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As a golfer, you might spend so much time thinking about the golf equipment in your bag that you overlook the bag itself. But your golf bag is a critical piece of golfing gear. If your golf bag is, dare we say, subpar, then it may very well lack the adequate storage and functionality that let you bring your favorite golf clubs along, safely stash your personal belongings and keep your water bottle cool. Insulated pockets, anyone?
Luckily, whether you prefer to walk the course or zip around the range in a cart, there are golf bags for just about everyone, no matter your personal preferences. And as we’ve already hinted at, golf bags have evolved over the years to include an assortment of different features beyond just the number and size of compartments and pockets. That means it’s just a matter of deciding which of those features are best suited to your style of play and personal comforts.
To help you upgrade your golf bag swag, we’ve put together our top picks for the best golf bags available in 2022. Our selections range from ultralight walking bags to heavy-duty golf cart bags, so there’s something here for every golfer, regardless of how they like to take their golfing gear around the course.
The STITCH SL1 golf bag is the lightest bag in the STITCH product lineup, weighing in at only 57 ounces (that’s just a touch over three and a half pounds). This minimalist caddie bag is designed to offer plenty of comfort and storage for anyone who likes to walk the course, with a cushioned single strap and a single club divider that holds up to 14 clubs. You can stash your tees and golf balls in the two saddle pockets on either side of the bag. And you can keep your personal items and a drink in its two vent pockets at the top.
Like all STITCH golf bags, the SL1 is made from a proprietary fabric that recreates the look and feel of synthetic leather. The material is waterproof and stain-resistant and the bag features gunmetal hardware and finishes on a vintage-style body.
STITCH SL1 Golf Bag ($348, stitchgolf.com)
The Callaway Fairway C double strap stand bag came in a close second behind the STITCH SL1. At four pounds, it outweighs the SL1 by only half a pound, yet manages to pack quite a lot into its overall sleek design. It offers a compact four-way top with full-length dividers for your clubs, and its strap system is padded for comfort and redesigned from the previous model to cover more of your chest and shoulder, giving you greater weight distribution. This increased strap coverage was also designed to help improve balance. The Callaway Fairway C double strap features a rubber handle for grip, six storage pockets, metal zip pulls, a towel ring made from alloy and quick clips. A single strap version is also available, and the Fairway C comes in a variety of different colors.
Callaway Fairway C Double Strap Stand Bag (Starting at $158.41, callawaygolf.com)
Designed to be sleek and minimalist, the Peter Millar lightweight carry golf bag offers essential storage without foregoing comfort. Its wide single strap helps distribute weight and promote comfort, and its two-way divider helps you keep your clubs organized. There’s a pocket for your rangefinder with a magnetic closure, and it offers up the zippered compartments you’ll need to hold balls, golf gloves, tees and more. While the bag sits a touch on the heavy side for the lightweight category (coming in at five pounds), what makes this carry bag a rare find are its attached legs. The legs are carbon fiber—helping to keep the bag’s weight down—so golfers get the benefits of a lightweight carry bag and a stand bag. This makes the Peter Millar lightweight carry bag more of a hybrid bag. It also comes with a rain hood to protect against not-so-club-friendly weather.
Peter Millar Lightweight Carry Bag ($295, petermillar.com)
If you tend to run out of places to stash your golf gear and personal items, then you should check out the PING Hoofer stand golf bag. It holds up to 22 liters of volume across its 11 pockets (two of them are valuables pockets, one of which is lined with velour). There’s also an apparel pocket with a full-length zipper and additional storage inside. There’s a dedicated ball pocket panel with zip access, and a top-access magnetic rangefinder pocket. The bag weighs in at five and a half pounds, and its 5-way divider top is constructed from polypropylene for durability and support. And if you like having easy access to any of the 11 pockets, the PING Hoofer stand golf bag sports a cart strap pass-through channel that secures your bag to the cart without blocking compartments. For a more pared down and slightly more affordable version of the Hoofer stand bag, PING also has the PING Hoofer Lite, which comes with seven pockets for a total of 19 liters of pocket volume.
PING Hoofer Stand Golf Bag ($275, ping.com)
For those golfers who would rather invest more money in their golf clubs and save a little cash on their bag, the Stix stand golf bag design takes an affordable “less is more approach,” as Stix itself puts it. The Stix stand golf bag offers up the basic features you want in a bag with none of the fancy add-ons, but it does so in a thoughtful design that makes sure those basics deliver in a big way. Its double strap system and handles are designed for easy carry, and its wide-stance aluminum legs ensure stability. Its canvas construction is water-resistant, and it boasts a rain hood ready to slip over its 5-way divider (with two of those dividers running full length). The Stix stand bag has six pockets in all, including large, zippered pockets, a fleece-lined pocket for valuables and an insulated cooler pocket.
Stix Stand Golf Bag ($249, stix.golf)
Titleist has a whole line of its Players golf bags, and they all bring something different to the field. But the Titleist Players 4 StaDry stand bag is, well, a clear standout. The bag’s double strap system is designed to provide cushioned support against your chest and shoulders. It features seven pockets—including a tee pocket, an external water bottle pocket and top-accessible magnetics pocket—and four full-length dividers, along with a Velcro landing patch for your golf gloves. At just under four pounds, the Titleist Players 4 StaDry stand bag is lightweight and has a low profile for easy handling, storage and quick access to your clubs. Its legs are constructed from high-grade aluminum and bottom-hinged for added stability.
Titleist Players 4 StaDry Stand Bag (Starting at $275, titleist.com)
Coming in under five pounds and sporting seven pockets with zippers, the Zero Friction stand bag is designed to make it easy to roam the course while bringing your gear and personal belongings along for the ride (or walk). It includes storage for clothing, a lined compartment for valuables and an insulated compartment for your water bottle. Its hip pad and dual strap system provide comfort and support for days you feel like walking, and its stand is designed for easy opening and closing. There are also what Zero Friction calls the “essential accessories holders,” which are compartments designed especially for your towel, glove, scorecard and pencil and umbrella. And its six, full-length dividers keep your clubs straight, organized and stop shafts from crossing.
Zero Friction Stand Bag (Starting at $119, zerofriction.com)
A cart bag is designed to hold a lot of gear. They do tend to be bulkier and weigh more than carry bags, so if you consider walking your way to each of the 18 holes to be part of the golfing experience, then a cart bag may not be your ideal choice. However, if you love having plenty of room and compartments to store stuff in, and you’re determined to walk, you can still rely on a push cart to wheel your bag along with you. Otherwise, you’ll need to rent and drive a golf cart. And because cart bags can stand upright, most of them don’t have legs that extend to support them.
Also known as walking bags, carry bags are all about minimizing weight and bulk. This means carry bags lack the space and compartments you’ll find in a cart bag, but the tradeoff is you can realistically walk the entire course without a push cart. If you ever decide to use a golf cart, you’ll just need to make sure your bag is secured nice and tight; golf cart straps are designed for bulkier cart bags, so your carry bag is more likely to tumble around if not properly latched in. Carry bags usually have a single shoulder strap and many of them hold fewer than 14 clubs. But if getting in some quality walking while playing a round and enjoying the scenery is important to you, a carry bag may be the right pick for you.
Often considered to be a type of Sunday bag, the pencil bag is a slim, ultralight golf bag with a top that measures around six inches in diameter. It comes with enough storage to hold the bare basic golf gear, making it ideal for going to the driving range, playing nine holes, or hitting around a par three course. Many pencil bags can even hold 14 clubs despite their trim physique.
Stand bags tend to split the difference in size and space between what you’ll find in a cart bag and carry bag. They’re called stand bags because they have legs designed to prop them up on the green, whereas cart bags stay put on a cart and carry bags are laid flat on the ground. Stand bags are not as compact and minimalist as carry bags, but many stand bags come with dual strap systems so you can walk the green comfortably and with proper support.
Like their name suggests, tour bags are what the pros use on the PGA tour. These are larger (and heavier) than most cart bags, but they offer the compartments and capacity that professional athletes need. They’re also likely to be made of high-quality materials for added durability. Tour bags may be overkill for the casual player. But if you plan to hit the pro circuit, a tour bag may be the way to go.
A divider, also known as the “top” of the bag, refers to how the top of a bag is divided for club organization. A golf bag can have all full-length dividers that run from top to bottom, which means separated clubs can’t cross shafts, or top dividers that only sit at the top of the bag to group clubs together based on your preference. Some bags may have a mix of full-length and top-only dividers. So whenever you see “14-way top” listed on a bag’s specs, this doesn’t mean that the bag’s dividers run the full length of the bag. A bag may have zero dividers or up to 15-way dividers.
Prices are accurate and items in stock as of publish time.
Adam Zammiello is a content writer based near Raleigh, NC.