With all the talk about golf clubs, bags, balls etc, not many people seem to think a lot about other items you need to help you with your game and improve your score. These accessory items may not be directly responsible for hitting a great shot like a wedge would be, but can be just as important to your game.
I’m going to attempt to put a list together here of the accessories a golfer should have handy in his bag. This list is in no particular order. And if I miss something, feel free to comment it in for me.
Umbrella
You need a good umbrella
, not a tiny one that is falling apart. Keep the gear and the player dry!
Rain gear
Along with the umbrella you should have some gear. Pants, jacket, vest and even a Gilligan type hat for keeping the rain from doing down your neck. Your back should also have a rain cover. If it does not, you can throw in a poor man’s rain cover: a plastic shopping bag.
Warm clothes
If you live in an area like me, sometimes the temperature can go from 80 to 50 in a few minutes. It’s always a good idea to keep a wind jacket, sweater, vest or whatever you like to keep you warm. In the colder times of the year I also keep some winter gloves
in the bag. There’s nothing much worse than hitting a 3 iron a little thin in cold weather.
Winter golf
In the winter my die-hard golf buddies and I play on the frozen tundra. If there’s no snow on the ground, we play. So there are a few items you’ll need when you play in the tundra: Some may include a propane golf cart heater, golf cart cover, winter golf beanie or a golf cart windshield
.
Cart tools
If you have a pull cart or one of the new fancy 3 wheeled push carts you may need a few items. I have a friend who has to carry a wrench for when his wheel falls off his motorized push cart. I also have an air pump I carry with my Speed Cart.
Ibuprofen
Ibuprofen is like a lube oil and filter for a golfer.
Club tools
Speaking of tools. How about the tools/wrenches you may need to change the weights around on your movable weight technology based clubs? Of course you’d change the weights before the round, right?
Extra golf gloves I don’t wear a glove. But if you do wear one, keep 2-3 extras in your bag in case of rain or heavy sweating. You can switch them out every hole or two, and hang your wet ones up in your umbrella or on your bag to dry.
Golf towels
I usually carry 2-3 towels. One is mostly wet for cleaning clubs. One is dry. One is a backup. In rainy conditions carrying a few more towels is a good idea. Hang the wet ones in your umbrella to dry.
Tees, ball markers, green repair tools
Yes, totally obvious but essential. I have a neat little tee bag which I carry spare change, tees
, markers, divot tools in.
Shoe Maintenance
I carry extra soft spikes in my tee bag as well. I need to make sure I have good traction, and sometimes I change out spikes on the course. Of course you’ll need a spike tool in your maintenance kit as well. Why don’t we include an extra set of shoe laces too. I’ve snapped a lace retying my shoe. Golfing with one loose shoe is not good. Just in case you have the room, throw in a pair of fresh socks too. You never know if you’ll step in some mud or have to stand in a wet hazard to hit a shot.
Fuel
Keep your body fueled up with some food and liquid. Keep some energy bars in your bag. Or throw some fresh fruit in before the round. Water and/or a Gatorade type of drink is essential as well. When your body starts to run out of fuel, you will not be able to concentrate as well.
Club brush, groove cleaner
I need full control over my shots. I especially need my grooves nice and clean for those crucial short game wedge shots. You can’t impart the correct spin on your ball with a bunch of debris on your club face. I keep a brush which hangs off my bag which cleans my grooves very well. The back side of the brush has a metal point which can really dig that dirt out of the tougher grooves.
Extra cash
I always have some backup bucks in my bag (hidden in a secret compartment). You never know when you might need a few extra bucks out on the course. You may need to buy a hot dog at the turn. You may want to buy a drink from the cart babe. You may feel the joy and want to get out for another 9. Unfortunately, you may need to settle up on a wager or two.
Rule book
For those times when you’re not sure what to do in a certain situation, carrying a small USGA Rule Book in your bag is advisable. Keeping that book handy just might win you a match or a bet. You can nail your opponent on his illegal drop.
Score cards, pencils
If you play certain courses frequently it’s not a bad idea to keep some spare score cards for those courses in your bag. Also be sure to carry an extra pencil or two.
Ball marker
I always carry a ball marker in my bag to mark my golf balls. Marking your ball can help eliminate the possibility of someone else hitting your ball or picking it up.
Extra car key
I keep an extra copy of my car key in my golf bag just in case.
First aid
I keep some band aids and some medical tape in my bag just in case I or someone else need them. They’ve come in handy on more than one occasion.
Bug spray
I tiny squirt bottle of bug spray can be extremely useful when you’re playing “the swamp” in the heat of mosquito season.
Sun screen
I’m Greek and have darker skin and don’t sunburn easily. But it’s a good idea to keep some sun screen handy. Skin cancer is not your friend.
Lotion, chapstick
Not a bad idea to keep one of those travel sized lotions and a chapstick handy. Dry, cracking skin or lips can bring your game down.
Cigar anyone?
Better keep a cigar cutter and a lighter handy.
Ball retriever?
I personally don’t carry a ball retriever. But if you can’t stand the pain of knocking a $4 ball into the lake, you might need one.
Ever heard of or played in a golf derby? I’ve done a few and I just did another one last week. They are very fun. Here’s what you do:
You can determine the length of the derby but it will usually be 9 holes. The goal is to eliminate players through the round so that there are two left on the final hole. Ties are broken with a chip off. Players participating in the chip off are not allowed to watch the other players chip. The farthest player from the hole in the chip off loses the tie. The winner of the last hole is the derby champ.
All the players in the derby tee off on the first hole. When the players get on the green, the closest players putt out first. Chip off if needed to determine who is eliminated.
So say you start out with 18 players on the first hole. You have 3 birdies, 9 pars and 3 bogeys. You want to eliminate 2 players on the first hole. The bogeys would have a chip off and the farthest from the hole of the three would be eliminated. Say on hole two the whole group pars. You all chip off and the two who are farthest out are eliminated. You proceed through the holes until you’re down to the final two on the last hole.
It is quite fun. You get to see the whole flight or club or tournament players drive and hit shots. It is also quite fun to watch 10 or more golf carts driving down the fairway at the same time.
I’m sure there are different ways to doing a derby but this is the one I’m familiar with.
As you may have read in previous posts here I’ve been living on the 17th hole of one of my home courses. I’ve been here for about 3 months while my new house has been under construction. My new house is done, and I move in this Monday or Tuesday.
The Nationwide Tour is in town playing right now. I’d hoped to drop in and do a little post and some pictures from there but I’ve been a little to busy packing up all my stuff to go watch them. I’ll catch it next year.
I’ll miss being able to walk 20 feet and find ProV1’s in the weeds for sure. My kids have had a blast finding literally hundreds of balls out there and practicing on the 17th green after the final players pass through.
The one problem I’m going to have this week is that my high speed internet will not be active in my new place until Thursday. So I’ll be away from a connection for 2-3 days. I’ll probably drop in to a pal’s house to check my email, but I won’t be posting daily for most of this week.
Worry not though as I’ve written a couple of articles which will automatically post themselves while I’m away.
The newest HOGB poll is up and running! The question: “Where do you buy your golf gear?”
Though I’ve bought from many online retailers and ebay, I voted for the local pro shop. I like to support the guys I see and know the best. These would be the pros and assistants and the courses I frequent. I also do most my golf shopping at the course because I’m spending my tournament winnings.
Where do you buy your golf gear? VOTE NOW!
The results from the last poll are in. The question was: “How much you spend on golf per year?”
$1000-$2000 30%
$500-$999 20%
Less than $500 15%
Over $5000 15%
$2000-$3000 10%
$4000-$5000 10%
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