TAG Heuer Connected Calibre E4 Golf Edition Watch Review
TAG Heuer shook up the golf GPS watch scene when it entered the market a few years ago with its super premium offering. Minor updates have followed since and it has even signed Tommy Fleetwood as a brand ambassador.
Now there’s a new version for 2022 called the Connected Calibre E4 golf edition, which we were fortunate enough to test recently on the golf course at Burghley Park Golf Club.
Significant technical improvements include the new automated shot-tracker, redesigned software and an all new buckle with magnetic ball marker built into the strap. It should also be easier to control the watch’s golf functions, plus you now get high-resolution 2D maps showing hazards and distances on more than 40,000 golf courses around the world. All of this for a mere $2,650/£2,200, making it the most expensive golf GPS watch on the market today.
On first inspection, this watch isn’t massively different to the previous version. The dial on the side is a little more responsive and the addition of the ball marker makes the strap feel different, but it retains the sporty, premium look and feel. The setting up process remains a little laborious - it requires you to pair it with both the Google Wear OS app and the TAG Heuer app to maximise functionality. It is also worth adding in your carry distances with each club if you know them in order to the get the club recommendations on the course.
The watch display is detailed and crystal clear, although we’d have preferred the maps to be a little brighter. When playing, random patches of rough are coloured brown like bunkers, which is somewhat confusing until you realise that bunkers are actually displayed in a slightly lighter shade of brown. This may seem overly critical, but when you enter a market at this price, you lay yourself open to forensic analysis!
You use the dial or ‘crown’ as TAG Heuer call it to scroll up and down the 2D view of the hole on the watch screen. A red dot moves with it and the distance, as well as the suggested club to hit for said distance, changes accordingly. For more information like front and back numbers, you are required to tap the distance on the screen where you’ll also see the par of the hole.
The Driving Range feature is a very cool one that sets this watch/app experience apart. Furthermore, the fact that drives are tracked automatically now using the watch’s accelerometer and gyroscope to mark your tee shot and then subsequent shot, makes it more seamless to collect the data it requires.
Over time, as data accumulates, the watch will essentially create a ‘heat map’ for every hole in the app, which shows where shots landed on previous rounds color coded by your score. This allows you to see what clubs work best on each tee shot, which is ideal for optimising strategy if you play the same course most of the time.
You can manually tag the locations of all shots using the watch - just press the button and select the club - which will give you more performance insights post round. Why the automatic shot tracking is only limited to the first shot on each hole is a mystery, perhaps (hopefully) future updates will allow the ability track all shots on each hole. The club recommendations are somewhat useful, although the fact that wind and slope aren’t factored in means you need to take them with a healthy pinch of salt. The magnetic ball marker on the strap is a nice idea although in reality it is very fiddly to use and no more convenient than using a coin in your pocket, arguably less if anything.
The app is another part of the package (along with the free sleeve of TAG Heuer emblazoned Titleist Pro V1 balls) that sets it apart. You can toggle between 2D and 3D versions depending on your preference. The map interface has been completely redesigned so you can see more of it with greater detail visible at once such as distances, club information, scores, and hole numbers displayed as you play. This means you’re able to see both the distance to target and distance of the tracking shot at the same time, which is very useful in practice scenarios.
The final thing to mention is the battery life. Despite all the features in play, you get 5+ hours of full golf shot tracking, which is one of the longest we’ve tested and 30 percent more than the prior version.
We came away from a round using this latest TAG Heuer watch content with how easy it was to use and the information it provided, but couldn't help feeling there are other options, like the SkyCaddie LX5 and Garmin Approach S62, that do a similar job for considerably less money. However, if cost isn't an issue, this is undoubtedly one of the best golf watches around that has plenty of unique features for golfers to benefit from, but they do require the user to be fully immersed in the concept.
