I remember when Trivial Pursuit was first launched and the whole nation became consumed overnight in quiz fever. We had many evenings where a group of us would gather at someone’s house for a TP night where the competitive spirit, fuelled by a few drinks, was especially fierce in the men versus women games. It was during these events that I began to understand the difference between being logical and being knowledgeable.
For instance when challenged with the questions – From where do Panama hats originate? …How long was the 100 years’ war? …And from what type of creature is the Indian dish Bombay duck made? Then the logical answers would naturally be Panama, 100 years and a bird. However the knowledgeable answers are actually Ecuador, 116 years and a fish. Sometimes the logical, obvious answer isn’t the correct one.
The interest in TP was resurrected as my children got a little older and were able to contribute to and enjoy the games as part of the nights with the neighbours. During one now famous encounter yours truly got a reputation as an expert in Russian history, just because I happened to know a few important facts about the Russian Revolution that had been hidden deep in the old grey matter since I did my history lessons at school. My kids were amazed that I had such knowledge and it became obvious that their quiz capability was muted once they weren’t able to ‘Google’ any question thrown at them. Intelligent they both certainly are, if their A level and University results are the indicator, but there is a bit of a gap in some of the basic knowledge that those of older ‘baby boomer’ generations would consider essential.
When I started the task of researching the watch market to gain knowledge on watches and Golf Watches in particular, the obvious thing was to ‘Google it’ and see what appeared in the web and image search. Sure enough, page after page of ‘Golf Watches’ appeared with the majority having a long list of fascinating functions.
Modern day ‘Golf Watches’ can give you the distance to the front, middle and back of the green. They will tell you how far you have walked during the round. You can preview the hole and get distances to bunkers and hazards. You can move the pin to the approximate pin location to get more accuracy on the distance. They can measure your swing tempo and help you to improve your technique. You can record your score, actual and eclectic, and measure the distance hit of each shot. They’re durable because they’re plastic and that means they have a good degree of water resistance. They can give you the essential information on nearly every course in the world. And now the added benefit is you can receive texts and catch up on your emails whilst you’re out on the course. They absolutely are some of the latest and greatest examples of ‘wearable technology’.
Whoa! Where is this going? FaceTime from the tee? In-play Video analysis on the green? Sounds to me that the latest developments in golfing wrist wear could be heading towards a ban. Can you imagine that conversation on the tee?
‘Your honour’
‘Yes, just four more emails to read and I’ll be right with you’
Nope, even by the time you find the button that you can press that will actually tell you the time, the modern Golf Watch will be plugged in recharging next to all the other pieces of essential technology.
Don’t get me wrong – I do have a modern Golf Watch and a very useful addition it was to the Butler golf equipment collection - but I wear it on the course or strapped to my trolley and once I’m home it’s back in the technology drawer amongst a whole host of chargers awaiting its next outing.
It seems to me that the term ‘Golf Watch’ has been hijacked by technology devices that can be worn on the wrist. On the other hand if you Google ‘Golf Timepiece’ a very different set of images appear which are unsurprisingly ‘watch like’. The descriptions are about movements and cases, straps and bracelets, buckles and clasps, mechanical and quartz, mineral glass and sapphire crystal. Put bluntly the chatter is about jewellery, emotions and aspirations.
Sure there’s the reference to function and some very tenuous links to Golf – but on the whole they appear to be what someone of my generation would regard as a proper watch. And whereas the price of the ‘Golf Watch’ converges around that of a Driver, the price of the ‘Golf Timepiece’ extends to amounts that most of us would associate with the purchase of a car or in some cases even a house.
I hope you will discover that there’s been a fair degree of thought put into my ‘golf watch’. A watch that tells you the time, but tells everyone else that you’re proud to be a golfer. I wanted a watch that was attractive, well made and affordable. I wanted a timepiece that every golfer could consider adding to their ‘watch’ collection – so as you leave the course you can take your ‘golf watch’ off and put your ‘golf timepiece’ on.
So now you know that if asked the question when is a golf watch really a golf timepiece then the simple answer is when it’s an ETIQUS.
Enjoy your golf.
Gary Butler
Founder
P.S. It was good to hear that Rolex sold three watches on the first day of The Open each valued at £30,000. And the model? A Yachtmaster of course. It was good to see both Rory McIlroy and Bernard Langer duly complying with their watch sponsors’ brief to lift their respective trophies wearing their sponsors’ watch. It was also good to know that Omega, Rory’s sponsor, tweeted a timely link which took you instantly to the collection of the watch he was wearing - The Seamaster range.
I just wonder how many watches they could have sold to the golfing masses who attended those events had they had a Golfmaster? Perhaps they need theButler Bezel :)