Garmin Approach S70 GPS Watch Review
The Garmin Approach S70 GPS Watch, or as I call it “the successor to the best golf accessory ever made” has hit the market. For the player that wants their data in a lightweight and stylish watch that has every option you can think of, this is it. Garmin’s superior accuracy shines in a feature rich, golf first smartwatch.
Out of the Box
Quick first impression of the Garmin S70 GPS Watch is that this company decided to directly address not just a few things, but a lot of things. I couldn’t miss the smallest box I’ve ever seen from the company. You get the watch, the charging cord, and a few small papers, and no bulky manual. This looks like an effort to cut down on packaging and issue the directions and FAQs digitally, which I like. Honestly I love Garmin gear, but I don’t need to have ten boxes taking up space in my closet. Good call!
I immediately wanted to play with this thing, but knew I needed a quick session to adjust the settings to my liking. While the S70 is nearly plug and play, there’s plenty of set up and customization you can do. A previous gripe I had that was that menus and UI were kind of clunky and unattractive. They often took a lot of clicks to get where you needed and it’s not really intuitive. I’m quite pleased with the improvements in the S70 around this area. You can easily and quickly navigate any golf features as well as fitness tracking and daily use separately too!
How Does the S70 Look?
The Garmin S70 is sharp! I feel like this could be a daily smartwatch for many folks. It’s a pretty classic looking watch at 47mm and a black ceramic bezel. The only way you could tell it’s a specialty golf watch is the hole numbers you can navigate along the perimeter. You’d only notice if you look closely, so you can feel free to take this with you out on the town.
Another thing that I like is their super bright AMOLED display. It gives great contrast with vivid colors. In previous iterations and products, I’ve worried that Garmin had gone a bit too cartoony with some of their graphics. In the case of the S70, there’s occasional whips of color, but they kept it in control. Another thing I like is that you can leave the most colorful interfaces on and it won’t destroy your battery!
The last little bonus that I liked is that the silicone band fits very comfortably around your wrist. I’ve found it important to fit snugly and not shift around, and with this band you’re not having a lot of interference with your golf glove either.
On-Course Performance
For people that used Garmin’s previous model – the S62 GPS watch – I feel this is not a full remake, but a serious leveling up in nearly every area. It’s lighter, easier and faster to operate, but above all else, provides better versions of the most useful features I can think of.
First off, I need to shout out the battery. In earlier models, I simply could not do a 36 hole day without it failing. Now, we’re looking at nearly a full twenty hours while running on GPS modes and that makes me think I need to find a day to play like five rounds to test it out. Add to that, you’re looking at over two weeks of power if you’re only running on smartwatch modes. That’s such a huge deal in my book.
When you’re in the middle of the round, I want data that’s easy to access with zero fuss. And that’s what we get here. With the S70, you can navigate the display of your hole and have your most basic and most necessary info front and center (front, middle, back distances for the green). I like that they’ve improved the contrast and colors for each hole of the 43,000 courses they have available, and you’re another single click away from seeing much more specific distances to any hazards ahead of you.
In all, it’s a pretty seamless game time experience and should you need it, there are tons of other features and data collected that you can use to help improve your game too. Below are a few of my favorites.
Approach S70 – Favorite Features
Smartwatch and Fitness Tracker
The Garmin Approach S70 does more than golf. You can wear it for any occasion. It’s offering great features for most exercises and activities you can think of. I actually took it hiking before it hit the golf course and was delighted to find a compass, elevation, distance and lap tracking, and more.You can customize it for any incoming phone calls, texts, calendars, all that. It even offers up mobile pay options and can store a library of music too. There are way more modes and pre-set workouts for a normal gym session too.
Additional On Course Data
A few of the features have become must haves. While I don’t rely on the Virtual Caddie (where the GPS learns your tendencies and recommends a club based off prior data) all the time, I do like seeing and knowing just how far I typically hit that seven iron and how often those club decisions lead to pars. Or worse.
Adding to that, they’ve improved the “Plays Like Distance” feature. It’ll calculate for things like elevation, wind, and other weather to give you a proper number. I’ve not only found it accurate, but also pretty cool when you can see that drop shot par three measured at 170 yards is actually going to be your smooth 130 yard club and have it work out!
Green Contour and Putting
With improved maps and detail, the S70 will offer up a much better zoomed in look at the greens than its predecessors. With only two touches, you’re able to visualize the entirety of the green and a simple drag and drop of the flagstick will allow you to position it so you can get exact yardage. Should you choose an upgraded Garmin Golf membership, you’ve got access to contour data too. It’ll give you a clear topographical map to show where the green breaks. I’m not sure if every single course has this much detail, but enjoy it when you do have the option.
I do have one gripe about the S70. I think it’s time to have the ability to record putting distance. When paired with Garmin’s CT10 trackers (they work wonderfully on full swing clubs), the S70 will only measure how many putts you take. Yes, it’ll save you an additional click as you walk off, but this would prove to be a killer feature. It’s also one that I’ve seen done well in other golf GPS watches. With their tremendous GPS accuracy, being able to see that you’ve hit a 45-foot putt to a 3-foot tap in length – and all the data you’ll accumulate as you go – would be one of the best features. Perhaps next time around?!
Final Thoughts – Garmin Approach S70 GPS Watch
What I’ve liked about Garmin is that they don’t release something new every year just to have something new. I’m definitely looking at you, Apple. Each iteration of the Approach GPS Watch has been a carefully considered improvement. With better technology in battery life, smarter menus, richer features, they’ve gotten better and better each time. The S70 is without a doubt a premium product with a premium price tag. However, I find that it makes my day on the golf course, in the gym, or really anywhere a bit more enjoyable.
I find this to be not only the best GPS watch on the market, but the best golf accessory I’ve used, period.
