Garmin has announced the Approach S44 and S50 golf watches, plus a CT1 club attachment tracker and an Approach G20 Solar handheld tracker.
Earlier this month I said the Instinct 3 completed Garmin’s OLED screen project, but the tech has further seeped into the Approach golf line-up.
They join the 2023 Approach S70 among Garmin’s first golf-specific watches with OLED display tech. Although these are far from the only golf-capable watches with such a screen. The Fenix 8 makes a great golf watch, for example.
For those not fully clued up on wearable tech, OLED screens have light-up pixels much like those seen in many phones, or the Apple Watch. This results in a much richer image than that of the older Garmin Approach wearables, but they have to increase brightness to compete with daylight. And that means faster battery drain.
Transflective displays, the classic Garmin screen tech, get clearer in high levels of ambient light.
Garmin Approach S50 Versus S44
What’s the difference between the Garmin S50 and S44? The cheaper S44 is a more focused golf wearable, as it does not even have a heart rate reader on the rear.
It can’t track exertion, sleep or stress. The Approach S44 also lacks Wi-Fi, which is found in the S50.
But both bands do have Garmin’s advanced golf feature set, which includes 43,000 mapped golf courses worldwide and Autoshot tracking of your actual performance as you play.
The Approach S50 and S44 are 43mm diameter watches — fairly petite. This is smaller than the largest version of the older Approach S70, 47mm, although that model is also available in a 42mm format.
Garmin’s Approach S70 has more internal memory, 16GB versus 4GB, multi-band GPS, and a barometric altimeter. It will also provide some higher-end stats the new watches lack, like Training Status and Training Load.
Are these must-haves for golfers? No. The Approach S50 also lacks Garmin’s Virtual Caddie feature, though, which may be important to some. And it is found in the Approach S70.
Garmin CT1 And Approach G20 Solar
Garmin has also introduced the CT1 golf club tracker line. These are smaller than the existing CT10, and don’t require a battery. A pack of 16 costs $99.99.
Finally, there’s the Garmin Approach G20 Solar. This is a handheld golf tracker that uses a 2.2-inch translective screen and large solar charge panel to achieve up to “unlimited battery life,” as long as you use it somewhere sunny.
It’s IPX7 water resistant — ready for rain — has Garmin’s 43,000 course library preinstalled, and supports the company’s existing CT10 trackers for more in-depth golf performance monitoring.
Here’s the pricing of the newly-announced models:
Garmin Approach S50: $399.99
Garmin Approach S44: $299.99
Garmin Approach G20 Solar: $299.99
Garmin CT1 (16-pack): $99.99
