I love companies that put traditional thinking and design aside and try new ideas. Ogio obviously is one of those companies. Ogio doesn’t think out of the box, they build the coolest and most “pimped out” box to begin with.
With Utah’s snowcapped Wasatch mountains as a backdrop, Ogio makes gear bags and packs for many different “activity” sports. “Activity sports” to Ogio would be motocross, surfing, snowboarding, skateboarding and (last but not least) golf!
Ogio Grom Stand Bag
I’ve always admired Ogio’s golf bags either in the golf shop or on the course. I’ve looked at their innovations and ideas and often thought “why doesn’t anyone else do that?” or “why didn’t anyone else think of that?” For some reason I’ve always picked up the traditional and conservative offerings from other companies, but now I’m happy to say I’m an Ogio fan.
Looks
The Grom is a very good looking carry/stand bag. The lines and look are very pleasing to the eye. The first round I put it into play my golf buddies noticed on the first tee that I had a new bag. The looks drew them to it and the great features sold them. A round or two later, two of my pals had bought the same bag in different colors and were proudly showing them off.
Functionality
The first thing I noticed about the Grom (and Ogio’s other bags) is how well designed and wide the opening for the clubs is. My gripe about another company’s carry bags that I’ve been using is that the club opening is too small. In their effort to make the bag small and light, the opening size was compromised. This can be a real pain when you have either many fairway woods or clubs with covers. And it can really be a pain when you have very tacky grips on the clubs. With the smaller opening and shell of the bag, my tacky grips often made getting the club in and out of the bag a real chore. I’d grab my 7 iron and two other irons would come out with it.
With the nice larger opening the Grom is a breeze to put your clubs in and take them out. The clubs slide in with no effort at all due to the full length three way club dividers. The larger opening, along with the very neat sorting of the compartments keeps your clubs nice and tidy as well. How irritating is it to sit there and search for 7 minutes trying to find your sand wedge because the other longer clubs are covering it up?
Here are some really nice features walkers will love:
The straps are very comfortable and padded. The bag is an easy carry, unless you load it with way too many balls and a few too many “beverages.” A real neat feature is how they’ve arranged the water bottle, score card and pencil holders. They’re arranged so that you can easily reach all three items while the bag is thrown over your shoulders. So while you’re walking down the fairway you can take a victory drink and then mark down the birdie that just closed out your opponent.
The stand mechanism is much more solid and well designed than other bags I’ve used. The legs pop out very responsively and quick. I used to get irritated with my other carry bag because I’d have to set it down two or three times before the legs fully extended.
The bag comes with 8 pockets, 4 with zippers. The valuables pocket is fleece lined so you could put your watch or sunglasses in there and not worry about them getting scratched up. There’s also a wallet and cell phone pocket inside the main pockets. All of the pockets have labels so you know what they are for. That way you don’t put your wallet in your cell phone pocket and vice versa…
Perhaps the funnest pocket is the zipperless ball pocket. I used to hate fudging with the zipper to get a new ball out of the bag. I also hated fudging with the zipper to get it closed again as well. With the spring loaded ball pocket you just pull it open and grab your balls. (get your mind out of the gutter).
Though it is primarily a carry bag, there will be times you’ll have to throw it on a golf cart. There are two neat features Ogio has implemented to secure your bag on the cart.
1. The TORQ Strap is a rubber strap that secures the top of your bag to the basket of the cart. This keeps your bag from that irritating twisting and also gives you an insurance policy should the main bag strap not be fully secured.
2. The 2nd neat cart feature is the way the little trigger mechanism for the legs folds in. If you were to mount a stand bag on an electric cart the trigger would hit the back of the cart and the legs would be trying to pop into position. Ogio’s little trigger mechanism folds against the wall of the cart and prevents the unwanted leg deployment.
What could be improved?
This is about as good of a golf bag as you’ll find. My only issues are as follows:
1. The included rain cover is weak in comparison to the other design and features of the bag. It doesn’t zip open completely which makes it difficult to put the rain cover on the bag. Having seen Ogio’s spring loaded rain covers on other bag models, I’d hoped they would be standard issue on all Ogio bags but they are not.
2. With the larger opening and shape of the opening I was unable to mount the Grom to my Sun Mountain Speed Cart. The straps that secure the bag to the cart are just barely too small. This is a minor detail and definitely not an Ogio problem.
Conclusion
This is a great looking golf bag with tons of great features and design that will make your golf game easier in between shots. With an Ogio Grom bag you’ll have complete enjoyment of your golf game, starting and ending at the trunk of your car.
HOGWire – Golf Industry News
I’ve thought about going back to the old school golf bags you get when you rent clubs at a course. I am finding that more and more companies are making their golf bags with 800 compartments; I mean seriously, it’s starting to look like a Michael Jackson red leather coat. Sure it’s easier and whatnot, makes things a wie-bit more organized (I’m going to start using Michelle Wie references every now and then) and lighter, but if you used each compartment for something different, it’s a whole new ball game just trying to remember where your spikes are.
My good buddy just purchased an Ogio bag, and I was quite impressed. I think my biggest enjoyment of the bag was the opening for the clubs. That has always been my biggest complaint too, the dividers suck, not big enough, too big, etc etc etc. I’m a man of simplicity and don’t need much on a course when I am walking. Give me 14 clubs (vary depending on where I am playing), 6 balls, 18 tee’s, 1 golf glove, 1 divot tool w/attached ball marker, extra golf shoe spikes and the stupid tool to remove/tighten the spikes and I’m good!
Ogio golf bags and golf bloggers…
What is it with Ogio golf bags (particularly the Grom) and golf bloggers?… Maybe it’s the techy gadgetry, many compartments, lightweight components and unique design… What am I talking about? I recently changed bags to a black Ogio Grom… low an…
[…] nto Ogio gear is cutting edge. And their design team thinks of the coolest things… Click here to read my full Ogio Grom stand bag review.
by mediaguru @ 11:08 pm.
[…]