Get ‘em before they go (up): Holiday Golf Gift Guide 2024

Another year is almost done. I hope it was full of memorable golf, camaraderie, and fun. I have no idea what’s in store for 2025, but if certain widely promoted plans come to fruition, I do know that the vast majority of golf clubs, balls, gadgets, and apparel will be significantly more expensive next holiday season. So if you can, this would be the year to stock up – for yourself and for the golfers on your holiday shopping list.

Custom club-fitting session

I’ve been going through my equipment blogs from the early 2000s, and I’ve been struck by how many drivers nearly 25 years ago were selling for $400+. The prices were not much different from today, even though a dollar bought so much more then. All major OEMs fabricate (and even assemble) their clubs abroad, with most clubheads forged or cast in China. It would be great if we did this all here, but it certainly won’t happen within the next 5 years, if it happens at all. So this holiday season, a wise investment would be a visit to a clubfitter who can build you a set of custom sticks at today’s prices.

Club Champion has pretty much every clubhead and shaft combo you can imagine, and they always have holiday fitting specials, including gift cards for your favorite golfers.

Alternatively, many “boutique” companies like Sub70 often offer free fittings and discounts on subsequent purchases of their equipment. And don’t overlook your local proshops, where local pros can usually get the lowest possible prices direct from the manufacturers for all the golfers on your list.

 TRUE Golf Shoes & Apparel

From finely crafted shoes to hoodies to pants to flip-flops, TRUE Linkswear carries just about everything for both men and women who want to look stylish on the links AND out and about before or after a round. I’ve got three pair of TRUE shoes (LUX OG Tour ($143-$205), LUX G ($175), and ORIGINAL ($134)), and I get more compliments on them than any other shoes I wear. The detailing, down to the metal-capped aglets on one pair, is impeccable. The toe boxes—which are critical for avoiding blisters on toes—are spacious. The website has a shoe sizer for ease of reference, but they do run a tad small, so I’d recommend going up ½ a size. The Limited Edition Members Only collection includes a range of on- and off-course apparel and accessories that mix and match seamlessly no matter the occasion – perfect for Christmas dinner! (I hope, because that’s what I’m wearing.)

Shot Scope Pro L2 Rangefinder

Shot Scope has an extensive line of GPS watches, rangefinders, performance trackers, and online platforms dedicated to lowering your scores. Their most popular laser rangefinder is the Pro L2 ($130). It’s got an adjustable eye-piece for crystal-clear graphics and view, a 700-yard range, a scan mode for quick distances, optional elevation adjustment, and a vibration “lock” when your target is identified. It’s extremely compact and durable, too.

Tiger, Tiger: His Life, as it’s Never been Told Before by James Patterson

Who better to bring a transcendent sporting figure like Tiger Woods to life than a transcendent writer like James Patterson? Tiger, Tiger (Little, Brown, $32) takes readers from Tiger’s pre-kindergarten days up through early 2024 via short, punchy, tightly interwoven vignettes and accounts, lifting the veil between the icon’s public and private life. The taught prose of an accomplished action-adventure writer like Patterson combined with the fact that readers know, at least in broad strokes the disasters that are coming, make this biography read more like a thriller than any bio I’ve ever read. It’s nearly impossible to put down!

Sun Mountain Ridgeline 3 Push Cart

The exercise potential for golf is enormous – if you walk. Entice your favorite golfer into walking more often with a gift of the Ridgeline 3 push cart by Sun Mountain ($350). This luxurious cart opens and folds easily, with just one lever and one latch. It’s fully adjustable to every golf bag thanks to a bracket on the main vertical handle support. The bracket has a lever that can be loosened or tightened to adjust the height of the bracket. It rolls smooth as silk – almost too smoothly. Last weekend, I kept forgetting to set the brake and the 30+ mph wind kept whisking it away from me across the level fairways.

 SuperStroke Putter Grips

Perhaps the best feeling in golf is feeling comfortable – and confident – on the greens. An essential part of achieving this blessed nirvana-like state is your putter grip. Your putter should feel so natural in your hands that it’s like an extension of your body. SuperStroke Putter Grips ($30-$40) have in a very short time become ubiquitous on greens everywhere from local municipal courses to the PGA Tour, where it seems like the winner every week plays them. My current favorites are the Marvel Comics Series grips – Iron Man, Hulk, Spider-Man, even Venom – great fun for superhero fans!

 Bushnell Wingman View

For golfers who like music on the course, there is one accessory that has become essential: The Bushnell Wingman. Bushnell’s newest version of the their revolutionary yardage-provider and speaker, the Bushnell Wingman, is the Wingman View ($150). The View incorporates visual yardages and music information on an integrated LCD screen, so if you want to play in silent mode, you can still get your yardages. And even if you don’t want music (or yardages) on the course, the Wingman serves as an excellent Bluetooth speaker anywhere (it’s not just for golf!).

Golf Balls: Srixon Z-Star and Bridgestone Tour B Turkey Ball

Srixon is, in my view, the most under-rated equipment company in golf. Their clubs are consistently some of the top-performing sticks on the market, and their golf balls rival those from any other company. Their top-shelf offerings are the Z-Star line ($50/doz.): Z-Star, Z-Star XV, and Z-Star Diamond. These all have different spin and flight characteristics, so every golfer on your list will find something to fit their game.

For performance AND extra fun, the limited-edition Bridgestone Tour B Turkey Ball ($45/doz., while supplies last) celebrates my own personal favorite holiday: Thanksgiving. I wish these balls had been around during the years when my golfing in-laws would always play golf together Thanksgiving morning while the feast was being prepared by my non-golfing in-laws. Those were great days, and these whimsical balls would have been a real hit.

Big Ticket Item: Your own golf course?

So maybe one’s very own private golf course is too extravagant for even a “big ticket item.” Fair enough. But what if you could give the most special golfer on your list and a few friends their own course for a day or two? At the ultra-exclusive Bunker Hill Farms Resort, just 90 min from downtown Chicago, this is precisely what you can do. For $1250 per person per day, not only will your golfer get exclusive access and private caddies at the 18-hole golf course, they’ll also get all-inclusive gourmet food and beverages and access to the myriad other activities and amenities of this one-of-a-kind resort, which is also a non-profit that donates all proceeds to local charities. You need to read all about it to believe it, which you can do here.

This wraps up yet another installment of the MidwesternGolf.com Holiday Gift Guide. Enjoy the holidays – from Thanksgiving through New Year – and may 2025 be gentle to us and our wallets. Peace.