Garmin Expands Golf Lineup with New Approach S44 & S50 Smartwatches
Garmin has today expanded its hugely popular golf smartwatch lineup with the announcement of two new models, the Approach S44 and Approach S50, designed to offer golfers essential on-course tools in a slim, lightweight package.
Key Takeaways
- Two New Watches: Garmin today announced the Approach S44 and Approach S50, two new golf smartwatches with slim designs and bright 1.2-inch AMOLED displays.
- Core Golf Features: Both watches come preloaded with over 43,000 courses and offer essential tools like hazard view and distances to the front, middle, and back of the green.
- S50 Adds Health & Lifestyle: The Approach S50 builds on the S44 by adding PlaysLike distance, wrist-based heart rate, extensive health/fitness tracking, Garmin Pay, and on-board music.
- New CT1 Tags & UK Pricing: Garmin also introduced new Approach CT1 manual tracking tags. The S44 has an approx. UK RRP of £239, the S50 is approx. £315, and the CT1 tags are approx. £79 for a set of 16.
Both new smartwatches are equipped with crisp, 1.2-inch colour AMOLED displays that are easy to read in bright sunlight.
They come preloaded with maps for more than 43,000 golf courses worldwide and feature a battery life of up to 15 hours in GPS mode, comfortably lasting a full round and more.
“We’re thrilled to expand our golf lineup with the Approach S44 and S50, two exceptional smartwatches designed for golfers who want invaluable information to help improve their game from the tee box to the green,” said Dan Bartel, Garmin Vice President of Global Consumer Sales.
“Not only will you have features to help you perform your best on the course, but the sophisticated design will help you look like a champion off the course as well.”
Approach S44: The Essentials Mastered
Designed for golfers who want the crucial information for every shot, the Approach S44 helps you plan your approach and navigate the course effectively. Key features include:
- Hazard View: Understand how to navigate bunkers, water hazards, and layups.
- Green Distances: Receive accurate yardages to the front, middle, and back of the green to aid club selection.
- Smart Notifications: Pair with your smartphone to get emails, texts, and alerts delivered directly to your wrist.
- Approx. UK RRP: £239. Available now.
Approach S50: The Ultimate Golf & Wellness Companion
Building on the S44’s strong foundation, the Approach S50 adds a host of advanced features for on and off the course:
- PlaysLike Distance: Accounts for elevation changes on the course to give you a more accurate distance to the target.
- Wrist-based Heart Rate: Track your heart rate, sleep, and stress levels.
- Health & Fitness Suite: Includes features like Morning Report, Body Battery™ energy monitoring, Fitness Age, and preloaded activity profiles for strength training, yoga, and more.
- Lifestyle Features: Includes Garmin Pay for contactless payments, on-board music storage for Spotify, Amazon Music, or Deezer, and a comfortable nylon strap.
- Approx. UK RRP: £315. Available now.
New Approach CT1 Tracking Tags
To complement the new watches, Garmin has also introduced the Approach CT1 tracking tags. These lightweight tags attach to your club grips and allow you to manually record every stroke by simply tapping the tag to your watch before you hit.
This system collects data on shot locations, distances, and club type, which can be reviewed in the Garmin Golf app for detailed strokes gained analysis.
- Approx. UK RRP: £79 for a set of 16 sensors.
Both the S44 and S50 can be paired with Garmin’s existing Approach CT10 tags for automatic shot tracking and the Approach Z30 laser range finder.
For dedicated users, a Garmin Golf Membership (approx. £8/month or £79/year) unlocks premium features like Green Contours and adds PlaysLike Distance to the Approach S44.
To find out more, visit garmin.com/golf.
