If you’re still looking for a gift for a golfer, your best bet at this time is to get a gift certificate online. Here’s what I’d suggest. Figure out what you’d like to get—a box of balls, a shirt, a club—and browse an online store for prices. Then get a gift card for something close to that amount.

Here are a few of my favorite stores:

GolfSmith is my favorite golf store—both as a brick-and-mortar store, and online. I’d love to get a gift card from GolfSmith.

A close second for me to GolfSmith is Golf Galaxy. They’ve got a good selection of golf gift like bar glasses and the like. They’ve also got the Maltby Golfworks line of components and clubmaking materials

Hirekogolf.com offers an incredible variety of custom golf clubs. Most notably to me, they carry the venerable DynaCraft line of custom components. You can either order the parts, or get them made for you to your specs.

GolfLocker is a great source for golf apparel and shoes.

Not long ago, I wrote about what I assumed was the rather obscure hobby of golf ball carving. This artist carves scenes inside the golf ball, like those hollow sugar Easter eggs.

I just got an email from a southeastern Michigan course called Moose Ridge, suggesting that a gift certificate for a round would be a great Christmas gift for a golfer.

They’re right—and not just about their own track. Giving a course gift certificate is a terrific idea for golfers anywhere. I particularly like certificates to courses that I have yet to play, since it encourages me to try something new

If you’re in Southeastern Michigan, Moose Ridge—as their email suggests—would indeed be a good choice. Located in South Lyon, it’s a beautiful “Up North” style course that is marred only by the fact that it’s unwalkable. Otherwise, it’s a remarkable layout, requiring strategic thinking and the use of every club in the bag.

The email follows:

If you’re getting desperate and don’t know what to get the golfer in your life, I’d suggest a Golfsmith Gift Card. Browse through Golfsmith and take a look at the price ranges for kind of gift that you’d like to buy—a box of balls, a shirt, a putter, etc. Then get a card for that amount.

It’ll save you a lot of trouble. Unless you know what kind of balls a player prefers, or have a request for a specific club, any actual hardware you buy is likely to be either returned or not used. Golfers are particular about that sort of thing.

For the record, I can always use a box of Bridgestone E6 or Callaway HX Hot balls—or the new TaylorMade Burner TPs. I like my golf shirts in a large with solid colors in moisture wicking materials. I’d also like a pair of Footjoy Spikeless Classics Dry in a 9W, an R7 CGB Max Driver and set of R7 Irons.

Hey. A guy can wish, right?

Just when you think you’ve seen it all ...

Hobbyist woodcarvers have discovered that the materials in the core of various brands of golf balls make excellent carving materials. They strip the covers off of half the ball, and the work the rubber cores with woodcarving tools. As you can see in the photo, some of them can be quite cute.

There are more photos of carved golf balls here.

If you want to get started, you could begin with some golf ball carving patterns as found here. Woodcarvers.Org has some basic instructions on getting started with golf ball carving.

The Viking Woodcarvers Group’s Newsletter has some instructions on golf ball carving.

Instructions for converting a PVC pipe cutter to a golf ball cover remover.

Amazon has a book on the subject: The Carving Range - A Guide To Carving Golf Balls Or, if you don’t already have the tools, you can get this
golf Ball Carving Kit, (shown at right) which contains everything you’ll need.

For the entrepreneurs among you, I think that there’s a market out there for pre-cut balls. Amazon is selling a BOX OF 3 CUT GOLF BALLS for $10. I’ll also bet that the finished ones would sell to pro shops like hot cakes.

If you just want to buy some carved golf balls, you can find them on EBay: