What They Have in Common
Both are 42mm AMOLED touchscreen watches running on the same Garmin Golf platform. Same 43,000 preloaded courses, same 15-hour GPS battery, same 10-day watch battery, same 5 ATM water rating, same Gorilla Glass 3 lens, and same USB-C charging. They share the same screen resolution and the same app. On paper, they look nearly identical. The specs that actually differentiate them require a closer look.
Where They Differ
Green Contours, PlaysLike, and the Subscription Question
This is the first place the S44 stumbles. Green contours — the topographic overlay that shows you which way a putt breaks — are locked behind Garmin Golf membership on the S44. That's $99.99/year or $9.99/month. PlaysLike Distance (which adjusts yardage for elevation) is also membership-only on the S44.
On the S70, green contours and PlaysLike come standard, no subscription required. The S70's PlaysLike is also enhanced with a built-in barometer, so it's pulling real-time atmospheric data rather than just elevation estimates.
Three years with an S44 and a Garmin Golf membership costs roughly $299.99 + $299.97 = ~$600. The S70 at $649.99 with no required subscription is $649.99 over the same period — and that's assuming you'd actually want the membership features on the S44 in the first place. If you don't care about green contours, the math flips. But if you do care, the S70 costs less over time.
AutoShot vs. Manual Shot Tracking
The S70 has AutoShot built in — it detects swings automatically and marks shots on the scorecard. The S44 doesn't. Manual shot tracking on the S44 works, but it means tapping your wrist after every shot, which some golfers find fine and others find annoying mid-round.
If you want sensor-based tracking on the S44, you'd need CT10 or CT1 tags from Garmin, sold separately. Those run around $200 for a full set of CT10s. AutoShot on the S70 isn't the same thing — it detects swings but doesn't identify which club you used unless you're also carrying CT10s — but it handles the fundamental job of logging shots without asking you to do anything.
Virtual Caddie and Wind Data
The S70 has Virtual Caddie. The S44 doesn't. The S70's Virtual Caddie pulls from your shot history, current wind data, elevation, and shot dispersion to suggest a club. It's not perfect, but it's using more information than most golfers carry in their heads on any given shot.
Wind data is live on the S70. The S44 has no wind data at all. If you play courses with exposed layouts or tend to get burned by a headwind you didn't account for, this is a real difference.
Smartwatch Features
The S44 is a golf watch with notifications. The S70 is a smartwatch that also happens to be an excellent golf watch. Heart rate monitoring, sleep tracking, fitness profiles, 16GB of music storage, Garmin Pay — none of that is on the S44.
The two-gram weight difference (42g vs 44g) is imperceptible. The 2mm difference in thickness (11.4mm vs 13.4mm) you'd only notice if you had them side by side. But the ceramic bezel on the S70 vs. aluminum on the S44 is a durability and aesthetics difference that some buyers care about.
Who Should Buy Which
Get the S44 if:
- You're primarily a golfer and have zero interest in fitness tracking, music, or smartwatch features
- $350 in upfront savings is meaningful to you and you're willing to skip green contours (or pay the membership separately if you want them)
- You already have a fitness tracker or smartwatch you like, and you want a dedicated golf watch without redundancy
- You're buying this as a first GPS watch and want to try the Garmin ecosystem without committing to the flagship price
Get the S70 (42mm) if:
- You want green contours and PlaysLike without paying a yearly fee — the 3-year math makes the S70 a closer call than it appears
- You like the idea of AutoShot logging your rounds passively without extra taps
- Virtual Caddie and wind data are features you'd actually use, not just features that sound impressive
- You want one device for golf and daily wear — heart rate, sleep, music, Garmin Pay all in one 44g watch
- You play enough rounds per year that having a caddie feature in your pocket, even an AI one, is worth something
The Bottom Line
The S44 is a good entry into the Garmin Golf ecosystem at a lower price. It'll give you accurate yardages, a sharp AMOLED display, and access to 43,000 courses. It's fine. The S70 is better in nearly every dimension that matters on the course — green contours included free, real wind data, AutoShot, Virtual Caddie, PlaysLike with a barometer — and the 3-year cost gap is smaller than the sticker price suggests. If you're deciding between these two, think about what you'd pay over three years, not just what you'd pay at checkout.
Get the Garmin Approach S70 (42mm).
See Also