Though it seems like a no-brainer, knowing how to organize your golf bag is a skill.

It’s often shocking how many golfers neglect to pick this trait up, resulting in wasted time on the golf course.

We’ve all seen them, they’re the ones who take ten minutes to fumble around their golf bags looking for the club they need.

In the end, chances are they settled for the club that’s the most reachable instead of the necessary one. That’s no way to play golf!

An organized golf bag won’t just make your life easier, it improves your game because you’re ready for whatever the course demands.

The clubs you need are all ready and easily accessible. And the great part is that it’s super easy to do and will only take a few moments of your time.

How To Organize Your Golf Bag, The Easy Way

Get your bags ready because, in this article, we’ll go over how to organize your golf bag, the easy way:

Step 1 – Start with a blank slate

You can begin organizing your bag by, first, emptying out all of its contents. An empty golf bag is a blank slate that allows you to compartmentalize your thoughts. It also gives you the chance to review all your equipment and identify any dead weight. 

As you take the stuff out, see if there are any accessories, spare clubs, or trash that you thought you needed but never actually used. Take this as your cue to either throw them out or put them in storage. 

Once your bag is assembled in the end, you’ll find it to be much lighter and more manageable than before.

Step 2 – Begin with the most important clubs

Once you have all the clubs out of your bag, begin sorting them. Keep your irons, drivers, and putters all in one place but divided according to their respective types. 

Related: How To Choose Golf Irons?

Since the game only allows you to carry 14 clubs at a time, as per the current association rule, having them all laid out in front of you can help you select the most necessary ones. The others that you don’t need can be put away and taken out when you expect a need for them. 

It’s important to know what clubs to use for what shots, so keep the course in mind as well when planning out your bag!

Remember to have a good balance of irons and wedges since these are the most used in the game. 

Step 3 – Organize depending on your environment

Now that you have the most necessary equipment listed, you’ll have to make some judgments about whether or not you still need the others that were left out.

Ideally, you would only need to bring something if you expect that you’ll need it during the game.

This means taking the environment into account.

• Ask yourself, is it going to rain today?
• Does the forecast say it’s going to be sunny?
• Are there more hazards or rough zones than usual in the upcoming game?

The answers to these questions will guide you in deciding what extra equipment you need to bring along with your bare essentials.

Step 4 – Know where everything goes

Organize the clubs by type and number. Most bags come divided into four sections: single at back, double in the center, and single in front. 

A good rule of thumb to always keep in mind is to create a sort of waterfall with your clubs.

Place the tallest clubs at the back and the shortest at the front so that the club heads waterfall toward you. This makes it easy to see all club heads and their corresponding number as you face your bag.

So with this principle in mind, you would store your woods and long irons (1-3) and maybe even a ball retriever in the back compartment.

Your middle irons (4-6) would go to the left-center section and your short irons (7-9) in the right-center section.

In the front section, store the wedges and putter although some new models of golf bags have a separate sleeve for the putter. This is also the section where you would put your drivers and woods.

Remember that the rules only allow a maximum of 14 clubs. This means you won’t be carrying all the available clubs in your bag at any given game. 

This is where the good judgment we were talking about earlier comes in. You might have to adjust this advice accordingly depending on the type of terrain, weather condition, and other uncontrollable factors in the upcoming game.

In the event that your bag has 15 individual sections, then simply apply the same principle. Start at the back with the longest club and place the rest of your clubs in the remaining slots in descending order. The putter still goes at the front-most slot.

Step 5 – Don’t forget your accessories

If you decide to bring an umbrella then this could go into the sleeve normally provided on the side of the bag. 

With regards to other accessories, reserve the most accessible side pockets for the most used ones. The pockets are harder to reach and should receive the accessories you only use occasionally. 

For instance, the top and front pockets would carry the tees, spare balls, ball markers, and divot repair tools.

The pockets after those would then carry things like a rule book, spare golf gloves, sunglasses, suntan lotion, insect repellent, snacks or mints, etc. These are things that are used only occasionally but are still good to have around. 

For the pockets that are the hardest to reach, you can keep things like bag top cover, rain parka, first-aid kit, car keys, and other valuables.

Bottom Line…

And that was our article on how to organize your golf bag. An organized golf bag allows all your equipment to be easily accessible, saves time, and it’s psychologically relaxing. All this translates to better performance when actually playing the game.

In doing the 5 easy steps highlighted above, you can have a golf bag organized like a pro and play confidently with the knowledge that you have everything you need right beside you.