Garmin has announced a brand-new golf watch to join its lineup, the Approach S72, and while it looks like an excellent watch already in terms of form and features, it’s simply not the one I was really hoping would be revealed.
I’d long been anticipating the next Garmin to join our best golf watches list, so my hype levels were elevated, and looking into the pattern of releases, I had really high hopes for one model in particular: the MARQ Golfer Gen 3.
Don’t get me wrong, I will absolutely be all over the Approach S72 — I reviewed the Approach S70 and really enjoyed it, and am sure the S72 will eclipse it and provide a really excellent golf experience. Garmin simply doesn’t miss when it comes to golf wearables and tech.
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It quadruples the memory over its S70 sibling, for starters, but I also love the sound of mixing golf and biometric data to understand a round of golf more.
There are two features that I’m also really keen on. First is the Swing metrics feature, which will offer golfers insights into their swings such as hand speed, backswing length, wrist rotation and more. Second is the Driving Range activity profile, which will give me information like my tendencies and habits on the range but also log it as a workout, working toward my fitness goals. These are definitely welcome and help to make a device that can be your golfing companion both in training and on the course.
The cherry on top is that it does look like a more lifestyle-friendly timepiece too, which is very welcome.
The addition of a flashlight, a speaker, and a microphone also gives it new functionality and day-to-day usage, which is definitely a plus. The shift from a rubber to a ComfortFit material strap is something I’m personally less keen on, though I can get the attraction if you’re also going to be wearing it for running, in the gym, or other workouts — which you can, of course, because it’ll make use of Garmin’s excellent general fitness functions too.
But it just won’t be that mega-premium, everything-turned-up-to-11 kind of wearable that the Garmin MARQ Golfer (Gen 2) was for me. And that’s what I really want the MARQ Golfer (Gen 3) to be — a hero piece.
The premium golf watch to rule them all
The Garmin MARQ Golfer (Gen 2) left such an impression on me when I reviewed it that I was sad to send it back. It’s a complete package of a golf watch and — at least when I reviewed it last year — it was easily the most lifestyle-focused watch in the golf lineup.
It had all the features Garmin offered in golf at the time — although I really do wish Garmin would stop locking a lot of the coolest and most helpful features behind the Connect+ subscription, something it continues to be guilty of even with the new S72 — all displayed on a wonderful, punchy screen, and it was easy to navigate with intuitive controls. I even remember just using the screen for any function being a joy; it was that good.
And with that watch first releasing in late 2022, and with the S50 and S44 golf watches arriving earlier this year, I pinned my hopes on the next launch being the Gen 3. The time felt right for a new premium watch, encapsulating everything that Garmin has advanced and developed in the past few years, to be released and offer a new premium package to strive for. Heck, even the existing Gen 2 has seen price cuts, and that watch’s availability is starting to wane, giving my prediction extra weight. But it wasn’t to be, and my wait continues.
In reality, I don’t think the Approach S72 will be anything to be disappointed about; of course it won’t — but it’s just not going to be quite the dizzying heights of what I will have to continue imagining the Gen 3 of the MARQ Golfer will be.
While I wait for the Gen 3, I’ll just be over here, swapping out the ComfortFit fabric strap on the S72 with a nice leather one to get that MARQ feel.
The Garmin Approach S70 is available to order on October 9 and will cost $799.99 / £699.99 for the 47mm variant, with a smaller 43mm variant also available.
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