Admit it: We’ve all left a rangefinder in our cart at the end of a round, only to realize when you’re halfway on your drive home. I did this myself a couple years back. Just 10 minutes after packing up, I returned to find it already gone.
Leaving behind a rangefinder is way too easy. Sure, there are plenty of ways to measure distance on the course, but the simplest, most foolproof option I’ve found—the one you’ll never forget in a cart—is the Garmin Approach S70.
Pros
- Comes preloaded with 43,000+ courses
- Green contour data shows slope direction of select greens
- Simpler to use than a range finder
Cons
- Plays like feature requires a Garmin membership
- Much more expensive than a range finder
| Case Size | 42mm and 47mm |
|---|---|
| Battery Life | Up to 16 days |
| Display Type | AMOLED |
| GPS | All-systems GNSS and dual-frequency GPS |
| Water Resistance | 5 ATM |
Most beginner golfers will find knowing the yardage for their next shot to be just noise. But there’s that threshold when you start to know how far each club will go for you that it is most certainly information you need before hitting a shot.
Having crossed that threshold a couple years back (hence the lost rangefinder), I’ve been using the Garmin Approach S70 this summer for all my rounds of golf (which has ended up being 8 rounds), and even wearing it for some lone range sessions. I found it to be a helpful, non-intrusive golf watch that provides me with however much info I’d like to know. Here are my honest thoughts.
What I Love About the Garmin Approach S70
No Point and Shoot Required
Not only do you have to grab a rangefinder out of your cart (or if it’s magnetic, off the side of the cart), but then you have to shoot the yardage. You’re up to a couple hundred yards away and you’ve got to lock-in the tiny crosshairs onto the flag (that’s moving if it’s windy out). It doesn’t always offer the most accurate approach, and it can just be difficult to get a locked-on measurement. But with the Approach S70, it’s just a turn of my wrist to know what club I’m looking for. And the 1.2-inch AMOLED display is crystal clear and I never had an issue with sun glare while trying to use it.
Case Size Isn’t a Hinderance
The 47mm case size is big, but not the problem you’d think it would be.
I say this as someone with small wrists. But I’ve always worn my Vaer S3 Field Watch while golfing, so I’m used to a (smaller) watch on my wrist that’ll sit just behind or just under my glove (depending on what’s more comfortable to me that day). When Garmin sent me the Approach S70 I was hoping for the 42mm but I received the 47mm—I don’t know that I’ve ever worn a watch larger than 40mm ever.
Despite it looking massive on my wrist, it hasn’t hindered or interfered with my swing in any way. While it can’t slip under my glove, I barely notice it’s there during my swing. Now that may just be because I’m used to wearing a watch on my left wrist anyways, but my fear was overstated in the case size.
Front, Back, and Center
A lot of rangefinders work by locking onto a specific thing (like the flag). But 99.99% of golfers should not be aiming at the flag but rather aiming away from the dangers like sand traps, water hazards, and areas around the hole where if you miss it will be a difficult up and down (ironically, Tour pros do this deliberately). With the Approach S70, you’re getting the benefit of GPS to give you readings of the front, center, and back of the green. Lots of times, I’d rather have these distances than the flag because that’s just how to play smart golf.
Keep in Mind
There’s no getting around it: The Approach S70 is expensive. Nearly $700 is a lot to part with for a golf watch. To be fair, it’s also like a normal Garmin that can be used for any other activity you could think of. So it’s not just a golf watch.
You’ll still get a putt distance without a Garmin membership, but you won’t get the Green Contours feature.
Another thing to keep in mind is that you need to pay for a Garmin golf membership ($9.99/month or $99.99/year) to use a couple of the more intriguing features: the Green Contours and Virtual Caddy. Being able to see green contours, where the slopes are on a green, before your approach shot can give you even more detailed info about where you should be aiming. And the Virtual Caddy provides you with the plays like distances by taking wind and weather into account. Plus it takes your shot history into account to recommend clubs. I don’t have a Garmin membership, although the brand offers a free 30-day trial, so I didn’t get to use these two features. But I have some notable golf rounds coming up that I’m going to start a free trial to get to use these.
Alternatives
Garmin’s own lower-tier Approach S50 is more affordable at $399 and offers a lot of the same features in a slimmer package. The battery life is less at just 10 days in smartwatch and 15 hours in GPS. It also doesn’t offer the Virtual Caddy or Green Contours though.
For rangefinders, I’d recommend our budget pick from Redtiger. MSRP is $160 but it’s been regularly on sale for under $100 this summer. It’s got all the standard features you’d expect with great magnification, slope is taken into account, and pretty decent battery life.
If you want to go cheaper even, you could go with a free app like Hole19 that integrates with your Apple Watch (if you have one). I’ve used this app quite a bit previously and it’s pretty decent. It is annoying to bring your phone with you constantly.
Final Verdict
The Approach S70 really is the supercar of golf watches. Which is a compliment of course, but also to say that not everyone needs a supercar. There are cheaper ways to measure distance for your shots, but possibly none as highly-accurate, easy to use, and offering other helpful features like the S70 does. If you’re a Garmin stan (or are curious about becoming one) and play a ton of golf, this one might not be a bad choice for your daily wear.
Pros
- Comes preloaded with 43,000+ courses
- Green contour data shows slope direction of select greens
- Simpler to use than a range finder
Cons
- Plays like feature requires a Garmin membership
- Much more expensive than a range finder
| Case Size | 42mm and 47mm |
|---|---|
| Battery Life | Up to 16 days |
| Display Type | AMOLED |
| GPS | All-systems GNSS and dual-frequency GPS |
| Water Resistance | 5 ATM |
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Ryan Brower is the Senior Gear and Commerce Editor at Men’s Health, where he tests the best products in outdoor gear and tech. Baseball, surfing, and camping occupied most of his time growing up.
He also trained in martial arts for 12 years and holds a third degree black belt. He has written about the outdoors for nearly two decades and was previously the Managing Editor, Content Performance at Gear Patrol. He is also a Certified Beer Server and previously covered the craft beer industry. Ryan currently lives on the water in New Jersey with his wife and their dog.
