I discovered Links of Wood at the recent Michigan Golf Show in Novi, Michigan. And I have to say that it’s one of the neatest golf products I’ve seen.

As you can tell from the photo at left, Links of Wood offers wood models of famous golf holes. The pieces are laser cut, layered and polished. The photos are neat, but in person the models are exquisite.

The holes are in scale, with major stands of trees, sand traps, water hazards and elevations represented. The tee boxes and greens are stained green; the water blue. There apparently is an option for the fairways to be stained, or in a natural wood color. (I like the natural wood).

Except for the short par threes, the pieces are large—too large, really to sit on a table. So they’re designed to hang on the wall. Most of the pieces can hang either horizontally or vertically.

The price is pretty good, too. Bethpage #5 is just $120, while the entire Augusta National is $400. Prices are better for the “famous” holes, as the manufacturer already has the laser templates ready and presumably has a stock on hand.

However, custom holes also can be created, representing any hole or course you desire. This makes it a great gift to commemorate someone’s hole-in-one.

In an attempt to raise money for breast cancer research, and to fund a scholarship program for the Ladies Professional Golf Association of Australia, former pro golfer Jenny Sevil created the Top Shots calendar, which features thirteen months of ladies professional golfers in a variety of revealing poses.

Her intent was to sell 20,000 calendars, and she counted on heavy sales at Australia’s major women’s golfing tournaments. But both the Australian Women’s Open and the ANZ Ladies’ Masters have banned it from the premises. That, Sevil figures, has cost her as much as 10,000 sales.

Weirdly, Sevil’s husband Warren is the general manager of the Australian Ladies Professional Golf Association, and was one of the figures behind the ban.

I’d get divorced if I did something like that. Mrs. Golfblogger spends a great deal of time and money on breast cancer causes.

Sevi, once Australia’s highest earning women’s golfer, apparently is not making anything from the effort. Indeed, it appears as though it is going to cost her a great deal.

At any rate, you support the cause by purchasing a copy of the calendar using the link below:

Top Shots Women of Professional Golf Calendar

Valentine’s Day Golf Balls

Ridiculous or not? I really don’t know. But if you’re looking for something to get your Valentine, these cusrom imprinted logo balls just might do the trick. Golfballs dot Com has a variety of ready made logos and you can get them on practically any ball you want.

If Mrs. GolfBlogger is reading this, you can get me a dozen of the Bridgestone E6s.

In The Hole: Poetic Justice For Golf Fanatics CD and Book

Grade: B-
Teachers’ Comments: An amusing cd of golf poetry.

In The Hole: Poetic Justice For Golf Fanatics is an unusual product. A CD and booklet combination, it consists entirely of short poems about golf. There are ditties about practice, the first tee, warming up, holes-in-one, handicaps and more—indeed, fifty in all.

There isn’t anything deep here and the poems are not going to remind anyone of Tennyson—or even E.E. Cummings. But they do have a whimsical quality and remind me mostly of Dr. Seuss, as in this example:

They tell me that practice makes perfect
so I practice and practice each shot

And although I practice and practice
quite perfect is what I am not

The CD is quite professional, with quality voices, sound effects and music.The accompanying booklet is spare, and contains the words to all fo the readings.

It was an amusing hour of listening, but it really wasn’t my thing. There’s nothing wrong with it, except that I prefer to read my poetry. Never liked those poetry slams.

I couldn’t help thining that they missed their calling here. The poetry would have been so much better as the text of a picture book—a coffee table book, even. Cartoons, paintings, photographs, or a mix of media could have been used to accompany each bit of verse.

Maybe they’ll do one like that in the future.

In the meantime, this just might be a good gift for a golfer with a sense of humor. Even better: I think it would make a good prize at a social—and not quite so serious—golf outing.

GigaGolf Gift Certificates

Here’s another great idea if you’re stuck on what to get for the golfer in your life: A GigaGolf gift certificate. They can be delivered via email, so there no problem with last minute shipping. And your golfer can pick the club she wants, and then customize it right online. GigaGolf’s online club building is easy, and I’ve been completely satisfied with my purchases there.