Eight hundred bucks for a golf watch. That's the number you have to get past before anything else, and getting past it comes down to one question. Are you the golfer who already lives in a Garmin watch, or are you buying your first one? Because the first guy looks at the Approach S72 and sees something he'd use every round. The second guy can get a yardage for a whole lot less.
The S72 is $799.99 in both sizes. The 47 mm ships in 1 to 3 business days. The 43 mm in Heritage Bronze is the one with the wait: order it today and Garmin says 5 to 8 weeks for the box to show up.
What's new
Start with the bezel, because that's where the money shows up first. It's titanium, and two of the four versions add a DLC coating on top of that. That ring is the part that meets every cart post, every rake handle, every zipper on your bag. Metal there instead of plastic is why this thing still looks like a nice watch in year three.
The band is ComfortFit fabric, and that matters more than a band spec usually does. Rubber gets slick and sticky when it's 100 degrees and you've got nine more to walk. Fabric breathes.
Then the size, and this is the choice I'd spend the most time on. You get 43 mm or 47 mm, and that number is just the width of the housing. Smaller wrist, take the 43. If you want a bigger face so you can read a number while you're still walking to the ball, go look at the 47.
Four finishes total, two per case size. One of the 43 mm options comes in soft gold and blush pink, so it isn't all carbon gray this time.
And here's the one that's actual money. Garmin lists the S72 as HSA/FSA eligible for qualified customers through Truemed. If you qualify, you're buying it with pre-tax dollars, and on $799.99 that's real savings and not a coupon. Garmin rates the battery at up to 10 days on the 43 mm and up to 16 days on the 47 mm. But if your HSA covers it, that's the best reason on the page to click buy today.
Who it's for
If you want the yardage sitting on your wrist and you never want to dig anything out of your pocket, this is Garmin's newest swing at you. Walkers especially. Glance down, get your number, keep moving.
If your current Approach is scratched to hell and you've stopped trusting the battery, a titanium bezel and a fabric band are upgrades you'd notice on every hole. I haven't worn one yet, but that spec reads like it was built for the guy who wears his watch daily, not twice a month.
Now here's the catch, because there's always one. A good laser gives you a number to the flag for about a third of this money. If that number is the only thing you actually want, you're paying $799.99 for a bunch of stuff you'll never open. Our Garmin Approach Z10 rangefinder review walks through what the cheaper route buys you.
So here's the call. Want Garmin's newest golf watch on your wrist? The 47 mm ships in 1 to 3 business days. The 43 mm in Heritage Bronze is a 5 to 8 week wait, and that's a long time to stare at a shipping page. If the watch you already own gives you clean yardages and holds a charge all the way around, keep your money this year.
More Garmin, from gear we've had in hand: that Z10 review and our Garmin CIRQA smart band review. The price, both case sizes and all four finishes are on Garmin's product page.
Source: Garmin official product page
Product image courtesy of Garmin
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About the author
Paul Liberatore
Paul Liberatore is the founder of Golfers Authority and a former four-year golf gear contributor to Sports Illustrated. He tests golf equipment hands-on to help golfers make better buying decisions.