What's the best thing to put in a golfer's stocking for Christmas?

A new driver or wedge is a good place to start.

Sure, it will stick out and look a little clumsy over the fireplace, but the hack in your life will truly be grateful.

Socks and underwear are nice.

New clubs, heck, any golf stuff, is better. Even a dozen balls will bring a smile.

But, if you want to do a little better than some Titleists, here are some last-minute ideas:

We'll start with some interesting reading that will have to do while we all wait for the snow to melt.

* Chris Millard's new book, Golf's 100 Toughest Holes, published by Abrams Books, is an absolute must read.

Millard, who writes for Senior Golf and Golf World magazines, did tireless research over 216 pages as he gives a history of each hole; what makes each one so difficult; and anecdotes from professional events that have been played on several of the holes.

Add in mouthwatering photographs of each hole and the golfer stuck inside in winter will have his/her heart pumping.

One of Millard's best anecdotes is on the 18th hole at Koolau golf course in Hawaii. It's the impossible finishing hole (a monster par 4) on the layout with the highest slope rating in the United States.

(Slope measures how much harder a course plays for a bogey golfer than a scratch player and is generally an indication of the course's difficulty).

The jungle was so dense that during construction of Koolau workers found a military plane that had been missing since World War II, skeletons included.

Millard also picks two toughies from Pebble Beach, the eighth and ninth, for his list. He also informs us that Pebble's architects, Jack Neville and Douglas Grant, designed just that course in their careers, no others.

Fun and informative are good descriptions of the entire book. It's available at www.abramsbooks.com for $45.

* Speaking of that driver in the stocking, TaylorMade has two new ones out just in time for Santa to deliver.

They're additions to the the r7 driver family that utilizes TaylorMade's Movable Weight Technology.

The new 425 helps the golfer change the trajectory on their drives.

With 28 grams of movable weight evenly divided between two TaylorMade Launch Control ports in the club-head, the golfer can configure the cartridges to increase distance by promoting the maximum amount of either a draw or a fade.

The r7 quad 425, which is available in right or left hand, retails for $399.99.

For the better player, the r7 425 TP (Tour Preferred) has also been introduced. It has the same features as the 425 except the TP has a slightly open club-face angle to help meet the demands of Tour players.

The r7 425 TP, also available in right or left hand, retails for $799.99.

Also, look for TaylorMade to introduce a new driver early in '06. And look for the clubhead to be enormous.

Check www.taylormadegolf.com for the new stuff and the stuff that's coming in a couple of weeks.

* Once the snow is gone and it's time to play, which can't come soon enough, finding the right place to do it is easy with the Victory Golf Pass.

The brainchild of Andy Barbin, a Germantown Academy grad who now runs two courses in the Chesapeake Bay area, the Victory Golf Pass book is a bonus in two ways.

For the golfer, it offers discounts on courses in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware and Maryland and not just dumpy tracks.

Barbin has some heavy hitters on his pass list like Bear Trap Dunes in Delaware, Bulle Rock (yes, that Bulle Rock) in Maryland, Blue Heron Pines East and West in Jersey and Center Valley, Downingtown, Raven's Claw, Tattersall and Hartefeld National.

Better yet, a portion of all proceeds from the sale of the book goes to the Crohn's & Colitis Foundation of America. In June of this year, Barbin donated $10,000 to Crohn's from sales and hopes to give even more in '06.

This book is a win-win for golfers, good courses and helping a good cause. The cost is $49.95 for one and two for $80. For information, go to www.victorygolfpass.com.

* For the player who has almost everything, get him/her a can of Golf Dust.

It'For the player who has almost everything, get him/her a can of Golf Dust.

It's an alternative to impact tape and is easily applied to the clubface of woods and irons.

Spray it on the clubface, make your swing, and the impact point of where the club hit the ball is immediately shown. A damp cloth is all that's needed to remove it.

A 2.7-ounce can retails for $16.45 (www.golfdust.com) and is good for about 150 applications.

* Looking for a heavier putter to help you from lifting up the club on your putting stroke? Try the Heavy Putter.

Less than a year ago, Andy Barbin was struggling to bounce back from two surgeries in which he had his colon removed and the doubts that come with it.

On June 13, Barbin plans to play in a qualifier for the Philadelphia Open in Conestoga, then race down to Huntingdon Valley CC to play in the 18th annual Bill Campbell Tournament to benefit the Philadelphia/Delaware Valley Chapter of the Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation of America charity.

"That’s going to be a fun day," Barbin said. "Considering where I was a year ago, it will really feel nice."

Barbin, a 1984 Germantown Academy graduate and the younger brother of Horsham Valley GC head PGA professional Harry Barbin, wanted to give something back to those who helped him, and the best way he thought of was through a golf pass book.

The thing is, Barbin’s book is not like the rest. Yes, it’s full of discounts for public courses in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware and Maryland, but it also has something else: eight private courses.

"Our original goal was to sign up 20 courses, and then it got to be 30," Barbin said. "So we decided to keep going, and some private courses jumped in, which gives people a chance to play at places they could never get on before.

"When the book was ready, we had 48 courses signed up and we started selling them at the Fort Washington Golf Expo in February. We sold about 400 of them, and then we had 20 more courses join us, so I sent out a supplement to everybody who bought one.

"The best thing is it’s not restrictive. The passes are for play seven days a week, and it’s not just for twilight golf. A lot of the other books are for weekday play, but this one is different."

The book was a natural, since golf has been such a big part of his life. He and Harry, and their father and a family friend, own three courses, two in the Chesapeake Bay area and Horsham Valley. Andy Barbin, 39 - the general manager of the courses in Maryland - played the mini tours in Florida for six years before eventually settling in the Chesapeake Bay area.

In January of 2000, he was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis and, after four years of dealing with it - most times he had to go to the bathroom 30 times a day - he had his colon removed on Dec. 30, 2003. A few months later, his fourth child was born. A month later, he was bedridden with infection. Today, he is off all medication and has, as he says, "gotten my life back."

"My wife Allison has just been unbelievable with everything," Barbin said. "She’s done so much I don’t even know where to start. Without her, this wouldn’t have been able to happen."

All proceeds from the book are going to fund Camp Oasis. The camp, which will be held at Nockamixon Park from Aug. 18-23, allows children with conditions similar to Barbin’s to meet other children with the disease. Barbin plans on delivering a check at the Crohn’s & Colitis event earmarked for the camp.

"He battled a life-threatening disease that was quite an ordeal," Harry Barbin said. "So he decided to try to give a little something back. We’ve gotten great support from the PGA community, and the pass book is just a win-win for everybody involved."

The chance to help the young understand the disease was the driving force behind the idea.

"This disease effects people ages 10 to 35, and just imagine being a kid and having it," Andy Barbin said. "It’s hard to do anything. I was going to the bathroom 30 times a day and would have to run to get there. It’s something people don’t talk about, but if we can help one kid, then it’s all worth it.

"Some people say wait until you’re 50 to get a colonoscopy. That’s a crock. I recommend getting it done in your 30s. Just go and do it."

Barbin’s goal was to hand over a check for $65,000 to help fund the camp. He’s not there, yet, but he’s also not done trying.

"This has gone so well, we’re going to do it again with more courses, and I plan on having the 2006 pass book ready on Nov. 1," Barbin said.

"The foundation saved my life. My surgeon at Penn, Dr. Howard Ross, and my doctor, Julius Deren, are just the best there is, and I’ve sent a lot of people their way."