The Best Golf Bags of 2024 in Every Category

Golf bags are definitely equipment, but they also say so much about the player who has them. Like apparel, they can be fashionable, but the best golf bags are a reflection of how you play the game, where you like to play, and your personality.

So when you select a golf bag, there’s a lot to consider. Do you walk or ride during most of your rounds? When you walk, do you carry your golf bag? How much do you like to stuff in your golf bag? Do you use a rangefinder or simply a golf watch? And how do you want your bag to look?

Golf bags come in all types and sizes and should reflect how you answer those questions. For example, if you walk and tote your bag over your shoulder all the time, you should use a bag designed for carrying that’s lightweight, has a great strap system, and easy leg mechanism. If you do both, a hybrid bag that takes into consideration how it feels to carry but also works well on a golf cart would be your ticket. 

If you like to practice your short game a lot and play a par-3 course every once in a while, you may want to consider a Sunday bag in addition to your regular bag. Sunday bags are small, extremely light, and perfect for carrying just a few clubs. Finally, if you ride all the time, you’ll get a lot of enjoyment from a bag designed just for carts with all the pockets in front, lots of storage space, and generous wells for your clubs. You may even opt for the ultimate cart bag, the staff bag – unless you can find a caddie willing to carry that for you (but might want to get your tour card, first).

With all that said, we’ve picked out what we believe are the best golf bags in nine categories.

Pros:

• Pass-through for cart strap
• Plenty of storage space
• Extremely versatile: easy to carry, and works well on carts

Cons:

• Clubs don’t go in and out as easily as they do in some other bags

The original Hoofer from Ping was certainly designed for walking, but the newest editions really work well in just about all applications. In fact, the Hoofer is my go-to, everyday golf bag. For walking rounds as well as rounds on a powered cart, the Hoofer is an easy choice. The reason is because I can fit everything I want into it and then some, including outerwear, rangefinder, and plenty of balls and tees. Plus, it has a nice deep lined pocket for valuables.

It’s a comfortable carry with everything in the right place, including a magnetic pocket for your rangefinder. Yet, when you use a cart, whether it’s a push cart or a powered cart, the pass-through under the pockets makes everything accessible. Plus it sits flat when you’re not using the stand mechanism, and that makes it very adaptable for use on a cart. Day in and day out, if you only have one bag, you’d be hard-pressed to make a better choice.

Pros:

• Super light, just 4.2 pounds
• Very comfortable on the back and shoulders when walking
• Adequate storage space, including magnetic front pocket

Cons:

• Golfers who use a push cart will want something a little more rigid

Incredibly well-made, the Vessel VLS is well-balanced, extremely comfortable, and well-designed. Despite its compact size and light weight, there’s adequate space, and clubs go in and out easily. 

Best of all, the Vessel VLS seems to conform to your body when walking and carrying. 

Part of the reason it’s so comfortable is its flexible “EZQ” strap system. The cushioning pad on the bag is also very effective. And there’s a magnetic pocket (all bags should have at least one) perfect for the rangefinder. Plus, there are six storage pockets, including a lined and deep valuables pocket.

Pros:

• Stand is a real plus for a Sunday bag
• Very well constructed
• Extremely lightweight

Cons:

• No double strap

This is what the company was founded on, obviously, and Sunday Golf knocked it out of the park with The Loma, which is named in honor of the wonderful par-3 course in the San Diego area.

Designed to carry around six clubs, it’s perfect for par-3 courses, practice sessions, or even a regulation-length golf course if you want to test your versatility and creativity with a minimum number of clubs. Best of all, it has all sorts of features you wouldn’t see in most Sunday bags, which are often flimsy and usually don’t come with a stand mechanism. 

Remarkably, with all that it offers – which includes five pockets (including an insulated beverage compartment), tee holders, and a velcro golf glove holder – it only weighs two pounds. It comes with a single strap, but many players prefer to use the ergonomic handle on top instead. And if you want to carry a couple more clubs, Sunday Golf also offers The Loma XL, designed to hold eight.

Pros:

• Made from recycled material
• All magnetic pockets
• Convertible strap from double to single

Cons:

• Could use a larger pocket for outerwear

Certainly one of the most innovative golf bags on the market in the last couple of years, MNML – which as its name would imply, makes a bag with a minimalist look packed with features – has improved on its MV2 stand bag with the updated MR1 stand bag. 

The major upgrade for this one is the material used for the skin of the bag. It’s made with 100 percent recycled PET (polyethylene terephthalate) bottles, which means that there’s probably not a more environmentally friendly bag on the planet. Plus, it’s easy to clean, which is great since white is one of the two colors MNML offers in the bag. The other is black, and both bags look very clean, though we would be curious to see some other color options.

The new bag also comes with a new carry handle up top, upgraded pockets and improved magnetic closures, which are found on all the pockets. Best of all, the cool features include a built-in solar charger for your phone and a nice-sounding Bluetooth speaker. Plus there's a cooler pocket where you can store a six-pack of beverages, along with ice. The comfortable backpack strap can be easily converted into a single strap for caddie use.

Pros:

• Sleek, clean look
• Works well as a carry or cart bag
• Separate putter well

Cons:

• A little on the heavier side for carrying

Known for its quality belts and other accessories, Ghost Golf is a relative newcomer to the golf bag game, and it came with an offering that certainly stands out from the ordinary. 

The Ghost Golf AnyDay Patriot bag is an apt description of this product. It’s a bag that’s good for any day on the golf course, whether it’s good weather or bad, walking or pushing or riding on a golf cart. It comes with a ball line marking aid and a zipper tag that reminds you to "play fearlessly."

It can be purchased with a 14-way divider top or seven-way, which is a great option, and it has velvet-wrapped dividers to protect the shafts on your clubs. A large separate putter well is also a nice feature, as are the magnetic rangefinder pocket, a customizable ball pocket, velvet-lined personal pockets on both sides, and lined water bottle sleeves. This dual strap bag (strap is removable) also has a rotator stand system to ensure it’s always stable no matter where you place it on the course.

Pros:

• Great looks
• Versatile both as a carry bag and carts
• Plenty of storage space

Cons:

• No magnetic pocket

We could have picked any of the Titleist Players Series bags for this category, so we’re going with one of the latest and most versatile models here, the Players 5. The reason we’re choosing the Players, though, is because the name says it all. When you see golfers walking around with one of these, you assume that they are serious about their golf game – that they are players.

The bag, which has plenty of features, simply has that look, with the iconic logo (even if you don’t fill it with Titleist clubs) and its sleek lines. On top of that, it’s just a solid stand bag, good for walking or riding. Its features include a five-way top, full-length apparel pocket, external lined drinks sleeves, high-quality zippers, and velcro glove patches.

Pros:

• Unlike many cart bags, has a five-way top
• All pockets face forward
• Weighs just 6.4 pounds

Cons:

• If you want legs, this isn’t your bag

Sun Mountain makes a lot of great bags, but none has been more successful than the C-130 cart bag. Having a five-way top option for the many players who hate 14-way dividers (I always have a hard time finding the hole I just vacated when on the course with the 14-way bag) is the icing on the cake for a bag designed with the golfer who rides pretty much all the time.

The storage space is seemingly endless with 13 pockets that include a ventilated cooler pocket, and three velour-lined pockets, including a magnetic rangefinder compartment. All the pockets face forward, and the C-130 features something called the Smart Strap System, which attaches the bag to a riding cart with two velcro straps that stop it from twisting on the cart and keep the cart’s strap from impeding access to the pockets.

Pros: 

• Holds everything but the kitchen sink
• Clean, eye-catching looks
• Ultimate in club protection

Cons:

• Like all staff bags, you’ll need a large SUV, pickup truck, or huge trunk to carry this to the course

It’s been said that if you want to play like a pro, dress like a pro. You can extend that theory all the way to your golf bag by using a staff bag from one of the major manufacturers. In this case, we chose the ‘24 TaylorMade Tour Staff bag with its clean lines, huge recognizable logo, and branding of TaylorMade’s newest clubs, the Qi10. 

Now granted, you’ll probably want a TaylorMade club or two in the bag to justify this move, but the bag itself does have some advantages over the ordinary. For example, there are 12 pockets, including two hard shell stash pockets, two large garment pockets, and a huge lined pocket for your valuables. The bag also features a hard shell hex side mold as well as a carbon fiber channel for the ultimate protection of your clubs. And even if you hardly ever take this bag out to the course, it’s a great piece for your office to hold a few putters if you need to take a break from your daily routine to practice a little.