Smart Tips for Packing Your Golf Bag

Golf is a game of efficiency but a lot of golfers don’t bring that same “less is more” mindset when it’s time to pack their carry or cart bag.

Maybe you’re lugging around 20-plus balls or you’ve got a soda can from the Bush administration crushed at the bottom. Or maybe that’s just me … Anyway, it’s time to clean up.

While good golf bag organization probably isn’t going to directly lead to fewer strokes and more wins, it will make your life easier. Well-placed clubs have a lower risk of damage, for example, and a smart sorting system will ensure you always know where everything is.

How to organize your clubs

The main factors you want to keep in mind when sticking your clubs into your bag are ease of access and how much they touch each other. Ideally, your longest clubs (like your driver and woods) should be on one end and you should work down toward your shorter ones (like your pitching wedge) on the other. Of course, if your bag has a putter well or some other slot for a specific club, make sure it goes where it belongs.

Your goal here is to ensure the heads of your shorter clubs aren’t banging against the shafts of your longer ones. You really don’t want to pull out your driver just to find out your 8-iron has dinged your driver’s graphite shaft. Sorting by length helps avoid potential collisions. If you carry your bag, keep in mind how the clubs sit when it’s on your shoulder or on the ground—if you notice the heads of some clubs knocking on the shafts of others, you might want to adjust their location so they’re less likely to touch. Make sure you’re using headcovers, too, as these will also reduce damage risk.

Try to keep one club per slot, if you can. If your bag doesn’t have a lot of separators, make sure you’re not stuffing them full and consider leaving some clubs at home. Not only will this keep heads from hitting shafts but it’ll also prevent grips from rubbing together and wearing down while jostling around in your bag.

Beyond that, club organization is personal preference. After sorting by length, I organize mine by number but you could also put your most-used clubs where they’re easier to grab. Just make sure to put them back in the same spot and one day you may not even need to look at your bag to make your choice.

How many golf balls do you need?

You’ve got a lot of balls. Or maybe not enough. I don’t know you. But I do know that if you’re carrying around 20 or more like I was, you should leave some at home. It’s hard to say how many golf balls you actually need but it’s probably between six and 12. Anecdotally, golfers generally lose between one and six balls per round, and the average may be around three. How many you actually need will depend on your skill and the course you are playing.

Erring on the high end isn’t bad, though, as you may play a more relaxed round knowing you have plenty of backup balls. There’s also some evidence that not looking for lost balls will keep you healthier, and at around 1.62 ounces per ball, even 20 is only going to add another pound to your bag. Or, hey, maybe flex on your opponents by only bringing one ball. (Don’t do this; the golf gods will send your first drive right into the drink.)

Once you’ve settled on the right number, put your balls in one of the larger, more easily accessible pockets.

Where to put your tees

The number of golf tees you pack isn’t going to matter. Unless you’re grabbing absolutely absurd amounts of them, their weight is going to be negligible. Just bring enough that even if you break one on every tee shot, you have enough to finish your round. What matters most is that they’re stashed in a smaller, easily accessible pocket with nothing else sharing that space.

Having a dedicated tee pocket will not only make them easier to get but also keep them from poking holes in your other gear. One of you has probably absent-mindedly stuffed your glove in with your tees and got the poor thing porcupined. It’s OK, we won’t tell.

The best place for valuables

Odds are that you’re not going to need easy access to your valuables like your phone, wallet and keys while you’re playing golf. The best place to stow these is in a velour-lined pocket on the inside of your bag where there’s no chance anything will get damaged or fall out on the course. If you don’t have a fancy soft pocket or all your pockets are on your bag’s exterior, just put them in the one that’s most annoying to reach. Then make sure it’s zipped tightly before you start walking or carting.

Extra clothing and rain gear

Some of you may want to pack extra shirts, gloves, socks, towels, whatever. Some of you may not. Maybe you consider sweating through your only shirt a competitive advantage—the course sure is a lot quieter when people don’t want to come near you—but you should at least have a towel and multiple gloves, especially if you have sweaty hands.

If you have room in your bag, these should go in a larger, less-used pocket. Dry rain gear can go in the same place. That said, the more you bring, the heavier your bag will be and that might become a struggle if you carry it.

Some bags come with well-designed umbrella sheathes, and there’s no better place for your handheld water shield. There’s probably nothing else that makes sense to put in there either, especially if there’s a little hole at the bottom to let water out. Otherwise, hang your umbrella off the side of the bag or put it in any remaining empty pocket.

How to pack your drinks

At minimum, you should have water with you and there are plenty of ways to hang a water bottle off of your bag or stuff it into a larger, more accessible pocket. I have limited space in one of my bags but a large water bottle does fit among the balls, now that I’m not carrying so many. Now, you may not want to stuff your hand into a ball pit every time you want a drink and that’s reasonable. Just find what works for you.

Insulated beverage pockets, like those found on larger bags, particularly cart bags, make this so much easier. Obviously, drinks should go in there to stay cold and nothing else should. I could launch into a 2,000-word explainer about how to pack an insulated pocket but I’ll keep it short: Your drinks will stay colder longer if you minimize the amount of empty space in the beverage pocket and keep your bag in the shade.

Everything else

With these general tips in mind, your golf bag should be packed much more efficiently. Even if all you do is keep your clubs from clattering into each other and leave unnecessary weight at home, you’re a step ahead. Still, we don’t know exactly what your bag can handle or what you like to bring on the course, so let us know if there’s anything we missed or if you’ve got proven tips of your own.