What are the Staples of My Golf Bag?
Regardless of anything, we at Driving Range Heroes will always maintain that we’re independent and honest product reviewers and golf enthusiasts. The truth is, however, we come across products every now and then that turn into staples in our golf bags. Sometimes these products are brand specific, sometimes it’s just a basic supply of some sort that I shouldn’t risk being without (see my Survival Bag for Tommy). Either way, I thought I’d walk you through the random stuff that are staples of my golf bag for every round I play.
SKIN Sunscreen
I’ve always kept a bottle of sunscreen in my bag throughout my golf “career.” A few years ago I stumbled upon SKIN sunscreen and have kept a tube or spray bottle in my bag at all times. SKIN is one of the staples of my golf bag for its non-greasy formula and lack of skin irritation. It should go without saying that SKIN provides great sun protection which is the most important factor.
There are a ton of reasons in regards to health and safety, but at the very least, I don’t want to deal with the pain of a sun burn. It doesn’t even need to be sunny to get burnt! Given the amount of time you’re outside for a round, a nice burn is a guarantee without sunscreen. I prefer to enjoy myself on the course and not suffer the health or discomfort consequences later.
Lip Balm
Lip balm is one of the staples of my golf bag for a couple of reasons. In Chicago, if you play year round, you will be experience a lot of wind along with cold, dry weather. Within five minutes of being on the course, your lips will be toast. In the warm season, you still want it around to keep your lips protected from the sun. Though I typically have a “stick” of lip balm in my pocket, I always keep one in my bag just in case I forget it or lose it.
Unsurprisingly maybe, my preferred lip balm for golf is from SKIN. You can find it here.
Tempercraft Water Bottle
I wrote a review on Tempercraft water bottles here. I’ve tried multiple bottles over the years, but Tempercraft has been my favorite by far. The major point here is that it’s good to have a decent size insulated water bottle in your bag. Staying hydrated is key on the course and a nice bottle is easily refilled. There are few courses that don’t have refilling stations available on multiple holes. An insulated bottle will keep your liquids cool longer and will be good for the environment by reducing waste.
First-Aid
I can’t tell you how many random cuts, scratches, bruises, stings, or other random injuries I’ve encountered on the golf course. It’s unreasonable to think you’re going to treat big tears and breaks, but having supplies like band-aids, athletic tape, and basic pain relief pills could be a big help. As a result, I always have a small supply of these items in my bag for not just myself, but my playing partners as well.
Valuables Pouch
The valuables pouch is one of the staples of my bag in order to make my life easier. With a bunch of pockets and an array of small items like ball markers, repair tools, keys, watches, rings, and lip balm, it’s easy to lose track of these important things in your golf bag. Every round I pull out my valuables pouch, grab a ball marker and repair tool, then put my keys, maybe phone, and any other random small thing in the pouch. When my round is complete, I’m not fumbling around the cart and my bag trying to find all of my stuff. I’d advise using a high-quality bag as these take a surprising amount of beating. You can even have a little fun having a custom pouch made. I personally use a Scott Readman Concepts valuables pouch that they made for me.
Sunglasses
Sunglasses provide a wide range of great purposes on the golf course. Yes, they help you see your ball better and protect your eyes from the sun. Sunglasses also protect your eyes from pollen, dirt, dust, sand, and any other types of debris you prefer to keep out of your eyes. Some players wear sunglasses no matter the conditions, but I only tend to wear them once I realize I need them. I prefer playing without sunglasses, but sometimes that’s not an option. In order to make sure I’m never in a position where I need sunglasses but don’t have any, I always keep a pair in my bag. Obviously your golf bag is a dangerous place where glasses could easily break. Make sure you keep your glasses in a hard case if they are going to be a permanent fixture.
Towels
It seems silly to point towels out as a staple of my bag, but I’m shocked at how often people either don’t have a towel or their towel is inadequate. I always recommend having a good quality towel that’s durable, washes well, and absorbs water. I like to keep one towel for cleaning my clubs and ball, and another towel for wiping my face, arms, and hands when I play. It’s nice having a relatively clean towel to wipe sweat off your face and not the mud that’s come off your clubs.
A great towel option comes from the brand Uther. You can find our Uther writeup here.
Tees
Per my “Survival Bag” post mentioned earlier, tees are one of the top “don’t have in my bag” items. As a result, I always make sure I have a good supply of my preferred tee. I don’t know if it’s superstition or not, but based on my pickiness on tees, they are definitely one of the staples of my golf bag. For whatever reason, I will only use 2.75″ natural/wood colored tees.
Along the lines of superstition, if I hit two terrible tee shots in a row, I will leave that tee on the tee box or in the garbage. Also, I will only use someone else’s tee (preferably broken for an iron shot) on a par 3. This is the one time you may find me making an exception on tee color. It’s ok they’re the wrong color, I didn’t buy them and they didn’t come from my bag. Lastly, no matter what, I will always leave my tee next to the tee marker after teeing off on 18. This is all normal, right?
Final Thoughts
Though many of the staples of my golf bag may seem basic and intuitive, I find them crucial to any bag I carry. These items are absolute musts for me every time I head to the course – no exceptions. It’s not something I really fixate on, but have naturally integrated into my routine so the only real effort is to make sure I fill up my water bottle before I leave.
I always find it interesting what other people consider staples of their golf bag. One item I didn’t include in the post, but is always good to have is a club wrench in this day and age of all the adjustable clubs. If you have any good tips or items, let us know in the comments!
