We’re running a tour qualifying event and always give shirts to all the executive players to wear the first day. What shirts do you recommend as gifts? We want something upscale, not the usual brands. We prefer a half zip shirt.

The half zip with collar is a unique alternative to the traditional polo shirt, certain to be different. When giving this as a gift, you need to understand your audience. The type of person to wear them is most likely to be under 50, and an aggressive golfer, a perfect fit for your event.

I recommend the Bugatchi ribbed half zip shirt.

This is most requested fabric by executives in a sportswear style. It’s breathable and travels well without a lot of care. Choose a light color for hot climates such as Las Vegas, Scottsdale and Miami.

Because this is a ribbed fabric, we recommend light embroidery vs embroidering a large area. Tonal embroidery is popular, however, since this is a tour event, color logos are also acceptable. (Traditionally, executives don’t want logos that stand out because they don’t want to be billboards for others.)

What can you provide for our celebrity golf tournament? Our services include all aspects from gifts for goodie bags to custom trophies, logo tournament shirts and event signs.

Shirts with logos: premium events like these tend to fall into 2 categories:
1. The event is so fantastic, the celebrity event name is run on the left chest, usually a color logo.
The sponsors go on the sleeves- usually tonal text on each sleeve, or they are not on at all.
2.  The event is new or does not yet have the panache of an ‘NFL caliber’ event. Tonal becomes more popular.
Other factors - value and style of the shirt. A resort style (camp) shirt may be given instead of a golf shirt. Then it’s left chest only for logo embroidery.

How far in advance do I need to order promotional products? For shirts, definitely advance order to get enough color and sizes. You won’t know exactly what you need, but it can take up to 4 months to produce, depending on when you hit the production cycle and the brand. The time to choose a shirt style,  color, and qty is December for March delivery.  We can assist with product recommendations.

There is a limited amount of shirts on hand for any brand. The larger the tournament, the harder it is to get exactly what you need last minute, unless you happen to hit right after a production run arrives in the warehouse. You may also want to consider our private label solutions, minimum 1200, in which case you can advance order with your name imprinted in the label, plus custom hang tags. Then simply add event and sponsor embroidery as needed at a later date. Maybe the recipients don’t want to wear a shirt with your logo, because of the nature of your product. This is an easy way to get your brand on a top quality shirt, without having your logo visible to everyone all the time.

We have an excellent promotional product for celebrity tournaments- a tour quality towel by Club Glove. This is a very desirable item and a sponsor who doesn’t get on the shirt can own the sole logo on this towel. It’s microfiber, tour size, highly coveted, and has low penetration in the market so far.

Here’s what’s needed to put together your custom proposal:
- jpg of event logo for review
- logos of any sponsors that you are thinking of for shirts
- overall budget for gifts

- qty breakdown of support staff, players, and ‘friends of the tournament’ that you may offer gifts to

- signage needs - usually these encompass posters for cocktail parties as well as hole sponsor signs, and other outdoor promotional signs.

We can put together a spreadsheet of ideas, costs, and order deadlines. You can then use this as a masterplan for the tournament committee and sponsors. I’ve sat on golf tournament committees and the core gift ideas are frequently part of a coordinated effort involving the key sponsors, while other items are left entirely to the discretion of the participant marketing teams.

A celebrity destination tournament frequently includes golf and non-golf promotional products. The last local celebrity tournament I played included a $90 sweater, nice leather duffle bag with tournament logo, certificate for a free pair of golf shoes, logo shirt - with nth Annual ’sponsor name’ event logo - nothing on the sleeves, and other goodies.

We have in-house production for signs. For tee box signs, One thing to consider is whether they will be reusable or one time only. Second, all too often there are last minute additions to hole sponsors. Depending on the design, you can have blanks made and drop in names after. Prices avg $13-18- prices driven by materials.
- Flags - take a look at some of the outdoor banners here. The spinning flagstand is popular if buying in bulk qty by one sponsor. (12 or more for price drops).  The mediascreen is popular to move around at different points of the event. The Expand Flagstand is new and great when you want to set up and leave it. Banners with grommets are usually $10/sq ft. or less.  Bring twine and hang them.

CEOgolfshop does not take on the role of event planner, nor do we have any desire to expand into that field.  Our best customers are event planners, and we provide customized products for their events, traditionally upscale gift items.

We have no boundaries for our gift items, nor are we limited to strictly golf items.  We’ll create a one-off custom golf bag, create hand crafted crystal trophies,  or produce custom cashmere sweaters. The bulk of our business is related to golf tournaments and special corporate events, such as annual incentive programs and board member retreats.

Our experience and knowledge are an asset to the marketing staff that we work with. Because of our extensive background in every aspect of marketing- as a buyer, marketer, sponsor, advertiser, producer, and as a supplier, we can quickly assess your needs,  make recommendations, and streamline the production process. We’re your partners and will fulfill your requests with speed or get involved and help you with product choices.

Top 10 CEO gift ideas for 2008:

 1.  Bugatchi Uomo ribbed shirt- this modal rayon shirt is not just a favorite. CEO’s want a closet full of them because they love the fabric so much- and anyone who gives one is sure to be held in high regards.  

2. 68″ Golf umbrella as seen on Tour. All it takes is pressing the button ‘open’ and this one will not be re-gifted. The feel and touch scream quality and durability. 

3. Golf travel bag - Any CEO who golfs and doesn’t have one, wants one. The Last Bag by Club Glove is the most popular and best travel bag in the world. Surprisingly, very few CEO’s own them, which makes it all the more alluring. 

4. Personalized cartoon book by cartoonist Stu Heinecke. The first time I gave this as a gift to a CEO billionaire, I got the access I wanted and great referrals too.  ( We don’t sell this, just a great idea- see cartoonlink.com for info.)

5. The greatest gift may be nothing monetary at all. CEO’s are stewards of our communities. Is there something you can do that would help achieve the company’s mission in that role? 

Sorry, but this list will stop at 5. The other 5 could be really easy…if only we knew more about you, your budget, your objectives and those you are buying for. Call for help!

We have a new line of superior fleece jackets and fleece pullovers from Sunderland of Scotland. Hugely popular executive gift this season, all are ready for your logo embroidery. Please call for details until we get them online. Order by December 19 to ensure delivery before the holidays. 

Should executive apparel include logos? What is executive apparel these days? Why should I read this article? If you buy promotional products for your own company, you need to understand who your audience is in every area. If you buy promotional products for gifts, the same applies. 

First, let me preface and say this is about men’s apparel, since women’s is an entirely different answer. The first answer is yes, as long as it’s done tastefully. Consider the fabric, the logo, the brand and where the executive will be wearing the item. With respect to shirts, a nicely tailored button down microfiber shirt worn with a tie may look best with a tonal logo. In fact, ALL our microfiber shirts to date have been with tonal logos. I’ve been in boardrooms with senior executives coming in one after the other (word of mouth gets around fast) and all of them requested tonal logos. 

What is executive apparel? It’s whatever the executive is wearing and that varies business to business. In a typical corporate office, it’s shirt and tie nearly all the time, while a coat may be optional.  When the C-Level executive meets after hours, there’s a good chance he will still wear a button down shirt. But there’s also an equally good chance he will wear a crew neck or polo style shirt, with a jacket. For the shirts going under a jacket, if it’s short sleeve, I recommend the logo go on the left sleeve. If it’s a long sleeve shirt, the logo can go on the left chest, matching tonal colors only. 

Editors picks: 

men’s dress shirt

Bugatchi men’s modal rayon long sleeve mock neck shirt

We recently opened up shipping to Canada and appreciate all our new Canadian customers. 

Please note that our online system has not been reliably predicting actual shipping costs. While we are tied to Fedex, which we use for all Canadian shipments at this time, there are so many special rules that apparently affect the costs that are not automatically estimated. 

The lowest cost to date has been about $56 and the highest cost to date about $126. All Canadian orders are subject to pass through shipping fees. We will contact you for your credit card information so that we can adjust your total amount when we receive the bill, usually within 2 business days of shipping. 

Additionally, all shipments are sent with duties to be paid by the recipient. A typical cost for $270 in apparel is about $34. We do not collect duties. That is a function of your province & Fedex regional arrangements.  For more specific duties information

Canada Customs Duties

Because of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), Canadians do not have to pay duty on most American and Mexican manufactured items. Most, if not all, apparel items in our store are imported from other countries, therefore a duty is usually required. 

Duties on goods vary depending on the product and the country in which it was manufactured. Our products come from all over the world.  If you have specific questions about Canada customs and duties, please contact a Canada Border Services Agency office or the Border Information Service. 

We will  add country of manufacture information to products in the future. 

CEOgolfshop.com will be adding new 2009 golf equipment over the next few months. We have instant access to all new products as soon as they are launched.

New 2009 golf balls. We’ve already reviewed the line up for Nike Golf and Callaway and there are plenty of new choices with prices from $25 and up.

There’s no need to wait for items to be added to our store- if you want to order the new golf balls the minute they are available, call to advance order.

Nike Golf is launching 3 new Nike One golf balls. Nike ONE Tour, Nike ONE Tour D, and Nike ONE Vapor, with prices ranging from mid to high. We anticipate the Nike One Tour D logo golf balls will be about $53 per dozen with a 12 dozen minimum.

Occasionally a prospective customer will tell me that they never pay for logo embroidery. I can assure you they have, whether it was a line item on their invoice or not. 

First, there is a cost to produce the product, whether it be shirts, towels, or even golf bags. Post manufacturing, embroidery is added.  Therefore the cost to produce a shirt with embroidery costs more than just a shirt. Some companies build the embroidery cost into the product cost, and some don’t.

At CEOgolfshop, we don’t include the cost in our prices. It’s always a separate line item.  We have customers who sometimes need blanks as well as logo embroidered items. Why should they pay extra for blanks?   Additionally, the price may vary. For example, the cost to logo a shirt is much less than for a golf bag or luggage. Our embroidery charges always reflect the actual cost.

Here’s another way to save. Look at our process for shirts.

Advance ordering process:

1.   Manufacture

2.   remove wrinkles

3.   add tissue

4.   fold

5.   polybag

6.   carton and ship.

On-demand orders:

1.   Manufacture

2.   remove wrinkles

3.   add tissue

4.   fold

5.   polybag

6.   carton and ship to USA warehouse

7.   Pull customer order from inventory

8.   Remove from polybag

9.   Add logo embroidery

10.                 remove wrinkles

11.                 add tissue

12.                 fold

13.                 polybag

14.                 carton and ship to client

Please note, not everyone follows all these steps above. Before buying, always ask how your shirts will be delivered. Sometimes the price is right, but the shirts just arrive thrown in a box after the embroidery, resulting in massive wrinkles and zero organization for distribution. CEOgolfshop ALWAYS delivers product ready for distribution to the end user, not needing ironing or packing. 

Obviously, there are cost savings if you advance order. Requirements for advance orders vary from 6 weeks to 120 days depending on the product and quantity. Whether you advance order or not, our quality is always impeccable.