Help from Sun Mountain stand bag owners

[miss0033]

Sun Mountain owners, please help me.

 

Bought a 3.5 (to replace a 2008~ish Ogio Grom) and loved it until walking with it for one round…  It is SO much light than my previous bag, probably half the weight.  However - the top of the bag has a hard plastic part that is wider, with a snap right above/to the side of it and it is digging into my back while walking.  When I get the bag balanced so weight is equal across both shoulders, the top of the bag is just past my right side, almost even with it.  In this position the back pad stops about 2” from my right side, and extends 2”-3” past my left side.  When I drop the bag on that shoulder so that the top sticks out past my right side, the weight is much heavier on my left shoulder – feels like an 80/20 split, maybe even 90/10.  After the round I had a fairly large red spot below my ribs from where this was rubbing.  Please see photos below.  Am I doing something wrong?  If I cannot fix this, this is a deal breaker for this bag.

 

Other minor issues/questions about the bag.  I have 2 other friends with SM bags, their head covers have Velcro flaps, why does this one have snaps?  I would think the lighter 3.5 bag would use the Velcro too (like the 4.5) and not snaps.  It would save a few OZs I imagine.  Coming from the Woode organizer in the Ogio, I liked my driver and hybrid off to the side, irons where easy access.  In this bag the larger clubs hide the clubs below them so you have to move them out of the way to find them.  As a 13 club player, I also don’t know if I could fit a 3-wood or 5-wood in the top part in addition to the clubs I have in there.  This isn’t SM specific, just something I need to adjust to moving to a 4-way bag.  My 20oz hyrdoflask fits snugly in the water bottle pocket, but makes the pocket behind it nearly un-useable due to the sung fit.  The straps are also not very comfortable.  I am hoping they will break in, but I may need to buy some different straps from SM if I can fix the issue with the top.  I also recognize I have a humongous driver head cover and may need to switch it out for something more streamlined.  Inside the ball pocket, there is a stretch/bungee pocket.  Never had a pocket inside the ball pocket before… what do people keep in there?.

 

[Phireside]

I'd say you need to shorten the strap ball pocket end and then work around to get balance with the others as a start.

 

I just got the same bag this year and am not a fan of this strap system. It's taken way too much trial and error to get where I have it now and i'm still not thrilled with it. I prefer the other system SM has, I think it can be purchased and added to this bag and I may do that.

 

I know many guys here love this strap system and I hope they jump in here with advice. I'll be paying attention.

 

As for the bungee pocket, I have a few lesser used accessories tucked in there so I know where they are when I need them. Extra markers, pitch tools, etc.

[Nixhex524]

Looks like maybe tightening that strap that goes from your right shoulder to your left hip might help bring the bottom of the bag up and away from your right side a bit?  IDK... I haven't owned a SM in years, there just always seems to be something off about them to me, if the material isn't ripping somewhere.

[caniac6]

Looks like the end of SM for me. 

[North Butte]

Straps on golf bags are always a mystery to me so I'm not sure what to tell you to shorten or lengthen. But I fiddled with mine for a couple minutes and it moved the whole bag a little to the right and with the opening end a bit higher than in your picture. In that position the plastic thing doesn't poke your hip or ribs or back.

 

Wish I could remember which strap I did what to!

[brew4eagle]

Others above were on the right track.  Shorten the circled strap in the below pic, then let out slack on the opposite strap.  Do this a little at a time and this will move the bag up and to your right side, making the hip pad more centered on your back.  Finalize the fit with the front straps.

Edited July 27, 2021 by brew4eagle

[Hougz79]

I just received the EZ Straps from SM for my 2.5+.  Much better.  

[bunta]

@miss0033 those X-straps are straight trash man. Call SM and get the EZstrap for $15 or so. As far as the straps go, yes its finnicky. It took me a loooong while to figure it out. And i still cant tell you exactly what i did. But its been perfect for the past 3 years now. And when you do get the new straps, you have to spend some time to play around with it. I had to adjust/re-adjust/adjust again lol for a couple weeks while on the course until i find it comfortable.

 

What i do know from looking at your pictures is that you have the bag way too low on your back. FOR ME, i find it most comfortable when i place the bag much higher like in the lumbar area. When placed around the curved lumbar area, the bag is more stable and does not bounce back and forth from your "walking motion" of you bum keep hitting the bag. Hard to explain..  It also feels slightly lighter when you have it higher on the back as opposed to having it where you have it which is like the tailbone area?? So shorten it so it comes to you lumbar. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[miss0033]

Thanks everyone for the input.  Walked a quick executive 9 over a long lunch today.  Brought it up higher and kept playing with the straps.  Made a huge improvement but still not 100% on it.  It feels a ton lighter than my OGIO though, which is very nice.  Especially on a day like today where it is 93 and humid.  I might look into the other straps, especially if they are only $15.  I do notice that they have new straps on the 2022 models; safe to assume that is the EZ-Strap?  However I do not really like any of the colorways that I have seen so far on the 2022 bags from SM.

[brew4eagle]

2 hours ago, miss0033 said:

Thanks everyone for the input.  Walked a quick executive 9 over a long lunch today.  Brought it up higher and kept playing with the straps.  Made a huge improvement but still not 100% on it.  It feels a ton lighter than my OGIO though, which is very nice.  Especially on a day like today where it is 93 and humid.  I might look into the other straps, especially if they are only $15.  I do notice that they have new straps on the 2022 models; safe to assume that is the EZ-Strap?  However I do not really like any of the colorways that I have seen so far on the 2022 bags from SM.

When you get the X Straps adjusted to fit you correctly they're much better/more versatile than the EZ Fit in my experience.  Particularly if you like to use it as a single strap for shorter walks.