It’s that time of year. Everybody scrambling (and I don’t mean short game) to find gifts for the ones they love.

If you’re known as the golfer in the family, like me, then you are probably used to getting some awful golf gifts. Things you’ll probably never use, even if they are good for a laugh. Things like the potty putter… If I thought this could actually improve my putting, I’m probably crazy enough to use it… but the manufacturing quality makes it clear this is a gag.

To solve the problem, I’ve put together a list of 4 golf items that I actually use that would make great gifts for the golfer in your life… or yourself if you’re the golfer. So let’s dive in to gifts that you’ll actually use… and that will actually improve your golf.

You’ll find links to all these items in this blog and clicking those links helps me out. I love these items so much I reached out to many of them to become an affiliate, but to be clear… These are all items I use and bought with my own money.

First on my list…

iRange Sports stick: $70-80 

Use TANGENT for 10% off.

Whether you’re practicing or filming… I use this stick all the time. It’s got two adapters for the bottom depending on if you’re using it indoors like do a lot or outdoors where you can just plunge the spike into the ground. I’ve used it to film with my phone on the course in a recent video. You can also use it at the range to grab that swing video, but what I use it for the most… is simply holding my phone while I’m practicing. I put my phone on it and whether I’m running Tangent drills or TheStack, I have easy access to my phone without having to bend over or pull it out of my pocket. Pretty clutch and simple to use. In fact, I’m jealous I didn’t patent this first. If you’ve watched my videos you’ve seen my blue hacked stick that I made a long time ago using an agility stick and a metal rod… I should have productized it… oh well. iRange stick is the next best thing and you can actually buy it.

Bonus tip… I use it to take pictures of the family. I can throw my phone on it and use my watch as a camera control rather than asking a stranger to take a poorly framed picture.

Next on my list since I just mentioned it…

TheStack: $300

As part of my journey to get better, I gotta get faster and I believe TheStack is the best way to do that. What I like about it versus other speed sticks I’ve used is one that it has an app to keep me accountable and to track my data. By now you all know how big a data nerd I am, but two, a lot of science and engineering has gone into this thing. From the way they change the weights so that you’re always rewarded with personal bests to the way they use intelligence to build a platform to help you gain speed faster… And it works. I’ve definitely seen my swing speed start to increase and I’ll keep tracking that journey. I wouldn’t say it’s cheap… but if you’re serious about getting faster and you should be… it’s a no brainer. It’ll add way more distance to your golf swing than a new driver and probably make you more accurate as well.

Third on the list is a tool I used last off season to make a pretty big swing change that has paid off with the best golf of my life this year and thats…

Tour Aim: $75

I didn’t really think there was room for a ton of innovation in the alignment stick arena, but Tour Aim has done exactly that. I kinda love this thing. There a bunch of ways you can use it and I’ll make a video on how I used it to change my swing path to lessen curve and improve accuracy, but the tool helps you with everything from basic alignment to putting gate drills. It’s like a pretty adaptable golf tool and everyone needs alignment rods anyway… might as well get a system that can do much more.

Perfect Practice putting mat - $136

Fourth on the list is this Perfect Practice putting mat. I’m not an affiliate for these guys, but I’ve bought a lot of putting mats and this is one of the best. What I like about it is one…. The stimp. It rolls fast so it feels like a real green that I’d play here in Texas and it rolls true. Even having it laid out on top of the turf here in my golf room. I also love that it has a smaller hole, in fact I do almost all of my practice to the small hole. I prefer the smaller hole as it forces you to not only control the line of your putt, but the speed. It’s much less forgiving and makes it so the holes on the golf course seem huge by comparison when you have a pressure putt. I roll putts on this thing almost every single day. Having it set up here by where I work…. It’s just so easy to get a few rolls in while on the phone or between sets of TheStack.

Thats 4 awesome golf items I use all the time and none of them will break the budget. Cheaper than new clubs and better for your game. What’d I miss? Let me know your great gift ideas in the comments and if you buy any of these make sure to use the links above to show your support.