Written by Joel Zuckerman

ave the power tools, save the ties. Can the cufflinks and the corny office bric-a-brac. Get Dad some cool golf gear for Father’s Day, and watch his eyes light up, and hopefully his scores go down. Though there are a cornucopia of great courses in the immediate area, plenty of Lowcountry players head to greener, or at least cooler, golf pastures this time of year. One of the safest ways to ensure safe passage of one’s sticks is with a Sun Mountain ClubGlider, (www.SunMountain.com) the next evolution in golf travel bags. What makes this award-winning product so desirable are the integrated leg set, which eliminates repeated bending and lifting when handling luggage weighed-down with clubs, shoes, clothes, etc. The retractable legs, with pivoting caster wheels, support 100% of the weight of the bag when extended.

Not every golfer is a traveling golfer, and fortunately there are products out there to help those of us who are braving the sticky weather now upon us. There is a new universe of hi-tech fibers available in golf shirts, which will combat the oppressive heat and humidity that are in our summer forecast.

Page & Tuttle’s Cool Swing (www.PageAndTuttle.com) is a garment that’s self-explanatory for golfers. Their exclusive micro polyester fabrication that wicks moisture and repels odor drapes and takes color so beautifully, they are easily mistaken for high-end mercerized garments.

A golfer’s swing is usually built from the ground up, and Ecco Shoes (www.ecco.com) are the only brand to use a direct-injection process that results in unrivalled lightness, flexibility, durability and quality. Distinguished by advanced technologies alongside an unmatched combination of out-of-the-box comfort, high-grade leathers and attention to detail, each shoe in the 2008 collection passes through more than 225 sets of highly skilled hands during a production process exclusively executed at ECCO-owned factories.

Another fabulous shoe brand is SuperLites by Footjoy. (www.Footjoy.com) These super soft full grain leather shoes offer outstanding waterproof comfort, breathability, and durability, and as the name implies, are practically light as air.

Not a featherweight, but equally impressive from a technology standpoint, are Hi-Tec Golf Shoes. (www.Hi-tec.com) Hi-Tec almost singularly focuses on developing attractive, comfortable, lightweight high-quality shoes at a fair “true value” price. They apply high technology build processes and leverage innovative materials to ensure the ultimate in comfort.

And finally, all the latest, greatest gizmos, accoutrements and hi-tech paraphernalia can only take one so far. Perhaps dad would benefit most by a series of lessons, and nobody in the region is better suited to teach the biomechanical side of the game than Hilton Header Jim Gray. Visit (www.GrayGolfSchools.com) to learn more about his innovative, extremely effective methods, and prepare to improve quickly and dramatically.