Big Bertha golf bag like namesake driver - oversized and accommodating

By Tim McDonald,
Contributor

Every traveling golfer has the same recurring nightmare, one that doesn't involve mixed up tee times, unconfirmed hotel reservations or just bad swings.

This one involves crazed baggage handlers. Most golfers who travel extensively with their clubs have had one, two or more clubs broken at some point during transport.

You get from the airport to your hotel room, unwrap your bag and find your brand new $300 driver is cracked from stem to stern.

Gear to Go is launching a demo/rental service, but it's a small operation at this point, and until it or something else catches on, the vagabond golfer will always face the dilemma of how to get his clubs from point A to point B without busting them up or, at the very least, worrying about it.

That means golf club traveling bags. There are many to choose from and every one touts its own particular advantages.

Basically, there are two types: hard and soft. The hard bag offers obvious advantages. It protects your clubs from any angle, so that if the aforementioned crazed baggage handler drops an anvil on it, your clubs should still be protected. They tend to be a little more expensive.

Soft-sided bags are more maneuverable and tend to cost less, for the most part.

WorldGolf.com tested a soft-sided bag, the Callaway Great Big Bertha Cart Golf Bag Carrier with a suggested retail price of $229.

Like its namesake driver, it's a big thing, measuring 15 inches wide, 51 inches high and 20.5 inches deep. I had no problem getting my bag, which is average-sized, into the Big Bertha, with room to spare. It is sized to hold the biggest bags and longest clubs. There is so much room, in fact, you could store your caddie in there, if he was a midget and didn't mind high altitudes.

There was also ample room to store my golf shoes, an advantage other bags I've tried don't have. In fact, I have wrestled many times with inferior bags, cursing and sweating as I tried to cram my clubs and other junk in.

While many other bags offer foam protection, like the Club Glove Last Bag, the Big Bertha gives you steel. The company describes it as an "integrated system which wraps clubs in a durable and flexible polyethythlene cocoon and cinches down with adjustable compression straps to secure the bags and club and provide protection from impacts at any angle."

That means you fold down the flexible steel padding and cinch it tight so that the clubs don't move around.

It also has an exterior cinching system that compresses around the golf bag to keep it secure.

As far as actually moving it, the Big Bertha has a "power-pull" handle system which is designed to reduce "weight-in-hand" by 30 percent. It's supposed to roll smoothly on oversized in-line skating wheels.

It did all that. It wrapped up everything I had to give it and cinched tight. It rolled smoothly through the airport and up and down curbs. It has rear skid plates that protect the bag when rolling over curbs, steps, etc.

The bag is made of a high abrasive nylon fabric that is supposed to be moisture and tear resistant. It handled the light rain I encountered well. Another, cheaper bag, I might add, tore the first time I used it. Some bags also twist easily when you're pulling them, a problem I did not encounter with the Big Bertha.

Two gripes: it does not have a shoulder strap, which would come in handy sometimes, nor does it stand on its own, which would also come in useful at times.

Still, I would recommend this bag if you're willing to pay the price.

There are other bags out there you might want to consider, at roughly the same price. SKB has a hard, contoured travel case that sells for around $160.

The Ogio Straight Jacket gets good reviews from users, with its hard back, sealed ball-bearing rollers and heavy shoulder strap. Ogio also makes The Rig, a travel case that doubles as a regular bag during your round (the top comes off).

Callaway also offers other accessories, like the clubhouse duffel ($80) that has a water resistant storage "tunnel" that lets you store wet or dirty items separate from the main storage.

The company's insulated, cart cooler ($40) is flexible and much better than the average cooler you buy on your way to the course. It fits a standard golf cart basket that holds six bottles and lunch items, while an outer pocket holds accessories, like keys, cell phones, tees, etc.

November 29, 2004

Veteran golf writer Tim McDonald keeps one eye on the PGA Tour and another watching golf vacation hotspots and letting travelers in on the best place to vacation.