Once upon a time, golfers had to be content with tossing a few blades of grass in the air and squinting at a distant green, muttering: "it looks like an easy four iron". Fairway distance markers help, but the arrival of pocket-sized rangefinders and GPS equipped golf watches has been another nail in the coffin of what some purists would call the art of golfing. On the other hand - it's a game that would drive a Zen master raving mad at times, so why not make the most of what technology has to offer ... and why not do it in style? Which brings us to the elegant Reconvilier Hercules Golf Master. This rotating timepiece has two functions - on one side it shows a classic analogue display but when tee-off time comes around, it flips over to show digital measurements of the distance to the front edge or center of the green.
The watch uses a base station "Caddie" kept on your bag to obtain golf course data before the start of the game. On course, the data is relayed automatically from the Caddie to the watch giving distances in meters or yards.
The digital readout also shows the regular time, but using the "Rotax" mechanism the watch face can be removed and flipped 180° to reveal the classic round analogue design.
Of course, the catch in all this is that knowing how far the ball has to go is not the same as hitting it that distance.
Reconvilier Hercules Golf Master
- Movement: automatic ETA 2892A, COSC-certified chronometer, Integrated digital module for LCD display
- Functions: analogue movement: hours, minutes, seconds and date
- Digital module: hours, minutes, seconds, and distance to green measured with GPS technology
- Case: steel or titanium, 45mm, Water-resistant to 50m
- Dial: white, black or grey
- Bracelet/Strap: black or white rubber with steel or titanium folding clasp
Reconvilier via Swisstime.
