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The great divider debate: What’s your perfect number?

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Golf is full of endlessly interesting and debatable topics. From course design to golf grips, everyone has a preference and a reason behind it.

One of the most polarizing debates among golfers revolves around golf bags and their top divider systems—especially when it comes to stand and carry bag.

Carry bags can range from simple stand-less Sunday bags with only two slots, to elaborate geometric shapes to prevent chatter, all the way to the full 14-way top—ne for each club in the bag.

The most common number of dividers found in the market is four, and we see that in bags from Ping, Mizuno, Ogio, TaylorMade, and many more.

The purpose of any golf bag divider system is to keep your clubs organized and easy to access, they are also designed to hopefully prevent your clubs from banging against each other and reduce chatter. Years ago Mizuno even went as far as creating what they called the kabuki top to help irons gather and not click and ding—because nobody wants to ding up their new forged irons!

Ogio, took it a step further with the original Woodé System to keep longer clubs with covers to one side, so it’s easy to see what iron or wedge you are reaching for in your bag. This was a big selling feature for those that carried multiple clubs with covers.

In my opinion, as a walker 90 percent of the time, I will only use a bag with 4 or fewer dividers. I believe a putter doesn’t need its own personal slot, and with larger openings, it’s easier to get clubs in and out and move them around a bit to find the club you are looking for—it’s seriously not that difficult.

To take it a step further to say when carrying less than 14 clubs, the unstructuredness of a Sunday bag keeps clubs sitting together because they don’t really have another option. It’s the moving van principle; if everything is all packed tightly together, it means less rattling and less risk for damage.

Whatever happens, to be your favorite we all have our reasons. So when you’re shopping for your next bag, worry about the top just as much as the pocket designs, because it’s just as important.

GolfWRXers: This was hotly debated on my Twitter, and we want to bring that discussion here. Let us know where you stand in the poll below. 

Poll

What is your preferred number of dividers?

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Ryan Barath is a club-fitter & master club builder with more than 17 years of experience working with golfers of all skill levels, including PGA Tour players. He is the former Build Shop Manager & Social Media Coordinator for Modern Golf. He now works independently from his home shop and is a member of advisory panels to a select number of golf equipment manufacturers. You can find Ryan on Twitter and Instagram where he's always willing to chat golf, and share his passion for club building, course architecture and wedge grinding.

32 Comments

32 Comments

  1. Pingback: 5 Best Golf Bags With Full-Length Dividers 2021 - Review & Buyer's Guide

  2. Pingback: Are staff bags becoming obsolete? – GolfWRX

  3. Matt

    Jul 27, 2020 at 11:13 am

    What is an actual argument *against* a 14-way bag? As long as they are full length dividers I can’t see any benefit to not having them.

    Now if we’re talking some ultra light bag or a Sunday bag for a less than full set, ok. But if you’re carrying 14…why would you not want 14?

  4. JD

    Apr 29, 2020 at 2:12 am

    Hmm..14 dividers means 15 compartments, right? Never mind.
    I have 4 bags and depending on how many clubs I want to play with that, I chose the bag (I didn’t buy 4 bags so i could do that, it kind of just happened). I hate having to search for the club, must be quick to see and grab, so never use the covers:
    1. pencil bag (1 compartment, 0 dividers..): 3 clubs and putter.
    2. 4 compartment bag, not used yet, good for 5 or 6 clubs max.
    3. 6 compartment bag, got 8 clubs in it at the moment, never more.
    4. 14 compartment bag: for my “full” set of 12 clubs. Woods on the left so they cover the irons.

  5. Curb

    Apr 27, 2020 at 12:07 pm

    Not 14! I like my clubs a easy to get out and put back in. That said I do like a putter hull as that’s my one club that gets most respect.

  6. MikeB

    Apr 27, 2020 at 11:07 am

    14 works best for me, have Gripmaster grips on all clubs, grips are very sticky, need to keep them separated. Now that I use the Sun Mountain C-130s, light enough to carry if needed, although I wouldn’t say it’s lightweight, just tolerable, cart bag with legs… perfect!

  7. Pelling

    Apr 27, 2020 at 10:01 am

    I prefer 16 slots, but then, just to be safe, I put tubes into those! Once I get my iron covers, I’m good to go! 14 clubs, ball retriever, Orange Whip, with giant animal headcovers. The caddies don’t seem to mind, but I make sure to give them an extra $1 for the effort, especially if there’s a chance of rain and I take an umbrella and extra pair of shoes just in case.

  8. Steve

    Apr 27, 2020 at 9:43 am

    I have a woodie. If I were to replace it a minimum of 4 dividers. More important are that they full length dividers and second would be weight.

  9. Night putter

    Apr 27, 2020 at 8:51 am

    Regarding pull cart / walking around greens… when in NZ a local muni rented a pull cart with big wide wheels that was
    ok to cross greens (not stop) .

  10. MT

    Apr 27, 2020 at 2:47 am

    15 or 16 dividers so you can have a place for a warm up device like orange whip and extra large opening for putter with oversized grips.

  11. Jbone

    Apr 26, 2020 at 2:30 pm

    5.

  12. Matt A

    Apr 26, 2020 at 2:24 am

    I liked the Ogio Woode system, it kept the woods and their covers off to the side where they didn’t cover the irons. And I miss putter wells, it’s nice to get the putter with larger grip out of the way.

  13. steve

    Apr 26, 2020 at 1:24 am

    Semi-related topic … According to another golf website, push/pull cart sales are through the roof during this social distance conundrum. I, myself, feel it is much easier to carry rather than push/pull. I truly despise having to push/pull a cart around greens. If only my local courses would offer some sort of reduced rate for walkers, Many more players would choose that option.

  14. ChipNRun

    Apr 25, 2020 at 11:45 pm

    A midsize bag with four dividers will do the trick.

    Top divider will handle long clubs (4)… Bottom divider will handle wedges + putter (4)
    Two middle dividers will handle 3 irons each.

    (Two middle dividers will handle fourth club each if you’re testing things at range, and don’t have to worry about “clean drop” back into bag after each shot.

    I did in-store tests with the 14-slot stand bag. General impression: it feels like I have a suitcase slung across my back… just doesn’t ride comfortably.

  15. [email protected]

    Apr 25, 2020 at 11:13 pm

    Do interns run this site ?

    • Ac

      Apr 26, 2020 at 11:41 am

      You’re free to read elsewhere man… total douché thing to say Jack

  16. karsten's ghost

    Apr 25, 2020 at 10:36 pm

    15. Ball fetcher and alignment rods get their own place.

  17. Haloha

    Apr 25, 2020 at 10:08 pm

    always prefer 14 but I just bought a new stand bag with 4 because of the color lol. 14 slots is just less stressful if playing a tournament.

  18. Najeh

    Apr 25, 2020 at 9:22 pm

    Really reaching for content with this one. This topic would never come up in regular conversation.

    • dookie

      Apr 27, 2020 at 5:34 pm

      Better than more Tiger Woods non- news ( and I like Tiger )

  19. Shawn Mulhaney

    Apr 25, 2020 at 5:17 pm

    I often wonder what the big draw is for the Stich bags like the Sl1

  20. Shallowface

    Apr 25, 2020 at 4:54 pm

    I still prefer the roominess of an old style staff bag.
    Not related to what I personally use, but I remember a discussion I had with a club repairman several years ago. The JumboMax grips were just hitting the market, and the SuperStroke had been out for awhile.
    I asked him if he thought one could get 13 clubs with JumboMax plus a SuperStroke putter into a modern golf bag, and he said he hadn’t tried it but thought it was a really good question.
    I don’t think those large grips would go into the 14 divider style bags. Not the ones I’ve seen at least.

  21. TacklingDummy

    Apr 25, 2020 at 4:50 pm

    For me, in a carry stand bag, definitely the 4-way divider. Driver, fairway woods or hybrid, putter in top slot. 4,5,6 irons and 7,8,9 irons in middle slots, and PW, 52,56, 60 in the low slot. 4 clubs upper section, 6 clubs middle two sections, 4 clubs in lower section. Works out well.

  22. Donald Duck

    Apr 25, 2020 at 4:35 pm

    The Woode system is perfect, although it’s a bit of a tight squeeze in my carry bag with midsize grips and irons getting tangled up.

    • Your mailman

      Apr 25, 2020 at 4:56 pm

      My woode is also a tight squeeze, according to your wife!

      • Dan

        Apr 25, 2020 at 5:15 pm

        I feel like maybe we all have been cooped up a little too long…

    • Todd Pitt

      Apr 25, 2020 at 11:01 pm

      Does the woode still exist? I am in the market for a bag and can’t find obe

  23. Fergie

    Apr 25, 2020 at 4:01 pm

    If anything, I prefer a (cart) bag with an external tube for carrying the putter, especially when I carry a large, mallet-style putter. A large putter head takes up too much real estate in the top of the bag.

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Whats in the Bag

Kevin Tway WITB 2024 (May)

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Driver: Ping G430 LST (10.5 degrees)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black 6 X

3-wood: TaylorMade Stealth 2 (15 degrees)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Diamana D+ 80 TX

5-wood: TaylorMade Stealth 2 (18 degrees)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Diamana D+ 90 TX

Irons: Wilson Staff Utility (2), Titleist T100 (4-9)
Shafts: Mitsubishi MMT 100 TX (2), True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100 (4-9)

Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design SM10 (48-10F @47, 52-12F @51, 56-14F), SM7 (60-10S)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100 (48-56), True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S400 (60)

Putter: Scotty Cameron T-5 Proto
Grip: Scotty Cameron Black Baby T

Grips: Golf Pride Tour Velvet Plus4

More photos of Kevin Tway’s WITB in the forums.

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Equipment

Did Rory McIlroy inspire Shane Lowry’s putter switch?

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Editor’s note: This is an excerpt from a piece our Andrew Tursky originally wrote for PGATour.com’s Equipment Report. Head over there for the full article.

The timing of Lowry’s putter changeup was curious: Was he just using a Spider putter because he was paired with McIlroy, who’s been using a Spider Tour X head throughout 2024? Was Lowry just being festive because it’s the Zurich Classic, and he wanted to match his teammate? Did McIlroy let Lowry try his putter, and he liked it so much he actually switched into it?

Well, as it turns out, McIlroy’s only influence was inspiring Lowry to make more putts.

When asked if McIlroy had an influence on the putter switch, Lowry had this to say: “No, it’s actually a different putter than what he uses. Maybe there was more pressure there because I needed to hole some more putts if we wanted to win,” he said with a laugh.

To Lowry’s point, McIlroy plays the Tour X model, whereas Lowry switched into the Tour Z model, which has a sleeker shape in comparison, and the two sole weights of the club are more towards the face.

Lowry’s Spider Tour Z has a white True Path Alignment channel on the crown of his putter, which is reminiscent of Lowry’s former 2-ball designs, thus helping to provide a comfort factor despite the departure from his norm. Instead of a double-bend hosel, which Lowry used in his 2-ball putters, his new Spider Tour Z is designed with a short slant neck.

“I’ve been struggling on the greens, and I just needed something with a fresh look,” Lowry told GolfWRX.com on Wednesday at the 2024 Wells Fargo Championship. “It has a different neck on it, as well, so it moves a bit differently, but it’s similar. It has a white line on the back of it [like my 2-ball], and it’s a mallet style. So it’s not too drastic of a change.

“I just picked it up on the putting green and I liked the look of it, so I was like, ‘Let’s give it a go.’”

Read the rest of the piece over at PGATour.com.

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Equipment

Webb Simpson equipment Q&A: Titleist’s new 2-wood, 680 blade irons, and switching to a broomstick Jailbird

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With seven career wins on the PGA Tour, including a U.S. Open victory, Webb Simpson is a certified veteran on the course. But he’s also a certified veteran in the equipment world, too. He’s a gearhead who truly knows his stuff, and he’s even worked closely with Titleist on making his own custom 682.WS irons.

On Wednesday at the 2024 Wells Fargo Championship, I caught up with Simpson to hear about his experience with Titleist’s new prototype 2-wood, how Titleist’s 680 Forged irons from 2003 ended up back in his bag, and why he’s switching into an Odyssey Ai-One Jailbird Cruiser broomstick putter this week for the first time.

Click here to read our full story about Simpson’s putter switch on PGATOUR.com’s Equipment Report, or continue reading below for my full Q&A with Simpson at Quail Hollow Club on Wednesday.

See Webb Simpson’s full WITB from the 2024 Wells Fargo Championship here

GolfWRX: It seems like you’ve been a little all over the place with your irons in the past six months or so, and now going back to the 680’s. Is that just a comfort thing? What’s been going on with the irons?

Webb Simpson: Titleist has been so great at working with me, and R&D, on trying to get an iron that kind of modernizes the 680. And so the 682.WS took the T100 grooves, but kinda took the look and the bulk and the build of the 680’s into one club. They’re beautiful, and awesome looking. I just never hit them that well for a consistent period of time. It was probably me, but then I went to T100’s and loved them. I loved the spin, the trajectory, the yardage, but again, I never went on good runs. Going through the ground, I couldn’t feel the club as well as with the blade. So last week, I’m like, ‘Alright. I’m gonna go back more for…comfort, and see if I can get on a nice little run of ball striking.’

So that’s why I went back.

 

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OK, that makes sense. I know you had done some 2-wood testing recently. Is that in the bag right now?

It’s like day-by-day. I used it at Hilton Head every day. Valero, I used it one round. And this week, me and my caddie will do the book every morning, and if it’s a day where we think we need it, we’ll just put it in and take the 3-wood out. I love it because it’s a super simple swap. Like, it doesn’t really change much.

Yeah, can you tell me about that club? I mean, we don’t really know anything about it yet. You know? I haven’t hit it or anything, obviously.

It has grooves like a 3-wood. Spin is perfect. And it’s honestly, like, everything is in the middle of a 3-wood and driver number. Trajectory, spin, carry, all of it. So, a Hilton Head golf course is almost too easy to talk about because, you know, there, so many holes are driver 3-wood.

Valero, our thinking was we had two par-5’s into the wind, and we knew that it would take two great shots to get there in two. So instead of hitting driver-driver, we just put it in. And I used it on those holes.

Hilton was a little easier because it was off-the-tee kind of questions. But Colonial will be a golf course where, you know, there’s a lot of driver or 3-woods. It’s kind of like a backup putter or driver for me now. I’ll bring it to every tournament.

So it’s, like, in your locker right now, probably?

Well, it would be. It’s in my house [because Webb lives near by Quail Hollow Club, and is a member at the course.] It’s in the garage.

Oh, yeah, that’s right. Do you know what holes you might use it out here if it goes in play? 

Potentially 15, depending on the wind. Second shot on 10. Could be 14 off the tee. The chances here are pretty low (that he’ll use the 2-wood). But, like, Greensboro would be an awesome club all day. I’m trying to think of any other golf courses.

There’s plenty that it’ll be a nice weapon to have.

It’s interesting, the wave of 2-woods and mini drivers. Like, it’s just really taken off on Tour, and all the companies have seemed to embrace it.

Yeah. The thing I had to learn, it took me, like, at least a week to learn about it is you gotta tee it up lower than you think. I kept teeing it up too high. You need it low, like barely higher than a 3-wood. And that was where I got optimal spin and carry. If you tee it up too high, you just don’t get as much spin and lose distance, I don’t know if that’s just a mini driver thing.

And you obviously have a Jailbird putter this week. What spurred that on?

Inconsistent putting. I’m stubborn in a lot of ways when it comes to my equipment, but I have to be open minded – I just hadn’t putted consistently well in a while. And I’m like, ‘Man, I feel my ball-striking coming along. Like I feel better; for real, better.’

If I can just get something in my hands that I’m consistent with. Being on Tour, you see it every year, guys get on little runs. I can put together four to five tournaments where I’m all the sudden back in the majors, or in the FedExCup Playoffs. You can turn things around quick out here. I’m like, ‘Man, whatever’s going to get me there, great.’

My caddie, David Cook, caddied for Akshay at the Houston Open and he putted beautifully. Then, I watched Akshay on TV at Valero, and he putted beautifully. And, I’m like, ‘I’m just going to try it.’

I’ve never tried it for more than a putt or two, and I just ordered what Akshay uses. It was pretty awkward at first, but the more I used it, the more I’m like, ‘Man, it’s pretty easy.’ And a buddy of mine who’s a rep out here, John Tyler Griffin, he helped me with some setup stuff. And he said at Hilton Head, he wasn’t putting well, then tried it, and now he makes everything. He was very confident. So I’m like, ‘Alright, I’ll try it.’”

And you’re going with it this week?

Hundred percent.

Alright, I love it. Thank you, I always love talking gear with you. Play well this week. 

Thanks, man.

See Webb Simpson’s full WITB from the 2024 Wells Fargo Championship here

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