Father's Day Warning

Don't get your dad a golf gift: They're worse than an Erica Rose DVD collection

This isn't what your dad — or any other golfer — wants.
Just say no to the bad golf gift.
More Erica Rose is preferable to almost any golf gift.

It's Father's Day weekend, which means that golf gifts are flying off the shelves of many area retailers. "Golf gifts" was one of the top Internet searches over the last several days.

To which I can only say ... DON'T DO IT!

Save your dad, your father-in-law, your grandpa, your husband, whoever from having to feign excitement over something from what's largely the worst collective gift category ever dreamed up. Golf gifts are universally horrifically bad — and no one hates them more than real golfers. Yet, non-golfers cannot help but turn to a bad golf gift — and this is pretty much an oxymoron, they're almost all bad — whenever they need a gift for anyone they know who golfs.

Now, if you're going to give dad a golf trip to some exotic location like St. Andrews or Pebble Beach — or even one to sort of a cheesy one like Myrtle Beach — by all means, go ahead. Or even just an afternoon at a local course. Golfers love to actually play golf.

If you want to seem like you're in the know, book a package to Erin Hills — the out-of-the-way Wisconsin course that was just awarded the 2017 U.S. Open or Seattle-area wonder Chambers Bay. Every real golfer has known about Erin Hills and Chambers Bay for years, but you'll still seem light years ahead of your fellow non-golfing gifters.

If you don't have the means to drop that kind of gift and you're still fixated on going with a "golf gift," a pack of Pro V1s are acceptable. Don't make the mistake of thinking that you can determine what a good golf ball is by looking at the packaging. Pro V1s are essentially the only safe ball gift for any golfer. No one's ever turned down Pro Vs no matter their skill level or income status.

And that's your complete rundown of good golf gifts.

Everything else ... stay completely away from.

Especially, the unwearable T-shirts, the ridiculous gag items, the vomit-inducing "inspirational" plaques and the self-righteous, amazingly-wordy books that dominate the golf gift category.

No golfer wants to receive any of these things. And if you claim otherwise, you should show up unannounced at your victim ... er, gift receiver's ... house and see where your collection of golf gifts usually resides.

Every golfer I know has a bunch of completely useless golf gifts stuffed away in the corner of a garage, the back of a closet or up in an attic. When I took a job at WorldGolf.com in the early 2000s, my mom and dad suddenly decided that I needed "golf gifts" — even though I'd golfed for years before. So suddenly, every Christmas and birthday would bring shirts that could only be used as rags, plaques that were reserved for door props and books that we're never opened.

It doesn't matter how much you think you knowthe golfer in your life. You don't if you're ever getting him or her a golf gift.

Think of the most sophisticated golfer you know, the guy who's more than a little stuck up, the guy who needs to prove to you how smart he is. You'd be better off giving even that guy an Erica Rose DVD collection that includes a free lifesized poster of Erica's dog (they really should make this!) rather than a golf gift.

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Thanks, Queen Bey

Pop icon Beyoncé donates $100,000 to University of Houston Law School

Photo by Erza Shaw Getty Images

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Pop megastar Beyoncé Knowles-Carter has donated $100,000 to the University of Houston Law Center Criminal Justice Clinic through her BeyGOOD Foundation. The gift will allow the clinic to hire fill-time faculty to head it, benefiting the students who study there.

“I am delighted that the BeyGOOD Foundation has made this very generous gift to the UH Law Center,” said Leonard Baynes, dean of the UH Law Center. “Not only will this funding help establish a full-time criminal justice clinic that provides pro bono legal services in our community, but it will also supercharge our already excellent criminal law and justice programming.”

The clinic is one of nine at UHLC. It helps students learn to navigate the criminal justice system, especially on behalf of clients that are underserved by skilled attorneys. People of color are affected disproportionately by a lack of good, ethical representation.

Beyoncé, the most decorated artist in Grammy history and easily the biggest musical star native to Houston, has a long history of advocating for criminal justice reform. She was a staunch supporter of the police reform following the deaths of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile, asking law enforcement to “stop killing us” in a web post. In 2020, she penned an open letter to the Kentucky attorney general asking for justice in the death of Breonna Taylor.

Through her BeyGOOD Foundation, established in 2013, Beyoncé has focused mostly on expanding the prospects of Black-owned business and offering education opportunities to students. Forwarding the cause of legal representation in Texas while also helping out marginalized communities compliments her other philanthropic work.

“At UH Law, we envision a legal profession where ‘everyone has the opportunity to prosper,’ as BeyGOOD envisions, and we will achieve this vision by providing access to strong and effective legal representation in criminal proceedings,” Baynes said. “And together, through this gift, the BeyGOOD Foundation and UHLC will shepherd the next generation of criminal justice attorneys in the city of Houston, the state of Texas and the nation.”