17 Green Vertex Stand Bag

[teamgs]

Initial Impressions

Greetings,
I have been using my TaylorMade Stand Bag (Sorry, I forget the model, and can't find it anywhere on the bag) for many years now, and, while it is still in near mint shape, I really wanted to get a 14 way divided bag, in an attempt to eliminate the jamming of clubs, and keep them in the same spot every time.

I had narrowed the field down to the Sun Mountain Four-5 and the Sun Mountain MPB, until I found this bag: the 17 Green Vertex. I can find very little info on this, short of the excellent reviews on the TGW site. I believe that it is the TGW house brand. Since the price was so low (~$90) I decided to give it a shot.

The bag has 10" top w/14 way dividers, 7 pockets, an insulated cooler pouch, lined valuables pouch, leg retaining straps, tee slots on the frame, rain hood, padded and ventilated area where your back hits during carrying. It is also pretty light, at 5.5 lbs; between the four-5 and MPB.

The colors selection are decent, though I went with the gray/black/white version. It appears to be of nice quality, and I can't find any glaring faults with the craftmanship. I have yet to game with it, but it seems to hold my clubs very nicely. The only negatives I can see right now are that the cooler pouch is a little small. It will handle "normal" purchased water bottles fine. Also, the zippered garment pouch seems a little fiddly. I suspect it has to do with the decorative piping, and the rain flap covering the seems, but it isn't too bad. Finally, I suspect that the materials making the bag may be a little less durable than more expensive models, but I cannot verify this withought long term testing.

Balance when loaded seems fine, and the padding in the straps seems good. As this is my first dual strap bag, I cannot attest to its ease of entry/exit, as compared to other bags, but it seemed fine to me.

Hope this helps some who might be looking at this bag.

Regards,

Gary

[nas1021]

looks like the nike extreme bag or whatever its called

[teamgs]

A little...The Nike's that I saw, however, didn't have the 14Way dividers.

Gary

[teamgs]

**UPDATE**

I pulled out a club this evening and noticed that it was a little difficult to replace. I looked inside the bag, and noticed that the outer club slots really weren't separated. The "full length" divider was only stitched on the inner side, so it was just like a long flap of nylon running down to the bottom of the bag. This makes it easy for the clubs to jam on top of each other.

I have a call into TGW, and they are going to investigate to see if it is a defect in my bag, or indeed a design element (flaw). If this is the case, then I will look for another bag, probably the four-5. If it is indeed the way the bag is designed, then it is a shame, as it could be a great, low priced option for those looking for a 14-way divided bag.

I will post back with my findings.

Gary

[teamgs]

**FINAL UPDATE**

Turns out that the issue with the dividers isn't a defect, but how the bag is designed. I see that another user also posted the same issue on the TGW site. Too bad, as it could be a great bag, were it not for that issue.

FYI, I went with the Sun Mountain MPB on closeout at TGW for just $10 more, and am very happy with it. It also has a similar design for the outer dividers as the vertex, but there is enough tension on the divider flaps that they work tons better.

Gary