Pro Am Golfs Guide to Choosing the Right Business Gift for Golfers

Golf equipment can make a memorable business gift, but choosing the right item depends greatly on how well you know the recipient and his or her game.

Golf Gift Ideas
The Gift Can Include the Choice

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Golf gifts offer something many traditional business gifts do not: the opportunity to give something the recipient may actually use repeatedly for years. The challenge is that the more serious the equipment, the more personal the buying decision becomes. Ryan DeGrand, principal of Pro Am Golf USA, suggests seven categories worth considering for business gifts: drivers, putters, irons, golf balls, wedges, shoes and rangefinders. Some are relatively safe choices for almost any golfer. Others require knowing considerably more about the recipient's swing, preferences and equipment.

Founded in 1975 by PGA member Thomas D. DeGrand, St. Louis-based Pro Am Golf combines an online golf store with club fitting, lessons and other personalized services. The company emphasizes one-on-one consultation, which becomes especially important when the gift moves from accessories into actual golf clubs. It provides daily product feeds of the latest golf brands to incentive, loyalty, and reward catalogs; features golf-focused event gifting programs; provides golf simulators for trade show both and conference activities, and can set up personal fittings at leading brands.

The basic rule in golf gifting is simple. If you know someone plays golf but little more, premium balls or a rangefinder offer relatively safe choices. If you know the golfer's size and preferences, shoes can work. Putters and wedges require considerably more knowledge. Drivers and iron sets are best reserved for situations in which the specifications are known or the recipient can participate in the selection.

Golf Gift Ideas

Here are seven examples currently available from Pro Am Golf's selection and what business gift buyers should know before choosing them.

The Safest Choice: Titleist 2025 Pro V1 Golf Balls
Pro Am Golf describes the Pro V1 as a premium ball designed for speed, low spin on long shots, control around the green and a softer feel. For a recipient known to play golf, a box of balls is a high-quality gift that requires no knowledge of shoe size or club specifications. Golf balls are consumable, although golfers who are particular about their game may prefer a specific model.

A Premium Gift Without Fitting: Bushnell Tour V7 Shift Laser Rangefinder
Pro Am Golf offers this laser rangefinder as Bushnell’s Patriot Pack. A rangefinder makes a substantial gift without the fitting decisions involved in buying a club. The question to ask first is whether the recipient already owns and uses one.

Know the Shoe Size: Adidas Tour360 Golf Shoes
Pro Am Golf describes the Tour360 as a men’s golf shoe with a Boost midsole for cushioning and energy return, Feel360 technology and strategically placed lugs for traction. Shoes are useful to a regular golfer, but size, width and style preference make them a better choice when the buyer knows the recipient well.

Moving Into Personal Territory: LAB Golf DF3 Putter
The DF3 uses L.A.B. Golf’s Lie Angle Balance design, which the company says helps the putter stay square during the stroke. Pro Am Golf lists right- and left-handed versions and different lengths. A putter can be a memorable gift, but checking the recipient’s handedness and preferred length is worthwhile before ordering.

A Gift That Benefits From Knowing the Short Game: Titleist SM11 Tour Chrome Wedge
The SM11 Tour Chrome is a Vokey Design wedge offered by Pro Am Golf. Wedges are highly personal: loft and sole configuration affect how a club works for a golfer’s swing and the shots they play. This is a strong gift when the buyer knows the specifications the recipient wants or can let the recipient choose them.

For the Golfer You Know Well: TaylorMade Qi4D Driver
TaylorMade describes the Qi4D as designed for distance and forgiveness, with movable weights and a loft sleeve that allow adjustments to ball flight. Pro Am Golf lists choices of loft, handedness and shaft flex. For an executive gift or major award, pairing the driver with a fitting gives the recipient a better chance of getting the right configuration.

The Ultimate Golf Gift—If You Know What They Need: Callaway Quantum Max Iron Set
A new iron set can be one of the most substantial golf gifts a company gives. Pro Am Golf lists the Quantum Max in multiple configurations, making the recipient’s preferred set makeup and shaft important choices. The more expensive and performance-oriented the gift, the more valuable it is to let the golfer participate in selecting it.

The Gift Can Include the Choice

For business gift buyers, the answer does not necessarily have to be choosing between a generic gift and risking the wrong specifications. Golf equipment can lend itself particularly well to an experience-based reward: present the recipient with the opportunity to select the driver, putter, wedge or irons along with a professional fitting. Pro Am Golf's fitting services cover driver, irons, putters, wedges, shafts and other specifications.

Pro Am also offers gift certificates for people who wish to select their own gift. That turns the gift into both merchandise and an experience while allowing the golfer to make the final decision.

In golf, as in most effective business gifting, the value isn't simply in how much the gift costs. It's in how well it fits the person receiving it.

For More Information
Ryan DeGrand
Rdegrand@proamgolfctr.com
314.781.7775

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