Why Buy a Sunday Golf Bag?

The only reason to buy a Sunday golf bag is to fulfill a specific purpose. The purpose is quite simple. A golfer who buys one wants to carry a limited number of clubs with a minimal amount of gear and accessories. A Sunday golf bag can be great for a trip to a Par 3, to walk nine holes, to go to the golf range, or even for speed golf.

The purpose of these bags is straightforward, but there is great confusion on the web, both on websites that review golf equipment and among the consumers who have bought a Sunday golf bag.

Let’s start with the websites:

• Some websites claim that Sunday golf bags are the broadest category out there, including almost all types of carry bags. These sites confuse the lightweight of today’s stand bags with the desired minimalist function of the bag
• Other sites, taking a historical purist approach, say that a Sunday golf bag has to be a compact, collapsible carry bag with an approximate 4-inch top, no dividers, and definitely no legs. These sites, while honoring the past, are forgetting the purpose that the bag needs to meet

Some customers seem equally confused. I always smirk at customer reviews when they go off on a Sunday golf bag for “not being able to fit 14 clubs” or not having enough pockets for everything they want in their bag. These folks should not be buying a Sunday golf bag. They need to actually read the product descriptions before they buy. 

While the Sunday golf bag category is not broad, there is a decent amount of variety in bag offerings that meet the purpose of carrying a limited number of clubs with a minimal amount of other golf stuff. We are going to showcase some of our favorites Sunday golf bags, each with a slightly different approach to their designs.

A Traditional Sunday Golf Bag

The traditional Sunday golf bag was very simple. It was made of fabric (sometimes leather) with little to no internal structure or spine. It was collapsible/foldable. It had no stand, so it was meant to lay on the ground. And the bags were as light as they could be, given their minimal size and features. The light weight was somewhat offset by the lack of advanced, lightweight materials.

The top tended to be small with a diameter of 4 – 5 inches and could only hold 5 – 8 clubs.

In scanning the market, we like two modern models that fairly closely match this traditional format with some important upgrades.

Sunday Golf 36 Inch Pencil Golf Bag

The Sunday Golf 36 Inch Pencil Golf Bag is the closest in spirit to the original Sunday bags.

It offers the following specifications and features:

• It is a 36-inch long carry bag that weighs .9 pounds
• Since it has no stand, this bag lies directly on the ground
• This Sunday Bag can carry up to 6-8 clubs 
• The bag features two pockets
• Lastly, the bag comes with a single, padded shoulder strap that fastens at the top and below the spine handle. It is not overly padded due to the light weight of the bag and the minimal golf accessories that can be carried
• The bag is foldable for easy storage

The Sunday Golf 36″ Pencil Golf Bag has an MSRP of only $49.99.

The Ping Moonlite

The Ping Moonlite is the only traditional Sunday Golf Bag on this list from a major golf bag manufacturer. As expected from Ping, the Moonlite is a premium golf bag at a premium price for this category.

It boasts all the high-quality standards and thoughtfulness that golfers expect from PING.

• The Moonlite has been updated for 2020 and comes in at a weight of 2.5 pounds using 300D polyester for durability. As with the other two bags in this section, the Moonlite has no internal structure nor stand.
• An essential feature of the Moonlite is that the belly of the bag is water-resistant so that moisture can’t seep in as the bag lies on the ground
• The top of this bag looks like a Ping standard-sized four-top. The top of this bag should allow 14 clubs but, the thin body of the bag might make it a little tight 
• The bag comes with five pockets with 8L of storage volume. The pockets include a large apparel pocket, stretchable mesh range-finder pocket, and a new zippered water-bottle pocket 
• A unique feature of the Moonlite is its padded, dual shoulder strap system. These straps stand straight up when the bag is lying on the ground, so a golfer can easily pick up the bag. The dual straps can be easily converted to a single strap if desired

The best place to buy this bag online is directly from PING. Click here for PING’s website.

Sunday Golf Bags With a Stand

No matter how great the traditional Sunday golf bag is in concept, some golfers just have to have a stand. Who wants to bend over to pick up the bag? Who wants to have to pick the bag up just to see their club heads more clearly when changing clubs? I get it. A stand is a modern carry bag miracle, and for some, a necessity.

The reality is, with the lightweight materials available today, a golfer can still fulfill the original purpose of a Sunday golf bag while also getting a stand. We feature two models.

The Champkey Lightweight Golf Stand Bag

First things first, there are a ton of bags that look very similar to the Champkey Lightweight Golf Stand Bag.  They are probably all made in the same couple of factories in Asia.

As we looked at multiple of the clones, the Champkey caught our eye due to the position and number of pockets and the lack of negative reviews. In terms of features and specifications:

• The Champkey is 33 inches in length and weighs approximately 2 pounds using sturdy 900D polyester fabric.
• As mentioned, this bag comes with a stand. The legs extend by using a bottom release mechanism.
• The bag has four pockets. Two pockets are located directly below an elastic-cord water bottle holder, with two additional pockets located on the side of the body
• The bag has a relatively small two-way top that can comfortably hold 6 clubs
• The single padded strap needs to be explained a bit. Many single strap bags have two connection points that are spaced apart, with one located at the top and one nearer to the mid-point of the bag. The Champkey has both strap connections at the top of the bag. The strap and bag would hang from one shoulder and cannot be worn across a golfer’s back. Given the light weight of the bag and the limited amount of clubs and stuff that can be carried, the strap works fine.
• In addition to the strap, the Champkey has a plastic lifting handle attached to the top rim for those moments when a golfer just wants to grab the bag and walk a short distance. Some folks will probably just grab the top handle and walk with the bag in that manner

TaylorMade 2020 Quiver Stand Bag

You could almost call the TaylorMade 2020 Quiver Stand Bag a “tweener.” It has a stand, but the legs are not of full length. When the legs are extended, the bag is angled upwards but remains close to the ground. 

The Quiver Stand Bag’s features and specs are:

• At approximately 3 pounds, the Quiver is our heaviest of Sunday bags. The higher weight is partly due to the stand but also due to some fuller features
• Getting back to the stand, its primary purpose is to keep a golfer’s club heads off the ground, so they remain clean and dry. The stand itself is released by hand
• The Quiver has a 7.75 x 7-inch top with three padded dividers. The top would probably be a little tight for 14 clubs, depending on grip sizes, the size of the putter head, etc.
• The bag has six pockets including a split side pocket, ball pocket, water bottle pocket, and multiple accessory pockets
• As for extras, the bag comes with a towel loop and an umbrella holder 
• The bag has an adjustable, padded four-point strap system with a center hub that allows the straps to adjust when the bag is being carried. For added comfort, the bag also has a generous hip pad

And, Now For Something Completely Different

Golf lore says that the original method for carrying clubs around was to tie them together with twine or cord—minimalism at its most extreme.

The Tourbon Retro Leather Canvas Golf Club Carrier modernizes this concept. With the use of canvas, leather trim, and Velcro, Tourbon offers a sleeve to carry 2 – 5 clubs.

The sleeve forms a velcro secured, padded fabric tube that opens and closes to encompass the shafts of the club.

The Club Carrier is 13.77″ X 8.85″ and weighs ¾ pounds. It comes with an unpadded shoulder carry strap and a side handle for carrying the clubs around.

While I wouldn’t use the Club Carrier on a golf course, it is perfect for going to a driving range with a few clubs.

So, Why Buy a Sunday Golf Bag?

Buy a Sunday golf bag if you want to carry less than a full set of clubs with a minimal amount of golf gear. These bags are great for playing nine holes, a par three course, going to the range, or playing speed golf.

I know that I rarely use more than 6-8 of my clubs, and I find this format perfect for walking nine holes.

No matter what your exact use or rationale, check out our favorites above and see if they will meet your needs.

For those of you who have decided you are looking for a full-service lightweight stand bag check out our recent post: The 5 Best of the Lightest Golf Carry Bags