New Bag Suggestions?

I think Ping bags are the best if you carry and walk, the C-1 4 under is really light and has plenty of pockets and storage and it looks nice too.

I can't comment on the Titleist Sun Mountains since I've never owned one, but is that one of them in the pics? sorry to be blunt, but it looks like a POS. Whenever I see padding somewhere there doesn't need to be (i.e. the handle at the top - right above the Titleist logo) I just assume it's there to hide something pokey or poorly made. Have you ever carried a Sun Mountain branded as a Sun Mountain?

I did have a Sun Mountain briefly. It was literally the same exact thing as this bag, but with a 4-way divider, a rubber over that handle, and Sun Mountain's logo. That padding is on top of a plastic handle that I can't say I've ever used once. The dividers on top of the bag as similarly annoying. They're padding velcro-ed together that comes undone every time it touches a grip.

I've been really happy with Ogio. Unless you need a super light bag (and you look like a big strong lad, Jamo) you can't go too far wrong with a Grom or Edge. Price is nice right now too as they're clearing out for the 2012 range.

http://ogio.com/golf-4/mens-golf

I've had issues with Ogio in the past - I've had the bag separate from the legs.

All I know is that anytime you have a liteweight bag (I'd say less than 5 lbs) you give up durability if you use it frequently.

I think Ogio is the way I'm leaning as of now. My only apprehension is that I used to have a Nike Sasquatch bag and (ignoring the fact that it broke after 4 months and that I was 14 years old and a bit shorter/weaker) it was always way to heavy and wore my back out after about 15 holes. Having said that, the difference between the Grom or Sasquatch (at ~7 lbs) and one of the lighter bags (~4 lbs) is very little if you really think about it. As long as I resist the temptation to overload the thing, I should be fine. And in the last 10 minutes as I've been searching around the Ogio website, the added the 2012 stuff and moved the other stuff to this address: http://ogio.com/hot-deals/golf-2 I think it's down to Ogio Edge, Grom, and Ozone. I'll go to Golf Galaxy this weekend and check out what they have. I'd be a little hesitant to order one online without trying it in person. I think the Grom is the best looking one, but I think I'd rather have a Woode divider rather than the 14-way thing they have in the newer Grom models. That makes the Edge more appealing. I kind of wish they still made the Shling system... And yes, I'm probably way over thinking this, but I've had terrible luck with golf bags in the past so I really want to get this right.

OK, I read that and it got me thinking back to HS Physics (oooh, that was a scary flashback!).     So let's see how much this really is with a simplistic calculation:

• Work = Force * Distance
• 1 joule = 1 Newton * 1 meter
• 1 Newton = 9.8 kg lifted at a constant rate against gravity
• The 3 extra pounds is 1.35kg, so against gravity then it would weigh 13.3 Newtons.
• Let's say you pick up your bag for roughly 4 times a hole from the ground, and you're lifting it a couple feet.   That means you've lifted it a distance of about 144 feet cumulative over the round, or 44 meters.
• People don't walk exactly level, so each step you take means the bag drops a little and then back up again (a reason you hear bag chatter when someone is carrying).    Let's say it drops about 3 inches per step.
• Assume you walk about 4 miles total during the round while carrying the bag, and step is about 2 1/2 feet.   This means you take about 8500 steps.
• Each of those steps had the bag drop a few inches, and then you're body had to "lift" it back up, so over 8500 steps at 3 inches per step means you lifted it 2125 feet vertically, or about 650 meters.
• Total lifting was then 44 meters + 650 meters, or about 700 meters total.
• Work performed was then W=F*d, or W=13.3 Newtons * 700 meters =  about 9300 joules energy.
• Converting to calories, 1 calorie = 4.2 joules, so your 9300 joules is 2200 calories.

So, that little 3 pounds difference which is "very little if you think about it" is actually over 2000 calories of extra work over the course of a round!!!

The real physics whizes here can probably point to a lot of other factors (hopefully no glaring errors though!), but even this really simplistic way of looking at the weight difference should point out that even a little bit of weight does matter over the course of a round.

I've always loved my Ogio Vaporlite stand bag. It looks nice, it's strong, the legs are great and I've had no issues with it at all. The Woode top is awesome for club organisation and there are plenty of pockets.

Despite initially being unsure about it ( http://thesandtrap.com/t/53203/ogio-14-way-dividers-how-do-you-do-it ) I've recently upgraded to an Ogio Assassin as I use a trolley now, however if I wasn't using a trolley I'd happily have stuck with the Vaporlite. If I was in the market for a new standbag I'd look for the new version of the Vaporlite.

I like the line of thinking. As a mechanical engineering student, my brain is sore with physics. One question: what was your conversion factor going from joules to calories? I ask because a calorie in the physics/chemistry/thermo world (sometimes called a thermochemical calorie to differentiate it) is not the same as a calorie in the food world. 1 food calorie (which is displayed as just a calorie on food packages) = 1 kilocalorie = 1000 thermochemical calories in the physics world. If I'm right (and looking at your math, I'm pretty sure I am), then you'd only burn just over 2 food calories with an extra 3 lbs. EDIT: Yeah, you wrote "Converting to calories, 1 calorie = 4.2 joules, so your 9300 joules is 2200 calories," which is the conversion factor between joules and thermochemical calories (again, usually simply called calories in the physics world).

Personally, Id forget about buying a bag that matches the brand of your clubs and buy an Ogio or Sun Mountain bag.  Titleist bags are made by Sun Mountain anyways and while even Ping bags are nice, IMO they cant tough what you get with an Ogio or Sun Mountain.

I used to have a Mizuno bag and as much as I really wanted to like it, there was just no comparison with an Ogio/Sun Mountain.

Ah, your current ME physics education trumps my 30 year old EE education!   I guess this means that I can't justify having another double cheeseburger just by carrying a slightly heavier bag....

It's a great bag. I had it for about 2 years until the strap broke haha. It's very durable; the only reason why the strap broke is because the ring was rusty from all the rain we get down here in Florida. It's got plenty of space for everything you need, and the clubs are easy to get in and out. Another plus; You'll be surprised at how light it is when you put it on. Pick it up by the handle, and then put it on, and it feels like it lost about 5 lbs in the transition. Helps a lot when you walk a lot. Have fun buddy!