Is it just me, or are all new golf bags garbage?

[harpua728]

I'm looking to replace a 10 year old Sun Mountain bag that has held up incredibly well.  All the new options seem terrible.  I am looking for a lightweight stand bag (but not super lightweight) that is big enough for decent storage, without being too big, and with 4 way (not 14 way) dividers.  The large pocket on my existing bag runs the entire length of the bag, but it seems like the "large" pocket on many new bags aren't that large.

 

I was looking at the 2022 Sun Mountain 4.5 LS, but I don't like the colors.  I also found the large pocket to be smaller than expected (unless you get the 14-way bag which is bigger).

 

Anyone agree/disagree with me, or have any good recommendations?

[ilikegolf26]

Shapland 

[ND2005]

Strong disagree, most 10+ year old bags were functional but hideous. 
 

I’m very glad there’s been a style resurgence with great looking lightweight bags like the Linksmaster, Vessel, Stitch SL2 

[blaird]

I can't find anything anymore that covers all my bases. I use just a hoofer lite that is what we ordered the players I coach but would prefer something larger. I loved the top configuration of the 2008ish hoofers, wish ping would go back to that with a modern pocket configuration or that Sun Mountain would still make the 5.5. I don't walk but prefer a stand bag and don't like 14 way dividers. The 5.5 was perfect for what I wanted but didn't care for the colors except for black. 

[harpua728]

5 minutes ago, blaird said:

I can't find anything anymore that covers all my bases. I use just a hoofer lite that is what we ordered the players I coach but would prefer something larger. I loved the top configuration of the 2008ish hoofers, wish ping would go back to that with a modern pocket configuration or that Sun Mountain would still make the 5.5. I don't walk but prefer a stand bag and don't like 14 way dividers. The 5.5 was perfect for what I wanted but didn't care for the colors except for black. 

Did you try the regular Hoofer (not the hoofer lite)?

[Jarlaxle]

I have a Shapland and love it but they are expensive.  The new Taylormade Flextech bag looks really solid, you should check those out if you haven't already. 

[Is Golf Fun or Work]

Not "All" are garbage, and because OP doesn't like color choices doesn't mean quality is lacking.

 

I have numerous Sun Mountain bags, some 10+ year old, they hold up very well IMO

[Wardonation]

The real question is why cannot anyone fix "club tangle".. It just drives me nuts...

[KGrinols]

7 minutes ago, Wardonation said:

The real question is why cannot anyone fix "club tangle".. It just drives me nuts...

Yeah, in a game with 14 clubs, these 4, 5, and 6 way tops seem so... Fundamentally flawed?

[Wham49]

like everything in todays world it is really expensive and made to last 2 seasons at the most. I have bags for my vintage stuff that are 50 years old and in better shape than my sunmountain I got last year. Zippers break, fabric tears in less one season 

[@_the_crook]

2 hours ago, KGrinols said:

Yeah, in a game with 14 clubs, these 4, 5, and 6 way tops seem so... Fundamentally flawed?

its not the top size.

there are staff bags with 10" tops and 6-way dividers.

clubs still got hung up if they crossed grip ends but there's enough room in those to make it much less frequent.

 

what counts now is the inner capacity at the bottom half of the bag.

 

take all your clubs, tie them together and measure the total circumference at the grip ends.

add 2 to 3 inches and that's your needed bag size.

otherwise you're looking at tangle and aggravation.

 

[blaird]

3 hours ago, harpua728 said:

Did you try the regular Hoofer (not the hoofer lite)?

Yea had one for a while, just don't like the top configuration of the newer ones, from like 2010-present. For me, I like a 4 way top and even like the old 5 way top with 1-2-2 slots not the current 2-2-1 configuration. 

[KGrinols]

1 hour ago, @_the_crook said:

its not the top size.

there are staff bags with 10" tops and 6-way dividers.

clubs still got hung up if they crossed grip ends but there's enough room in those to make it much less frequent.

 

what counts now is the inner capacity at the bottom half of the bag.

 

take all your clubs, tie them together and measure the total circumference at the grip ends.

add 2 to 3 inches and that's your needed bag size.

otherwise you're looking at tangle and aggravation.

 

You can say that, but 14 full length dividers sure makes tangle impossible.  So I stand by my statement.  In a world of 14 clubs, tops with 4, 5, or 6 holes, seems like a fundamental failure.

[@_the_crook]

36 minutes ago, KGrinols said:

You can say that, but 14 full length dividers sure makes tangle impossible.  So I stand by my statement.  In a world of 14 clubs, tops with 4, 5, or 6 holes, seems like a fundamental failure.

 

yes they are smoother - but larger to be sure.

not too many 14-way bags have an 7 or 8" top.

 

I always thought bag chatter was reduced by closely grouping the sticks , maybe I'm wrong.

 

[harpua728]

4 hours ago, blaird said:

Yea had one for a while, just don't like the top configuration of the newer ones, from like 2010-present. For me, I like a 4 way top and even like the old 5 way top with 1-2-2 slots not the current 2-2-1 configuration. 

I agree with you there. I think I’ve narrowed it down to the hoofer but now debating the 14 way versus 5 way top. I do not like 14 way dividers, but they have better color choices (imo) with the hoofer 14. I prefer 4 or 5 way tops, but I agree with you that the 2-2-1 configuration sucks. 

[Hougz79]

I far prefer 2-2-1 than 1-2-2.  I’d rather have my wedges grouped together at the bottom than my woods and putter bunched up at the top.  

[texcrom]

I disagree with the Sun Mountain statement. I’ve used their bags since they were making Titleist bags, and they have always been top quality. I even passed two down to my son-in-laws, as I was just tired of the colors. 
 

I have one 3.5 and two C130’s.  One I liked the color, but hate the 14 way dividers. It will go away shortly. Then I have a black one which I like because it has the 4 way divider and not the 14. 
 

Id love to get a 4.5LS, but it appears they are all 14 way dividers. 
 

But Sun Mountain is still a high quality bag without the high price of the boutique bags others have mentioned. 

 

[blaird]

14 hours ago, Hougz79 said:

I far prefer 2-2-1 than 1-2-2.  I’d rather have my wedges grouped together at the bottom than my woods and putter bunched up at the top.  

I actually liked the split wedges on the bottom and grew up with 4 way tops so the putter/woods never bothered me. I think my biggest gripe is the split top doesn't hold a putter cover very well. At least for the blade covers. Have had one come off numerous times because it wouldn't fit all the way down. Had an old Sun Mountain 6 way top in about 2010 and it cost me a Lena US Open Cameron cover. 

[chinaski]

22 hours ago, KGrinols said:

You can say that, but 14 full length dividers sure makes tangle impossible.  So I stand by my statement.  In a world of 14 clubs, tops with 4, 5, or 6 holes, seems like a fundamental failure.

 

 

I think 14 way tops are ugly and loud. IMO It's better to have the clubs nest in a 4/5 way top.

 

I use standard grips with minimal wraps. If you have bulky grips I can see tangle maybe being a problem, but tangle doesn't bother me. I have used hoofer for years and now using a K1-LO. 

[North Butte]

On 5/4/2023 at 12:22 PM, Wardonation said:

The real question is why cannot anyone fix "club tangle".. It just drives me nuts...

That problem was solved decades ago. It simply requires full length (or very nearly so) dividers and a stand mechanism with an external foot actuator. I've never seen any club tangle at all in a bag with a fixed (non-tilting) floor, at least three full-length dividers and at least a 9" top opening.

 

The mystery is why the entire market has shifted to the idiotic tilting floor mechanism that is 100% guaranteed to tangle the grips of the clubs no matter how the rest of the bag is constructed. The number of models with an old school fixed floor and external stand actuator is fast approaching zero.

 

P.S. And please, don't tell me about the "you just have to hold the bag up off the ground with one hand while inserting the club with the other hand" meme. Seriously, just don't.

[North Butte]

21 hours ago, texcrom said:

I disagree with the Sun Mountain statement. I’ve used their bags since they were making Titleist bags, and they have always been top quality. I even passed two down to my son-in-laws, as I was just tired of the colors. 
 

I have one 3.5 and two C130’s.  One I liked the color, but hate the 14 way dividers. It will go away shortly. Then I have a black one which I like because it has the 4 way divider and not the 14. 
 

Id love to get a 4.5LS, but it appears they are all 14 way dividers. 
 

But Sun Mountain is still a high quality bag without the high price of the boutique bags others have mentioned. 

 

I'll go one farther than you on this. I'm pretty sure I'm not exaggerating to say that EVERY bag I've owned not made by Sun Mountain has proven unsatisfactory in some way long-term. And every Sun Mountain bag with one exception has been a good one, including the one I bought a year or two ago.

 

I did have one Sun Mountain bag about 10-15 years ago that was some "made for" model sold through Dicks Sporting Goods or some such and it was horrible. So even Sun Mountain came squeeze out a lemon every once in a while.

[RSinSG]

I’ve used Sun Mountain for years and only switched when I got a Titleist Hybrid because it is a much better fit for my Zip Navigator electric caddy. It’s a good bag though the fabric by the bottom on the first one I bought quickly wore through (within 2 months) so the pro shop got me a new one. I put some tape on it to prevent the same thing.

 

I will add that if I didn’t use a 14 way top there is a good chance I’d lose at least one club a week. Seeing an empty space has prompted we to walk back for a wedge more times than I can recall.

[nsxguy]

On 5/4/2023 at 4:20 PM, KGrinols said:

You can say that, but 14 full length dividers sure makes tangle impossible.  So I stand by my statement.  In a world of 14 clubs, tops with 4, 5, or 6 holes, seems like a fundamental failure.

 

Not for me. I recently bought a 5-way (single pocket for putter) instead of the 14/15 individual in the otherwise exact same style, strictly for the ease in pulling my 3 highest lofted wedges when I miss a green (which sadly is too often).

 

I ride all the time nowadays, so I don't want to grab just 1 chipping club (+ putter in case I don't ship it in LOL) since, by the time I get to my ball I might not have the right one for the shot when I get there. And I ain't going back to the cart for the right one.

 

It's FAR easier to grab the 3 wedges out of a single pocket than make 3 separate "pulls". And that was the only reason I got the "5 pocket".

[T_Golf_23]

On 5/4/2023 at 12:22 PM, Wardonation said:

The real question is why cannot anyone fix "club tangle".. It just drives me nuts...

Have you all seen the new vessel players 4…. Supposedly they fixed it. 

[T_Golf_23]

3 hours ago, North Butte said:

That problem was solved decades ago. It simply requires full length (or very nearly so) dividers and a stand mechanism with an external foot actuator. I've never seen any club tangle at all in a bag with a fixed (non-tilting) floor, at least three full-length dividers and at least a 9" top opening.

 

The mystery is why the entire market has shifted to the idiotic tilting floor mechanism that is 100% guaranteed to tangle the grips of the clubs no matter how the rest of the bag is constructed. The number of models with an old school fixed floor and external stand actuator is fast approaching zero.

 

P.S. And please, don't tell me about the "you just have to hold the bag up off the ground with one hand while inserting the club with the other hand" meme. Seriously, just don't.

Those external mechanism have their own challenges when it comes to using push carts, riding carts and durability…..

 

so no system is perfect. They each have trade offs. 

[North Butte]

I don’t use riding carts, they fit fine on my Speed Cart and I have never had a stand mechanism fail. Beats dealing with tangled clubs 50 times every single round. Close enough to perfect for me.

[RCGA]

Too much focus on weight when hardly anyone carries their clubs anymore. 

 

Yeah, there are cart bags, but I need feet for stability when I'm setting everything up. 

 

What I want is a Ping Pioneer with legs and less of a "boomer" design. 

[scott406]

I think the bags today are great

Lighter and have more storage than older bags and other little thing like Velcro for the glove or a water bottle holder.  The zippers and magnetic pockets are also nice additions

 

I think the color choices are horrible

 

Looks like all black is the only choice

 

 

 

 

[Wardonation]

On 5/4/2023 at 10:31 AM, KGrinols said:

Yeah, in a game with 14 clubs, these 4, 5, and 6 way tops seem so... Fundamentally flawed?

14 clubs bags still tangle (I had a Titleist 14way and same problem just not as bad)

[ballzo]

In my experience its always been hard to find a bag that checks all my boxes. I usually have to give something somewhere, like a color combo I don't quite prefer or the top not the perfect configuration or something like that.