Most media outlets offer you a series of products from September to November, touting them as must-have products for you and others, during the holiday season. My vibe is a bit different. Now that the flurry and fury of the holidays has ended, you have some time to kick back and determine what you need. Yes, you.

It was a generous, eye-opening year for golf gifts in 2024. Thanks to a late-year birthday and some gifting holidays in December, a few fantastic products came my way. I’d be remiss if I didn’t share their value with you. There’s a chance that you might have some New Year money to spend on yourself for a change, and these items might be the ones that you knew (or didn’t know) that you needed.

Sun Mountain golf bags

Thinking about all the items that I toss into my golf bag, it’s a wonder that I’m not brought up on charges for disrespecting luggage. From protein bars to fruit leavings, from lint to bunker sand, most elements from the periodic table have found their way into the pockets of my golf bag.

Sun Mountain makes great golf bags. I swore to never carry again when I turned 50. When I hit 55, mortality cut me off and said “No one lasts forever.” I decided to eschew the push cart for a few more years and throw my bag back on my shoulders, with one caveat: lighten the load.

The Eco-Lite series of bags from the aforementioned company suited my shoulders to a t. I’m toting the stand bag, and in typical Sun Mountain fashion, it’s fashionable. Whether you prefer the foamy seas of the blue to the verdant greens of the mountains is your call, but either way, you’ll love the lighter load. With space for balls, tees, valuables, water bottles, umbrellas, clubs, and outerwear, I’m stunned each round that it lifts so easily.

Sqairz

There will be, I pledge, two pairs of footwear that accompany me to each and very golf course that I visit in 2025. One will be a comfortable pair of Crocs for pre and apres golf, while the other will be the incredibly-stabilizing framework of the Squairz Speed2. I was first intrigued by Sqairz a few years back, and then, in 2024, GolfWRX ran an, ahem, footrace for its community members, to secure their valuable opinions on the value of Sqairz.

In December, a pair of the Speed2 arrived on my threshold, and I could not wait to take them out for a lap. As snow had arrived in western New York, I had to wait until the holidays. Fortunately, one of my former varsity golfers was in town, a fellow who had played D1 at the Naval Academy, and we headed to a dome for some swings. I arrived early, put on the Speed2s, and loosened up. Wowzers. He noticed the kicks immediately and asked how they felt. Response was, locked in.

From The laces (I can’t describe them justly, but they matter!) to the soles, to the uppers, to the tongue, every element of Sqairz is elite. My walkabout shoes are Hokkas, and I would judge the Sqairz to be their equal in golf shoes. If they ever had a love child, I’d buy stock. For now, I’m square with the Squairz, no cap.

Feetures

I didn’t mention it above, but the Squairz folk sent me one of those shoe bags (I’ve never used one, but I’ll try this time) a cap, and four pairs of incredible socks that I love. I love them almost as much as my first find of the festive season, two pairs of Feetures slips (if sneakers are kicks, then socks must be slips?)

There are so many sock companies around, and for me, there’s no middle ground. You’re as likely to find me at a dollar store, purchasing a ten-pack of ankle-height slips for $7, as you are to find me trying something at the other end of the food foot chain. Feetures don’t fight your dogs. They deliver the same pedal embrace each time, and they survive the rigors of both wash and dry cycles with determination.

If someone ever shoe-jacked me, walking down the street, and made off with my arch covers, I’d make it home just fine in the Feetures. They’re that comfortable and that durable. It’s love and it’s sigma.

The Four Foundations of Golf

It’s funny how the more lessons you take from legitimate golf professionals, the more an instruction book makes sense. I find myself revisiting my Dave Pelz collection on wedges, thanks to my most recent lesson with Joe Lusardi in Rochester. I understand what Dave uncovered, thanks to what Joe explained to me.

Think about the last time you played 18 holes with your well-intentioned, undereducated golf buds. How many tips did they give you? Did it reach double digits? Now imagine the reduction of that plethora (meaning excessive) of advice nuggets to four pillars. Four cardinal points on a compass, from which you won’t waver, that will lead you toward your goal of better golf. Jon Sherman will frame your house with this tome.

This is no Stonehenge, where some pillars are missing, others are toppled over, and others are arranged illogically. This is streamlined, effective instruction. Pair it with a living PGA professional (via video or in person) and you’ll be the talk of the tee in twenty-five.

Seed Golf Balls

When Nike went away from hard goods (balls and clubs) in 2016, consumers were all a-titter about who might fill the void. A sagacious voice in the industry shared this wisdom with me: a new company wouldn’t need to garner the entirety of Nike’s share in the hardgoods-verse. Instead, a shockingly small percentage of market share would suffice to make a name and earn a living. A number of companies have attempted a number of strategies for direct-to-consumer golf balls. We even have one based in my hometown, doncha know!

Seed balls made their way into my bag as an early birthday present, so I did have the opportunity to tee them up and play them down in 2024. Let me put to rest the notion that any golf ball will give you massive distance or accuracy gains upon adoption. It isn’t so. You gain distance when your boday develops from kid to adolescent, and you gain distance when you start to hit the ball on the center of the club face. You gain accuracy when you repeat a proper swing with efficiency, and when you don’t strive for distance beyond your command.

Your golf ball purchases should be based solely on how the ball FEELS to you. If you like the auditory feel and the tactile feel (the sound and the fury?) then you will play the ball as well as you can play a golf ball. I liked the sound and the touch of the Seed golf balls that I received for my turn around the sun. I’d have no difficulty replacing all golf balls in my shag and play bags with Seeds. The company offers trial packs and subscription services, and is worth checking.

Chui Wan

The jury is out on this game, as I have not completed the reading. That’s entirely on me, as we are not speaking of a monumental lift for the eyes. However, I’ve come across this idea that golf did not originate uniquely in Scotland, specifically in St. Andrews. Stick-and-ball games are a part of human evolution, and it’s really the why were they so attractive to earlier us that should be discussed. We use sticks to make noise, which translates to music, so that’s an element. We like to hide and preserve things, so digging holes in the ground and knocking a ball into them is parallel to that characteristic. We like to compete (some more so and more unhealthy than others) and so matching and scoring are a logical evolution.

Chui Wan is a game first played, probably, during the 1200s in China. It was played over a smaller playing field than those found in Scotland, not even the size of Park Golf, which is the rage in Japan these days. I’m told that the Romans played paganica, and that cambuca/chambot were played in England and France, before the dawn of the links of Scotland. It matters and it doesn’t. Chui Wan will give me a greater sense of origin. I’ll file away what I learn, and continue swiping at the ball.

Check out GolfWRX’s other (pre-)holiday gift guides below

• Golf gifts for the purist
• Golf gifts for the value seeker
• Gifts for the stylish golfer
• Gifts for the golfer looking to improve
• Golf gifts for the gearhead
• Golf gifts for the big spender