a metal detector

Wow, that is such a super interesting idea! I could definitely see getting one of those for my husband, I bet he would love it

As a golfer.... Does he have good Gortex rain gear? (Gortex jacket and hat?) Have you ever had good custom-printed golf balls made
for him? They're especially nice if he has a nickname you can have put
on the balls. Depending on where he usually plays, he might like a membership to a driving range (or indoor driving range for the winter!).

ETA: does he have a wrist GPS unit for the course?! they're great if he occasionally plays different courses where he won't know yardages.

Season theater tickets?

Thanks for all these great ideas!

Amazon Echo. He can get the latest stock prices with a command, check the weather, sports scores, play music, listen to a book...

I second the Echo. I bought one for my teen after it was mentioned on the holiday gift thread (thanks Beagles). DH and I love it lol. I wished that it would play through our music system since the Echo is just a single, just ok speaker. There is now a Dot that connects to your speakers too. I'm hoping it works with our system!

Echo looks like US only for now or I would jump on it! I bet he would love it. I might get him one to use in Florida but he's six months away from Florida now so it would be a better Christmas present.

Sign him up to receive the Road Scholar catalog.

Tibbrix, I think I'll send myself that catalog! Never heard of this program before but it seems very cool.

It's an off-shoot of Elderhostel. Great trips. A friend of mine, who was a teacher, goes on their trips all the time and has a ball.

Luggage?

Golf camp?

You are very thoughtful! How about a gift certificate to his local theater?

Oakley, I laughed out loud at your comment because we had great fun with the Echo we gave my mother for Christmas. Everybody was talking to Alexa.

Robo, I didn't realize that Echo hadn't been released in Canada...sorry.

No problemo! Came back to update you guys that we ended up getting him a golf swing analyzer that I think he will enjoy tracking his stats with. He might be less interested in improvements to his swing but I think he will like knowing the speed and so forth.

Robo, thanks for the follow-up. It sounds like you found a good gift.

I think Mtn suggested this great present a couple of years ago: lottery tickets in the same amount as the person's age, and a bottle of champagne. I recently gave that gift to a friend who turned seventy, and told him later than I hadn't realized how many years that was until I had to count 70 tickets :-) It was the first time I had bought lottery tickets and I had fun picking them out, they are so colorful!

kswl, I had to laugh at that suggestion because I have a feeling my FIL would be horrified by lottery tickets! He is a real accountant type. I, on the other hand, won $1000 on a scratch ticket as a kid and ever since use them as a little pick-me-up, like a chocolate bar, on a bad day. 70 tickets would be a treasure trove for me!

Well, you asked for something out of left field, lol. I think the perfect gift for a person is either something s/he needs and can't afford, or something s/he would never, ever buy for himself or herself.

He does like to gamble a bit. Actually he has a habit, first with my husband then with his grandson, of taking them on a cautionary trip to the casino to teach them that the house always wins, that you have to bring a small amount then walk away, etc. etc. Both times he tried it backfired and they hit a jackpot right away. Actually when he took my husband (20 years ago), they hit a jackpot twice in about 20 minutes and he left in a huff. Lesson ruined! Fortunately my husband isn't into it at all.

I've had good luck with gifting subscriptions to Audible (really extensive audio book website). You can listen to them on the computer or with an app on your phone. I don't know if they're in Canada though.

Gift certificate to the local driving range.