Pins and Aces Updates Their Player Preferred Golf Bags

Pins and Aces has rolled out new versions of their best selling Player Preferred golf bags today, demonstrating their commitment to the golf bag marketplace.

For most of us, Pins and Aces’ novelty headcovers first brought the brand to our attention. In 2020, I found their Joker headcover to be the perfect fit to my Joker-themed custom TaylorMade mySpider X.

Pins and Aces has come a long way since those initial covers. Not only have they massively expanded their headcover offerings but they also now offer large catalogs of apparel and other golf accessories.

Additionally, Pins and Aces has collaborated with recognizable names outside of golf including underwear company 2UNDR and Hey Dude shoes. Back in January, Pins and Aces acquired Edel Golf, giving them a presence in the golf club market as well.

Pins and Aces is growing in scope and popularity but to remain relevant, their products also need to keep improving.

Let’s explore how Pins and Aces has improved the new generation of their popular Player Preferred stand and cart bags.

Pins and Aces Player Preferred Cart Bag

The previous version of the Pins and Aces Player Preferred Cart Bag is a fan favorite and one of their best sellers. As such, it represents an interesting problem when it comes to changing the bag.

First and foremost, you must retain the elements that made the bag popular in the first place. For those of you who are too young for “New Coke”, follow this link and you will see what I am talking about.

With this in mind, here are some of the key Pins and Aces Player Preferred Cart Bag features that are continuing in the new model.

• 15-way top and full-length dividers
• Magnetic pocket pod
• Water-resistant zippers
• Two oversized insulated pockets
• Magnetic rangefinder pocket
• Single strap
• Magnetic rangefinder attachment

How has Pins and Aces upgraded their cart bag?

For the most part, the upgrades are not as noticeable than the continuing features. This is not a bad thing. The upgrades are subtle but they represent significant construction upgrades.

The synthetic leather material is now double coated, making it 33 percent more scratch resistant. The stitch count has increased, improving durability for seams and pockets. Zippers were also upgraded to increase durability and to be water resistant.

New colors are coming soon. In addition to the continuing Flat Ash gray, you will also be able to pick up a cart bag in black or black camo.

Pins and Aces Player Preferred Stand Bags

Last year, I reviewed their previous version of the Player Preferred stand bag. It was delightfully purple and a solid bag. Outside of my minor criticisms about the valuable pocket size and the location of the insulated pocket, I was impressed with what Pins and Aces offered.

Later that year, the MGS testers agreed with my positive assessment. The Player Preferred stand bag placed 12th out of 44 stand bags in our 2025 Buyer’s Guide testing.

Placing in the top quarter of the cohort is a solid achievement for a fledgling bag company. As with the cart bag, I was curious to see how Pins and Aces would make a good bag better.

As with the new cart bag, Pins and Aces kept many of the stand bag’s key features. Some, like the velour-coated top and magnetic rangefinder pocket, mirror what was retained in the cart bag.

Instead of rehashing those, let’s look at some of the components that are stand bag specific.

Five- or 14-way top options

All of the Pins and Aces stand bags are available with five-way or 14-way top options.

Equilibrium double strap

The double carry strap connects at a central plastic disc. This allows the straps to move without tangling when you put the bag on your shoulders and while walking.

Stand flat base

The plastic base on the Player Preferred stand bag has two separate zones. The bottom section is hinged to the top, allowing it to sit flat on the ground even when the legs extend. If the bag is upright, both sections level out and the bag sits flat.

Magnetic handle attachment

The carry handle on the spine of the stand bag has a steel core. Not only does this make the handle strong and stiff but it also allows you to attach magnetic rangefinders, speakers or towels to the handle.

What are the new Pins and Aces stand bag upgrades?

For the most part, the upgrade plan for the stand bag mirrors that of the cart bag. The material is more scratch resistant. I didn’t mention it above but the new coating makes the bag more resistant to fading from sun exposure.

Similar to the cart bags, the stand bags will also be available in new colors. For example, the Sea Strike color of the five-way bag shown in the photo above.

Pins and Aces are not afraid to go with atypical bold bag colors and I’m here for it. In addition to my delightful purple bag, their Orange Crush bag and Sage bags demonstrate their willingness to go beyond the usual golf bag palette. The usual colors are there too, of course.

50% larger pocket opening

One upgrade I love is that the size of the valuable pocket is larger, making it more accessible. I love this because I gave Pins and Aces some grief about this pocket during my review.

A company that listens to customers is going in the right direction.

Lugging gear on grass with the Pins and Aces golf bags

How did the bags fare on the course? Let’s start with the Player Preferred Cart bag. The killer for this bag is storage. If you are a-store-everything-in-my-bag golfer, this is the one for you.

The Player Preferred Cart bag has pockets everywhere, all of them are cavernous. While this does translate to extensive storage, if you fill every nook and cranny, you could have trouble finding small items.

Your bag may also weigh a metric ton when fully loaded.

Those dangers aside, the Player Preferred Cart bag is inherently playable, both on the push cart and the riding cart. One thing they got right is not having hard plastic edge on the top. Clubs rest nicely against the velour, not sliding around like they would with a plastic edge.

I also love the 15-way top. While it does open up the probability of accidentally playing 15 clubs in a tournament, the extra slot is overall beneficial.

That extra slot allows you to test a couple of extra drivers, pack your Orange Whip or include Pins and Aces Liquor Stick 3.0 in your bag. Don’t fret the added weight. This bag is not going on your back anyway.

It also worked well on my Clicgear push cart. Both versions of the Player Preferred bags feature cut outs in the base of the bag that fit the bottom bracket of the push cart. For both bags, you’ll need the extended top strap to get all the way around the bag.

Playing the Player Preferred stand bag

I was a little more curious about these bags since the Player Preferred stand bag was the model I reviewed last year. Pins and Aces made some changes that I will tip my hat to.

The increased size of the valuables pocket is fantastic. With this new version, the teeth don’t bite when you put your hand in the pocket. In fact, the new pocket is so good that I had to go and check the old version of the bag again to make sure that pocket was actually too tight (it was).

I still am not a fan of the insulated pocket placement with these bags. The large volume of the pocket I love, just not the placement. Dust off my old complaint about the cooler pocket volume encroaching on the large garment pocket volume.

With the cart bag, this is less of an issue because there are insulated and garment pockets on both sides of the bag. One of those garment pockets can be sacrificed for libation.

On the plus side, all of the insulated pockets have drain holes at the bottom so water can drain out when the ice melts. The open nature of the pocket also makes it easy to dump in more ice as needed.

The Sea Strike color is a novel shade of teal. I’m not sure that I’ve seen another golf bag featuring this color. The array of bag colors is one aspect of golf bag design that Pins and Aces totally nails.

Creative or conservative, Pins and Aces covers all of the color bases.

Bag on back?

Since last June, most of my rounds have been played with my clubs on my back. I started carrying my bag again out of necessity on a golf trip and also just to see if my 56-year-old self could even survive a round while carrying clubs.

Turns out I could and I really enjoyed the bag-on-back experience.

Over the past few months and dozens of rounds walked, I learned that not all bags with dual straps are great carry bags. Typically, it’s not the weight of the bag that is the issue, but the strap design.

Let’s start with the positives. The Player Preferred stand bag straps are well padded and overall comfortable. The rotating attachment between the straps prevents odd arrangements on the back, and the straps have ample adjustment points to get the bag in the right place on your body.

The pocket placement and sizes are assets as well. The magnetic pocket in particular is in the right place. The pocket opens easily and the magnets keep it secure when closed.

For me, the problems arose with where the straps are attached to the bag.

First of all, the distance between the attachment points is just a touch narrow for my torso. You narrower folks may not have an issue but I could feel the strap attachment brackets rubbing into my body.

For short carries, like from the car to the range, it was not really a problem. After a few holes on the back, though, it became a distraction.

One of the ways to alleviate this issue would be to move the upper mounting position closer to the bag opening. This would create more space for the body and would also address my second issue: bag balance.

On the back, the bag feels a touch top-heavy, even after adjusting the straps to keep the club end elevated. I think there is just too much mass past the strap attachment point to get it to balance ideally.

If my physics hasn’t failed me, the bag works like a class-3 lever with the attachment point being the fulcrum. The more mass past the fulcrum, the more force on the end of the lever. If you move the fulcrum toward the end, the force decreases.

It’s something like that. Not like I’m a science professor or anything.

Regardless, attaching the straps toward the collar would make for a more comfortable carrying experience. I know this change is not a small ask but this is what I would pursue to make the bag a better carry bag.

It’s a stand bag, not a carry bag, dummy

In their defense, Pins and Aces do call this a “stand bag.” Pins and Aces used to sell a carry bag. It said “Pins and Aces” in large letters down the pocket. That would be the bag they would probably say is intended for carrying.

I believe the Player Preferred stand bag was intended to fit the hybrid bag niche more than the carry bag niche.

In this market niche, the stand bag excels.

The Player Preferred stand bag fits in a riding cart and even better on a push cart than the cart bag. The detachable nature of the straps is a plus as well.

Perfectly ergonomic or not, the comfortable straps and the legs are extremely beneficial during range sessions and for transporting the bag to and from the parking lot.

Once the stand bag is at your cart, secure the legs, remove the straps and get down to business.

Where Pins and Aces runs the table

All in all, there are great things happening with these new Pins and Aces Player Preferred golf bags. They are high-quality bags that look good and are intended to be used on the course.

They also understand the modern golfer, including the younger players.

Why do I say this? A returning feature of the stand bag that I didn’t mention is the Zyn pocket. Right at the top of the top of the garment pocket, you’ll find a little slot to stash your can.

You may not agree with Sean Fairholm about athletic nicotine, but one can’t really argue about how effectively Pins and Aces tapped into modern culture with this pocket.

(Personally, I’m trying to find a flask that fits the pocket.)

The strongest selling point for Pins and Aces golf bags is value. With MSRPs of $329.99 for the stand bag and $399.99 for the cart bag, the Pins and Aces bags are priced about a hundred dollars less than the bags from competitors such as Ghost Golf and Vessel Golf.

If you use the discount code GOLFSPY at checkout, those prices drop another 20 percent!

Pins and Aces packs a bunch of features, including the new ones, into that lower price point.

For example, each Pins and Aces bag comes with a carrying bag. It’s not something that you would use to pack the golf bag in for air travel but it is great for trips in the car. Clubs don’t go rogue during transport and scratches end up on the travel bag rather than the golf bag.

Keep an eye out for Black Friday deals as well.

Pins and Aces entered the golf marketplace with novelty headcovers but they remain in the golf marketplace because of quality and value.

These new bags arrive this month at PinsAndAces.com