You have an advantage most gift buyers don't
Most people on this site are buying for a golfer they can't read — a father-in-law, a boss, a friend of a friend. A brother is the opposite problem. You know whether he walks or rides, whether he plays to win or to drink beer in a cart, whether he's the type to carry a joke headcover or quietly leave it in the garage. Every page on this site tells you to look in the bag before you buy; with a brother you have probably been in the bag, or the trunk of his car, more than once. So the question isn't what golfers want. It's which of three kinds of gift fits him.
Kind one: the upgrade he won't buy himself
Every golfer has a tier of thing they know is better and refuse to pay for. For most brothers it is the premium ball. He plays a mid-price ball because losing three good ones in a pond hurts, and a dozen of the tour ball he'd play if money were no object is a gift he cannot buy for himself without feeling foolish. Match whatever brand is on the box in his bag; if you've never looked, the ball at the top of our golf ball guide is the default for a reason.
The bigger version of the same gift is a laser rangefinder, and this is where a brother beats a father-in-law: you can find out whether he owns one without making it obvious. If there's no small rectangular pouch clipped to the outside of his bag, he doesn't, and a mid-price model with a slope switch is the single most-used thing you could give him. Our rangefinder guide covers the price tiers.
Kind two: the thing that makes the round with him better
If you play together, or just ride along, some of the best gifts are about the round rather than the score. A cooler sleeve that slips into the bag and keeps a few cans cold for the back nine is a gift about the afternoon, not the golf. A trunk organizer is the gift for the brother whose car is a landslide of shoes, tees and loose balls — every golfer has seen the inside of that trunk, and it is used every single time he plays. Neither costs much, and neither needs a size.
Kind three: the running joke — with a condition
This is the category a sibling is uniquely licensed to use. A telescopic ball retriever for the brother who has never met a lake he couldn't find is genuinely funny and genuinely useful, which is the test. Loud golf socks work the same way. What doesn't work is a joke gift as the whole present — the "golf survival kit" of small plastic objects, the mug, the desk putting set. Those get one laugh at the table and never leave the house. The rule is simple: the joke sits next to something he'll use, never instead of it. Our funny golf gifts page applies the same test across the whole category.
If it's a brother-in-law
Everything above assumes you know him. For a brother-in-law you see twice a year, drop the joke and drop anything sized, and buy the consumable in the most recognized brand you can: a dozen good balls, a two-pack of the glove that half of all golfers wear (once you've confirmed the hand), or a proper divot tool. The father-in-law page is written for exactly that distance and its logic carries over intact.
What to skip
Clubs and a putter, because they are fitted to him and even a brother shouldn't guess at shaft flex. Shoes and apparel, unless you have his size from this year. And off-brand golf balls, which he will identify from across the room. For a milestone birthday where the budget is bigger, the under $300 page is where the bags, carts and watches live.
