardage to the front of the green etched into each sprinkler head, so comparing the yardages on those to my watch proved a good test of accuracy. Although rarely spot on, the watch was never more than two or three yards off. I always found the watch was never under the yardage but rather always one of two yards over. This consistency allowed me to understand my distances that little bit easier rather than second guessing the device.
I would have loved some more information on green complexes, but they are hidden behind a paywall. To access them, you'll have to sign up to Garmin's Golf Membership which will set you back £89.99 for a year.
As a watch to be worn both on and off the course, the battery life is fabulous. Both the S50 and S44 smartwatches deliver up to 15 hours of battery life in GPS mode and much longer when not on the golf course - I charged mine on average once a week.
This is yet another really solid product from Garmin. The S44 delivers all you could want from a golf GPS watch whilst also doubling up as a handy day-to-day smart watch. Those who are fitness-inclined like myself might want to upgrade to the S60 version of the watch for more health and fitness features, but for pure golfers the S44 is a solid alternative.
