Give dad a great golf gift on Father's Day with TaylorMade, Adams, Ecco, Arnie and more

I don’t test a ton of golf equipment.

But this year I’ve made a conscious effort to try a few new toys, especially in areas where I had holes in my game (insert joke here). For the first time, I feel like I’ve got all the weapons in my bag. Now I just need to learn to dial them in. Today’s equipment is so incredible it even helps my pathetic swing.

I just got a press release announcing that Father’s Day is like “Christmas for Dads.” I don’t normally copy press releases, but I’d never heard that phrase before. I think it fits perfectly. It’s the heat of summer. The final round of the U.S. Open will be on. What’s the best way to celebrate dad’s big day? Take him out for an early Sunday round and give him one of these great presents to take to the first tee.

* Word on the street is that TaylorMade was ready to promote its new Rocketballz fairway woods as 23 yards longer than any 3-wood ever made, but company lawyers wanted to make sure TaylorMade wasn’t pushing the edge on false advertising, so the club’s marketing slogan was rolled back to “18 yards longer.” I’ve got a RBZ 3-wood and 5-wood in my bag these days because they are game-changers. If I need to hit a narrow fairway, I hit either one, depending on how much distance I need. The length of the 3-wood requires I use the 5-wood at times. I’ve never had the problem of worrying that my tee shot with a 3-wood might go too far. It’s a good problem to have. That’s the power of RBZ.

* I bought a TaylorMade hybrid about 5 years ago, but I couldn’t hit it, so I gave up on the hybrid craze for a while. But in the last two years, I’ve added two Adams hybrids. They’re nothing short of spectacular. One replaces my five iron and another replaces my 3-wood/5-wood on fairways shorts or out of the rough. They’re so forgiving on my poor swings. That’s where they won me over. It will be interesting to see if Adams can keep its hybrid mojo going now that it’s owned by TaylorMade-adidas.

* I’m also a couple years late on the “sport” golf shoe, but consider me a big-time convert. I’ve fallen in love with my “Ecco Street” golf shoes, the model made popular by Fred Couples (see photo). They’re so comfortable, I wear them everywhere, even off the golf course. People love the bright orange laces. Even my children call them “cool.” When the plastic studs on the bottom wear out, I’ll just wear them as tennis shoes and get another pair.

A cheaper version of the “street” look is by Crocs (See photo below). The shoes, endorsed by Hank Haney, aren’t quite as comfortable, but they’re less than half the price, look very similar and offer the same on/off course versatility. The only thing they lack is the “street cred” of the popular, high-end Ecco brand.

* And finally, my golf wardrobe has taken a huge step forward with the new Arnie line (created by a partnership between Quagmire and Arnold Palmer). I grew tired of the same logo shirts from fancy resorts. These new fashions feature great color combinations and unique styles from the 50s, 60s and 70s with different sizes of collars and interesting button combinations. I’ve got a bright yellow one with a cool silhouette logo of Palmer’s iconic swing; one that’s black and white checkered; and one that’s green with thick white stripes (see below). They just look and feel fun. I can’t remember the last time I thought that about any golf shirt I owned.

You can’t go wrong with any of these presents for dad.