Golf is a sport defined as much by its distinctive style and sense of propriety as the ability to hit small white balls with incredible speed and precision — which is why Adam Sandler is such an unlikely golding icon. In 1996, Sandler stepped onto the green (and screens) as hockey-player-cum-golfing-hero Happy Gilmore, with a wild trademark swing that revolutionized how we saw golf, taking it out of the country clubs and putting it on big screens in sports bars around the world.
Suppose you needed proof of how loved Happy Gilmore is by the world of professional golfing. In that case, you only need to look at the absolutely stacked roster of cameos and guest spots, including Scottie Scheffler, Rory McIlroy, Brooks Koepka and Bryson Dechambeau: not to mention luminaries like Jack Nicklaus and Nick Faldo, amongst so, so many others. Honestly, the entire movie feels like a rotating roster of golfing greats (and Travis Kelce). Sadly for intrepid watchspotters, we didn’t spot too many watches (though who knows what was hiding under Sandler’s Bruin’s jersey), with one notable exception.
(From left): Rory McIlroy, Bryson DeChambeau and Scottie Scheffler are just some of the many pro-golfers to show up in Happy Gilmore 2. Image: Netflix.
Golfing legend John Daly in Happy Gilmore 2, wearing his Rolex Yacht-Master 2. Image: Netflix
The larger-than-life legend that is John Daly has a surprisingly non-golfing role as Gilmore’s houseguest, but he’s still rocking his perfectly on-brand Rolex Yacht-Master II. Having said that, there’s plenty of actual golfwatchspotting action on the horizon with the Ryder Cup Tournament set to tee of as the Bethpage Black Course on September 23rd. Xander Schauffle (Audemars Piguet), J.J. Spaun and Scottie Scheffler (Rolex) have already qualified for the US team, and Rory McIlroy (Omega), Justin Rose (Hublot) and Tommy Fleetwood (TAG Heuer) are already locked in for Team Europe.
With all this club swinging shenanigans, we couldn’t resist putting together our take of four (or is that fore?) of the best golf watches ever to grace the greens.
Richard Mille RM 38-02 Tourbillon Bubba Watson
The Richard Mille RM 38-02 Tourbillon Bubba Watson features plenty of pink highlights
Florida-born Bubba is a self-taught golfing legend with a powerful drive sure to put the mechanics of any watch to the test — but Richard Mille was up to the challenge. The two teamed up in 2011, and a range of Bubba-flavoured models have been produced over the years, with one of the most outstanding being the RM 38-02 Tourbillon Bubba Watson, with a pink and white Carbon TPT case to echo Watson’s lucky colour.
Cartier Pasha ‘Golf’
The Cartier Pasha Golf. Image: Wind Vintage
One of the quirkiest evolutions of a Gerald Genta design has to be the Pasha ‘Golf’ Watch, and iconically 80s design (that was produced well into the 1990s) that added four extra apetures and pushers around the case, at the 2, 4, 8 and 10 o’clock positions, allowing the wearer to keep track of their score, along with those of four friends. It’s one of the earlier watches with a dedicated golfing function, but it’s certainly not the last.
Big Bang Unico Golf
High tech materials and a novel innovation on the Hublot Big Bang Unicorn Golf
A more modern take on the dedicated golf watch is Hublot’s Big Bang Unico Golf, which first debuted in a 45mm carbon fibre and texalium case back in 2018. From a distance, it’s classic Hublot fare — large and very much in charge, with bright colour options and that instantly recognisable Big Bang silhouette. Get in closer, though, and this isn’t your regular chronograph. The pushers are used to advance the hole and add a stroke to your score, with a running 18-hole total at the bottom of the dial. A golf-tee-shaped pusher (naturally) at the 8 o’clock position resets the game.
TAG Heuer Connected Calibre E4 Golf Edition
The TAG Heuer Connected Calibre E4 42mm Golf Edition was made for the green
If we’re being real, golf is one of those pursuits where a dedicated connected device makes more sense than a mechanical timekeeper — not having to worry about shock resistance and the added utility of custom golf apps just makes sense. TAG Heuer bridges the gap with its specialised golfing version of the Connected watch, which has the benefit of the TAG Heuer Golf app that keeps track of your game and statistics over time, making it a tiny caddy on the wrist.
