I know you will be shocked, but I love the holiday season and I love to shop. I enjoy buying presents for the people I love more than receiving them myself. (Although, I enjoy that too.) As we enter the holiday season, I heard Christmas music the first week of November at a certain warehouse store that shall remain nameless.
It's time to think about what to buy for the golfers in your life.
The Ladies Professional Golf Tour is laden with fashion-conscious women who are influencing modern golf clothing for the average player. And now our golf clubs can be as stylish as our clothing.
Many golf club manufacturers have been introducing pink grips and shafts, soft blues/chocolate accents, and Precept even has a hot-pink Paula Creamer golf ball.
How times have changed. I remember when I started to play golf about 20 years ago my Dad wanted to get me a set of clubs with purple shafts. I balked with disgust. I wanted the same set of clubs that the young men I competed against used. But this Christmas, Santa is bringing the hot pink, Barbie set of clubs to my daughter.
Perfect for your most loved female player is Tour Edge's 2008 Moda Chocolate set. Choose the dark chocolate colored woods and irons with soft blue or pink accents matched with colorful plaids on the bag and headcovers. Hand pick the woods and irons separately or purchase the complete package set that includes the matching bag and putter.
Not only do these clubs look extremely fashionable, they are very easy to hit. I was very comfortable standing over the ball and due to the clubs design – extreme perimeter weighting and a wide undercut cavity – was able to get the ball in the air very easily. The set is intended for a mid- to high-handicap player. I'm a 15 handicap and this set doesn't fit my game. As when purchasing any golf clubs it is important to test them out before you buy, and if possible get fit by a professional. The iron set includes three hybrids and four oversized irons (8, 9, SW, & PW). Search for a vendor near you or simply check them out at www.touredge.com.
I would suggest either taking your loved one out shopping with you to choose their set, which does ruin the surprise factor of gift giving. Write a check with clear intentions for the money to buy new clubs – impersonal, but effective. Or make up a gift certificate on your computer entitling them to one new set up clubs on you.
For the really young golfer in your life you can choose between two new youth lines that will encourage the kids to play and practice; the Spider-Man Golf Set and the Barbie ensemble. OnTrack Sports, LLC, the makers of the incredibly successful Accu-Length expandable junior golf clubs, has signed a licensing deal with Marvel Entertainment to produce Spider-Man golf sets based on the classic comic book look of the legendary webslinger for youngsters 3-7 years old. The sets will include a Spider-Man logoed driver, putter, iron and golf bag. Retail pricing will be $59.99 per set.
Girls everywhere can get into the swing of things with new golf equipment from Barbie. Sports Source, Inc., a manufacturer and distributor of golf equipment, has teamed up with Barbie to provide innovative golf equipment made just for girls. Decorated in Barbie?s signature colors and packed with features, the Barbie golf equipment puts new girly-fun into a classic game.
The golf sets for girls ages 4+ includes a driver, iron, putter, carry bag, USGA-approved golf ball and comes with a bonus visor, six wooden tees and three ball markers. Available for the first time in November 2007 at Target stores nationwide for an approximate retail price of $39.99.
A must-have gift for everyone who plays golf in the Midwest is Etonic's popular line of G-SOK gloves. This particular line is designed to keep a golfer's grip dry and warm for maximum club feel in adverse playing conditions. Players can choose the All-Weather Glove or the Winter Gloves. The All-Weather glove helps maintain the grip and feel in all temperatures and playing conditions. The proprietary Dri-Lite microfiber material with a Cabretta thumb, palm patch and Stabilizer Island Thumb design provides a steady grip in all conditions. Available in white or black, the All-Weather glove retails for $12.
For the diehard players G-SOK offers the Winter gloves with fleece-backed that provides extraordinary warmth on cold days. The palms are made with specially-patterned leather that provides a great grip, while the backs are a thin, but feature warm microfiber fleece. These materials keep your hands warm, while giving you flexibility, comfort and a good grip when temperatures fall. The suggested retail for a pair is $20.
If you are interested in a unique present that every golfer will appreciate, how about tickets to the 2009 Solheim Cup? As we've mentioned in this paper, the biennial match-play format will be played at the famed Rich Harvest Farms in west suburban Chicago, in Sugar Grove, Aug. 17-23, 2009.
Weekly ticket prices start at $125 and include admittance to the grounds throughout the week, as well as the Aug. 20 opening and Aug. 23 closing ceremonies. Children 15 years and younger are admitted free of charge when accompanied by a ticketed adult.
Ping Pavilion tickets are $350 and include access to the Ping Pavilion hospitality tent, located behind the 17 green. This ticket also includes week-long VIP parking located behind the Pavilion as well as a commemorative Solheim Cup 2009 official magazine.
Also available are Solheim After Sundown tickets. The $100 ticket includes entrance to the Aug. 18 kickoff event on the grounds and at the Ping Pavilion, which features a dinner, silent auction and entertainment.
Fans purchasing tickets by Dec. 31, 2007, will receive a color photograph of the 2007 Solheim Cup teams from the United States and Europe and a $10 merchandise card that can be redeemed at the 2009 event.
Tickets can be purchased at www.solheimcup.com. Please place your order by Thursday, Dec. 6, to ensure receipt of the tickets prior to the holidays.
Finally, and this suggestion comes from our ubiquitous
editor (who is greatly into such things), worth a serious look is The
Seventh at St. Andrews: How Scotsman David McLay Kidd and His Ragtag
Band Built the First New Course on Golf’s Holy Soil in Nearly a Century
(Gotham, 288p, hardcover, $26).
Author Scott Gummer provides
play-by-play of the construction of the newest course at the birthplace
of golf (opening 2008) designed by Kidd, who did the first course at
Bandon Dunes.
Unfortunately, Gummer decided to dramatize his
account and quite often allows himself to get swept up in needless
waves of hyperbole – which gets in the way of the story. After all, in
its simplest form, it is about an earthmoving project, not about the
painting of the Sistine Chapel roof. Kidd is portrayed as being able to
walk on water.
Still, St. Andrews is where the history of the
game was written and many consider it to be hallowed ground – and this
book offers plenty of interesting information about golf course
architecture, making it a good read for a cold winter night. And good
news, it is available at Amazon.com for about $17, so it’s hard to go
wrong.
