Ever wondered how pro golfers keep their huge bags organized? First of all, they carry such massive Tour golf bags, to begin with, that weigh no less than 10-12 pounds on their own. And then there’s the additional weight of golf clubs, balls, and all the other pro-level essentials. Naturally, this demands sufficient storage space AND proper organization.
But then you don’t really have to be a pro to learn how to organize a golf bag properly. You can be a weekend golfer and still want to get it right. Because, after all, nobody likes to waste time during their round of golf searching and searching for a golf ball or tee inside the bag and not being able to find it.
But when you organize your golf clubs, especially in an ascending order (loft-wise), things like tees and balls can be very accessibly placed in separate pockets. And when stuff is easy to access, you can focus on just performing your best without holding up play.
So let’s find out how what the best organized golf bag looks like.
In This Post
Organizing Your Golf Bag – Every Size Covered!
How to Organize A 14 Slot Golf Bag
14 slots, so that means 1 slot/divider for every golf club. The driver, since it’s the longest club in the set and has the largest head, goes right in the top slot. Then your hybrids and then irons followed by wedges and your putter. You see, it’s not all that complicated or time-consuming to be honest.
Now in case you decide to place the driver or larger wood in the bottom or middle slot, you’re only just making it harder for yourself each time you want to remove the other clubs placed around it. So larger woods and drivers should be kept in the top for convenience, even in terms of storage and transport in a compact boot/trunk. No harm done either!
Also, the longest golf club is the driver, therefore all the more reason to place it in the top to prevent its delicate shaft from literally clashing with chunky irons. Driving irons and irons, then, have to be arranged in an ascending order based on the loft angles. This would mean that you start with the 4-iron. Thus, the lowest loft goes in the bottom.
Even the wedges are placed in an ascending order. Irrespective of how many wedges you carry, the pitching wedge gets stored first, then gap wedge, then sand wedge, and the last to be placed inside is the lob wedge.
What about the putter? A 14-slot structure comes with a separate putter well, so that’s where your putter is stored.
With a 14-slot type golf bag, organizing clubs is the easiest. And these bags, more often than not, are cart bags (so that implies a higher price tag too). Hence, mostly used by scratch and professional golfers.
How to Organize A 8 Slot Golf Bag
Now you’re dealing with a comparatively smaller capacity 8-way or 8-slot golf bag. In this type too, your golf clubs should be placed with the highest lofts beginning from the top – driver and woods at the top, then hybrids and irons, and then your wedges. The putter, once again, gets stored inside the separate putter well.
So it’s pretty much the same organizing a 14-way and 8-way golf bag except that in the case of the latter, similar clubs are paired up together for storage in the same compartment or divider. And this is important because you have to leave a slot for the putter.
| GOLF CLUBs PAIRED | GOLF BAG SLOT |
|---|---|
| Driver and 3 wood | Slot 1 |
| 20-degree and 23-degree hybrids | Slot 2 |
| 4 and 5 irons | Slot 3 |
| 6 and 7 irons | Slot 4 |
| 8 and 9 irons | Slot 5 |
| Pitching wedge and gap wedge | Slot 6 |
| Sand wedge and lob wedge | Slot 7 |
| Putter | Slot 8 |
But then, at this point, I think I should also add that if you carry a full golf club set, then you’d be better off with a 14-way golf bag. But if not, then 8-way seems just about perfect. It’s a more lightweight option for sure, which makes it so much easier and more comfortable to carry during your 18-hole or 9-hole walk.
How to Organize A 6 Way Golf Bag
6-way golf bags are perfect for when 14-way storage is just too big. With 6 slots, you can very accessibly keep your long-game golf clubs separate from your short-game golf clubs, with your irons placed between the two.
Unlike a 14-way bag, this one’s more lightweight to carry yet it’s not insufficient in terms of storage, protection, and organization of your expensive clubs.
- Driver / 3 wood at the top.
- Other woods / hybrids in the next two slots.
- Irons in the two compartments in the middle.
- And then wedges and your putter at the bottom.
How to Organize A 4 Slot Golf Bag
The most lightweight of all, a 4-way golf bag allows you to place/retrieve your clubs the most quickly because, in this particular scenario, you don’t really need to fit them in their exact, respective compartments.
Also, it’s the best choice for you if you walk the whole length of the golf course, hence easy, comfortable, pain-free carry.
- Driver / fairway woods at the top.
- Long irons stored in the center-left.
- Then mid and short irons go into the center-right section.
- And lastly, wedges + putter in the bottom.
How to Load A Golf Bag (Golf Apparel, Balls, Accessories, etc)
1. Apparel
A full-length pocket for golf apparel, at least one, is a part of almost every golf bag, be it carry, cart, or Tour. And in this, you can neatly fold your apparel and store it away. ‘Neatly’ because that’ll leave enough space in case you’d like to squeeze some more clothing in there.
But please refrain from placing anything but clothing. So that means no gloves, tees, pitchforks, or food items.
2. Golf Balls
Always choose a golf bag designed with enough pockets for storing essentials like golf balls. That is why TaylorMade golf bags (cart, carry, and stand) are such a huge hit among all types of golfers.
As for how many extra golf balls to carry, a good supply is around 10.
3. Accessories & Valuables
Now it’s pretty obvious that how you store/arrange your golf accessories depends on the number of pockets available in your bag. So if it’s a cart bag, hence pocket-heavy, then storage space and properly dividing accessories (gloves, markers, tees, pitchforks, etc.) are no concerns AT ALL.
Even those invaluable portable kind golf launch monitors can be very conveniently stashed in a pocket entirely dedicated to the accessory.
Moving on to the valuables pocket, this space, usually velour-lined and also waterproof sometimes, is specifically created for your keys, phone, wallet, watch, jewelry, and things like that.
4. Beverages/Refreshments
I have three words for you – insulated cooler pocket (or two words – insulated pocket). That’s where your cool, refreshing beverages go!
And who says you have to store only refreshments in there, you can just as easily carry energy or chocolate bars in there. The point is that the insulation keeps the temperature inside from getting affected by the scorching sun and heat outside.
Most golf bags now are also equipped with a holder for your water bottle. Just make sure that you tightly close the cap or lid of the bottle!
5. Other Items
Let’s not undermine the importance of clips attached to the golf bag. These come in handy when you want to carry extra yet useful items like a portable golf ball cleaner, golf club membership tag or tags, umbrella, and windproof brolly.
5 Steps to Organize Your Golf Bag
Different parts of a golf bag are for different items, you got that, right? But then how do you go about organizing these different items (golf clubs, balls, tees, markers, gloves, valuables, etc.) so that every single thing is stored properly and is easy, quick to retrieve?
Step 1 – First, Empty Your Entire Golf Bag
Clear it ALL out – towels, gloves, balls, and every little thing. Check each pocket to ensure that nothing is stored or hidden away.
What this does is it frees up additional space because now even the stuff you don’t need is removed from the bag, which also makes the bag just a little more lightweight to carry.
Step 2 – Gather/Categorize Essential Equipment
Now is the time to separate what’s usable from the gear you just aren’t going to need during your round of golf. The former includes golf clubs, balls, gloves, etc. And the latter could be damaged gloves, cracked balls, or scorecards from your previous games.
Once again, this helps a great deal because you’re now creating more room and organizing your equipment more effectively.
Step 3 – Clean the Contents
Before loading your golf bag, clean it (if it hasn’t been cleaned in a while) along with cleaning all your essential gear that has to go into the bag. Dust is usually found in the corners inside, so wipe that off as well if you care enough.
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve had to get rid of food crumbs from the side pockets of my golf bag. Because I really don’t want that messing with the sanctity of my precious equipment. And I often use a little bit of rubbing alcohol with a damp cloth for thoroughly cleaning the bag.
Step 4 – Now Arrange Your Golf Clubs
The most important part of the process – properly organizing the golf clubs!
Start with the putter, which generally goes into the separate putter section in a 14-way golf bag. But if that option is not available to you, you can then just as easily place the putter in the backside of your bag (in the slot closest to the straps).
Moving on to drivers and woods, these are also placed near those straps (at the top). So if your bag is designed with a separate putter well, then the slot closest to the straps is for drivers (in the left side) and woods (to the right).
You don’t have to get confused because the general rule is to arrange those clubs from left to right. Meaning the longest ones are stored at the backside (closer to the straps as I said before) and smaller or shorter golf clubs toward the front, with mid-length clubs in the middle between driver and wedges.
And if your golf bag consists of fewer dividers (8-way, 6-way, or 4-way), then pair up similar types of clubs. For instance, drivers and woods together in one slot, then long irons in the center-left with mid irons and short irons toward the right, and then finally your wedges and putter in the bottom.
But if you’re carrying a whole 14-piece set, then opt for 14-way storage. Then there’s no chance of facing any problems when it comes to protecting and retrieving/storing your precious golf clubs.
Step 5 – Organize Your Golf Accessories
Front pockets and side pockets are for stashing those essential accessories, such as golf balls, tees, markers, gloves, and the like. Items that you know you’re going to absolutely need should be placed in the easy-to-reach front pocket. While those extra gloves, sunglasses, and other such rarely used gear can be stored in the side pocket.
Conclusion
Now maybe you’d understand why it’s so important to choose a golf bag after so much consideration. Because this bag is supposed to not just transport your golf clubs but also protect them. And the best way to protect expensive golf equipment is through proper organization.
But the golf bag should be conducive to that proper organization. Hence, more dividers for more clubs and fewer dividers for fewer clubs. So based on how many golf clubs you carry, you can choose a configuration that works for you. And once that is done, this guide should help you arrange your gear in the most effective and accessible manner.
I use what was the cover for a portable awning used at sporting events, camping. Unfortunately I can’t afford a real golf bag. But it suits me fine.