Monday, Dec. 15, 2008

Golf gifts: A duffer’s wish list for Santa

Several books and few more outside-the-bag items to get a golfer for the Holidays

In some parts of the country, Christmas golf gifts must be enjoyed indoors. We’re lucky in South Carolina, where short-sleeve rounds on Dec. 25 are not out of the realm of possibility.

That said, a 2008 wish list for Santa (who wears plus-fours and a Hogan cap) leans heavily toward the written word.

Bookshelves of new golf offerings are abundant and worthwhile this year, offering reading to keep passion aflame on 30-degree days.

When the weather turns nice . . . well, there’s no end of gift possibilities, from the sublime — a “buddy’s trip” to Pinehurst — to the ridiculous. Make your list, check it twice and leave cookies, milk and a scorecard by the fireplace.

BOOKS

“Pete Dye Golf Courses: Fifty Years of Visionary Design,” by Joel Zuckerman. Harry N. Abrams, Inc., 304 pages, $50.

The “Marquis de Sod” has left his imprint on golf with fiendishly testing layouts such as PGA West, TPC Sawgrass and, closer to home, Kiawah Island’s Ocean Course and Harbour Town Golf Links. This lush, large-format book spotlights 75 Dye courses with photos, insightful text and essays by Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer and others.

“Golf in the Carolinas,” by Lee Pace. Carolinas Golf Association, 256 pages, $59.95.

The Carolinas Golf Association celebrates its centennial in 2009, and long-time Carolinas author Pace recounts its rich and varied history. Of interest to Midlands readers are stories of legendary Columbia professional Melvin Hemphill. Foreword by Arnold Palmer (Wake Forest).

“Secrets of the Great Golf Course Architects,” by Michael Patrick Shiels. Skyhorse Publishing, 225 pages, $40.

Another large-format book, produced in conjunction with the American Society of Golf Course Architects, it features 150 photos and interviews with Dye, Nicklaus, Palmer, Tom Fazio, Robert Trent Jones and his son Rees, Arthur Hills and others. If one of these guys built a course that dumbfounds you, find out why they did it that way.

“Golf 365 Days: A History,” by Robert Sidorsky. Harry N. Abrams, Inc., 744 pages, $29.95.

Talk about weighty tomes, this one could be used as a doorstop — for a vault. But there’s a wealth of information here, tracing the game’s history in one-page bites that are perfect for reading, putting down and picking back up. It begins with Scottish shepherds, ends with Tiger and doesn’t miss much in between.

“Golf Magazine’s How to Hit Every Shot: The Ultimate Guide to Shotmaking and Scoring,” edited by David DeNunzio. Time Inc. Home Entertainment, 192 pages, $29.95.

The second in a how-to series from Golf Magazine, it offers lessons on every shot imaginable from the magazine’s Top 100 Teachers in America. There are photos and drawings, step-by-step instructions and, naturally, a DVD video for the reading-challenged.

“Driven: Teen Phenoms, Mad Parents, Swing Science and the Future of Golf,” By Kevin Cook. Gotham Books, 225 pages, $26.

The author of “Tommy’s Honor” (Young Tom Morris) digs into Florida’s David Leadbetter Academy, where modern young players, often pushed by parents, get churned out like widgets. It tells why some pros-in-waiting succeed and others don’t, and why a kid who never set foot on Leadbetter’s campus is as good as any of them.

“Your 15th Club: The Inner Secret to Great Golf,” by Bob Rotella. Free Press, 191 pages, $24.

Just when you thought Charlottesville, Va.’s golf sage might’ve run out of topics — this is his seventh book — Doc’s treatise tells how mental attitude can lift your games. The 15th club is a clear mind, an ability to focus, and Rotella outlines a year-long plan to achieve that state of grace. Or keep throwing clubs, your choice.

AND MORE

Reading? For some golfers, that’s SO last week. Other gifts to please your hacker:

CALENDARS. “Emerald Gems, The Links of Ireland,” is a 2009 calendar by photographer Larry Lambrecht, featuring photos of such breath-taking courses as Narin, Ballybunion, Lahinch, Waterville and others. $13.95 plus $4 shipping. Call (401) 348-9600 or go to golfstock.net.

EQUIPMENT. To help the environment and your waistline, Bag Boy Automatic high-tech push carts (one-step folding frame, “G-Force” wheels) are for the few remaining walkers, $199.95. Other products: Revolver Pro (holds and rotates your clubs for easy access), $199.95; and the T-1000 Travel Cover (protects sticks when flying), $169.95. Go to bagboycompany.com.

GRIPS. The lowly grip is always overlooked, but let yours get worn and slick and watch your game go to heck. Golf Pride dresses up its product, letting players personalize both its DD2 and New Decade grips with their names inscribed. No more “whose wedge is this?” in the group behind you. Go to GolfPride.com.

WATER. OK, so you prefer beer, but hydration is important on hot summer days, and BVT Products’ Golfing Caddy (hangs on your bag) holds your beverage of choice and also keeps it cold. There’s a microfiber towel, pockets for keys and tees and more. Go to bvtproducts.com or thegolfingcaddy.com.

TRIPS. Most must settle for a couple of days at Myrtle Beach (which ain’t bad), but if the economy hasn’t whacked you, Pinehurst Resorts’s “Buddy Trip of a Lifetime” has three days/two nights in a “luxurious” villa, beverages and snacks, unlimited golf including a round on Pinehurst No. 2 (the caddies even wear your name on their bibs!), breakfast and dinner daily, steam and sauna treatments, courtesy car and more. Cost: $2,300/double occupancy or $2,800/single. OK, reset the snooze alarm. Call (800) 487-4653; e-mail Pinehurst.info@Pinehurst.com.

And now, for something completely different ...

RELIEF. If you’re tired of trips into the woods (not to retrieve slices), the UroClub, invented by a Maine urologist — no, I’m not making this up — has a screw-off handle (and a covering towel) so guys can empty their bladders in private . . . well, sort of private. At $24.95, it might be worth it for laughs alone, and it’s cheaper than Avodart or Flomax. Go to UroClub.org.

Reach senior writer Bob Gillespie at (803) 771-8304.

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