Opinion & Analysis

Bag Room Ramblings: E-ZPass royalties and $100 tips

Published

1 year ago

Jan 30, 2025

Stories about the richest members of any private course are always interesting — namely, origin of wealth stories.

“How does Mr. X, who doesn’t look to have fully succeeded in tucking in his shirt, succeed in having hundreds of millions of dollars?

Mutual fund manager, investor. Ever heard of…?

“Where did Mr. Y, who lives primarily in Florida, but maintains a membership here and plays two or three times per year, get all his cash? Does he always tip you $100 for picking up his bag?”

Steel business. Yes.

“Is Mr. Z really mobbed up? Can you really make that much in the demolition business?”

No comment. Unwise to talk about that…

The boys in the bag room know these things — or at least, they think they do. The detail of Forbes Billionaires List has nothing on the figures and biographical sketches maintained informally by the club scrubbers, bag schleppers, and cart washers at any country club.

The head pro might not want to get in on the gossip, perhaps out of an abundance of caution or mistaking himself for being closer to the upstairs dwellers than those in service beneath them. The assistants almost always do, even those pressing the pedal down on the Program and eagerly posting instruction videos on TikTok trying to establish themselves as the next Rick Shiels. Ditto servers, bartenders, locker room attendants.

Maybe it’s not a Downton Abbey level of intrigue at your local clubs, but in between folding towels and splitting tips at the end of the day, I was told a Mr. Q had invented a crucial component of the E-ZPass system. For compensation, he negotiated a one-cent bounty on every toll paid.

“That sounds extremely made up,” I remember thinking, as I pulled a towel from the bin.

But the guy did have a 100-foot yacht with a 10-person crew.

“Is that story about Mr. S pulling out his phone and seeing $5 million hit his checking account then grumbling that he now had to move it somewhere to get a rate of return and would need to switch to a later tee time true?”

Yeah, that one is true.

Fact and fiction. Tall tales and games of telephone. Jokes and lore. All in an environment that exists — for good and ill — as a relic of some prior age.

I don’t miss pulling carts out of the barn at 5:45 on Saturday mornings, but I do miss the stories.

Editor’s note: This story was submitted via the GolfWRX Featured Writer Program. Featured Writers’ opinions do not necessarily reflect those of GolfWRX, its employees, or partners.

Opinion & Analysis

AVL: My U.S. Amateur local qualifying experience

Published

6 days ago

Jun 5, 2026

Andrew Von Lossow

This past Monday, I played in the U.S. Amateur local qualifier at Rock Creek Country Club in Portland, Oregon. A full tee sheet from 7:30 a.m. to 1:55 p.m., the top 11 scores would make it to the U.S. Amateur final qualifying.

I teed off at 10:48 a.m.. With the 7:30 am tee time, you can get a feel for the leaders’ pace, and they were off and running on the challenging setup at Rock Creek.

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Getting to the highlight of the round on the par five 17th, a drive up the left side and 212 yards left to the front hole location. I took out a 5-iron with plans of middle of the green. The ball ended up 8 feet left of the hole, pin high. A slight downhill putt dropped in for an eagle 3 on the 17th. With the cut line looking to be anywhere from -2 to even par. This was the boost I had been waiting for all day.

With making par from the trees on 18, it was time to wait for a potential playoff with a posted score of one under par 71.

Three hours later, it was playoff time. 8 players for 6 spots. I made par on the playoff hole, which was good enough to advance to the U.S. Amateur final qualifying in July. USGA qualifiers sure deliver on all of the emotions in golf!

Club Junkie

Building my 2026 gamer WITB: Ranking the contenders and new putter projects – Club Junkie Podcast

Published

7 days ago

Jun 4, 2026

GolfWRX Staff

The annual What’s In The Bag build is underway, and on this episode of Club Junkie, Brian breaks down the clubs currently leading the race for a spot in his 2026 gamer setup. From drivers and fairway woods to irons, wedges, and shafts, he ranks the equipment that’s performing best and explains what’s separating the front runners from the rest of the field.

Brian also heads into the workshop to discuss several putter projects currently on the bench. From head options and shaft choices to build ideas and testing plans, he shares what he’s working on and which putters could become serious contenders for the bag this season.

If you’re a gear junkie who loves equipment testing, club building, and the never-ending pursuit of the perfect setup, this episode is for you.

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Club Junkie

Tour Edge Exotics mini driver review + TaylorMade Spider ZT Max first look – Club Junkie

Published

2 weeks ago

May 28, 2026

Brian Knudson

On this episode of Club Junkie, I put the new Tour Edge Exotics Mini Driver to the test and break down the performance, forgiveness, distance, and where it fits compared to a traditional driver or strong fairway wood. If you have been curious about adding a mini driver to the bag, this one is worth a look.

I also dive into the new TaylorMade Spider ZT Max putter that was recently spotted and discuss the growing zero torque putter trend. Plus, there is a closer look at the new Project X Titan Yellow shaft showing up on the PGA Tour and what makes it different from other profiles currently out there.