Equipment
Bagging the right bag
By Shane Downey
GolfWRX Contributor
Every year the major OEMs usually come out with new staff bags and a couple even make special release bags just for the majors. I have to be honest, the bags that coincide with the Masters are, in my opinion, the best. It could be due to the fact that I have lived in Augusta and walked the pristine fairways in April, there is truly something special about living there leading up to the Masters. Another reason could be due to the fact my son was born in Augusta. The first time he was at Augusta National, he was still in the womb. I have such fond memories of the place I once called home. With these memories in mind, either way, the Master release staff bags are a personal favorite.
While the majority of the GolfWRX community, including myself, are admitted club and shaft aficionados, it would be extremely difficult to tote these weapons of madness around without the benefit of our bags. I must admit that I have a bag addiction. At least I have taken the first step in admitting it (only eleven more to go)!
The golf bag has been around as long as the game itself. During this time they mainly consisted of a leather or canvas bag with a leather strap and quite possibly a pocket or two. They have evolved with time and technology into three main categories; cart bags, stand bags and staff bags. All three come in a variety of sizes, colors and configurations.
The cart bag is just that, a bag that is designed to either fit on a golf (or pull) cart and yet possesses all the advantages of the larger staff bags. Pockets are plentiful for a variety of necessities you may need while enjoying your round. Sun Mountain and Ogio are two brands that quickly come to mind when mentioning cart bags. Although they have usually one strap, they come in a myriad of colors, styles, and construction materials. So if you are one that consistently uses a cart of some sort, then definitely look into getting a cart bag.
A bit before my time when caddies were the norm, they carried the bag dutifully following the player no matter wherever he may have hit his ball. Caddies soon lost out to electric carts, which is a shame. Quite a few golfers still enjoyed walking and carrying their own bags, which created a niche for bags that eventually evolved into the stand bag. The stand bag is usually a very lightweight bag that when set down and pushed forward, two legs are propelled out to create a tripod of sorts. Most also have dual shoulder straps such that the weight can be distributed evenly on both shoulders, much like a backpack. Most major OEM’s make dual strap stands bags, which are adjustable to your height with regard to the shoulder straps. These also come in many sizes, types and colors. If you abhor the idea of any type of cart, the stand bag is perfect for you.
The last major type of bag, and my personal favorite, is the staff bag. The staff bag is a large, multi-pocketed, usually logoed bag that you see inside the ropes on the PGA Tour. I have owned many staff bags in the short twelve years of playing this game and seem to never tire of having one. They are usually 9.5 – 10.5 inches wide and have five or six large pockets. The staff bag can carry just about everything you may or may not need while playing your round. I have personally put two-dozen balls, six gloves, laser range finder, a complete rain suit, an extra pair of shoes, tees, Band-Aids, Motrin, sunscreen and snacks into one staff bag. This may seem like overkill, but I love the staff bag for this purpose.
There are quite a few individuals who play “tour equipment” on the forum, from drivers to irons with x-flex shafts and “tour only” shafts and heads that I could only dream of hitting. However, with my slow swing speed, a tour staff bag is about as close as I will ever get to use tour equipment.
Cameron Young’s WITB from his win at the 2025 Wyndham Championship. Cameron is a Titleist staff player but his bag is definitely filled with some unique clubs. Here are the clubs he used to secure his first PGA Tour win!
Driver: Titleist GT2 (9 degrees, A1 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Tensei 1K Pro Orange 70 TX
3-wood: Titleist GT3 (15 degrees)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Tensei 1K White 80 TX
Hybrid: Titleist GT2 (21 degrees)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus HB Black VeloCore+ 10 X
Irons: Titleist T200 (4), Titleist T100 (5), Titleist 631.CY Prototype (6-9)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold X7 (4-9)
Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design SM10 (48-10F, 52-12F, 56-14F @57), WedgeWorks (60-K* @62)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold X7
Putter: Scotty Cameron Phantom 9.5 Tour Prototype
Grips: Golf Pride Tour Velvet Cord
Ball: Titleist Pro V1x Prototype
- Peter Malnati what’s in the bag accurate as of the Wyndham Championship. More photos from the event here.
Driver: Titleist GT3 (10 degrees, C2 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Project X Denali Blue 60 TX
3-wood: Titleist GT3 (15 degrees, A1 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus TR Blue 7 X
7-wood: Titleist GT2 (21 degrees, D1 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus TR Blue 8 X
Irons: Titleist T150 (4, 5), Titleist T100 (6-9)
Shafts: True Temper AMT Tour White X100
Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design SM10 (48-10F @47, 52-12F, 56-08M @57, 60-04T @62)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S400
Putter: Scotty Cameron Studio Style Fastback 1.5 Tour Prototype
Grips: Golf Pride Tour Velvet
Ball: Titleist Pro V1x Yellow
We’re proud to once again partner with 2nd Swing Golf to bring you GolfWRX Members Choice 2025! 2nd Swing has more than 150,000 new and pre-swung golf clubs available in six store locations and online. Check them out here.
What is the best driver in 2025? At GolfWRX, we take great pride in our online community and the cumulative knowledge and experience of our members. When it comes to the best driver of 2025, we want to know what our forum faithful think.
Since our founding in 2005, the bedrock of GolfWRX.com has been the community of passionate and knowledgeable golfers in our forums, and we put endless trust in the opinions of our GolfWRX members — the most knowledgeable community of golfers on the internet. No other group of golfers in the world tests golf clubs as frequently or as extensively, nor is armed with such in-depth information about the latest technology.
Below are the results of GolfWRX member voting for the 2025 best driver, along with the vote percentage for each club.
Best driver of 2025: The top 5
5. Callaway Elyte Triple Diamond: 6.02%
Callaway’s pitch: “For golfers looking for a fast, forgiving, yet workable driver, the Elyte Triple Diamond features a tour-inspired shape and is the preferred model by most Callaway tour players.”
You can read what other golfers are saying about the driver in the GolfWRX forums, and see our launch piece here. Shop the Callaway Elyte Triple Diamond here.
4. Ping G440 Max: 6.86%
Ping’s pitch: “The most forgiving G440 model, MAX has a hotter face to generate speed and distance, and a lighter overall system weight with a longer shaft (46″) for faster clubhead speed, higher launch and longer carries. The Free Hosel and Carbonfly Wrap crown save weight to create our lowest CG ever and increase forgiveness while contributing to a more muted, pleasing sound.”
You can read what other golfers are saying about the driver in the GolfWRX forums, and see our launch piece here. Shop the Ping G440 Max here.
3. Ping G440 LST: 9.53%
Ping’s pitch: “LST is an especially good fit for faster swings, offering less spin and more control with a penetrating trajectory. A hotter face, lighter overall system weight and longer shaft (46″) deliver more speed and distance while maintaining tight dispersion.”
@phizzy30: “Not a fan of Ping drivers in general, but 440 LST takes the cake. It’s super forgiving across the face for a low spin head, looks and sounds good and the ability to make it play neutral or slightly fade biased through the hosel settings is very appealing.”
You can read what other golfers are saying about the driver in the GolfWRX forums, and see our launch piece here. Shop the Ping G440 LST here.
2. Titleist GT3: 16.55%
Titleist’s pitch: “The GT3 Driver offers Titleist’s boldest combination of power and personalization through adjustable performance. Dial in the CG Track to your frequent contact location to make your biggest drives even bigger while taking total control over flight and shaping.”
@mrmikeac: “I’ve been Anti-Titleist for years and years and years (outside of Vokey, of course). With that being said, HOLY BEGEEZUS the GT3 driver is an absolute NUCLEAR MONSTER! This thing blew my G430 10K Max out of the water in every single category. Forgiveness is the biggest thing that stands out of me, the 3 model has always been one of the less forgiving models in the past but this GT3 can take bad shot after bad shot and still end up in the fairway, I think a ton of that has to do with the adjustability, it’s actually effective. Feel and sound is perfect, that solid crack is so addicting to hear and when you hit it out the screws this thing can absolutely bomb it. Titleist, I’m sorry for doubting you. You have converted me.”
You can read what other golfers are saying about the driver in the GolfWRX forums, and see our launch piece here. Shop the Titleist GT3 here.
1. Titleist GT2: 22.91%
Titleist’s pitch: “Delivering impressive distance from any impact point, the Titleist GT2 Driver extracts maximum performance through a forgiving design. Get the stability and added confidence of a high-MOI driver without sacrificing speed.”
@DTorres: “The Titleist GT2 has proven to be the best driver of the year. Packaged in a classic profile, GT2 perfectly balances performance and forgiveness while consistently being a high performer across all categories.”
You can read what other golfers are saying about the driver in the GolfWRX forums, and see our launch piece here. Shop the Titleist GT2 here.
Other drivers receiving >2% of the vote
| Driver | Vote percentage (%) |
|---|---|
| Cobra DS Adapt Max K | 4.85% |
| Ping G430 Max 10K | 3.85% |
| Callaway Elyte Triple Diamond | 3.68% |
| TaylorMade Qi35 | 3.51% |
| Callaway Elyte | 3.18% |
| Cobra DS Adapt X | 2.34% |
| Cobra DS Adapt LS | 2.17% |
| TaylorMade Qi35 LS | 2.17% |
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Peter Malnati WITB 2025 (August)
Peter Malnati what’s in the bag accurate as of the Wyndham Championship. More photos from the event here. Driver: Titleist...
Cameron Young’s winning WITB: 2025 Wyndham Championship
Driver: Titleist GT2 (9 degrees, A1 SureFit setting) Buy here. Shaft: Mitsubishi Tensei 1K Pro Orange 70 TX 3-wood: Titleist...
Camilo Villegas WITB 2025 (July)
Camilo Villegas WITB accurate as of the Wyndham Championship. Villegas was undecided on a 3-wood when we shot his bag. ...
WITB Time Machine: Brandt Snedeker’s winning WITB, 2018 Wyndham Championship
Brandt Snedeker fired a final-round 65 at the 2018 Wyndham Championship to outlast Webb Simpson and C.T. Pan. His 5-under...
Dustin
Mar 17, 2012 at 2:41 pm
I currently use the 2008 Callaway Masters bag…and it is Beautiufl!
Bill
Feb 24, 2012 at 3:07 pm
Get the midsize Tour Bag, they are more practical and still look nice.
Angel
Feb 14, 2012 at 1:44 pm
I really want one, but for some reason i think they are way too bulky for a riding cart. I like to ride, and i’m not sure my partner will appreciate his bag mashed into the back of the cart. Any opinions?
Rj
Feb 13, 2012 at 10:40 pm
Love a staff bag… New seem to not have what you need when you need it. Ahhhhh pockets galore!
1mizunofan
Feb 13, 2012 at 3:41 pm
I have to admit, I’ve been a tour bag junkie for more than 30 years! The first ever staff bag I bought was the old Wison Staff bag(red & white) from the 80s. Just watch the 86 Masters with Tom Kite, I have that same bag. It’s now retired & sitting in my basement(don’t really know what to do with it). I also have the old Macgregor staff bag like Nicklaus had when he won the 86 Masters. That bag is doing the exact same thing as my Wilson bag.
Now I used to feel silly carrying around these big bags in my hay day, but I’ve always liked them. I finally switched to stand bags but never really warned up to them. So with “my addiction” I switched back to a staff bag in 08 with the purchased of a Mizuno staff bag, which is still my current bag. I don’t carry anymore but use my Clicgear cart or power cart.
You cant knock the space or ease of getting your clubs in & out of your bag.
Like Shane has mentioned this is as close you will get to “pro equipment”. 30 years ago it was much harder to get your hands on what the pro play. Now in every pro sports genre that has become a big market. “Play what &’wear what the Pros play”. How many times have you heard that sales pitch? Obviously it works!
Greg
Feb 10, 2012 at 6:25 pm
O so with you! Srixon staff bag. Love it. Keep it my office as conversation starter when not playing.