Four Holiday Gift Ideas For the Golfer In Your Life

Christmas is coming, and it is time to start thinking about what to buy your golf-mad partner, family member, or friend.

Maybe you’ve decided that you want to treat yourself and are thinking about what will be the perfect gift to make you a better golfer next year.

As golfers, we’ve probably all experienced the “joys” of getting a present that doesn’t quite hit the mark. You feel obliged to make an effort and hope that, over time, you can quietly remove the offending item without being noticed.

We’re talking about gifts designed to be clipped to your golf bag, such as plastic tee holders or ball cleaners. Maybe it’s novelty socks, jumpers, or coffee mugs with witty comments about the standard of your golf game.

We can all share stories of some well-intentioned but ultimately useless items we’ve received in our golfing life.

If you want to give your loved ones some helpful pointers toward what would actually be useful as a present, or you just want a little bit of inspiration for treating yourself this festive season, our guide is ideal.

As most golfers are always in the market for a change of club or clubs, we’ll focus our attention on the following ideas:

• Upgrading Your Irons
• Time For A New Driver Or Wedges?
• Giving The Gift Of Custom Fitted Golf Clubs
• Quality Accessories To Compliment Your Clubs

Upgrading Your Irons

Golfers generally change irons less frequently than other clubs in their golf bags. If we like the look and feel of a particular set, we find it difficult to part. For proof of this, you only have to look at Henrik Stenson, who has been using the same Callaway irons for over 10 years, capturing the FedEx Cup, Race to Dubai, and his victory at the Open Championship in 2016 in that time.

We start with classic blade models at the top end of the iron spectrum and the irons most of us would want to have in the bag.

These irons aren’t about the latest technology story. They are about a forging process using the softest steel, which in some instances has been passed down through generations, to create golf irons that could also pass as works of art.

If your Christmas budget is liberal, you might consider a set of Miura MB-101s. Alternatively, Mizuno Pro 241s feature Mizuno’s classic grain flow forged process to create consistent perfection in a blade model at a cheaper price tag.

If you like the idea of a blade but want more forgiveness, your attention could be drawn towards player cavity back irons. TaylorMade launched its new P7CB irons this year to critical acclaim. The P7CBs face tough competition from models like Srixon’s ZX 5 and 7 Mk II, Callaway Apex CB 24s, or Protoconcept CO5 TP irons if you want something more exotic.

If your goal is to get your handicap into single figures next year, there is a wealth of iron options featuring multi-material construction with hollow bodies that strike the perfect balance of power, precision, and technology with traditional looks.

TaylorMade’s P770 and larger-headed P790s perform exceptionally well in this bracket. However, also take the time to consider Titleist’s T200 or PXG’s 0311 Gen 7. If your budget can stretch far enough, you might want to look at Miura’s IC-602 irons.

If you are new to the game but feel the time is right to invest in a set of irons, you also have plenty of models to consider. Irons aimed at higher handicap golfers are also likely to feature multi-material construction and hollow body designs coupled with wider soles and thicker top lines to make these irons easy to get the ball in the air and offer the most forgiveness on off-centre hits.

Callaway’s Paradym AI Smoke HL irons, TaylorMade QI HL, or Titleist’s 350 irons are worth looking at. If you are on a tight budget, Cleveland’s Zipcore XL irons pack serious power and technology at a fraction of the price of the Callaway, TaylorMade, or Titleist models.

Time For A New Driver Or Wedges?

If a new set of irons isn’t on the radar, maybe it’s time to update your driver or wedges.

We can be conditioned to changing our driver more frequently because some manufacturers update their key models annually. New launches, aggressive marketing, and exposure on professional tours call us to question whether we could get more distance and accuracy from the latest models.

Distance has been joined by improved stability this year, as the TaylorMade Qi10 series highlights.

This higher degree of stability comes partly from using carbon fibre across the crown and chassis of the driver's head. Carbon fibre's lighter weight compared to titanium allows the saved weight to be repositioned in the head, helping to reduce the head’s tendency to twist open or closed from an off-centre hit.

Callaway has added AI technology to help create the AI Smoke driver. Capturing over 250,000 swings with over one million data points allowed Callaway to create mini sweet spots across the face to ensure ball speeds and accuracy remain high on less-than-perfect strikes.

Cobra’s Darkspeed driver adds an aggressive aerodynamic design to carbon fibre, creating a series of drivers designed to increase clubhead speed.

Titleist launched its new GT Series in the summer. The GT Series introduces a new material called Proprietary Matrix Polymer (PMP), which has the same weight-saving properties as carbon fibre but helps keep a more traditional sound and feel similar to titanium.

From a pricing standpoint, Titleist, Callaway, and TaylorMade are at the higher end of the spectrum. Cobra, Mizuno, and PXG are marginally cheaper. If price is a key consideration, Cleveland’s Launcher XL2 driver offers performance and forgiveness at a lower price point.

Wedges 

Maybe this Christmas calls for a change in the wedge department.

Titleist launched the latest design from master craftsman Bob Vokey with the SM10s earlier this year. The SM10s offer even more flexibility with the differing grinds, bounces, and finishes from pitching wedge equivalent to lob wedge.

Callaway introduced the striking new Opus range in the summertime. The Opus's design is based on feedback from Callaway’s tour players on how a wedge should look and the design of the grinds. Along with the basic Opus wedge, Callaway launched the Opus Platinum wedge. Featuring the same design philosophy, Callaway added tungsten weighting to create the optimal ball flight and spin rates for maximum control on approach shots.

TaylorMade has also been busy. The Hi-Toe 4 also launched in the summer, marking a more traditional look than previous generations. The Hi-Toe 4’s full-face grooves appear in the more lofted wedges to provide optimal spin and control on delicate shots around the green.

Not Looking For Drivers or Wedges?

It’s not just irons, drivers, and wedges that can be replaced during the festive period.

All departments of the golf bag can come up for review. Maybe it’s the opportunity to invest in a driving iron if you plan on playing a lot of links golf next summer. The lower ball flight of a driving iron can help extract maximum distance out of the fast-running links fairways.

Driving irons are becoming increasingly popular, reflected by the range available in the market today.

Driving irons can also be blended into iron sets, making a more seamless transition between the two.

If you already use iron sets by these brands, consider the PXG 0317 X, Callaway Apex UT, TaylorMade P-DHY and P-UDI driving irons, Titleist U-505, Mizuno Pro Fli-Hi, and Srixon ZX Mk II.

The hybrid market is still very strong if you’re not a utility iron fan. TaylorMade, Callaway, and Cobra have all brought out hybrid models to complement the major new releases of this year.

To use Cobra’s Darkspeed hybrids as an example, the shared technologies with the Darkspeed drivers are PWRSHELL, PWR-BRIDGE, and the AI-designed H.O.T. face. These shared technologies help increase ball speeds across the face and make the hybrid more forgiving.

Fairway woods can have a long life in a golfer’s bag. These clubs are the reliable “go to” option if the driver is misbehaving or helps you attack the longest holes on the course with your approach shots.

Fairway wood technology is updated almost as frequently as driver technology. For example, Callaway’s AI Smoke fairway woods benefit from the same carbon construction and AI-enhanced faces to provide more distance and consistency across the face.

Titleist has employed Proprietary Matrix Polymer (PMP) in its new fairway wood range to improve performance. So, if you are playing with fairway woods over five years old, it could be time for an upgrade.

The last area of the bag is the putter.

The humble putter is not immune to advancements in technology and design, and today, there are more models available than ever.

If you are a traditionalist and like using a blade putter, the Sink Ace 3.0. This beautifully milled face putter has the classic lines of a blade putter and is entirely hand-built.

Mallet putters help keep the putter going straight back and through in your stroke. Models like the Evnroll Neo Classic ER 8 or Odyssey Ai-ONE Milled Six T DB are great exponents of the classic mallet shape.

High-MOI putters have become popular in recent years. The principle behind them is similar to that of drivers: Strategic positioning of weight in the extremities of the head and as far from the face as possible helps stabilise the putter head, leading to more consistent putting.

TaylorMade’s Spider putters best optimise this design principle.

Fang putters, such as the Odyssey Ai-ONE Seven CH Golf Putter, push the weight out to the heel and toe of the putter to create consistency and forgiveness, have also become extremely popular with golfers.

Giving The Gift Of Custom Fitted Golf Clubs

Buying new golf clubs doesn’t lead to consistent improvement in scoring and big reductions in your handicap.

If you want to ensure that your purchase performs and can help you improve, you should consider custom fitting.

A custom fitting session can be tailored to any area of your game you want to improve. Spending time with a qualified fitter will help you understand your game's strengths and weaknesses and how your equipment can cost you shots.

Hitting your clubs to provide a benchmark, the fitter will prepare clubs for you to try and measure the improvements. Improvements aren’t solely based on getting more distance; improving accuracy will give you added confidence on the course, even if you miss-hit shots.

Custom fitting can help improve distance gapping in your clubs. Forcing shots out on the golf course because you don't have a club in your bag that covers the necessary distance leads to inconsistency and poor ball-striking, which costs your shots.

Custom fitting can also properly introduce you to the benefits of a blended iron set. Your longer irons can be more forgiving and help get the ball airborne, while your shorter irons could be blades that offer the maximum feel and playability to create better scoring chances.

Quality Accessories To Compliment Your Clubs

What gifts can you buy a golfer who already has a full set of custom-built golf clubs in their bag?

There are still options available.

Investing in a new golf bag might help better protect those custom-built golf clubs. To complete the look, you could also add a set of headcovers.

Golfers will never say no to a dozen new golf balls or a new glove. If you’re not a golfer and you’re buying for somebody else, if you have a chance, take a look in their golf bag to see what type of golf ball they use and the size of golf glove they wear (golfers will always have some golf gloves in their bag in varying states of quality).

Alternatively, if your golfer (or you) are going for a custom-fitting session, you can always personalise the golf club or clubs further by choosing from a selection of different grips and for irons, different coloured ferrules that will make a change from the standard black ones.

One final idea is a gift voucher for a custom-fitting session.

At Nine By Nine Golf, we offer gift vouchers for two types of fitting sessions.

One is a three-hour session tailored toward a full bag analysis, which helps you focus on and prioritise the areas of your equipment that need to be addressed.

The second is a voucher that can be redeemed against any one of our specialist fitting sessions. These sessions cover everything from driver fittings to hybrid/long iron replacement.

You can book a fitting session or buy a voucher from the Nine By Nine Golf website, where you can also browse our full range of customisable golf clubs and accessories.

We’d be happy to help if you have any questions about custom fitting and how it can benefit you or the golfer you are thinking of purchasing for. We’re also here to answer any questions you might have about buying a fitting voucher or booking a fitting session.