Stand bag, cart bag or pencil bag?

The golf bags here come from Wilson, TaylorMade, Cleveland, Srixon, adidas, Cobra, Callaway, Titleist, PING, OGIO and J.Lindeberg. They fall into a few types, and the type depends on how you get round the course.

• Stand bags, for walking. They have legs that fold out so the bag stands up. The Cobra Ultralight Pro weighs 4 lbs, the TaylorMade Pro Stand around 2 kg and the Callaway Chev 5 lbs.
• Cart bags, for push carts and riding carts. The Cleveland Friday has a 9 inch top with a 14-way divider and 8 pockets, including an insulated cooler pocket.
• Pencil bag, for a quick round. The Srixon Pencil Bag has a 5-way divider top and weighs 1.65 kg.
• Trolley bag: the PING Traverse 191, about 6 lbs, mixes a carry bag's easy handling with a cart bag's storage.

How many dividers do you need?

The divider count tells you how the top of the bag is split. A 4-way or 5-way top, as on the Callaway Chev or the Srixon Pencil Bag, splits the clubs into fewer groups. A 14-way top, as on the Cleveland Friday, Cleveland Saturday and PING Traverse, gives each club its own slot.

Golf sets that come with a bag

Several items include clubs as well as the bag. The Masters GX1 half set includes a driver, a hybrid, 7 and 9 irons, a sand wedge and a putter with a 6.5 inch stand bag. Wilson's Profile sets are package sets for beginning players, and the Wilson Profile JGI Large is a junior set for ages 11 to 13.

If you walk the course, start with a stand bag such as the Cobra Ultralight Pro. If you ride or push a cart, choose the Cleveland Friday cart bag. New players can start with the Masters GX1 half set. Find balls and gloves in golf accessories or see all golf.