What Is in a Golf Mystery Box?
The honest question behind this one is usually: am I about to be sent the stuff you could not sell?
It is a fair thing to ask. Plenty of mystery boxes in plenty of industries are exactly that. So here is what actually goes into ours, what does not, and how to judge any golf mystery box before you buy one.
The categories, every time
Contents vary between boxes and across the year, but they are drawn from the same six categories:
- Golf balls — graded premium balls, the same stock we sell separately
- A glove — tour-standard, in the size and hand you pick at checkout
- Headwear — caps, and headcovers further up the range
- Tees — bamboo, in quantities that last a season rather than a round
- Ball markers
- Course accessories — the small things that live in a bag
What is deliberately not in them: novelty items, golf-themed homeware, anything with a pun on it, and anything that ends up on a shelf rather than in a bag. Every golfer has been given the joke mug. None of them have used it twice.
Why consumables rather than gadgets
Golf is a sport with running costs, and that is the whole idea behind the box. Balls disappear. Gloves wear through by spring. Tees snap. Caps get filthy.
None of that is exciting written on a shopping list. All of it gets used, which is more than can be said for most things bought as golf presents. A box of gear a golfer was going to have to buy anyway is a better gift than a more interesting thing they will never touch.
What is guaranteed, and what is not
We will be straight about this, because it is the difference between the boxes.
The Presidential Box at £94 has a published guaranteed contents list:
- 12 premium tour-level A-grade golf balls
- A tour-standard glove
- A premium brand cap
- A driver headcover, or a triple headcover set
- At least 2 ball markers
- 100 bamboo tees
- Sherbet lemons
- Presented in a gift box
The Members Box at £28 and the Captains Box at £54 do not publish an item-by-item list. You know the categories and the tier; you do not know the exact models. That is what lets us pack them from whatever is best in stock in a given week rather than from a fixed list we have to hold stock against all year.
If not knowing is a problem, buy the Presidential, or use Build Your Box and choose every item yourself. We would rather tell you that than have you open something you were not expecting.
About the golf balls
This is the part most people want to pin down, because balls are the bulk of the value.
Ours are graded pre-owned rather than new, and we grade them honestly: A/Pearl is excellent with very light play marks at most, B has moderate visible marks, C/Practice is more visibly scuffed but perfectly playable. Boxes are built around the top grades. Our grading page sets out where each line sits.
A urethane-covered ball loses performance when the cover is cut, not because somebody has hit it before. An A-grade premium ball with light cosmetic marks plays within a rounding error of a new one — which is the entire reason graded balls are worth buying.
How to judge any golf mystery box
Not just ours. Four questions worth asking before you spend money on one:
- Does the seller say what the categories are? "A surprise selection of golf products" is not an answer.
- Are the balls graded, and is the grading explained? If a seller will not tell you the grade, assume the lowest one.
- Does it include anything sized? A glove or a cap only works if you are asked for a size. If nobody asks, somebody is guessing.
- Is a cash value being claimed? Be sceptical of "£150 of gear for £50". RRPs are easy to inflate and hard to check. Judge it on whether you would have bought the categories anyway.
We do not quote a cash value for our boxes, for that reason. The honest test for ours is whether £28, £54 or £94 of balls, gloves and course essentials is something you would have spent over a season. For most golfers who play regularly, it is.
Common questions
Can I choose what goes in?
Not in a mystery box — but you always choose the glove size and hand, and Build Your Box exists if you want full control.
Will I get duplicates if I buy two?
There is some overlap in the staple categories, because everyone needs tees and balls. The specific items usually differ, since we pack from current stock.
Are the balls new?
No. They are graded pre-owned, and we say so plainly rather than calling them something else. That is what makes premium models affordable in a box at this price.
Is it obviously a mystery box when they open it?
Yes, and for most recipients that is the fun of it. If you would rather they knew exactly what they were getting, a set box or Build Your Box is the better route.
Decided it is for you? Compare the three on our box comparison page, or go straight to golf mystery boxes.