Five Pure Golf Gifts for Father's Day

I make no excuses with our Father's Day Gift Guide. All of these fine golf companies are clients and we are very proud to work with them. I'm sure you'll find something very cool here for Dad. One key thing to note with all of these great gifts - they are ALL Made in America. Which is nice!

1. Josh Smith Golf Landscapes. Josh paints gorgeous golf landscapes. His portfolio runs from Bandon Dunes Resort to Pebble Beach and many wonderful courses in between. We recently found three perfect, limited edition, tubed giclees on archive paper in a cupboard. The images are Royal County Down (3rd hole), Bandon Trails (3rd hole) and Pebble Beach (7th hole as it was in 1929 - above). Just because it is you, we are offering these for $195 each, including USPS shipping. There are three left and that's it! - if you would like one email me at nick@macduffconsulting.com and we'll get it out the same day to you.

2. Lee Wybranski Art & Design. Lee is having quite a year and his latest poster for the USGA for this year's U.S. Open at Merion is another stunning piece. Featuring the iconic red wicker basket, it is perfect for Dad's den! You can buy it here on the USGA's site. If you would like to explore more of Lee's work have a look at his website here.

3. MacKenzie Walker Golf Bag Company. Todd Rohrer, way out west in Portland, Oregon produces the best golf bags in the business - bar none! Now this gift takes some thought and perhaps input from your father to produce a one off handcrafted piece of magic. I have been guided through the process three times by Todd and each golf bag is a work of art! Some would say they are expensive at $845, but think about it - you spend that on a set of clubs and two years later switch them out and they are worth about $50! The MacKenzie will last a lifetime and the memory will be priceless. Have a look at the amazing selection of leathers here.

4. Stitch Golf. Based in North Carolina, Stitch makes amazing leather headcovers and other cool leather accessories - I have their #1 iPad cover! We first came across Stitch last year and in a short period of time they have made huge strides at retail and with consumers. Look out for their Merion U.S. Open covers if you are at the tournament - but be quick, because they are going to fly off the shelves! Read more about Stitch here.

5. Tin Cup. The Father's Day Package here is a great way to choose the best cup to fit Dad's golf game. Plus it includes a couple of pens, poker chip and leather valuables pouch. Tin Cup is now in over 1,400 retail outlets in the U.S. as well as being on line here with 140 designs. In addition you could create a one off custom design here.

What's in my Pure Bag?

I have been asked online twice this week, what is in my golf bag? Well, I don't need to be asked 3 times, so here you go - the whole enchilada!

Ball - Callaway Hex Black Tour - Callaway's latest and a really great ball!

Glove - Various G-Fore colored gloves - the coolest glove on the market - choose your color each round!

Irons - 4 through 9 iron - Callaway Forged (2007) with Project X 6.0 shafts. Great irons and I still haven't found anything as good to replace them.

Wedges - Callaway forged with copper finish in following lofts - 48, 54, 58 (green initials stamped on the back)

3 wood - Callaway X Hot (2004) They have never made a better 3 wood, though I just hit the new Callaway RAZR Fit 3 wood and it is pretty close! You will not find a better 3 wood for $84 (in Callaway Pre-owned)

Driver - Callaway RAZR Fit 9.5 degree - still experimenting with different shafts. The stock shaft is really good, but with an open face my launch angle was too low, so it's now closed, which increases loft, even though that is counterintuitive.

Hybrid - nothing, nada! - Still trying to find the perfect hybrid, as I have a huge gap between 3 wood and 4 iron. I carry an old 5 wood for certain courses, which is crazy! Suggestions on a postcard.

Golf Bag - MacKenzie Walker Sunday Bag - Green and brown leather with cool Union Jack sewn inside the ball pocket. Expensive yes, gorgeous, yes and the only bag you will ever need!

Putter - Scotty Cameron Yellow Dot Tour Newport - A thing of beauty! My gamer is often an old original Reuter Bullseye.

Grips - Lamkin 3Gen colors - finally a manufacturer introducing some solid colors into their range. Love these!

Head covers - Seamus Golf - Handmade custom MacDuff tartan covers for my driver, 3 wood and putter - gorgeous wool head covers from a cool Portland company!

Golf Ball Marking Tool - The best way to make your mark is Tin Cup. I use a "Green" custom Tin Cup or the British Flag.

Ball Marker - Winston Churchill commemorative coin from 1965. You can get them on ebay, though it is useless inside 5 feet as it is 2 inches across!

The Coolest Valuables Pouch

Thanks to our friends at The MacKenzie Golf Bag Company, we now have a very cool (and pure) valuables pouch for the 2012 season. I asked Todd at MacKenzie to discreetly use our logo, so we had some MacDuff branding, but keep it classy (San Diego!). One of my main incentives to play golf soon is so I can use this beautiful American made leather pouch.

The Leather Golf Bag

The leather golf bag. Is there a better way to play golf than walking a great golf course, carrying your own leather golf bag. Just look at the picture above - a glorious celebration of the game of golf made by the best in the business, The Mackenzie Golf Bag Company. They are handmade to order, though you can find them in some of the best golf shops in the country. They are not cheap. They aren't meant to be. They are an expression of your love of the game and will last for a lifetime and then some.
The owner, Todd Rohrer, even included the Union Jack flag inside the pocket of the green Mackenzie Walker bag he made for me. It's our "in joke" and it makes me smile every time I use the bag.
The company also makes headcovers, shoe bags and shag bags, all crafted from the best leather that money can buy. Based in Portland, Oregon, Mackenzie continues to practice the art of high quality personal craftsmanship and maintaining all that is good about the game of golf. Read More Here.