The 14 Best Golf Gifts for Every Kind of Golfer

I love vacation golf. There’s something special about a crisp morning round on an unknown course, but without your own clubs a lovely day can turn into a minor disaster. Bag Boy’s Freestyle Travel Bag makes it easy to take your clubs along. I touted this bag on a recent trip to Montana and found its mix of four wheels for standup and a spare pair of rollers for dragging it along indispensable—especially since I was taking way too much baggage for a four-day journey. There are multiple pockets and plenty of space inside for extra gear, and you can get a handy extender to place inside your bag for extra topside security. The bag got a lot of “love” on its cargo rides but kept on ticking. It even folds down for storage, though its stout design requires some effort to compact it.

Garmin’s baseline golf watch may look like a glorified Casio from the ’80s, but there’s brilliance in its simplicity. Its rubberized band is light and comfy, its monochromatic screen easy to read, and its tactile buttons on both sides foolproof. It’s easy to set up with the Garmin app for Android or Apple, and GPS data for over 43,000 courses lets you quickly find and track nearly any course on your wish list.

The S12's system works well for recording your score and more basic data. Its range-tracking for greens, bunkers, and other hazards is relatively accurate and super handy, especially on new courses. You’ll get up to 30 hours per charge in GPS mode (much longer at rest) and you can upgrade for swing analysis with Garmin Club Sensors. Those with an Apple or Android smartwatch will find many of the same features in apps like 18Birdies, but especially for the less technically inclined, the S12 is a slick single-use device.

There’s nothing like celebrating a great shot with a little sip of ol’ grandpa’s cough syrup. I’ve been using this go-anywhere flask for years, and it’s still a top choice in my collection, right next to my water bottle. Whether you’re pregaming before you hit the clubhouse, out on a fishing expedition, or enjoying an outdoor event or concert, its rugged design is ready for adventure. Even outdoor thrill seekers will dig its aesthetic, though which sticker you decide to slap on its translucent exterior is a daunting decision.

I’m a Hawaiian-shirt guy, so Sunday Swagger‘s retro island-meets-Kramer vibe appealed to me from the get-go. They’ve got a rainbow of colors and styles, including both polos and button-downs, for when you want to take your vibe off the course and into the tiki bar. The “swagger” is only part of why I love these shirts, which add plenty of substance to go along with their style.

The breathable and stretchable material is effortlessly comfortable and wrinkle-resistant, and it provides a mix of sweat-wicking and UPF 40 sun protection. The shirts work brilliantly on the course, keeping me cool even during the hottest part of the afternoon on a recent round. Not for nothing, I've gotten compliments on multiple versions, and the brand is constantly adding new “drops” to its collection. There’s something for just about every type of golfer here, as long as they like their style a little loud and fun.

Yeti’s cute little Flip 8 isn’t the last word in coolery as the price might suggest, but it does a great job keeping your beverages cold in a light and incredibly durable design. Everything about this cooler feels premium, including the airtight zipper, though it takes real effort to open—Yeti actually includes lubricant to loosen things up while keeping an airtight seal.

I was able to bring plenty of bee… I mean water on the course, saving serious cash, and the Flip 8’s comfy strap makes it a perfect choice for those who also partake in the other type of golf played with discs. Frankly, this goes beyond golf gifts as I've come to take this thing everywhere I bring beverages, especially during barbecue season. This is a real investment, but it’s sure to delight and comes with a three-year warranty.

There's not much I want in my pocket while playing a leisurely round, but Callaway’s handy 4-in-1 divot tool makes the cut. It’s light, easy to use, and works well. The magnetic golf ball marker pops out with a quick click on the side (and doubles as a fidget tool), while the tough bristles keep club faces sharp. God willing and you actually hit a few greens, it fixes those up, too—much better than the car keys I’ve employed for the last few years. Every golfer needs a divot tool, making this an excellent stocking stuffer for the novice golfer or those who, like me, long ago lost their last one.

I used to (mildly) scoff at golfers who rely on fancy rangefinders, but taking the highly affordable Shot Scope Pro L2 on Oregon backcountry courses, where range data is often inaccurate—if available at all—made me a believer. This little beauty is light, compact, and brilliantly simple to use, even for beginners.

I love the thoughtful extras like a powerful magnet to stick it to your cart or golf bag and support straps in the case so you can leave it open for easy access. The single multi-key lets you tap it once for a quick read or hold it for a vibration to lock onto your target, while the slope switch helps account for elevation, saving me a good stroke or two per round. The sweet mix of performance and value makes the Pro L2 a great companion for golfers of all skill levels who just want a good read on the course to hone their game.

Going to the range is fundamental to improving your game, but I don't always love the experience. If you’re impatient like me, it’s easy to overdo it, which messes with your swing and nullifies the whole point. I wasn’t sure how much Garmin’s pint-size launch monitor could help, but one trip to the range and I was sold. Pairing it to my phone took seconds, and once I figured out the basics of the app, I was swinging away in no time. The device tracks your ball automatically and (mostly) accurately, even in twilight. You can set it to take a video of each swing and the included phone mount makes it easy to monitor each shot and adjust your camera angle.

The real fun comes with the virtual games, which provide a mobile simulator experience reminiscent of Top Golf, if more limited (and without the doughnut holes). The free service is fun, but avid players will want the subscription to unlock thousands of virtual courses and store videos in the cloud. You can even expand to a projection-based simulator with third-party apps such as Awesome Golf. Like the game itself, the R10 isn’t a cheap enterprise, and its micro USB charging port is archaic and takes forever. Otherwise, this little kickstand is a killer add-on for a virtual on-course experience that makes practice nearly as fun as the real thing.

This affordable chipper net is fun, frustrating, and extremely addicting. There’s not much to the pop-up design, but it comes with everything you need, including both regular and foam practice balls, and two practice pads so you won’t chop up the grass. The pop-up design travels well, though I had to employ my origami-loving wife to get it back into folding position the first time. As a lover of yard games like ladder ball, I found the Durarange’s triple net fertile ground for competing with friends with a three-point scoring system. Your short game is the toughest obstacle to conquer in this sport we hate to love (or love to hate?), so anything that hones it is a win.

I didn’t think I’d be using this telescopic tool in my first round with it in my bag; the water hazards on my local course are more like the Dead Marshes from Lord of the Rings than picturesque ponds. As chance would have it, I shanked my first drive left and over a small chainlink fence. The IGotcha Jawz ball retriever made nabbing my sparkling new ball a cinch, easily extending from its 20-inch frame up to 14 feet, while the squishy ring at the tip provided the perfect grip. I love its solid mix of stainless steel construction and sheer simplicity in design, which should make it an indispensable part of any golfer’s arsenal for many rounds to come.

If you want to give the gift of golf tracking and much more, an Apple Watch, Apple Watch SE, or Android watch paired with my favorite golf app could be a fun surprise. Unlike rivals such as Grint, 18Birdies works well without a subscription, letting you track golf course range data, scores, greens hit, and more on your smartwatch for free. It can get arduous if you’re trying to tally every metric available, but it’s great for the basics.

In side-by-side testing, its GPS tracking with my Apple Watch Series 8 was usually within a few yards of Garmin’s S12 golf watch, and within 5 to 7 yards of dedicated range finders. There’s even a social feature so you and your golf buddies can compare scores. Serious golfers may want to raise the stakes with a subscription membership, but this base package is a great starter set for golfers who may also want all the other useful smartwatch features, workout tracking, and health stats available.

I was initially reticent about the PrimePutt based on its high price. Frankly, I wasn’t sure what it could do for my putter that a cheapo putting green couldn’t. After testing it for a few days, I started to get it, and gained a real appreciation for going big. The way the ball rolls true, the way it stops and slows, and even how the green breaks with little changes in the topography all come together for an experience that feels a lot like the real thing. I prefer the full size to the Compact so you can stand on the grass, but there’s also a Standing Pad for those with less space.

The PrimePutt’s value became increasingly clear on a dark and dreary autumn day in Portland, Oregon, as I putted to my heart's content while the rain beat down just outside my covered patio. Especially for those in regions with a long off-season, this pricey putting pal is a sweet splurge.