Equipment
The great bag debate, Part 2: Single or double strap?
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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Neal Shipley was the first to admit that he enjoyed his food while in college. But since his days at Ohio State, he’s slimmed down and earned a PGA Tour Card.
That hasn’t stopped him from having fun with his wedge stampings, though it’s led to some misunderstandings.
On the 54 (degree), we have ‘Big Fudge,'” Shipley told GolfWRX. “It was supposed to be ‘Big Fridge,’ so this happened a little while ago. ‘Big Fridge’ was a nickname between my college teammates and I, with ‘fridge’ meaning stomach, a big stomach.
“We told the Ping guys to put … ‘Big Fridge’ on it, and I think maybe some bad cell service or something, and they thought I said ‘fudge,’ so they put fudge on it.”
On Shipley’s 50-degree he also continues the food theme, this time with his go-to order at the “Golden Arches,” and his stamping “DONS 7.”
“The number 7 meal, the two cheeseburger meal, that was my McDonald’s order, back when I would have McDonald’s frequently,” Shipley shared.
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, @raw10628 has a L.A.B. DF3 putter and Masters putter cover up for grabs.
From the listing: “Some great items here today, time to thin out and make room for next set of gear. All prices include shipping.
LAB DF3 Purple 33.5” 68° lie with TPT – $725. LAB Masters release DF3 cover – $150.”
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
Driver: Ping G440 LST (9 degrees)
Shaft: Accra TourZ Green 5-M4
3-wood: Ping G440 Max (15 degrees)
Shaft: Accra TourZ Green 6-M4
5-wood: Ping G440 Max (19 degrees @18)
Shaft: Accra TourZ Green 6-M4
Hybrid: Ping G440 (23 degrees)
Shaft: Oban Isawa Red Hybrid Shaft 04 Flex 70 Gms
Irons: Srixon ZXi7 (5-P)
Shafts: Aerotech SteelFiber Private Reserve i80
Wedges: Cleveland RTZ (50-MID, 54-FULL, 58-MID)
Shafts: Aerotech SteelFiber Private Reserve i105
Putter: L.A.B. Golf OZ.1i
Shaft: ACCRA Putter Shaft
Grips: Golf Pride Tour Velvet
Aaron Rai’s winning WITB: 2026 PGA Championship
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Photos from the 2026 CJ Cup Byron Nelson
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Charles Schwab Challenge Tour Report: MacIntyre, Åberg and Spaun all switch putters, TaylorMade launches new Spider
Details on J.J. Spaun’s surprise putter switch
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Photos from the 2026 Charles Schwab Challenge
PGA Championship Tour Report: Fitzpatrick, Koepka among big-name putter switches for Aronimink
Photos from the ShopRite LPGA
Maria Torres WITB 2026 (June)
Driver: Ping G440 LST (9 degrees) Shaft: Accra TourZ Green 5-M4 3-wood: Ping G440 Max (15 degrees) Shaft: Accra TourZ Green 6-M4 5-wood: Ping G440...
Eric Cole WITB 2026 (June)
Driver: PXG Lightning Tour Max (9 degrees) Shaft: Project X Titan Yellow 70 TX 3-wood: TaylorMade Qi4D (15 degrees) Shaft:...
Si Woo Kim WITB 2026 (May)
Driver: Callaway Quantum Triple Diamond (8.5 degrees) Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black 6 X Mini driver: Callaway Paradym Ai Smoke Mini...
Wyndham Clark’s winning WITB: 2026 CJ Cup Byron Nelson
Driver: TaylorMade Qi4D (10.5 degrees) Shaft: Project X Titan Yellow 60 TX 3-wood: TaylorMade Qi4D Tour (15 degrees) Shaft: Project...
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.
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
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.
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!!)
Pelling
May 4, 2020 at 10:58 am
Why would you carry both bags on one shoulder? You must have been a “B” caddy…
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.
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…
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.
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.
bob
May 1, 2020 at 3:46 pm
that isnt the first hoofer. thats the l8
Richard Douglas
May 1, 2020 at 2:10 pm
The great debate: one tied shoe or two.
C’mon….
Nack Jicklaus
May 1, 2020 at 1:02 pm
For people who have had back injuries, a double strap makes a big difference.