News

GolfWRX Father’s Day gift guide

Published

14 years ago

Jun 5, 2012

Zak Kozuchowski

By Zak Kozuchowski and Rob Miller

Team GolfWRX

Dad deserves the best. That’s why we’ve put our heads together and come up with six Father’s Day gifts that are sure to keep him smiling until next Father’s Day. Skip the tie, and get Dad on of these cool gifts that will make him the envy of his Sunday foursome.

Adidas Samba Golf Shoes

Adidas is bringing new meaning to the term “foot wedge” with its new Samba Golf shoe. The company’s legendary soccer shoe is now available in golf form, complete with a high traction outsole and spikes that will give Dad firm footing from any lie. It’s a great way for Dad to show off his soccer spirit on the course. Even if Dad’s not a soccer fan, this extremely comfortable classic looks great with pants and shorts, and is available in enough colors to match any outfit. Click here for the Adidas Golf footwear site, where limited edition styles are currently on sale. Price: $100 to $120.

Back 9 Varsity Headcovers

Dad may or may not remember the days of Arnie’s Army, but regardless, retro is in – especially with golf head covers. Back 9 creates some of the best retro-styled head covers around. Their Legend Series has many colors and styles to choose from, including the new Legend Varsity Collection (pictured). They’re available in several attractive color combinations including blue, black, green and red. Unlike the ones Arnie used, they’re ultra-soft with plenty of padding. And for a few extra dollars, you can have them monogrammed (up to 15 characters). Price : About $30 each. back9usa.com

Callaway upro mx+ GPS

Callaway is jumping back into the GPS arena with the long-awaited upro mx+, an updated device with all the bells and whistles you’d expect from a GPS. If Dad is a technophile, this is the device for him. Its strongest feature is the ProMode, which will give a realistic aerial look at a hole using actual photography. Accurate yardage to hazards and other on-course targets are also calculated. It’s very lightweight and uses a slick touch-screen interface. In testing, the on course experience for us has been great. We particularly like the simple, one-handed operation. From Callaway Golf: http://www.callawayuxplore.com/upro

Matrix Shotmate One Touch Mini GPS

Think a typical GPS is too complicated for dad? You may want to consider the Matrix Shotmate. With virtually no learning curve, Dad can master it in just a few clicks. Attach the tiny device to your hat, belt or bag and click the button. The Shotmate knows what hole you’re playing and responds with the yardage to the center of the green (there’s a Meters mode, too). Click the button again and you can enter “tracking mode”, which will allow you to track distance on your last shot. In practice, it works very well. It can really speed up a round, since there are not screens to look at and not confusing functions to learn. Best of all, perhaps, is the $150 price tag. From Matrix: http://www.shotmategps.com/

PING Nome 405 Adjustable Length Belly Putter

If Dad needs help with his putting, a belly putter might be a good place to start. Belly putters anchor the putter to the body, removing certain variables that make it easier for some golfers to hole the crucial they need to beat their buddies. If Dad’s belly has gotten bigger in recent years, you don’t need to worry about what length might fit him. PING has created an adjustable belly putter that conforms to USGA rules and easily transitions from 37.5 inches to 46.5 inches, a range that will fit nearly every golfer. It’s available for $299.99 at Golfsmith.

TaylorMade ATV Wedges

Buying wedges for a golfer can be tricky. Things like bounce angle, loft, camber and sole relief complicate the process. But TaylorMade believes they’ve made the process much simpler with its ATV wedge – a club the company claims lets golfers play any shot from any lie. In testing, we’ve found that the 56 to 64 degree lofts truly shine around the greens. Give Dad a gift he’s be able to enjoy every time he tees it up. ATV wedges retail for $119, and can be purchased through TaylorMade’s website, http://taylormadegolf.com/TaylorMade/ATV-Wedge/DW-JN785,default,pd.html.

Click here fore more discussion in the forums.

Related Topics:Adidas Callaway Ping TaylorMade

Up Next

Dustin Johnson at the TaylorMade #DriverCove Event with the San Francisco Giants

Don't Miss

Announcement: Performing a massive software update today

Zak Kozuchowski

Click to comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Tour Photo Galleries

Photos from the 2026 U.S. Women’s Open

Published

6 hours ago

Jun 3, 2026

GolfWRX Staff

GolfWRX Tour Photographer made the trip from the Memorial Tournament across the country to the U.S. Women’s Open at Riviera. Check out links to all the photos below!

General Albums

WITB Albums

Pullout Albums

Tour Photo Galleries

Photos from the 2026 Memorial Tournament

Published

2 days ago

Jun 1, 2026

GolfWRX Staff

GolfWRX is on site this week at the Memorial Tournament, with both Alistair Cameron and Tour Photographer Greg Moore on the ground in Dublin, Ohio, where a strong field is assembled to pay homage to the Golden Bear.

In addition to WITB galleries, we’ve already been treated to an in-hand look at Tommy Fleetwood’s new TaylorMade Spider putters.

Check out links to all our photos below.

General Albums

WITB Albums

Pullout Albums

News

Tour Tech Rundown: Heroic Henley

Published

3 days ago

Jun 1, 2026

Ronald Montesano

Around the world, the golf wheel spun this final week in May of 2026. From New Jersey to Austria, with stops in Korea, Texas, and North Carolina (don’t let me route your next trip) the world’s finest put their golf games on display. There were three playoffs, some known commodities and some new talent. It was the sort of week that we hope to have at this point in the seasons. June and July afford double-digit major events, and perhaps, one of this week’s champions will use this success as a springboard to new heights. Time to run it all down, tech style, in this week’s Tour Tech Rundown.

Thanks to WITBHub, Today’s Golfer, GolfWRX, and Inside Tour Golf for initial research into equipment.

PGA Tour @ Charles Schwab Challenge: Heroic Henley denies Cole

Eric Cole did nearly everything that a fellow can do, to secure a first PGA Tour title. He stayed one shot clear of Ryder Cup player Ben Griffin. He kept US Open champion Gary Woodland and wunderkind Michael Brennan two shots distant. He posted 70 on day four to reach twelve under par. And then, Russell Henley revealed his Dr. Strange cloak. Henley made 47 feet of birdie putts on holes 16, 17, and 18, to jump from minus-nine to twelve-deep, and secured a spot in a playoff with Cole. The duo returned to the final tee, and put on a stripe show.

Both golfers found the fairway off the tee, and Henley improved on his regulation play with an approach to four feet. Cole did himself proud, tucking an iron to a dozen feet, but he was unable to convert the putt for three. Henley is one of the best putters on tour, and he proved it once more by draining a putt for a fourth consecutive birdie, and a sixth PGA Tour title. For Eric Cole, that first victory should come, and soon. He has done everything necessary to earn the chalice lift.

Henley’s Suitcase

Driver: Titleist TSi3 at 10 degrees. Shaft: Project X HZRDUS Smoke Black 70g 6.5 TX
Metal: Titleist TS3 at 16.5 degrees. Shaft: Project X HZRDUS Smoke Black 80 TX
Hybrid: Titleist TSi2 at 21 degrees. Shaft: Mitsubishi MMT hybrid 100 TX
Iron: Titleist T250 4-iron. Shaft: True Temper Dynamic Golf AMT Tour White X100
Irons: Titleist T100 5-6 irons. Shaft: True Temper Dynamic Golf AMT Tour White X100
Irons: Titleist T100 7-9 irons. Shaft: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100
Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design SM11 at 48 and 50 degrees. Shaft: True Temper Dynamic Golf Tour Issue X100
Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design SM11 at 54 and 60 degrees. Shaft: rue Temper Dynamic Golf Tour Issue S400
Putter: Titleist Scotty Cameron T5 Tour Prototype

LPGA @ Shoprite LPGA: Welcome back, Celine!

Soo Bin Joo had her eyes on a maiden LPGA title. She held the lead after two rounds, then hit a red light at the intersection of can-I and how-To. Joo posted plus-two on day three in New Jersey, and dropped to a T4 finish, which was still a career-best for the young Korean golfer. Instead of a new face, a familiar face returned to the top of the podium.

Celine Boutier was the It Girl in 2023. She collected four victories, including a major title at Evian. Boutier reached world number one status, then simply faded into the background. No wins came her way over the next 30 months. On Sunday, she collected LPGA victory number seven, at the same trace as LPGA victory number two.

Day three saw Boutier manage the windswept Seaview Bay course with six birdies and a bogey. She was challenged in the end by Thailand’s Arpichaya Yubol, who signed for a 66 of her own. Yubol came up one shot shy of the top ladder rung. Finishing in third place at -7, two back of the winner, was Ireland’s Lauren Walsh.

Celine’s Suitcase

Driver: PXG 0311 Black Ops Tour-1 at 9 degrees. Shaft: Graphite Design AD IZ-5
Hybrid: PXG 0311 Black Ops at 19 and 22 degrees. Shaft: KBS Hybrid Prototype
Hybrid: PXG 0311 Gen5.
Iron: PXG 0311 P Gen 4 5-9 irons
Wedge: PXG 0311 T Gen 4 PW
Wedges: PXG 0311 Sugar Daddy II at 50, 54, 58 degrees
Putter: Bettinardi Studio Stock 3 DASS

DP World Tour @ Austrian Alpine: KK? KK!

Kota Kaneko has a rhythmic name. It has strong vowels and a run of voiceless stops in its crunchy K sounds. On Sunday in Austria, Kaneko put a stop to a challenge from Portugal’s Ricardo Gouveia and everyone else, and claimed a first-ever title on the DP World Tour. Gouveia did well to reach 16-under par over four days, but Kaneko held firm, two shots in the clear.

Davis Bryant of the USA also forged a strong challenge for the win. He ended in a tie with Gouveia for second place. Kaneko began and finished his final round in a bit of a malaise, but he caught fire midway through. Birdies at 10, 12, and 13 provided the necessary cushion to cruise to the finish line without breaking a serious sweat.

Kaneko’s Suitcase

Driver: Ping Max G440
Metals: TaylorMade Qi4D at 15, 16.5, 21, and 24 degrees
Irons: TaylorMade P760 5 and 6 irons
Irons: TaylorMade P7TW 7-9 irons
Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design at 46, 52, 56, and 60 degrees
Putter: Odyssey Ai-One Cruiser Arm Lock #7

Korn Ferry Tour @ UNC Health Championship: Improbably Alvaro

Alvaro Ortiz may have had a bit of scare on the outward nine on Sunday, but he came through in clutch fashion in the end. Ortiz began the day bogey-double, and added another double bogey at the 11th hole. He was mired in a downward trend, spiraling away from the top of the leader’s board. Ortiz found hope at the 14th, where his first birdie of the day tumbled home. Inspired, he closed with birdies and 17 and 18 to catch Ross Steelman at 10-under par, and the duo returned to the 18th deck for overtime.

The extra session concluded in brief time. Ortiz, buoyed by his newly-retrieved confidence, hit the fairway with driver, then approached to six feet and drained the putt. Gobsmacked, Steelman could do little more than smile and applaud, as his run at the top came to a close. The victory was the first for Ortiz on the KFT, and will implant him squarely in the chase for a PGA Tour promotion.

Alvaro’s Suitcase

Driver: Ping G430 MAX driver at 9 degrees loft
Metal: Ping G430 MAX 3W
Iron: Ping iDi Driving Iron
Irons: Ping Blueprint S irons
Wedges
Putter: Scottsdale TR Piper C

A party on the green!

Alvaro’s time comes in Raleigh with his first win @UNCHealthChamp ? pic.twitter.com/2dmtZdbSzk

— Korn Ferry Tour (@KornFerryTour) May 31, 2026

LIV @ Korea: Me llamo Joaquin

Chile’s Joaquin Niemann had been away from the LIV winner’s circle throughout all of 2026. This week in Korea, he reminded us that he is still a force to consider. Niemann chased down Taylor Gooch over the closing holes at Asiad Country Club, then claimed victory with a hole-one birdie in extra time. Bryson DeChambeau claimed solo third, one shot in arrears at minus-eleven. Dustin Johnson finished on fourth, one putt farther back.

Niemann’s Suitcase