Staff Bags

[varsityhacker]

Has anyone bought for durability reasons??

My current bag needs to be replaced as the zipper is now broke and has torn from the bag. I normally buy stand bags and have never purchased a cart or staff bag. I am thinking of buying a staff bag for the extra storage and durability. I normally don't walk so that is not an issue.

I tend to be rough on my stand bags and need to replace them ever couple of years, so I am hoping a staff bag will last longer and save me some cash in the long run.

What are your thoughts? Has anyone found a staff bag lasts longer then a stand bag.

[mat562]

Honestly, I'm wondering what you're doing to your carry bags that means they need to be replaced every couple of years.

Durabilty-wise, I've never knackered a bag - staff or carry - so they all seem durable to me. My old Ping L8+ carry bag is still going strong after 16 or 17 years' worth of use, my usual bag, a Nike pencil bag, is several years old and still in good order and all my staff bags, several of which date back to the late 80s or early '90s, are still going strong. The only staff bag I've had the slightest problem with is the current model Titleist bag I was given a year or so ago. Aside from the saga of getting a blank replacement  front panel out of Titleist UK, which was akin to getting blood out of a stone, the formerly red rubber section of the grab handle is now a sort of violet/pink colour due to the thing having faded. It's no more than a couple of years old, and even if it did see a lot of action in the employ of its previous pro owner it's a bit disappointing. 

I've never had a strap or anchor point fail, nor have I ever had a zip jam or start acting up, nor any other problem with a bag other than the aforementioned fading problem and a Nike carry bag that had a poorly designed stand mechanism that never worked properly from day one. They're all durable in my experience if the things aren't abused.

[varsityhacker]

Mat my bags take a beating from trunk slamming and the cart. The zipper problem with this bag is a first it's usually the legs and the mechanism that break on my stand bags. My thinking is that most staff bags are leather or some leather like material and they don't have any legs to break, plus I think they look better then a regular cart bag. For some reason I am prejudice against cart bags

[lightningbolt444]

[quote name='varsityhacker' timestamp='1280257344' post='2602506']
Mat my bags take a beating from trunk slamming and the cart. The zipper problem with this bag is a first it's usually the legs and the mechanism that break on my stand bags. My thinking is that most staff bags are leather or some leather like material and they don't have any legs to break, plus I think they look better then a regular cart bag. For some reason I am prejudice against cart bags
[/quote]


Same thing that breaks for me every couple years on my stand bags im going to watch this thread close as I might be following down the same path

[mat562]

 I'm with you when it comes to being prejudiced against cart bags. They all look ugly and misshapen to me, although it's a moot point since I don't use a cart and only rarely break out the old Turfglider trolley with a big - in my case a staff - bag on it. If the choice boiled down to a cart bag or a staff bag I'd have a staff bag every time simply because they haven't got odd-shaped pickets stuck on them at every corner and they have a proper divider system up top. Finding one that hasn't got a mahoosive brand name along the side can be a bit of a drawback though, if you're not a 'look at me!'-type person.

Honestly, I've never seen a staff bag with a problem, although I've seen God knows how many people at my club complaining that the zips have gone for a burton or one of the legs has bent or fallen off their carry bag. The zip problems are usually found amongst juniors who, for whatever reason, always seem to rip open zips with totally OTT gusto and then wonder why the things start playing up after six months. They're all at it at my place. Presumably Villegas and Ian Poulter must rag open their ball pockets in a similarly energetic way when they're reaching for a Titleist. I don't know how our pro keeps his composure when someone comes in seeking a warranty claim with an ailing stand bag, the 'It just fell off' line and a big mark on the offending leg that's entirely consistent with a 5 iron having clouted it at some point.

Most leg problems seem - at least to my cynical eye - to be attributable to a club being chucked at the bag, it being kicked or it otherwise being abused; whatever the owners say. Legs are a liability. If they're not breaking, there's any number of designs that are crap from the start and either don't extend properly or aren't retracting fully when you pick the bag up. I've had a crap stand bag with a fundamentally flawed stand design in my time (take a bow Nike), but I've never broken a stand bag in twenty-odd years of golfing and God knows how many rounds of golf.

With a staff bag, I honestly think you'd have to wilfully damage the thing to put it out of action. They're robust by design. I'm a fan of the preceding Titleist model (with the grey/silver stripe along the flank) on the occasions when I use a big bag, but the newer ones with the hint of red to them are also good bags; solid, nice to look at and easy to keep clean, even if the logo's a bit on the large side. No dramas with either one whatsoever; although, as I say, none of the others have caused me problems either and I don't use a cart.

[varsityhacker]

Mat thanks for your replies I appreciate your posts. Looks like I will be getting a staff bag now the only question is do I get my name on it.... just kidding the only name on the bag will be Callaway.

[garcia51694]

Been gaming a UST Staffer for a while and would never go back to anything other than a staff at this point.