GARMIN APPROACH S70 — FULL REVIEW

The Garmin Approach S70 is Garmin’s flagship golf GPS watch — and after 10 rounds of testing it alongside my Arccos setup and the older S62, I’m convinced it’s the best standalone golf watch you can buy right now. The AMOLED display alone is worth the upgrade. But at $650-$700, it’s a serious investment.

Here’s the full breakdown — what it does brilliantly, where it falls short, and whether it’s actually worth the price for your game.

What Is the Garmin Approach S70?

The Approach S70 is a premium GPS golf smartwatch and the successor to the popular S62. It comes in two sizes — 42mm ($649.99) and 47mm ($699.99) — and features a stunning AMOLED touchscreen display, 43,000+ preloaded courses, Virtual Caddie with club recommendations, PlaysLike adjusted distances, and a full suite of health and fitness tracking.

Think of it as a Garmin Fenix fitness watch that happens to have the most advanced golf features on the market. It’s designed to be your everyday watch, not just something you strap on for Saturday rounds.

How Good Is the AMOLED Display?

This is the headline upgrade over the S62, and it’s immediately obvious. The S70’s AMOLED screen is dramatically better — sharper text, richer colors, and course maps that actually look modern instead of the S62’s dated graphics.

The 47mm model has a 1.4-inch display at 454×545 pixels. The 42mm has a 1.2-inch screen at 454×454 pixels. Both are bright enough for outdoor use, though I’ll note that the S62’s transflective MIP display is still slightly easier to read in harsh direct sunlight. In every other lighting condition, the S70 wins convincingly.

The course maps are where you really notice the difference. Trees, bunkers, penalty areas, and green shapes are rendered with significantly more detail. You can pan and zoom around the hole with touch gestures, and it all feels smooth. After 10 rounds on the S70, going back to the S62’s maps felt like switching from HD to standard definition.

How Accurate Is the GPS and Course Mapping?

Excellent. The S70 delivers front/center/back yardages that are consistently within 1-2 yards of laser rangefinder readings. It comes preloaded with 43,000+ courses and auto-detects which course you’re on when you arrive.

What sets the S70 apart from the S62 and most competitors:

• Multi-band GPS — supports GPS, GLONASS, and Galileo with multi-frequency positioning for better accuracy in tree-lined or hilly terrain
• Built-in barometer — detects temperature, altitude, and air pressure for more accurate PlaysLike distance adjustments
• Enhanced PlaysLike Distance — adjusts yardage for elevation, wind, temperature, and air pressure. On a hilly course with wind, this feature was consistently more accurate than my gut feel — sometimes by two full clubs
• Green contour data — shows slope direction and severity on select courses (requires Garmin Golf subscription at $9.99/month)

Does the Virtual Caddie Work on the S70?

The S70’s Virtual Caddie recommends clubs based on your historical swing data, wind speed and direction, elevation, and the barometer readings. After a few rounds of data, it gets surprisingly accurate.

In my testing, the key was patience. During the first 2-3 rounds, the recommendations were generic because the watch didn’t have enough data on my game. By round 5-6, the suggestions started matching my on-course decisions — and occasionally improving on them.

The S70 adds a shot dispersion chart that visually shows where your shots typically land with each club. This is great for risk/reward decisions off the tee — you can quickly see if your driver dispersion puts a hazard in play, and switch to a safer club.

Compared to Arccos’s AI Caddie: Garmin’s Virtual Caddie is good, but Arccos remains deeper. Arccos builds from thousands of tracked shots with higher detection accuracy (92-95% vs Garmin’s ~80% without CT10 sensors). But Garmin’s advantage is that it’s all right there on your wrist — no phone needed.

How Is the Shot Tracking?

The S70 auto-detects shots using its accelerometer, and in my testing this worked about 80% of the time for full swings. Short game shots and putts are less reliable without the optional CT10 sensors ($299 for 14).

With CT10 sensors paired, accuracy jumps to 90%+ and the watch automatically identifies which club you used. The AutoShot feature then records distances, and you can review your full round in the Garmin Golf app afterward.

Compared to Arccos (92-95% detection), the S70 alone isn’t as accurate. But the CT10 pairing closes that gap considerably, and having everything self-contained on the watch — no phone required — is a real advantage for pace of play.

What About the Fitness and Health Features?

This is where the S70 separates itself from every other golf watch. It’s not a golf watch with fitness features tacked on — it’s a legitimate fitness smartwatch that happens to have elite golf tools.

• Body Battery — tracks your energy levels throughout the day based on heart rate variability, stress, and activity. I found it weirdly accurate — after a 4.5-hour round in the heat, it showed my energy at 8 out of 100
• Advanced sleep tracking — sleep stages, sleep score, and recovery recommendations. More detailed than Apple Watch’s sleep tracking
• Stress monitoring — real-time stress levels with guided breathing exercises
• 1600+ workout profiles — strength, HIIT, yoga, running, cycling, swimming. Includes Garmin Coach training plans with golf-specific fitness routines
• Onboard music — download from Spotify, Amazon Music, or Deezer for phone-free listening during workouts
• Garmin Pay — contactless payments from your wrist
• Smart notifications — emails, texts, calendar alerts, and app notifications on your wrist

If you currently wear an Apple Watch or fitness tracker and a separate golf GPS, the S70 genuinely replaces both.

How Are the Build Quality and Comfort?

The S70 has a ceramic bezel that looks premium without being flashy. The 47mm model weighs 56g and the 42mm weighs just 44g — both lighter than the S62’s 63g. It’s noticeably slimmer on the wrist too.

The 42mm option is a game-changer for golfers with smaller wrists. The S62 only came in 47mm, which was too bulky for some. The smaller S70 doesn’t sacrifice screen quality thanks to the AMOLED display’s high pixel density.

Two minor gripes: the pre-molded strap doesn’t lay flat when you take the watch off, and the proprietary charging cable (USB-C on one end) is easy to forget when traveling. Battery life is strong though — I got 3 full rounds in GPS mode before charging, and about 15-16 days in smartwatch mode.

What Are the Pros and Cons of the Garmin S70?

Who Should Buy the Garmin Approach S70?

Buy it if:

• You want the best all-in-one golf GPS and smartwatch available
• Display quality and modern course maps matter to you
• You’ll use the fitness features — Body Battery, sleep, workouts — daily
• You want standalone GPS on your wrist with no phone dependency
• You hate subscriptions (core golf features work without one)
• You’re upgrading from a basic GPS or an older Garmin model

Skip it if:

• You want the deepest shot-tracking analytics — Arccos is still better for pure data
• Budget is a primary concern — the S62 gives you 90% of the on-course experience for ~$200 less
• You only play a few rounds a year and don’t need daily fitness tracking
• You’re not willing to spend an additional $299 for CT10 sensors for full shot tracking

How Does the S70 Compare to Arccos and Shot Scope?

Frequently Asked Questions

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