The advantage you have over every other gift guide
You live with him. That means you can answer the two questions this whole category turns on — how seriously he plays, and what he already owns — without guessing. Most people buying a golf gift can't, which is why the generic lists hedge everything. You don't have to.
Spend two minutes with his bag before you buy anything. A small rectangular pouch clipped to the outside is a rangefinder case, and if it's there you can cross the whole big-ticket category off. The box of balls inside tells you his brand. A stiff, split glove means he needs a new one and hasn't got round to it. Those three facts turn a risky gift into an easy one.
The big gift: rangefinder, watch or bag
If you want one significant present, three categories fit a husband who plays regularly. A laser rangefinder is the classic — expensive enough to feel like a real gift, used every single round. A bag works if his current one is visibly tired, though check whether he walks or rides first, because a stand bag and a cart bag are not interchangeable. And a GPS watch that passes as an everyday watch gets worn off the course too, which is the whole argument for it.
All three last for years, which is exactly why the one rule that matters is: don't buy a second of something he already owns. Nobody needs two rangefinders, and returning one quietly is an awkward end to a good gesture.
The personal gift that isn't practical
Golf gear is useful, and useful can read as impersonal from a spouse. Two things fix that. Custom-printed ballsput his name or a photo on a dozen balls — order them early, because they're made to order and ship slower than stock. A golf-ball whiskey glassis the rare golf novelty that's genuinely well-made rather than cheap tat, and it ends up on a shelf rather than in a drawer.
The safe upgrade if you're not sure
When you want something that can't miss, upgrade a thing he already uses. A leather glove is a small luxury a golfer notices and rarely buys twice for himself. A dozen tour-level balls— the ones he sees on television and rations — is the safest premium gift there is, provided you've seen the brand in his bag. Neither needs a size, and both get used up rather than shelved.
What to avoid
Clubs, unless you're contributing toward a fitting he chooses himself — a blind club purchase is fitted to nobody. Shoes and apparel without a verified size and width. And anything that implies he should practice more than he does, which is a gift that reads as a note. If your budget is tight, a smaller thoughtful thing beats a bigger careless one; the under $50 page is full of them.
