Keeping a golf bag well-organized can make it much easier to access the clubs you need. It’s a simple step that many players overlook but can make a big difference during your round. Neil Tappin, in his video below, shows you how to arrange a golf bag so that everything is easily accessible while playing. Whether you’re using a cart bag or a stand bag, the same basic principles apply to ensure that you can find everything you need quickly and easily.
The first thing you need to do is sort out what’s usable from what isn’t. This includes things like old towels that need washing, rogue tees, broken pencils and other items that will get in the way of you focusing on your game. Ideally, this is done before you load your golf bag so that you don’t have to worry about it while you’re out on the course.
Next, you need to organize your golf bag’s pockets based on what you use the most during a round. This could include a range finder, water bottle, rain jacket, ball markers and other accessories. You can find plenty of tips on how to arrange your golf bag online, but we recommend arranging them from smallest to largest. Having your most used items at the top of your golf bag will make them easy to reach when you need them.
Finally, you should start arranging your golf club in the proper order before putting them in your golf bag. This will be a little different depending on what kind of golf bag you have, but the general rule is that the longest clubs should go in first. This means that you’ll have your drivers and woods toward the back of the bag and your shorter irons and wedges at the front.
Some bags have 14 individual full-length dividers, which makes the organization process even easier. You’ll have to place your longer clubs at the very top of the bag in order to protect them from damage. This will also help prevent them from getting tangled with your shorter clubs as you put them in the bag and remove them.
In a bag with 12 dividers, you’ll want to keep your long irons and hybrids near the middle of the bag, while the right side will hold your short irons and wedges. In this setup, your longer clubs will be near the straps of the golf bag and the shorter irons and wedges will be closer to the end of the golf bag so that they are easier to grab when you need them during a shot.
The last thing you want to do is wrestle with your golf bag in a sudden downpour or when the ball rolls in a bunker. It’s a terrible feeling to waste time trying to free your club from a seemingly unbreakable tryst with a 4-wood while delving into every pocket in the bag looking for your waterproof hat or rain jacket.