Christmas gifts for Cape Region golfers
December 16, 2005
There are nine shopping days left until Christmas Eve. Here are some suggestions for Cape Region golfers and those looking to buy gifts for their favorite duffers.
Ed Larkins and the gang at Clubhouse Golf on Rehoboth Avenue Extended have their Holiday Sale well underway. Nearly everything in the store is available at some very pleasant discounts. Brand-name drivers for sale include models from Callaway, TaylorMade, MacGregor, and Ben Hogan. The Cobra SZ Series clubs are on a special closeout, with a new line from Cobra soon to come in. Irons from Nike and TaylorMade are offered at reduced prices.
Men’s and women’s clothing from famous makers such as Antigua and Ashworth are also discounted. Store hours are from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Mondays through Thursday, 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Sunday (227-3347).
Brett Marshall noted that this is the first Christmas season for the new Ruddo’s Golf location on Route One, and he said “We’re fully stocked for the holidays.” He noted several enticements in just about every area of golfing interest. Shoes and apparel are up to 40% off their normal prices. Golf clubs from all major brands are offered with a wide variety of discounts. In addition, golf bags are now on sale for 20% off.
Marshall said he’s been surprised at how well golf accessories are selling, coming from his prior experience at golf courses where items such as ball retrievers, glove stretchers, and similar stuff aren’t usually sold. He mentioned also that golf balls marked with NFL and NCAA-based logos are big sellers.
Ruddo’s will be open during the week before Christmas from 10-7 p.m. (227-1520).
In addition to the Cape Region’s two golf stores, don’t forget to check out the offerings at the pro shops at area golf courses, both public and private.
At public courses such as The Rookery (684-3000), Baywood Greens (947-9800), and Old Landing (227-3131), gift certificates are also available for tee times and merchandise. The pros at The Rookery and Baywood Greens will also be glad to sign golfers up for lessons when the weather breaks.
You should also consider asking the club professionals at the private clubs, such as Rehoboth Beach CC (227-3616), Shawnee CC (422-7010) or Kings Creek CC (227-8953) about the possibility of similar certificates for golf lessons, especially for the golfers who are members.
Don’t forget to also check out what’s available at other Cape Region golf courses, including Sussex Pines Country Club (856-3363), Bethany Bay Golf Course (539-3833), Heritage Inn & Golf (644-3860), Bayside (436-3400) and Bear Trap Dunes (537-5600).
There were many good golf books published this year, and they usually have a long shelf life on Cape Region bookstores, both in hard- and paperback.
All of those that were reviewed in this column during 2005 would make great holiday gifts, but several are particularly worth noting.
Perhaps the best coffee-table style offering this year was These Guys are Good, by Bob Cullen with Melanie Hauser, David Barrett, Mark Soltau, and Tom Mackin (Tehabi Sports; $40.00 SRP). The essays and sidebars compete for attention with some truly remarkable photographs of well-known PGA Tour stars in action.
The best autobiography, and in some respects the most surprising one in this category, was Phil Mickelson’s One Magical Sunday-But Winning Isn’t Everything, which he wrote with Donald T. Phillips (Warner Books; $22.95 SRP).
His Masters Tournament win forms the backdrop for a reflective look at the popular player’s apparent growth in maturity.
Among the recent books focused on tournament action, I liked Us Against Them the best. Robin McMillan’s history of the Ryder Cup captures the spirit of the unusual team-based competition, in a sport normally dominated by individual effort and reward. (HarperCollins; $25.95).
Finally, Jim Moriarty’s Open Season (Sports Media Group; $22.95 SRP) was a fun little murder mystery, with golf at Hilton Head and Pinehurst at the center of the action.