In Golf, there are lots of different purchases to be made. There is golf equipment such as the club and the ball, which offer hope of improvement given the wide variety of performance available. There is clothing and soft goods such as clothing, bags and head covers which offer you to put your personal style on your game. Finally you have accessories which offer enjoyment experience or offer a convince that you previously lacked while golfing. There is without a doubt a saturation of golf products in the world that makes buying anything, an overwhelming experience. I thought that I would provide 3 of my best purchases in an effort to cut through all of the noise that the general golf market may throw at you. I am not saying that you all need to buy these products but hopefully, these products give you ideas of what to buy, what qualities to look for and why to buy them in the first place.
Ping Hoofer Bag: I grew up caddying for 10 years of my life so it goes without saying that I have carried a lot of golf bags. I have carried every kind like Titliest bags, Callaway, Ogio, Sun Mountain, MacKenzie, Nike, Taylormade, cart bags, sunday bags and even old leather bags from the 80s. Of all of the bags that I have carried, Ping bags have always been my favorite for a multitude of reasons. As a caddy who was double bagging most of the time, I enjoyed the linear straps on a Ping Golf bag that allowed for me to wear that bag on either my left or right should. In the Mid 2000s through the early 2010s, there was (and still is to an extent) a trend of having rounded bag straps to better fit peoples shoulders. These bags were a caddies’ worst nightmare and some of these brands still carry some scar tissue in my head. In addition to the linear straps, the Ping Hoofer has plenty of storage. There are multiple small pockets for items such as balls and snacks and even larger pockets that can hold an extra jacket. There are also specialty pockets for items like water bottles, umbrellas and even a valuables pocket. All of these pockets are hung on a lightweight frame which weighs in at under 4 pounds which is astonishing for a stand bag. As someone who religiously walks (a blog post for another time) when playing golf, this bag is a must have given all of the amenities it offers in a light, comfortable and compact package.
Now all of the features listed above certainly are nice but they aren’t even close to being the favorite feature on the Ping Hoofer Golf Bag. The best feature in my mind is the handle at the brim of the bag that runs along the spine (See Below Image). Back when I bought this bag, this was one of a couple, if not, the only bag implementing this handle design. Since then, many wise manufacturers have followed suite and put this design into practice. This handle can be used as a substitute for the awkward handle along the spine of a lot of bags that turn your portable golf bag into a clunky unbalanced “suitcase”. Additionally this handle is great to hold and make your bag vertical when you are removing a club which if you didn’t know, holding/rattling your bag vertically is the trick to making clubs “unstick” if you are having a tough time removing a wedge.
Hopefully reading this explanation helps you understand my affinity for this bag and its well engineered design. Add to the bag the logo of the club I have worked at for 15 years and you have one of my top 3 golf purchases of all time.
Before we move on from bags, I want to give an honorary shoutout to the Jones Carry bag that I purchased this summer. The light, single strapped design is ideal for a quick round and it is perfect for holding the minimal amount of items (A sleeve of balls, a water bottle and some tees). I got this bag for a low $60 during the Blind Draw. Every once in a while, Jones sells the bags that have slight defects at an extremely reduced rate. I look forward to using this bag more next summer.
Bushnell Laser: Now the title of this blog post is my Top 3 Golf Purchases so I must confess, this one I cheated a bit. My grandfather, who taught me how to golf, has had this Bushnell laser tethered to his bag for at least 10 years and this year I was attempting to qualify for a tournament or two and asked him if I could borrow his laser. He informed me that it was broken but if I could fix it, he would let me keep it since he only uses his Garmin watch. After undoing a screw and a trip to Walgreens for a battery, I had that thing up and running in no time. So technically I did not Purchase this item but I am putting it on the list anyways because it is that important to my golf game.
Realistically in the short term, this laser has only shaved off about a half of a stroke off of my game. Prior to owning it, I had no problem walking off yardages from sprinkler heads or asking my buddy what his phone application was reading at the time. However going forward, I expect this thing to improve my wedge game. When I used to be inside of 100 yards, I would estimate the distance and play strictly off of feel. Now with the laser, after I hit successful feel shots, I am using the laser to verify the distance that I hit it. Over the course of this summer, I have been able to assign yardages to certain feel shots which I think will improve me as a player in the years to come.
I used this laser so much that towards the end of the summer, the battery died on me in the middle of a round. This was the ultimate personification of the cliche “you never know what you have until it’s gone” because without this laser, I felt like I was unable to play golf. It was hard to believe that prior to owning this device that I just estimated my distances based off of where the 150 yard marker was. I felt rushed during that round as I scrambled to find distance markers and was constantly between clubs without knowing the distance. I use it not only for shooting pins but for bunkers on tee shots, trees that could be issues or even pick targets for laying up. At this point, I would consider this device essential to not only my golf game but my golfing experience which is why I had to include my Bushnell Laser on this list.
Nike Engage Wedge: To the disgust of the general golfing community, most of the clubs in my bag are Nike clubs. Part of that is because I genuinely really like the clubs and part of it is the name Nike and the brand loyalty that I have been trying to shake forever. I grew up playing basketball where how cool your shoes were, mattered immensely and Nikes, were as cool as they got. That sense of swagger and commitment to Nike carried over into golf clubs for me and I have been thankful to find clubs that perform well with my swing. None of the clubs in my bag perform as well as my 52 Degree Nike Engage Wedge.
I originally found this wedge in a “bargain barrel” at a local used golf equipment store called Second Swing. I was in search of a solid 52 degree wedge at the time and I wanted to get fitted. However, when I saw this wedge, I saw the insanely low clearance price of $48 next to the swoosh and I decided it was the club for me. Little did I know that I would be purchasing my most used and my strongest club in the bag. Admittedly, I cannot use this club from outside of 75 yards but once I am inside that number, I am absolutely dialed with this club. I am comfortable playing it back in my stance to take advantage of having green to work with or if I am short sided, I have no problem opening the face up and getting “wristy” through impact for a soft flop shot. I am not sure exactly what it is but if I had to guess, i would assume the grind is right for my swing. Add to that, a weight that feels good and a club that offers lots of feedback and it is a match made in heaven for me. Additionally I love the non traditional back of the wedge as well as the bronze and copper colored finish.
My absolute highlight with this club came earlier this summer where I was not hitting the ball well at all (a common theme of my game) but thanks to insane wedge shots and some beautiful chips with this Nike Wedge, I made lots of sneaky pars and even some birdies. I finished the round with a 3 over 75 which was highlighted by 22 putts. Even more impressive in that round, a 1 under 35 (with 3 birdies) on the front with just 7 putts. Yes you read that correctly, 7 putts! This is because using this wedge I was able to chip in twice just off of the green and when the ball didn’t go in, I never had more than 5 feet coming back. This wedge is easily the best club in my bag and for that reason, it has to be an inclusion on my best 3 golf purchases list.
Thank you for taking the time to read my Top 3 Golf Purchases list. Narrowing this list down to 3 was really difficult but I enjoyed the exercise. If you have your own Top 3 Items, I would love to hear what they are. Just leave a list down below in the blog comments or hit me up on social media @aspoiledwalk (Twitter, Instagram or TikTok). If you liked what you read, please consider liking this blog or following me on Social Media, I am trying to expand my content and even looking to trying to host an event or two next summer. Thanks again for reading.
A Good Walk Spoiled 