The Garmin Approach S72 turns a golf watch into a swing and heart-rate recorder as well as a yardage tool. Garmin says the flagship model measures swing metrics at the wrist, shows how heart rate moved around each shot once a round is over, and gives putt-break guidance on select courses. It is also meant to pass as an everyday smartwatch, with a speaker and microphone for phone calls.
Garmin sells the Garmin Approach S72 in 43 mm and 47 mm sizes, both with AMOLED displays, a titanium bezel, a sapphire lens and a fabric strap it calls ComfortFit. Suggested retail starts at $799.99, and the watch is available now. On the larger size, Garmin lists up to 20 hours of battery life in golf mode and up to 16 days with GPS off, enough for several rounds between charges.
The golf tools are where the Garmin Approach S72 differs from a general-purpose smartwatch. Swing metrics include hand speed, backswing length and wrist rotation. Range sessions can be logged to the Garmin Connect app so practice counts toward fitness goals, and the post-round heart-rate view lets a player compare pulse trends against the score. Garmin labels that data as not medical, and its own wording stops at saying heart rate "may" have affected a result.
Green reading is the headline addition. The watch shows which way a putt will break and the average slope percentage, using contour data on select courses. Putting analytics in the Garmin Golf app, covering speed bias, direction bias and make rate, and aerial imagery of each hole are part of the same course-data package.
Those three features need an active Garmin Golf membership, so the $799.99 buys the hardware and only part of the experience. Garmin does not give a membership price alongside the watch's price. For a buyer comparing golf watches, the subscription is the number that settles the real cost over a few seasons.
Off the course, the Garmin Approach S72 carries the usual Garmin health set: stress tracking, Body Battery energy monitoring and sleep monitoring, plus preloaded activity profiles for strength and mobility work. A built-in flashlight offers variable white light and a red mode. Garmin describes the speaker and microphone as a first for its golf smartwatches. The Garmin Approach S72 suits golfers who want one premium watch for the round and the rest of the week, and it asks them to pay for course data on top.
