For an active, sports-savvy man, there’s nothing more ideal that a girlfriend or wife who also participates in (or at least appreciates) sports. Not only does her acceptance and enthusiasm make your enjoyment of sports something you can share, it makes gift buying so much easier.
With the holiday season creeping up onto the horizon, we’ll be presenting some gift guides to offer our guy readers some ideas on what to buy that girlfriend, wife, sister or female friend. Obviously, we’re kicking off with sports today. The items you’ll see on these cyber pages should make holiday giving for that active lady in your life. If you don’t actually have an active lady in your life, I’m sorry to hear that. Still, I can’t handle everything for you. If you can manage to go out there and get an active lady in your life, trust me — these gifts will be well received.
Along the road to assembling this initial “for the ladies” gift guide, I did realize one potential problem. Left to my own devices, I can only surmise what an active woman would like. I’m left to guess because It has been scientifically proven by medical science that I am not an active woman. In fact, I’m not a woman at all. It’s confirmed. I have whiskers. I enjoy hitting things. I swear too much. I would rather deconstruct the Great Wall of China brick by brick and move it to Boise than watch a single minute of “Real Housewives of Wherever the Hell…” For better or worse, I’m a guy.
Related: A Gadgets Gift Guide That Defies Categories
So, I recruited an actual flesh and blood active woman to help us evaluate potential sport in gifts for the ladies. Marion Accola is a multi-sport enthusiast and PGA Professional Golf Instructor. While the links are her natural habitat, she’s been involved in one sport or another since she was knee high to a tennis racket.
We stacked up some apparel and gear for Accola to try out, and she kicked back her favorite gift recommendations. I included a couple additional items I examined to round out the list. You and your credit card can take it from there.
Lizzie Driver Sporting Apparel: Accola tried out the Lizzie Driver three quarter length polo in a “Mourning Dove” print. She reported, “It was both comfortable and functional. The rayon and spandex combination was quite soft and offered a nice amount of give, which is essential for an athletic movement. I liked the two button detailing on the front of the top. However, the print seemed dated to me and reminded me of a 70’s motif. As a 20-something professional, I would have preferred the top in a solid color.”
“I believe the Lizzie Driver shorts in the “Chestnut Woodpecker” color would be better suited for the older golfer than a millennial golf professional. I found the length of the shorts to be appropriate, but the fit to be constricting. The pleating down the front of the pant created a polished look but I found the style to skew towards an older demographic.”
FILA Women’s Active Wear: A FILA athletic apparel top was next on the block. Accola said it “had some stylish elements. I especially liked the rousing near the shoulder line, which offered an unexpected feminine detail. Aesthetically, I liked the muted print and how it popped against the solid grey collar and buttons. Unfortunately, at 5’8″ this top came up slightly short in terms of practicality. I would have liked to see this top longer. I would definitely wear a white tank underneath this top so I did not expose my stomach during the followthrough of the swing in order to maintain a professional appearance.”
Callaway Mack Daddy Wedge: While the sports apparel lines could each across various activities, Accola also had a chance to test out some of her speciality — golf equipment: “I was impressed by Roger Cleveland’s design of the new Callaway Mack Daddy wedge. The 58-degree club had a heavier head, which encouraged better contact when chipping and pitching. Many lower handicapped golfers weight the club heads of their wedges to better feel the angle of the club head in relation to their hands. The weighting of the club made it more difficult to flip the wrists and thus promoted more consistent contact especially on tight lies. The grip and shaft had a sleek design and I liked the anti-glare chrome finish.”
Cleveland RTX 588 Wedge: Accola reported that the RTX “created great spin on my full swings. Due to the marketed 8% deeper groove design, I felt I could control the ball well and liked the feel of the club especially when pitching. The ‘black satin’ club that I demoed was the three dot full-soled model and is designed to have the most effective bounce of the RTX series. Aesthetically, I found the design to be visually pleasing around the green and the club to be effective in the fairway, rough and bunker.”
Spree Headband and SmartCap: Heart monitors are a great way for the active woman to monitor activity levels, calories burned, etc. But, torso-worn units can be a pain and difficult to wear. The Spree system moves the monitor band up like a crown, producing a headband that can be worn by itself or via the special SmartCap. The Spree is a total exercise monitor and tracks multiple data streams into a free linked app for your smart device.
