The symbiotic, bag-cart relationship of the Sun Mountain Sync and the Speed Cart GT push cart should be helpful to golfers, if they think at all like I do. Since I gave up carrying my bag to spare my shoulders, hips and back, I alternate between a push cart for a healthy walk and a riding cart for more social occasions. Golfers typically purchase a bag from one company, a cart from another, and wonder why they don’t mesh perfectly.

Sun Mountain offers a simplified alternative to this frustrating conundrum. The opportunity to review this combined strapless bag and two-step push cart was enticing. Let’s have a look.

Pros: Eight pockets and 15 club slots in the Sync provide storage for everything you need, from valuables to golf balls, tees and markers to your clubs. The lightweight and easy-to-stow Speed Cart GT unfolds in two steps with two simple latches to unclasp-clasp. Both pieces offer the same color accents, creating a balanced and attractive aesthetic (if that’s your thing.)

Cons: The Sync bag retails for $220, while the Speed Cart GT lists for $210. It’s a serious commitment to a system, but isn’t commitment to a system what usually defines success? Hold off on a new one for a year or two on buying that new driver, and shift that expense to this cart-bag partnership.

Who’re They For: This combo appeals to the golfer who flexes between a good walk, unspoiled, and a ride around the course. Carrying golfers need not apply, until their shoulders and back begin to ache and they need a solution.

Overview

Over the years, cart-only bags have earned a reputation as unwieldy (think Al Czervik in Caddyshack) and bulky. The 2017 version from Sun Mountain has the sturdiness one needs in a cart bag, but none of the girth. Ample storage means that you can bring all the swag you need, and stash it in a secure space.

Recent experience with push cart reviews often left me confused as to which latch should unhitch first, and which direction a component must rotate, in order to open or close the cart. The Speed Cart GT reduces the latches to a pair. One releases the front wheel, while the other separates the handle from the body.

The Sync Bag

Make a quick checklist for what you need in a cart bag, and you’ll likely stop at two elements: storage and balance.

In what will come to be known as The Tale of the Eight Pockets, I’ll break down my suggested uses for the ocho espacios of storage found in the Sync bag:

1. Low center pocket: Golf balls. Massive space for the orbs.
2. Middle center pocket: Golf tees. How many times have you been stabbed by a tee over the years, while searching for a ball marker or some other item? Just the stake, so you know what’s in there.
3. Upper center pocket: Valuables. Pocket made from a soft material, so secrete your watch, rings, money clip, wallet, whatever with complete security.
4. Long right side pocket: Rain gear. Spans the height of the bag, plenty of room for jacket and pants;
5. Right side slot: Scorecard goes here, the official one. Get yourself a scorecard holder and slide the entire apparatus here. Guaranteed to protect it from folding, the elements, and other enemies.
6. Upper left side pocket: Gloves. As with tees, they deserve their own closet. No dirt, pebbles or other grime to speed up their demise.
7. Lower left side pocket: The cooler. Literally made of that slick, plastic material that keeps beverages chilled for a time.
8. Left side slot: Framed picture of your family. I’ve run out of ideas (or possessions). Let’s call it the land of miscellanity (a word of my invention) and allow you to put a hat, hand towel, or whatever security item you tote that allows you to do you.

Remember those 15 club slots mentioned above? One is not for Ian Woosnam’s extra driver, although it could be. The top slot, wider than the rest, is ideal for a closed umbrella. No more hanging it here, looping it there. Like a dedicated wall plug, the umbrella finally receives the respect it is due. All slot openings are lined, to ensure that no scraping of shaft paint occurs. Come to think of it, that umbrella space is so wide, you can still fit that extra driver.

Related: The GolfWRX Guide to Purchasing a Push Cart

Regarding balance, all roads lead to this: Handles, handles everywhere! Two at the top, made from molded rubber around plastic, make loading and unloading the bag a cinch. Under the bottom pocket is a flap, commonly found in modern bags, that allows you to grasp at that end and balance your lift. The main bag handle is sturdy, for the golfer who opts for the one-arm lift.

The bottom of the Sync bag was molded to fit snugly in the lower rest of the Sun Mountain Speed and Micro-Cart series. Knowing that a change in terrain or pace will cause zero movement in your bag is a comforting thought. As for motorized carts, a strap slot in the fabric, running beneath the main handle, adds a layer of secure attachment not found in other bags I’ve seen.

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The Speed Cart GT

In previous push cart reviews for GolfWRX, I’ve come away equal parts impressed and uncertain. I’ve been impressed by the number of attributes that companies can weave into their chariots. I’ve also been uncertain that all of the features are necessary. The Speed Cart GT is a three-wheel affair, with a front wheel that tucks under for storage, dropping down and forward for use. This movement is seamless, one that a child with enough strength to unfasten and fasten the latch can pull off.

The main body of the cart is streamlined. The top handle is resolute, encouraging proper and efficient steering and control. Below it is a covered storage unit for scorecard, pencil, smart phone, you get the idea. It is deep enough for those items, but not so spacious that it impacts other elements. A mesh net hangs down for other items, should you wish to have them closer to hand than the golf bag pockets.

The trio of wheels, with bearings locked away and nearly noiseless, move the push cart comfortably at your chosen speed. Going for a jog? Break away with no concern. Uphill or downhill? Got you covered. A handle hand brake secures the entire cart on any incline. If you like the cart but have a carry bag with stand, you’ve no doubt fought to settle your stand legs on other push carts. The upper rest of the Speed Cart GT has been restructured to accommodate the stand apparatus. A knob is provided for add-ons, like an umbrella or cup holder, but there is little need. Between the bag and the cart, standard features get all jobs done.

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The Takeaway

There is a Yin Yang relationship at work between a good push cart-bag combination. The former should be as simple and sensible as the latter is complex and sensible. All boxes for this synchronicity are checked with the Speed Cart GT and the Sync golf bag.

If you pay between $400-500 for a bag-cart combo, you expect superior quality and seamless collaboration. The Sun Mountain Sync bag and Speed Cart GT push cart exceed those requirements. The foresight to mold the bag bottom to the precise shape of the lower rest on the cart is so simple, yet pure genius. You won’t think about it after the first round, but it will enhance the ease of each walking round.