Packing your golf bag properly allows for ease of access of clubs as they are built with special compartments that help to separate the long irons from the short irons.
Your golf bag should contain all the necessary clubs from your irons, wedges, and putter to hybrids, driver and fairway woods. Some golf bags, including travel, carry or staff will have extra pockets to accommodate your accessories like towels, golf balls, ball markers, tees, apparel, umbrella, shoes and gloves.
Therefore, with all the equipment and gears required to play golf, golfers must know how to properly organize their bag so they can save time on the course and keep their mind focused on the game.
With that said, let’s take a look at how to pack your golf clubs.
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How To Pack Your Golf Clubs?
Before we dive into the arrangement of the clubs in your bag, you should know that not all golf bags are made the same as some are designed with 4 to 5 compartments while others are built with 14 slots. The image below shows a 5 compartment golf bag versus a 14 compartment golf bag.
Packing The 4 and 5 Way Golf Bag
Now, to pack your golf clubs in a 4 to 5 compartment bag, you should put the shorter clubs in the first slot of the bag like your pitching wedge, sand wedge, 9 iron, 8 iron and 7 iron. In the middle brackets, you put your 2 iron, 3 iron, 4 iron, 5 iron, 6 iron and hybrids. In the back or top of the bag, you have your woods and belly putter which are the tallest clubs in the bag that are usually about 45 inches long.
As a general rule, the clubs should arrange from low to high so that you don’t have a big club in the front obscuring the view of the other clubs behind. This allows you to readily access the clubs as pace of play is very important these days. When you are finished using the clubs, ensure you put them back in the same order to help you stay organized and improve the longevity of your clubs.
The diagram below shows the arrangement of the clubs in a typical tour staff bag:
Packing The 14 Way Golf Bag
The 14 slot golf bag is becoming more and more popular these days especially in stand bags. The rule states that golfers should carry no more than 14 clubs to play, thus one may find this type of bag very fitting.
One reason for it’s growing popularity is that it provides more security for your clubs as each individual golf club has it’s own slot which prevents them from getting damaged in the shaft or grip area. Whereas, in 4 or 5 compartment golf bag, the clubs may sometime cling together since each club do not have an individual slot.
On the other hand, the 14 slot golf bag can get a bit complicated for the golfer to store his clubs. Unlike the 4 or 5 way golf bag, it can get a bit annoying to put your clubs within each individual slots especially if you have to force it into a small compartment. This can waste some of your time which you should be using to focus on hitting your shots.
Nevertheless, the configuration of the 14 slot golf bag is quite similar to the setup of the 4 or 5 compartment bag. You put the shorter clubs at the front and the longer clubs at the back.
Moreover, your clubs should arrange from left to right in descending order with the longer ones on the left and the shorter ones as you move towards the right.
Irons are arranged in the next row and it follows the same general principle. This arrangement achieves a uniform set of irons which makes it easy to access. Not only that, this particular arrangement will improve your balance when carrying the bag of clubs on your back.
Where Should Acessories Go?
Most 14 way golf bags will come with side pockets at the front and side of the bag which are usually made to store your golf tees and golf balls. You may also find it convenient to store other important accessories in them like your towels, sunglasses, gloves, apparel or even your pen and scorecards.
The pockets are quite visible as they stick out from the side. Players will often store their clothing on the right side pocket of the golf bag since it is on the outside which makes it easily accessible.
Why It’s Important To Empty And Clean The Bag Before Packing?
A lot of times, players forget or simply fail to empty their bag when packing their clubs. It’s important that you empty ALL contents within the golf bag before packing as there could be some unwanted items that you just don’t need and that could weigh down the golf bag. Moreover, it’s unpleasant to have an untidy golf bag with items like food wrappers, discarded tissues and damaged golf balls.
You also don’t want to forget to empty the side pockets of the golf bag which may also contain unwanted items.
A simple flip of the golf bag and a good shake will remove all the contents of the bag. That is of course after you have hand removed your clubs as you wouldn’t want them to get damaged that way.
After emptying the contents of the golf bag, it’s a good idea to clean the bag from the inside out before setting your clubs in their designated slots. A clean golf bag will prevent moisture and dirt from accumulating on the clubs which we know can cause rusting, (that’s a topic I wrote about here).
Moreover, using dirty clubs can have a negative impact on your golf game so you definitely should thoroughly clean both inside the bag and the clubs themselves.
To clean the bag, you can use a damp cloth to wipe down both the inside and outside. You may even add a little rubbing alcohol or a drop of bleach to the cloth to help get it cleaner and germs free.
But this is only recommended on the inside of the bag since bleach and rubbing alcohol could lead to discoloration on the outside. But that’s up to you.
After wiping the bag with a damp cloth, let the bag dry, preferably outside in the sun.
Once you are done cleaning the bag, you are now ready to add your clubs and rest of gears to the bag in the order we’ve discussed.
Packing Your Golf Bag For A Flight
The method of packing your golf bag to head out on the course is quite similar to packing them for a flight. But there is one additional thing you need to do when taking golf clubs on a plane, and that is to add extra protection to your clubs.
When you are traveling by air, it’s important to secure your luggage firmly as they could get damaged during the transportation.
For your clubs, you need to pad them with extra golf towels, bubble wrap or packing material to take up any additional space.
Wrap or weave the bubble around the shaft of the club so they don’t rub together during transit as airplanes will sometimes shake or jerk due to the result of turbulence in the air or during takeoff.
Apart from the added protection of your clubs, you can remove the clubhead to reduce the chances of it getting snapped off during transit. Not all golf clubs will have removeable clubheads though, so this is only applicable for some.
If it’s possible to do so, you want to then wrap the clubhead in your golf towel and store it in the side of your golf bag.
Final Verdict
Golf clubs should be arranged gradually from left to right with the longer irons to the right and the shorter irons to the left. The larger clubs are to be placed at the back section whereas the shorter clubs to the front so that the longer clubs doesn’t obscure the view of the shorter clubs.
The arrangement of clubs in your golf bag will dictate the pace of play of your golf game. The correct configuration of your clubs will allow for quicker speed which calls for a more enjoyable time.
By packing your golf bag in the right order as discussed in this article, you will not only have a consistent and constant play but you will play more efficiently.
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