Favorite gear, good gift ideas for the holidays

I don’t get upset or mad easily.

I do, however, hate people who take advantage of the innocent and unknowing by peddling cheap crud.  There are so many examples of this in golf.  More than anything I have ever been a part of, golf is full of people trying to make a quick buck by selling the next “amazing invention.”  Snake Oil salespeople, all of them.

Apparently it cures deafness too, who would have known?

The problem is that these people are marketing to and taking advantage of non-golfers.  They sell this crap to the spouses, children, friends and coworkers of golfers.  If a golfer buys something and it doesn’t work, so be it.  But, it’s when your kind grandma, for example, buys a $30 plastic widget because she read it won some golf merchandise show award and the damned thing breaks the first time you bring it out to the course, it pisses me off.  This isn’t just in the golfing world, of course, but it exists in all fields.  It’s just greed.  Everyone wants to sell something, regardless of the ultimate quality or actual performance of the item.

Instead of actually mentioning what the item was or who gave it to me, I’m going to start a list of products that I actually like.  I’ve used a ton of different things over the past couple of years while learning this sport and have gone through a ton of stuff that just didn’t cut it and have found some high quality products, too.  This list will be updated on a regular basis.

I am not paid by any of these companies or people, but have found their gear to be useful and/or well made.  I have not played with or tried everything and this list will definitely change over time, but for now this is what The Dan Plan officially approves:

Criquet golf shirts.  These lightweight organic cotton golf shirts are awesome in that you can go straight from the course to the store or out to dinner or hang with friends or relax at home and you feel like your wearing the appropriate clothes.  Too many other brands of golf shirts are pure polyester and cut like they were made in 1992.  Criquet shirts are comfortable and do not impede the golf swing.

Clicgear carts:  If you don’t like to carry your clubs for any reason, Clicgear makes a great push cart.  They are easy to use and fold up quickly for easy storage in your car.  They are light and easy to clean and have a ton of random accessories from a snap on cooler to an iPhone and GPS mount.

Icebreaker underlayer:  This New Zealand company makes pure merino wool thermal layers that are the warmest thing I have worn on a course.  When the weather is 40 and rainy, all I need is one of these shirts, a collared shirt (per course requirements) and a lightweight rain jacket and I’m good to go.

Footjoy rain gloves:  I haven’t used every type of rain glove out there, but so far I really like my pair of Footjoy rain gloves.  The club doesn’t slip even in the hard rains of the Pacific Northwest and if they work here I would imagine that they would work anywhere.

SeeMore putters:  I really thought that a putter was a putter and that getting the ball in the hole was the same with anything, but once I got a SeeMore in my hands I realized that not all flat sticks are created equally.  To date I have only tried a few putters, but the SeeMore is the one that I instantly felt more confident with.

Trackman: This is the best golf radar in the business and even if it doesn’t make sense to purchase your own, you can find them at a local range and learn everything about your shot.

Golfshot scoring app:  The Golfshot iPhone app is the best score keeping and statistics tracking app that I have found.  It’s easy to use and the graphs that come out of it are great for analyzing your game.  I track every round with mine and have never had a problem.  I’ve also found the GPS to be very accurate.

Leupold rangefinder: Leupold’s GX-3 is the only rangefinder that I have used to date and unfortunately it fell out of my bag at a public course and I have not had one for about 7 months, but when I did it was awesome.  Very compact, easy to use and extremely accurate.  This is a great Christmas present for the golfer that has everything except a laser.

Nike Golf Air Bandon shoes:  The 2011 Air Bandons were the best rain shoes I have come across that are also suitable golf shoes.  Throughout the winter I try to keep a pair close by and no matter how much it rains they keep your feet dry.  I have not tried the 2012 version and they look like they are not quite as waterproof with the zipper on the side, but the 2011s were awesome.

Swing fan: I’m not sure where the original website for this is, but I’ve found a swing fan is a good tool for both warming up and developing some extra power.  I use mine almost exclusively during workouts.

Frogger golf towel:  This is a cool little item.  You can keep one side dry and one wet in the summer or winter.  When it’s really raining out it’s hard to keep a dry surface, but the inside of this one stays dry.  And, when it’s really hot out it’s hard to keep a towel wet, but again, this one stays wet on the inside.  Good for summer and winter.

Divvy ball mark repair tool: There are a ton of ball mark repair tools out there and honestly all you need is a tee, but if you like an ergonomic and sleek tool this is it.  I had one for a year before it fell out of my pocket, but enjoyed it every round.

That’s it for right now.  The list will continue as I try out more items over the coming years.  There are so many products out there and sometimes it’s hard to know which ones are good and bad.  The ones on this list are things that I have found work well, as advertised, and I have thoroughly tested out.  If you want me to try your product, send it over and we’ll give it the hardest field test possible.