Have you ever played with one of those jokers who think it's funny to unfasten the golf cart strap so your $1,000 forged blades go clattering to the asphalt when you step on the gas? I have. And they're not funny. In fact, they should be banned from the course.
There may be a solution short of instituting marshal law at the club, though.
The new 2017 Sun Mountain C-130 cart bag ($230) has been designed with "Smart Straps" on the back that fasten your beloved sticks to the frame of the golf cart, so even if the strap "comes loose," your bag will stay put.
Aside from this safety-minded innovation, the new C-130, Sun Mountain's best-selling bag model, sports an added velour-lined, water-resistant valuables pocket, along with two more velour-lined pockets and seven more pockets ranging from full-length storage pockets to an insulated cooler pocket to a convenient range finder pocket. The top features three rubberized grips and either a 14-way or 5-way club divider.
Last but not least, the C-130 comes in 11 different color combinations.
Playing with the Sun Mountain C-130 cart bag
I love to walk when I play, but I like the convenience and storage room of a full-sized cart bag.
So a real test for me is whether a (motorized) cart bag also works well on a push cart.
After walking a half-dozen rounds at my home course with the new C-130, I have been extremely pleased. The C-130 is slightly taller than my previous bag, so the clubs stick up a little higher and don't interfere with access to the scorecard or push cart console.
Along with the Smart Straps, the top front pockets of the C-130 conceal a channel through which a cart strap can be threaded to allow for access to the pockets. This channel works well for the push cart's bungee cords, too.
Best of all, all three valuables pockets -- like every other pocket -- are easy to get to whether on a push cart or on a golf cart. The external Velcro glove holder and hard plastic towel loops are handy, too.
To date, there is only one design suggestion I'd make: It would be nice to have a strap on the front of the bag to make it easier to lift in and out of my trunk and onto my push cart. There is a molded hard plastic grip at the very bottom, which works in conjunction with the rubberized top handles, but bending all that way down, especially before those crack-of-dawn tee times, can induce one of my signature old-man groans.
Aside from that nit-pick, however, the C-130 -- which also comes in a stand version for the really committed walkers -- may be the most functional, feature-laden golf bag on the market.
For more information, visit sunmountain.com.
