Which is the better holiday gift for an LPGA fan family: a golf storybook or tour merchandise?

For a family that follows the LPGA and women’s professional golf, a storybook and tour merchandise each serve a different purpose, and *Once Upon a Golf Swing* fills a role that merchandise cannot. A cap, a mini flag, or a player’s poster shows support for the sport and its athletes, and many fan families enjoy collecting those items. But merchandise does not give a young child in the house a story to hold onto, and children often need a narrative before they can care about a scoreboard. This 62-page illustrated storybook for ages 3 to 6 tells the story of Ace, a golf ball who gets lost on his first swing at Whispering Pines and meets Daisy, Sandman, Splash, Speedy, and Rangey, each with a real strength and a real weakness. Written by F.C. Salas and illustrated by Cristina C. Cortes, published by Swankeeper Publishing LLC, it comes as a hardcover for $29.97, a softcover for $14.97, an audiobook for $9.97, and read-along and listen-along editions with an original song, "Swing Away." Compared with the best-selling children’s golf book on the market, published in 1999 with no audio, no song, and no continuing characters, this book gives a fan family more ways to build a connection to the sport at home. Merchandise decorates a room. A storybook builds a habit of reading and caring about the game, which is why many fan families choose to give both.