With Thanksgiving going, going, gone we should now look to the upcoming Christmas Season. Here are some out of the box suggestions for those gifts to the golfers in the family.

An entry fee into a tournament that your favorite golfer has not played in before. Check with your local golf pro and find out what tournament fits this need. Your gift could be a member guest entry fee, or possibly a US Open Qualifying round. Before you buy, make sure you know if there are any restrictions on playing. Once again, call your golf pro for details. Just make it something that the player normally would not try.

Oddly enough with me being a teacher, giving lessons would be a no brainer, and while it seems a great idea one lesson is a little like a person in a desert with only a can open on both ends to try to hold water. If you think one lesson is good just go ahead and buy three. Once again, ask the teacher for prices and any restrictions.  

While equipment is always an easy out, go a mile further and schedule a fitting. You will find multiple companies vying for business on this topic and a few phone calls will get you more information that you may ever want. This topic can range from new shafts to new clubs. Drivers that do everything are the hot items today and deserve a look. The really good ones seem to cost the most.  

Arizona is blessed with some great custom putter experts. EDEL and MANN Crafted come to mind. Both are able to produce a one of a kind product that your player will cherish for many years to come. If you want a company line product (putters you can walk into any pro shop and see) ask if the putter you want to get can be custom. Many of the top companies will now engrave a name or initials on a putter. PING and Scotty Cameron’s come to mind.

Bags and balls with custom work on them are now very vogue. Just ask that smiling PGA person and they will have a few suggestions to make. As for me, just stay away from “if found return to Tom Velarde” when it goes through the picture window, a judge most likely looks at it like some sort of proof.

Have a great Holiday and remember that any golf gift given with love will return to you with a multiplier of that love. My bride always gives me a golf holiday each year…she allows me to play as much as I want and enjoy life as much as possible. I suggest you find one of these, but I warn you they’re very hard to find.

Tom Velarde is the Director of Golf at Black Mesa Golf Club in Espanola, New Mexico, just northwest of Santa Fe. For more information or to reach Tom, email tvelarde@blackmesagolfclub.com.