Garmin S6 Golf Watch – perfect for the driving range and the course

If you thought the age of the smart watches was just a fad that will pass, think again. We’ve got smart watches for music control, email, social media, running, fitness, swimming and golf. Garmin’s latest – the S6 Golf Watch is simply stunning.

The Approach S6 as it is known will retail for $499 and be available in July – it’s the thinnest and lightest golf-watch from Garmin and with a 10 hour battery life in full GPS mode – 14 weeks in “watch” mode, will get you through a solid round of golf.

Pair the Approach S6 with your smartphone for email, text, missed call alerts while you’re walking the course (or at work) and you’re getting all the smarts of the most basic smart watches but then Garmin goes all next level golf geek on us.

Check this out – the Approach S6 features:

• Handicap Scoring
• Full Colour cours views for over 30,000 international courses
• CourseView – so you can preview hole details
• GreenView to show the layout of the green
• PinPointer offering blind shot assistance
• Touch Targeting to show the precise distance to any point on the hole
• Notifications from your phone as I’ve mentioned above
• Connection to Garmin Connect to share scorecards and statistics
• Water resistance to 50m
• Three colour choices
• and;
  • Swing Metrics

It’s the Swing Metrics that blow my mind (if the 30,000 course GPS on your wrist didn’t already do that).  These are performance and training metrics never before seen in a wrist watch.

The Approach S6 provides golfers with performance and training data that has never been available in a wristwatch before. The new swing metrics, paired with the colour CourseView maps, high-res touchscreen display and Smart Notifications make the S6 the first golf watch that packs the power of a handheld into a sleek form factor — Matt DeMoss, General Manager Garmin Australasia

SwingTempo as Garmin calls it measures the relationship between your backswing and downswing and shows it as a ratio.  3:1 is the ideal according to studies, so you’ve got a great benchmark to work toward.  Then TempoTrainer takes the 3:1 ratio and gives you audible tones to help synchronise their swing mechanics.

Plus, you’ve got SwingStrength which gives you a power percentage immediately after your swing.

And it will keep score for you.

As someone who loves to hit golf balls but rarely has the time to get onto an actual course, this is going to be perfect out on the driving range – I can actually work on my swing with the help of a watch.

Amazing right?