Before veering off onto tangents about why most golf gifts fail, let me first affirm that choosing a good golf gift is not hopeless. A nice golf sweater usually works. Who doesn't want a nice sweater for Christmas, or whatever the winter holiday may be? A series of 40 lessons, near home, with Hank Haney? That's something any golfer would love. A GPS or laser range-finding device? Check. An all-expenses-paid golf and spa vacation with a loved one to Los Cabos, Mexico? Check.  Golfer-Approved Gift: A trip to Costa Del Sol in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico  So you see, golfers aren't impossible to shop for. The problem is that most people attempting to buy gifts for golfers aren't avid golfers themselves and fail to take into account the subtle idiosyncrasies of the game. A sack of colorful tees might seem like a sure-fire stocking stuffer, but there's a fair chance the golfer on your list will only use white tees, or tan tees, or tees with blue bands on them, so all the rest will go to waste. The classic bad golf gift is a sleeve of balls—or worse yet a dozen—that aren't the brand your golfer plays. Anyone who recently hit 12 of 18 greens using the Noodle+ Easy Distance ball isn't going to like having to gush over a box of Pinnacle Dimensions under the tree.  To say that golfers are superstitious and persnickety about the tools and accoutrements of their passion is only to describe part of the problem. Most longtime golfers have already been given, and stashed in the basement as unusable, dozens of inexpensive gifts of the type that come most readily to the nongolfer's mind. That's because there exists a vibrant industry devoted to manufacturing lame items for use as goodie-bag fodder and tee prizes. Any golfer who has ever attended an organized golf outing or fund-raiser, which is nearly every golfer, has returned home with armfuls of golf towels, caps, ball scrubbers, green-repair tools, money clips, drink holders, shoe bags and head covers. You, as a gift giver, don't need to add to the clutter.  Sun Mountain ClubGlider travel bag  As for gag gifts, nongolfers tend to find these a lot funnier than golfers do, probably because, as a rule, nongolfers regard golf itself as a joke. The naked-lady golf tee apparently continues to sell well. So does the exploding golf ball, even though no golfer has ever actually been fooled by an exploding golf ball because it's impossible to tee one up without detecting that it's not a Noodle+ Easy Distance. As an approximate representation of where golf to many nongolfers ranks in the firmament of worthwhile pursuits, note how many golf gag gifts invoke toilet humor. There's the Doggy Doo golf ball, presented in its gift box nestled on a turd, and the perennially hilarious roll of 19th-hole bathroom tissue. Widely promoted this year is the Potty Putter, a floor mat in the shape of a tiny putting green, with a plastic cup and flag and a miniature putter. It's intended to be used while seated on the throne.  OK, so now on to some actual recommendations. I wasn't kidding about the sweater. Even for golf in Florida and the desert Southwest, a comfy sweater is essential for cool mornings. Fleece or cotton pullovers, like the Bobby Jones Quarter-Zip Competition Sweatshirt ($135), are designed for free-flowing golf swings but look great anywhere. Others, like the Zero Restriction Softshell Highland Wind Jacket ($160) add wind and rain protection.  Purists still balk at the rise of on-course electronics, but millions of golfers love the gadgets and contend they help speed up play. Since they aren't cheap (you'll typically pay between about $200 and $350), many golfers who want one haven't yet sprung for it, so they can make a good gift. There are two kinds. GPS systems, such as units by SkyCaddie and Garmin, display maps of the hole you are on, with appropriate distances to hazards and the green. Laser range-finders (Bushnell, with its Pinseeker line, is the leading name) shoot the yardage to a particular target. Both are popular. The former provides more information and may be more fun; the latter is more versatile (you can use it on the range, for example) and is often the preference of lower handicappers. Keep your receipt.  Golfers who dare check their bags with the airlines will appreciate a sturdy travel cover. They can be had for less than $100, including a few molded, hard-shell plastic models. But those can resemble ICBMs and take up valuable space in the rental car. For frequent golf travelers who like to stuff extra clothes and accessories into their bags to minimize extra bag fees, pricier heavy-duty expandable travel bags like those made by ClubGlove are more useful. My next travel cover, when I can afford it ($279), will be the stuffable ClubGlider Meridian, which has two little roller legs that come down from the underside for easy maneuvering. It stands on its own.  I personally have a weakness for coffee-table books with sumptuous photos of golf courses in slanting shafts of early sun. There are two superb new volumes out this fall, both limited editions. "Golf Courses: Great Britain and Ireland" (Rizzoli), with lenswork by David Cannon, the Royal & Ancient Golf Club's official photographer, is available online for $133. It features not just the famous links layouts but also many surprisingly sublime parkland courses. "18 Greatest Irish Golf Holes" ($300, 18 Greatest Golf), with photography by John Kernick, goes deep into each hole, with commentary by local experts and Tour pros like Padraig Harrington and Graeme McDowell. An earlier, similarly titled book focuses on 18 Scottish holes. For those who prefer reading over gaping, Classics of Golf (classicsofgolf.com) has republished in hardback 69 of the game's literary treasures, including Arnold Haultain's "The Mystery of Golf" (1908) and Bobby Jones's "Golf Is My Game" (1960).  Beware of buying golf clubs for your giftee, unless you have very specific marching orders, such as a particular new driver model with a certain shaft, loft, lie angle and grip size. Even then, leave the cellophane on the clubhead. For a beginning golfer, or someone who has expressed an interest in playing more and/or better, a prepaid series of lessons is a viable option. Ask around for recommendations—there's no other way. And make sure it's a series. An isolated lesson or two isn't of much use.  When it comes to stocking stuffers, tickets to Hawaii, Barbados or Los Cabos, as mentioned above, would be lovely. Plus there's always golf socks. Who doesn't love a nice cushy pair of golf socks for the winter holidays?
And what not to—stores are full of dumb gifts he or she will never use. Why a sweater is better.