When you think of Sunday bags, most get the vision of a pencil style or less rigid bag that is designed to hold a handful of clubs for a quick round or par 3 course. The brand Sunday Golf has launched a pretty wide array of products that range from carrying 6 clubs up to about 10. That is until the Sunday Golf Ryder 23 dropped and features a 5-Way divider that holds the entire set you are bringing.
Weighing in at just under 5 lbs, the Sunday Golf 23 bag is what you would expect out of a stand bag. It has legs, it has pockets, and features full way dividers to keep the tangles from happening. Before diving into the tech details that make it fairly unique, let us first discuss the aesthetics.
Upon opening the box, the first thing you will notice is that the bag stands up on its own extremely well. One of our biggest pet peeves regarding golf bags, both with legs and without, is the lean or sag where they just fall over. With the price of golf clubs currently, nobody wants to see their gear hit the pavement and the Sunday Golf Ryder 23 stands both empty and filled.
From there the material combinations are fairly unique, but not mentioned much on the website. A blend of your typical material combined with highlights that feel extremely weather resistant. Sunday Golf talks about premium quality materials without mention of more, but instead of taking their word for it, we can confirm, at least on the surface, it feels premium. The zippers throughout are listed as water resistant and while I think their zipper pulls could use some attention to detail, overall it’s a nice and smooth experience.
When it comes to pockets, there are a lot and some of them are really versatile. Rather than go through each one, this graphic above really shows where they are and what they were designed for. The rangefinder pocket is well thought out and holds nearly ever device we threw at it, and while the apparel pocket is a bit tight for full rain gear, it held a full outfit. We can’t leave the pocket discussion without at least mentioning the one called “Smell-Proof”. It’s lined, but being honest, there was little chance we were putting that smell proof idea to the test.
The strap system for carrying is well designed. It is a double strap that is self adjusting and works really well for comfort while on the back. Some may want a bit more padding in the shoulder area, but there was no discomfort during testing.
The legs fold on command and did a decent job of holding up. No bowing at all and when we packed them full, there wasn’t that buckle moment where the legs start to slide the opposite way like a cheerleader getting ready to do a split.
An area of excellence for the Sunday Golf Ryder 23 is something simple but overlooked when bag hunting. Everything fit. There was no reason to move stuff from here or there. The valuables pouch was deep enough for a wallet, keys and cell phone. The cooler worked as described and better than a number of others on actually keeping something cold. In a nutshell, the bag was admiral in the fact that it functioned as or better than expected.
There are some minor areas of thought for some golfers, and genuinely we are nit picking here because overall this is a solid offering. The Sunday Golf Ryder 23 handle on the front of the 5-Way top is rather small. For those with larger hands, be prepared to grab from the main handle nearly every time. One other area that stood out to us is the pad that rests on the back during carrying. While many have gone to great lengths to improve on that design, this one is fairly standard.
With those out of the way, a couple of things we need to highlight that are not found in every bag. Pass through strap for the cart is in place, and works well. The ball pocket is deep and holds plenty. The 5-Way top worked extremely well and caused no tangling of grips or shafts.
All in, the Sunday Golf Ryder 23 is a brand new option that golfers should be aware of. Don’t be the golfer that chooses your bag solely based on color. The innovation in this space is real. The Ryder 23 is available in five different color options and has a price tag of $259.99, but at the time of this writing, is on sale for $229.99.
For more information on this or any of the other Sunday Golf products, check out their website at www.sundaygolf.com.
