Lifestyle Technology

New Tag Heuer Connected Golf Edition – Review

This revamped TAG Heuer Golf edition was originally launched in June 2020 and has been refreshed for 2021 with some smart new features.

Designed to delight all types of players, it serves as both a prestigious timepiece and an active smartwatch. Elegant and stylish, it’s also incredibly functional, with lots of nifty features that help make the golfing experience more efficient, enjoyable and effective, from the outset.

Traditional Watchmaking

Before exploring the many exciting new smart features of this watch, I was first impressed by its design. Crafted from ultra-lightweight 45mm Grade 2 titanium, the case has a 50m water resistance, a unique ceramic golf bezel and a scratch-resistant sapphire crystal glass touch screen. The classic chronograph style complements a contemporary aesthetic. A white rubber strap with green stitching reflects the pattern on a golf ball (the package included a black perforated rubber alternative that was easily clipped on and off to change up the look, but further interchangeable strap colours can be purchased). I received the watch in an exclusive Golf Edition TAG Heuer box, complete with a travel pouch, four tees, a golf tool and three balls.

2D and 3D Mapping

Upgraded 2D maps (covering over 40,000 courses worldwide) provide a greater level of detail than ever before – I was even able to identify single trees on the course. And it’s well worth downloading the accompanying custom-built app with 3D map improvements (Apple devices use SceneKit, with a simulated shot trajectory).

Club Recommendations

However, the maps offer even more than this in terms of functionality. One of my favourite features is its enterprising club recommendation tool. As someone who travels regularly, it’s a useful way to find suitable nearby courses and seek inspiration closer to home. It works by tracking location via GPS – as I moved on the map, a suitable updated recommendation popped up and if you set up distances for your clubs, the watch can take into account the shots recorded for enhanced bespoke recommendations. But if you’d rather not receive recommendations, you can disable this feature.

Shot Analysis

The Driving Zone is part of the watch’s brand new tech setup, using an accelerometer and gyroscope to study shots within the nearest meter. There’s also a tracking feature, which intuitively recorded my shot distance as I walked to the ball. Seeing the landing zone of previous tees, enabled me to analyse my play and adopt a better strategy – having this degree of post-round analysis certainly helped up my game for the next time! And it’s not only my shot that was analysed. It also kept track of my heart rate, steps, miles covered, and calories burned.

Keeping Score

Many golfers find the aspect of keeping score to be a tedious bind, particularly if playing while socialising. So a function that does it for you is a welcome addition to the Tag watch range. I tried it out in stroke play, Stableford and match play mode, using its built-in Bluetooth connection to sync our scores to my smartphone.

Pro golfer and brand ambassador Tommy Fleetwood said of the timepiece: “I love wearing this watch both on and off the course. The features are really well thought out, making the game more precise and I can’t think of a golfer whose game wouldn’t benefit from it. If I could choose one stand out feature for me, I really enjoy the distance shot feature, I see how my drive is performing on the golf course taking into account the real conditions I am playing in, the timing of this has worked perfectly for me as I’ve been testing my new clubs.”

Additionally, the watch offers Google Assistant voice and music control and a speedy magnetic battery charger (it takes just an hour and a half to fully charge). While the luxury Swiss brand dates back to 1860, TAG Heuer continues to demonstrate its state-of-the-art credentials through exciting new concepts and pieces such as this new Connected Golf Edition.

The New Tag Heuer Connected Golf Edition costs £2100 and is available from the Tag Heuer website.