Sports and watches go hand in hand for many reasons. Extreme sports push watch manufacturers to produce more robust, more rugged and more water resistant watches every single year. In this series, we are looking into the world of golf. Not watches worn by athletes, but watches especially made for this sport.
While golf might not be considered as an ‘extreme’ sport, the G-forces and shock on a golfers hands are enough to shatter any conventional watch. Sure, golfing doesn’t look as extreme as skydiving, but more watches have been broken while golfing than while skydiving.
If you have a decent swing, the force applied to the ball can be as high as 2000 kg. With this force, the ball can experience 50.000g of acceleration. This shock can give incredible vibration, which can shake loose a few gears or screws in your watch.
Even Tiger Woods and other golfers that are sponsored by Rolex don’t wear their gifted Rolex’s on the pitch.
Today, we are going to look into 2watches that have made it onto the golf track.
Richard Mille RM038 & RM055 Bubba Watson
If we talk about special editions related to golf, the collaboration between Richard Mille and Bubba Watson is one that needs to be mentioned. Bubba Watson is an American professional golfer with many trophies and victories to his name. The RM038 and RM055 share a lot of similarities. The biggest difference between the two watches is that the RM038 has a tourbillon.
The watch has a skeletonized titanium movement and is one of the only watches in the world made to endure the incredible vibration a pro golf shot can generate.
The ‘Bubba Watson’ is best recognized by its remarkable white case and white rubber strap. You don’t see many watches with six to seven figure price tags in white with a white rubber strap.
Hublot Big Bang Unico Golf
The Hublot Big Bang Unico Golf is a fun addition to the lineup. The watch isn’t made with exotic materials or doesn’t pay heritage to a legendary match or player, this watch has a mechanical shot counter.
At the 2, 4 and 8 hour marker, you can find push buttons which make it able to count the shots made per hole. The watch also has an extra neat little subdial which gives you the total of shots made in a game.
