Experiential Giving: This Holiday Season, Give the Gift of Golf

While the golf season may have ended in some parts of the world, the gifting season is just getting underway... and these days, exchanging end-of-year presents is a custom that exists all over the world.

Of late, I’ve really been liking the idea of experiential gifts.  Maybe that's because an increasing number of my "giftees" seem to want to "make memories" instead of just collecting more stuff.

Take my accountant, a true minimalist, he's always been hard to shop for; He doesn't play golf and he's definitely not the type who lusts for Hermes ties, Cartier cufflinks or other such luxury tchotchkes... but he once told me he’d dreamed of becoming a race car driver.  Well, that's probably not going to happen, but I just bought my much-appreciated bean counter a 2 lap, “race track ride-along” in a Lamborghini Gallardo! It's an experiential gift I'm fairly certain he'll love.

In an effort to strengthen her core for golf,  my enterprising twin sister, recently took up Aerial Acrobatics (AKA: pole dancing), She loves it and she's planning on gifting all of her incredulous golfing girlfriends (including me) with an “Intro to Pole” lesson.

These are a couple of... um... interesting examples, but you get the idea.  What better gift can there be than a memorable experience that may otherwise not happen? 

A golf pass at Doral Arrowwood? Yes please!

As far as golf giftees are concerned, experiential gifting should prove a huge timesaver and a no-brainer. For golf fans, tickets to watch the pros play would certainly make a memorable gift, and many of the top tournaments offer their own experiential gifts. The Travelers Championship's Golf For The Holidays ticket packages will be a welcome surprise for several on my list.

Do you have a course you love and would like your friends to experience?  Pop a golf pass in their stocking and get them out of their home course rut. I plan to introduce a couple of my ladies league friends to the Little Blue Monster, a wonderful resort course located in nearby Westchester County, NY, with a Golf Pass Special at the Doral Arrowwood Hotel.

Or how about a lesson... or series of lessons... with a PGA/LPGA Pro. Golf Lesson Gift Certificates might even turn a non-golfing friend into a golfing one and how awesome would that be?

• We'll be featuring plenty of other golf gift ideas throughout the next few weeks, so check back often.