TAG Heuer, along with golf genius Tiger Woods, announced a new professional golf watch yesterday. I'm not a golfer myself, but apparently the conventional wisdom has always been that you remove your watch when playing a serious match because it can interfere with your swing in several different ways. TAG Heuer and Tiger Woods set out to change all that by creating a professional golf watch that works with golfers rather than against them.
Features of the TAG Heuer golf watch
- Lightweight titanium construction. When a watch has to be lightweight and strong, titanium is the only way to go. Apparently the TAG Heuer professional golf watch is 60% lighter than TAG's other steel watches.
- Integrated clasp design. The clasp is actually integrated into the case of the watch to keep it out of the way. To release the strap, press the two safety release buttons at the 10 and 2 o'clock positions.
- Inverted crown position. The crown of the TAG Heuer golf watch is at the 9 o'clock position rather than the traditional 3 o'clock position to keep it from digging into the golfer's wrist or snagging on his glove. Personally, I wouldn't mind seeing non-sports watches designed that way.
- Silicon, slide-proof strap. It's lightweight and very flexible, shock absorbent, and can expand and contract with the golfer's wrist as necessary.
- Shock resistant. Over time, many watches can be damaged by the repetitive shock of a good, solid golf swing, but not the TAG Heuer professional golf watch. Apparently, the watch can absorb 45 times the shock generated by a typical golf swing.
- Quartz movement. Automatic watches can be damaged by the rotor revolving too violently during movements like tennis or golf swings, so TAG Heuer wisely went with quartz for the professional golf watch.
- Tiger Wood's logo on the dial and signature on the caseback. I don't know how much that will actually help your game, but it's a nice touch.
- Luminous hands and hour markers.
The TAG Heuer golf watch will ship in April of this year, but supply will be limited to only 4,000 pieces. The retail price should be somewhere around $1,100 -- not bad, considering it's a limited edition "specialty" watch, and a portion of the sales will be donated to the Tiger Woods Foundation, a nonprofit organization which helps disadvantaged children reach their potential. In fact, maybe I'll take up golf just so I can justify getting one.
The TAG Heuer professional golf watch is definitely the way to go if you want something unobtrusive and elegant. If you more the high-tech type, you might want to check out the Suunto G9 and Suunto G3 "wrist-top computer" golf watches.
