Every golfer knows that it is easy to become a pack rat when it comes to loading up your golf bag, and sometimes, organizing everything that you want to bring out for a round of golf can seem like an unnecessarily difficult task.
Where is the best place to put my first-aid kit? Should I load the clubs first or last? Why does this seem so hard? There's a lot to think about when you're putting your bag together, and every golfer has these moments.
All those questions may come up when you’re learning how to load a golf bag, but don’t worry, it’s nowhere near as difficult as your mind is making it. Hence, let’s talk about the best tips for loading a golf bag. By the end of this article, we are sure that you'll be on your way to a better-organized bag.
Why Your Bag Needs to Be Organized
Many golfers may feel that their bag is perfectly okay how it is, but those that play with them on a weekly basis might beg to differ.
Here are just a few of the many reasons that you might need a more organized bag:
- You won’t lose things easily.
- Your bag will be lighter.
- It will be easier to find everything that you need.
- The pace of the game will be better.
- You can focus on enjoying the game more easily.
- The organization sets a better tone for the start of your game.
Even if it’s not 100% necessary to have your golf bag properly organized to be able to play golf, when your bag is loaded nicely, it can make a huge difference on how you will play long-term.
How to Load a Golf Bag
#1: Empty It Out
Before you start putting anything back into your golf bag, it’s important that you take everything out, and we mean everything! Even if you know that something will end up right back where it was, taking everything out of the bag gives you a chance to evaluate how much you have.
Make sure that you unzip every pocket, including any interior pockets that might be hidden inside of a larger compartment. If you’ve used this bag before, you never know what kind of goodies you might have hidden away while playing. Now is the time to empty that all out!
If you’re using a new bag, congratulations! You can skip this step.
#2 Lay Things Out
Take this time to decide if there is anything in your bag that you really don’t need. Get rid of these items, and then lay out what you need to get back in the bag. This stage is key for the rest of the loading your bag steps.
#3: Organize What You Have
Once you’ve tossed the nonessentials and lay out all the items you think you would need, take some extra time to organize what you have. You may think that you need all the balls that you pull out of your bag, but a quick organizational count could tell you that you have more than 20 balls in your golf bag. Very few people need 20 balls to get through a round of golf!
Organizing and consolidating what you have will help you get a better picture of where you are over-stocking your bag and where you have it just right.
#4: Pick the Right Pocket
When you’re filling pockets, you need to focus on putting the things that are needed most frequently in the most easily accessible pocket. That means you should put your tees, balls, and gloves somewhere easy to reach.
Items that are only needed in certain situations such as your first aid kit can be tucked away much deeper. Items of medium importance, such as your rule book and sunscreen, can be put into any of the in-between pockets.
#5: Club It Up
Most agree that your clubs should be put in your bag first, but not everyone subscribes to this method. Regardless of when you put your clubs in, learning how to order the clubs appropriately is a huge part of how to load a golf bag the right way.
Your clubs should have some sort of organization to them so that you can find everything easier and so that you will know if anything is missing from your bag. For many, this method works best:
- Driver at the top
- Put every other club after that
- Go in order from tallest to shortest
- Put the putter in the bottom compartment. If you want, you can put the putter in the top compartment with the driver, but some players find this to be illogical and too crowded.
If you are going to be carrying your bag, you may find it necessary to put your shortest clubs in the bottom compartment which will be along your back. This will prevent any long clubs from knocking you in the head while you are walking to the next green. If you will put your bag on a cart, reverse the order to achieve the best balance and accessibility.
Ultimately, the exact order of the clubs is up to you. The key is that you should know where everything is located and how to find it quickly.
Loading in Action: A Video
Now that you’ve learned all the basics of how to load up a club, it can be beneficial to see how someone loads their bag up!
This video focuses on the main essentials of what goes into a golf bag:
Once you’ve loaded up these basic items, it’s up to you where you put anything else that you want to come with you. The key is that the most frequently used items should be the most accessible. From there, it’s all up to you!
An Organized Carry
If you’ve learned how to load a golf bag like other people do, but you still prefer to do it in a different way, that’s totally okay! The only thing that really matters is that your golf bag is organized. Even if you switch up how you carry every single item when compared to someone else, that is okay if you can find everything that you need while playing quickly and efficiently.
Organize your bag, and you’ll feel like you’re playing a refreshed game!
