This year we have made a comprehensive list of our favorite item(s) in each of 10 categories. If you are stumped for what to get your favorite golfer for Christmas, look no further. Don’t hesitate to reach out to us if you have any questions or need more information on any of the ideas presented below.

1. Launch Monitor

Listen, we know it can get pretty expensive when it comes to a high quality launch monitor. If you are thinking of adding in a simulator, enclosure, etc, it can get even higher. There are a lot of options when it comes to launch monitors but we think the biggest bang for your buck and the launch monitor with the best quality for the price is…The Flightscope Mevo+. Make sure to add the Mevo+ Pro Package (an additional $1000 but well worth it) at check out. This launch monitor gives you ALL the data points you need in order to improve your game at home or on the range.

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2. Training Aid

There is no training aid better than the SKLZ gold flex or Orange whip. They both accomplish the same thing and the benefits are numerous. This relatively inexpensive tool can help your tempo, swing path, weight transfer, and much more. It’s a tough one to wrap but definitely a must-have for the golfer on your list who is serious about improving his or her swing.

Purchase Here

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3. Golf Lessons

We have to admit that we are a little biased here but we do think it’s a great gift idea for the golfer on your list. If they’ve never had a lesson before, are struggling with their swing, frustrated at the lack of progress, these are all reasons that a golf lesson can be beneficial. Our golf school offers a lot of different ways to learn including private lessons, group instruction, and even remote lessons that can be done from anywhere in the world. Check out our page for more information on ways you can surprise your favorite golfer with the gift of a better golf game.

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4. Putting Tool

There are a bunch of different putting tools that are designed to really improve your short game and particularly on the green. Our absolute most favorite putting tool is the Dave Pelz 3 Pack Putting Clips. This putting tool is VERY inexpensive and perfect for a stocking stuffer. The benefits are incredible in helping your golfer hit the center of the putter face every time they putt.

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5. Golf Balls

You can’t really go wrong with Titleist ProV1’s but if you are looking for a little bit less expensive but definitely VERY high quality, we recommend the Srixon Z-Star. At $20 cheaper per box, this is a definite must. EVERY golfer can use more balls…

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6. Accessories

This is something we chose for this category because it’s something every golfer should have but very few will purchase for themselves until they absolutely need it. And sometimes by then, it’s too late. These winter weather gloves are water proof and most importantly they are warm. These are a great addition to any serious golfer’s bag.

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7. Range Finder

We found both of these items to be great tools for getting your yardage on the course. Whether you want the information right on your wrist or you prefer the traditional method of getting your distance, these are both awesome. Click the button below to learn more about each product.

Range Finder

Golf Watch

Golf Watch

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8. Gift Certificate

The beauty of this one is that your favorite golfer can choose whatever they want with the freedom of a gift certificate. The sky is the limit: golf lessons, clothes, clubs, accessories, golf travel, etc.

Gift Certificates

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9. Rain Gear

Golf clothes are always a great choice. I think most golfers would say that they can never have enough golf shirts. However, along the lines of number 6, rain gear is something every golfer should have. Rain gear can get pretty pricey if you decide to go with Galvin Green or Taylormade for your gear but we think you can do pretty well with Sun Mountain or Columbia at a fraction of the price.

Take a Look

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10. Plan a Golf Trip

This one is a little indulgent but we think it’s worth a mention. When it comes to creating memories, there’s nothing like pairing great golf with travel. We have some of our own golf trip dreams but if you are looking to make an impression, the experience will last a lifetime. Check out some of the amazing options right here in the US: Bandon Dunes, OR, Pebble Beach, CA, Pinehurst, NC, and Scottsdale, AZ. So many choices, we don’t have enough space here. Maybe we will save that for our next blog.

Did we miss something? What are you getting for that special golfer on your list?

I once had a golf student that I took out on the course and I told him “whenever you think you should chip it, you should probably putt it.” The bottom line is that you want to get the ball on the ground as soon as possible. If you can putt it, you should putt it. If you can’t putt it, you should chip it. And if you absolutely can’t chip it, then you might have to pitch it. It should be the last option though.

Here’s the reality. Most amateur golfers if they are just off the green and they have a decent amount of green to work with, they are probably going to go to their golf bag and grab their wedge and their putter. If you are a higher handicapper or you don’t play a ton of golf, your wedge more often than not will get you into trouble. If you hit it well, most of the time it will not be exceptional. When you don’t hit it well, it can often be catastrophic. In order to hit the shot well, I need to have good technique: weight forward, hands forward, square club face, etc as well as the experience and skill to make decent contact (not to mention the mental fortitude to hit the shot under pressure).

On the other hand, if I grab my fairway wood or my putter and hit the same shot, the only thing I really need to focus on and figure out is how hard to hit it. So that means that all I need to practice is how hard to hit it. Even myself, who is fairly skilled, knows the technique, and practices, I still will always opt to take the shot that requires the least amount of skill especially if the stakes are high. In order to play your best golf, you need to play to your skill level. You should also be practicing the shots that require the least amount of skill.

I have played with a lot of higher handicappers and I can’t tell you the number of times they have hit their tee shot into the woods. All they would need to do is punch out of the woods in order to make a bogey and they can’t seem to get out of the woods. These are easy shots and you should be able to execute these shots most of the time.

And always remember around the greens, the less loft you use, the less skill you need!

What are the worst things you can do on the golf course???

Remember the difference between rules and etiquette violations in golf…rules violations will cost you strokes and etiquette violations will cost you playing partners, and friends. So here’s the list of the top 10 breaches of etiquette on the golf course in our own personal order. We have had a TON of suggestions and recommendations to add to this list but here’s what we came up with the start with:

#10. Giving yourself a gimme

Don’t ever assume your putt is good, especially if you are playing for money.

#9. Playing out of turn.

The general consensus is whoever is further from the hole or whoever had the best score on the previous hole typically goes first. There is one caveat here and that’s if you are playing “ready golf” to speed up the pace of play. However, you never want to assume that you are playing ready golf without talking to your playing partners. So if your playing partner had the better score on the last hole, but you are ready to hit, just ask if it’s okay. Don’t assume.

8. Unsolicited Advice

Don’t ever give advice on the golf course if someone hits an errant shot or is struggling with their swing. It’s not usually helpful or productive when someone is having trouble.

#7. Slow Play

Once it’s your turn to play and no one is in your way, hit your shot in less than 24 seconds. More than 2 practice swings is excessive and stay on task. Don’t lose track of whose turn it is by being distracted by other things (especially cell phone use). You want to try to play a round in under 4 hours and 15 minutes.

#6. Shadows or Movements in someone’s shot

You don’t really want to be anywhere that someone can be distracted by your movement. Your shadow should not be crossing the line of someone’s putt. Be aware of your presence when it’s someone else’s turn to hit. Try not to be distracting with movement.

#5. Playing Loud Music on the Golf Course

Be aware that some people really want to be out in nature and may not want to hear your music. Music also does carry across water so you want to make sure that other people aren’t forced to listen to music.

#4. Golf bag on the green

Make sure you don’t ever place your golf bag on the green. This can cause damage to the delicate greens and it’s also inconsiderate to the other golfers you are playing with.

#3. Disrespecting the Golf Course

Always leave the golf course in better shape than you found it. Pick up litter, fix your ball marks on the green as well as others, rake your bunkers, and generally keep the golf course in good condition.

#2. Talking or making noise in someone’s swing

Be very mindful to making noise in someone’s back swing or if they are about to hit a shot. Be very quiet while they are playing!

#1. Walking in someone’s line

We equate this to wearing white to someone else’s wedding. You need to be very aware of where everyone else’s ball is on the green and never walk between their ball and the hole. The history is that when people used to wear metal spikes on their golf shoes, they would change the grain of the grass and could cause someone’s putt to go off line. When you step on the green, there might be a slight indentation where your foot mark was and could change the roll of the putt. You will accidentally do it at some point. Just acknowledge it and apologize. Simply noticing that you did it will go a long way with your playing partners.

So there you have it…

Our top 10 etiquette violations in golf. We are talking more about this on Friday, June 10th at 4 pm live on Youtube and Instagram. We hope you will join us and give us some of your own suggestions on the things that drive you crazy on the golf course. Comment below with your suggestions!

During the winter months while you are stuck inside, there is a way you can work on your short game. Every person can do this to work on your chipping inside your home. Here’s a great tip to work on your chipping.

Tip #1:

Starting off, don’t use a ball or any technology, just your club. We are going to start off with an alignment stick or some type of stick that you can use in place of it. I am going to take it underneath the grip of my club and I am going to hold the stick and my club together at the same time. When I set up, the end of the stick is out ahead of me. I am going to make my chipping stroke and practice making that stroke without allowing the stick to hit me in the side. We call this the punisher drill. You can do this without a ball and without a hitting net and you will see a dramatic improvement in your impact position in your chip shots. The trick with the punisher drill is to keep your weight in your front side throughout the swing to avoid having that stick hit you in the side at impact.

Tip #2:

Great Chipping with At Home Practice

This tip is going to require the use of some technology and some equipment. We are going to use a ball in this drill. You can use a foam ball which will allow you to avoid the use of a net. However, if you have the ability to use the Net Return and real golf balls, I highly recommend it. It will last you a long time. You can also download the PerfectMotion App. You can get the first two weeks free on the app and after that it is $6 per month. Under the PerfectMotion app, you do an evaluation session for chipping with no ball. I will also check mark video snapshots and start at Skill Level 1. Hit start session. You can choose 5 or 10 swings to capture but for the purposes of this video, I chose 5 swings to capture. Also keep in mind when using the app, especially if you aren’t using a ball that the app recognizes the completion of your swing based on your head position, so make sure you follow the ball the same way you would if you were hitting a real shot. On purpose for the video, I created a swing flaw and I was trying to move away from the ball at impact. You can look at each one of your motion maps to see what your motion is doing during the swing and look at the comparison to the motion map of a tour pro. So now I am moving into working with a ball and I have changed the skill level to 3. You will be able to look at the snapshots of your actual shot to analyze anything you think you might be able to do better. This is a way for you to have some really productive practice and really focused practice sessions especially if you are having to work on your game inside.

Now that the weather is getting colder and it’s getting darker earlier, you have the opportunity to improve your golf game at home with very little equipment.

We have the advantage of the Net Return golf net and the Skytrak launch monitor. We know that most people do not and we want to help you improve your slice at home with just a golf club and a little bit of space.

In our golf studio, we are able to work with our students during inclement weather. For some people, it makes sense to deck out their space with all the gadgets but for some people, this may not be an option.

If you are struggling with a slice, your club face is probably open relative to your swing path. Most of the time this means that the club face is open and the path is moving to the left. The first thing we want to do is make sure we have a good grip. A strong grip means that the V between my thumb and forefinger on my top hand points toward my back shoulder. For someone who has had a chronically weak grip, this may be something that you have to work on for awhile to get comfortable. Once you have committed to that strong top hand, we can move onto the next thing. If the grip is strong and you’re still struggling with a slice, we may want to start looking at the next thing which would be swing path.

We need to keep our hands in front of our chest for as long as possible. Visualize yourself holding a 50 pound sandbag. We are going to need to rotate our torso in order to get that bag to swing. We want to mimic that same body movement when we hold our club, keeping our hands and arms fairly inactive. At home, you can also use a soccer ball or basketball to try to keep your hands in front of your chest during the swing. Once you put the club in your hands, try to keep the club parallel to the ground when it’s parallel to the target.

It’s helpful to have something to swing into but if you can get started off correctly, working on those things at home, when you get to the range, you will be able to use what you’ve been working on at home. In our next instructional blog, we are going to talk about how to start your downswing inside while you practice to have a better chance to swing the club in-to-out and hit the ball straighter. Click the picture below to watch the video.

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To watch our instructional video