Full Swing: Golf Watches Designed In Collaboration with Golfers
If you look at the top-ranked golfers, you’ll see that almost all of them are ambassadors of luxury watch brands, dutifully wearing select timepieces during trophy ceremonies and press appearances. And if you’re a regular follower of professional golf tournaments, you will have no doubt noticed the heavy presence of watch sponsorships at the events. However, some timepiece brands are taking the partnership with the sport beyond just product placement into product development. Here are three golf watches designed in collaboration with golfers developed to be worn during gameplay.
Hublot Big Bang Unico Golf Green Carbon
In 2017, Dustin Johnson and Hublot unveiled the Big Bang Unico Golf watch powered by the in-house HUB1580 UNICO automatic movement with a specialized complication developed specifically for golfers—the ability to keep score. Thanks to a combination of pushers and dial displays, a player can add a stroke, reset the shot counter for the next hole, and keep track of the total 18-hole score. The 45mm case is fashioned from Texalium (fiberglass and aluminum composite) and carbon fiber. Following the first model in gray and the second in blue, Hublot now presents the limited edition (100 pieces) Big Bang Unico Golf Green Carbon version for 2020, complete with a matching black rubber strap with green leather details.
Richard Mille RM 055 Bubba Watson
Richard Mille has made several watch models for Bubba Watson—a player, who much like the Swiss watchmaker, has developed a unique style filled with personality and power in a field often constrained by tradition. Plus, Bubba Watson is one of the few left-handed players, making him the ideal candidate to wear a Richard Mille watch during gameplay. Following in the footsteps of the inaugural “Bubba Watson” RM 038 Tourbillon from 2011 (and some special variants), the RM 055 is the next generation Richard Mille reference dedicated to the golfer. The white three-part tonneau-shaped watch brings together an alumina toughened zirconia (ATZ) ceramic compound bezel with a rubber-cased titanium caseband and back bezel, all secured together with Richard Mille’s customary spline screws. The highly skeletonized Caliber RMUL2 hand-wound movement is clearly visible from both the dial-side and the caseback and a white rubber strap completes the look of the ultra-luxe golf watch.
Omega Aqua Terra “Ultra Light”
An Omega brand ambassador since 2013, Rory McIlroy (who at the time of publishing is ranked No. 1 in the world) helped with the design of the new Aqua Terra “Ultra Light,” developed to wear while tackling the course. And the golfer puts his money where his mouth is, currently wearing it at the PGA Tour Genesis Invitational happening right now. From its 55-gram weight when worn with a fabric strap to its telescopic crown, the Omega Aqua Terra “Ultra Light” was built to be as unobtrusive as possible. Even the movement, the hand-wound Caliber 8928TI, is crafted from ceramised titanium (a first for Omega) to shed as much weight from the timepiece as possible. Another first for Omega is the use of the alloy gamma titanium for the 41mm case, which houses a sandblasted titanium dial with a choice of a red, blue, or green aluminum seconds hand.
