Equipment

The great bag debate, Part 2: Single or double strap?

Published

6 years ago

May 1, 2020

This was never intended to be a series, but after the first bag debate over top divider systems got rather interesting, I figured it was worth a deeper dive into the culture surrounding carry bags and what people are really looking for when they carry their clubs.

A quick detour: You can see the tight “number of dividers” race results below.

Now it’s time to settle the next debate. Are you a single or double-strap golfer?

Thanks to the recently revitalized modern minimalist approach to the game, and a number of brands offering updated designs, many golfers have reverted to carrying their clubs with a single-strap bag.

The single-strap design has been popular for as long as golfers carried their clubs and never totally went away, but when Wilson introduced the first Levitator bag in 1992, many people thought it was just a matter of time before the single strap would be gone for good.

It could be argued that Ping and its Hoofer stand bags at the collegiate level lead to a trickle-down effect once the bag adopted the original Ping dual-strap system. This brought the idea to the forefront of more golfers’ minds because of its ergonomic design, and because at one point, you couldn’t turn your head on a golf course without seeing one.

First Hoofer Bag – Single Strap

When it comes to this subject, I’m a neutral party. I walk with both a dual strap and single strap bags depending on the day. My dual strap bags are generally used when I have to carry rain gear or any other extras I may need under uncertain circumstances or during travel, while my single strap bags are generally used for nine-hole loops or rounds with fewer than 10 clubs to keep weight to an absolute minimum.

Whatever your favorite method of carrying your clubs is, I’m willing to listen to both sides of the table.

So, GolfWRXers, are you single-strap or double-strap golfers?

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Ryan Barath

Ryan Barath is a club-fitter & master club builder with more than 17 years of experience working with golfers of all skill levels, including PGA Tour players. He is the former Build Shop Manager & Social Media Coordinator for Modern Golf. He now works independently from his home shop and is a member of advisory panels to a select number of golf equipment manufacturers. You can find Ryan on Twitter and Instagram where he's always willing to chat golf, and share his passion for club building, course architecture and wedge grinding.

12 Comments

Jack Nash

May 4, 2020 at 12:17 pm

I much prefer the single strap because the double is too much of a pain to set up properly on the back of my Cart.

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- D. McMann
  
  May 4, 2020 at 6:04 pm
  
  Bingo, the only time a single strap makes sense is when you’re using a cart and for that you might as well have no strap. IMO
  
  Reply Report comment
Pelling

May 4, 2020 at 11:09 am

Single strap Jones bag. Carry with the bottom of the bag in front. Easiest way to go.

Reply Report comment
ChipNRun

May 2, 2020 at 10:06 pm

As a high school caddie, I carried double and often carried both bags on my right shoulder.

When I enlisted in the Marine Corps, the tailors had to specially sew my dress coats to hide a slight slump in my right shoulder.

Years later I became an officer. My embrace of weightlifting in between (plus no time to caddie) evened out my shoulders, and I no longer needed special tailoring.

So, the double strap is a question of balance, and minimizing skeletal strain.

(That said, I have an old bag with 70s era clubs in it, and I can’t find a replacement single strap for it!!)

Reply Report comment
- Pelling
  
  May 4, 2020 at 10:58 am
  
  Why would you carry both bags on one shoulder? You must have been a “B” caddy…
  
  Reply Report comment
DD

May 2, 2020 at 9:37 am

Full set-up I’m going 2, but haven’t done that in over a year, 10 club minimalist set-up is my go to and small Sunday bag with 1 strap.

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gwelfgulfer

May 2, 2020 at 12:11 am

Double strap. Better to balance the weight as evenly as possible, will reduce fatigue and better on the back and shoulder. I have 3 Sunday style bags along with a number of others, and all 3 are double strap (2 Ping Moonlites and 2 SM 2.5).

Also not sure on how people have issues with getting in and out of them when you are the one to adjust the straps, it’s as easy as putting on a backpack…

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Acemandrake

May 1, 2020 at 4:54 pm

I grew up using a single strap, switched to double & have returned to single.

Double is good with a full set; single is fine with less than a full set (I now carry 7 clubs).

Double straps need to be easier to enter & exit from. I hate wrestling with the second strap all day.

The single strap is a quick grab & go experience & can either be carried normally with your dominant shoulder or it can be reverse carried on your non-dominant shoulder.

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15th Club

May 1, 2020 at 4:43 pm

Single.

Of course, I have more than one golf bag. A Burton staff-sized bag (plain black, no logo, no name) for riding on a cart, is where my clubs live most of the time. But I have a walking bag and it has just one strap. It has just one strap because it is so small. And that’s the whole idea.

If you need two straps, your bag is not really a walking bag. At least not for me. Simplicity.

Reply Report comment
bob

May 1, 2020 at 3:46 pm

that isnt the first hoofer. thats the l8

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Richard Douglas

May 1, 2020 at 2:10 pm

The great debate: one tied shoe or two.

C’mon….

Reply Report comment
Nack Jicklaus

May 1, 2020 at 1:02 pm

For people who have had back injuries, a double strap makes a big difference.

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Equipment

Then and now: Comparing Rory McIlroy’s current setup to his record-breaking 2019 Canadian Open victory

Published

2 hours ago

Jun 11, 2026

Alistair Cameron

In Rory McIlroy’s first appearance at the 2019 RBC Canadian Open, he crushed the record books to earn his 16th PGA Tour title in dominating fashion, winning by seven shots over Shane Lowry and Webb Simpson.

McIlroy’s score of 22-under-par 258 is the lowest 72-hole score to date at the Canadian Open, and his closing 61 is also the best final-round score in the history of one of golf’s oldest tournaments. Finally, with his win in 2019, McIlroy became only the sixth player to win the career Triple Crown, adding to his victories at the U.S. Open in 2011 and The Open Championship in 2014, joining Tommy Armour, Walter Hagen, Arnold Palmer, Lee Trevino and Tiger Woods in a coveted list.

So, with that, why not compare his current setup to the clubs he used to break all the records?

Driver

2019: TaylorMade M5 (9 degrees), Shaft: Mitsubishi Tensei CK Pro White 70 TX
2026: TaylorMade Qi4D (9 degrees @8), Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black 7X (45 5/8 inches)

McIroy led the Tour in Strokes Gained: Off-the-Tee in 2019; he’s doing the same in 2026. Between now and then, McIlroy has switched from the Mitsubishi Tensei CK Pro White 70 TX (a shaft with slightly more feeling in the tip) to the original Fujikura Ventus Black 7X, having just made the change to the heavier version from playing the 60X.

What’s interesting about McIlroy’s 2019 setup is that the weighting on his driver is actually set in the high-draw setting, using the T-Track weighting system, whereas in the Qi4D, he’s currently using a heavily rear-weighted setup. (Two 13-gram weights in the rear and only two 4-gram front weights.)

The TaylorMade M5 driver he played in during his Canadian Open win was the company’s first head that they claimed to design to initially exceed the USGA’s COR limit, and then injected with tuning resin to bring it back in bounds.

Fairway woods

2019: TaylorMade M6 3-wood (15 degrees), Shaft: Mitsubishi Tensei CK Pro White 80 TX; TaylorMade M5 5-wood (19 degrees), Shaft: Mitsubishi Tensei CK Pro White 90 TX
2026: TaylorMade Qi4D 3-wood (15 degrees), Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black 8X; TaylorMade Qi4D 5-wood (18 degrees), Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black 9X

The TaylorMade M6 fairway wood that McIlroy was using during the 2019 season is still in the bag of some of the best golfers on Tour in 2026. Just check out Justin Rose’s winning setup from the Farmers Insurance Open earlier this year. This year, though, McIlroy has still been searching for his top-end-of-the-bag setup, having played both the new Qi4D and the Qi10, which he won the Masters with.

The same shaft swap can be seen in the fairway woods as the driver, along with slightly less loft on the 5-wood.

Irons

2019: TaylorMade P750 (4) Buy here, TaylorMade P730 (5-9), Shafts: Project X 7.0
2026: TaylorMade P760 (4), TaylorMade Rors Proto (5-9), Shafts: Project X 7.0

The biggest difference between McIlroy’s custom set and the stock P730s is the groove design. While the P730s were constructed with 14 MX-9 grooves on their milled faces, McIlroy’s proto heads instead use the higher-spinning, 16-groove layout of the TW2 grooves. Other big differences between the sets are that McIlroy’s 7- and 8-irons have thinner toplines, are 1 degree stronger in loft, and are 1/4 inch longer than the original P730 builds.

With McIlroy’s 4-iron, the switch from P750 to P760 sees a transition to a two-piece construction with Speed Foam in it, which allows McIlroy to launch the ball slightly higher, with more workability.

Wedges

2019: TaylorMade Milled Grind (48-09SB), TaylorMade MG Hi-Toe (52-09SB, 56-09SB, 60-LB09), Shafts: Project X Rifle 6.5
2026: TaylorMade MG5 (46-09SB, 50-09SB, 54-11SB, 60-08LB @61), Shafts: Project X 6.5 (46-54), Project X 6.5 Wedge (60)

Between 2019 and 2026, McIlroy’s focus on his short game has been much more apparent. It was the reason why he switched back to the TP5 golf ball, to help with launch, spin and control with his wedges leading up to his career Grand Slam victory in 2025. The most apparent changes to McIlroy’s wedge setup are his lofts and bounce. He’s slowly delofted his pitching to a sand wedge, but has increased the loft on the lob wedge, bending his current 60-degree to 61. With that, adding more loft to his lob wedge also slightly increases the bounce and leading-edge sit point, so, as a result, he plays a lower-bounce lob wedge compared to 2019. The MG5 wedges are also softer than the first Milled Grind option from 2019. McIlroy also no longer plays the full-face grooves found on the Hi-Toe.

Putter

2019: TaylorMade Spider X
2026: TaylorMade Spider Tour X

Notice anything similar. Yes, the copper finish on Rory McIlroy’s Spider X putter in 2019 is a slightly more reflective finish than the recently released torched PVD finish. McIlroy was using the True Path alignment system, but now uses only a single white sightline.

Ball

2019: 2019 TaylorMade TP5 (#22)
2026: 2025 TaylorMade TP5 (RORS)

As mentioned above, McIlroy had transitioned from the TP5 to TP5x golf ball since his victory in Canada in 2019, but now is black with the same style of golf ball as his victory at Hamilton Golf & Country Club.

Grips

2019: Golf Pride Tour Velvet Cord
2026: Golf Pride MCC

Interesting, McIlroy actually used Golf Pride’s Tour Velvet Cord grips during his victory in 2019 (it was during a 2+ year switch to the corded TV) as opposed to his usual MCC grips, which he has played for most of his career.

Equipment

From the GolfWRX Classifieds: Titleist Vokey Proto Wedges 54M, 60T

Published

4 hours ago

Jun 11, 2026

Will Schube

At GolfWRX, we are a community of like-minded individuals who all experience and express our enjoyment of the game in many ways.

It’s that sense of community that drives day-to-day interactions in the forums on topics that range from best driver to what marker you use to mark your ball. It even allows us to share another thing we all love – buying and selling equipment.

Currently, in our GolfWRX buy/sell/trade (BST) forum, @Putt4Dough is selling some prototype wedges from Vokey Wedgeworks. These include a 54 degree wedge with the M grind and a 60 degree wedge with a T grind.

From the listing:

(1) Titleist Vokey Proto Wedge 54M with a Tour Issue DGS400 shaft and Golf Pride Tour Velvet (logo down). Standard length, lie, and loft. BB&F ferrule. Raw wedge in good condition. No initials. Price is $200 shipped. Buy both wedges for $380 shipped.

(2) Titleist Vokey Proto Wedge 60T with a KBS Tour 130X shaft and Golf Pride Tour Velvet. Standard length, lie, and loft. Raw wedge in good condition. No initials. Price is $200 shipped. Buy both wedges for $380 shipped.

To check out the full listing in our BST forum, head through the link. If you are curious about the rules to participate in the BST Forum, you can learn more here: GolfWRX BST Rules.