A good golf bag is akin to a well-designed fly-fishing vest. A good vest keeps your most important items handy without getting in the way when you’re in the middle of a battle. The Grom stand bag from Ogio does just that. It is thoughtfully designed and innovative in many respects. It is a bag you might want to have a look at if you’re in the market for a place to put your clubs.
Pockets
Some golf bags are like a pair of cargo pants: they have pockets everywhere, but they don’t help you stay organized or comfortable. Ogio found a way to design a functional and comfortable golf stand bag that keeps equipment and valuables in all the right places.
The Grom has a total of eight pockets, four of which are zippered. The zippered valuables pocket is a great addition to a golf bag. It is nice to have a dedicated pocket for items you don’t want banging around in a bigger pocket. I put my wallet, watch, and keys in it because I don’t like having non-golf items cluttering up my pants pockets when I’m out on the course. You can replace those items with a couple of tees, ball marker, and divot repair tool for easy access next time you’re out. It was easy to slip the golf bag to one shoulder and pull my keys out on the way to the car. The valuables pocket is very handy because you never have to dig through a giant pocket full of junk looking for important items.
The other three zippered pockets are somewhat typical of what you’d find on other bags. Two reside on either side of the bag at the bottom for items like gloves, tees, pencils, sharpies, and sunscreen. There is a large pocket running the length of the bag for bigger items like a lightweight jacket, rain gear, or even shoes (if that’s the only thing you wanted to put in there).
Zipperless pockets include one for your cell phone which resides inside the largest zippered pocket, a scorecard and pencil pocket, a pocket for a bottled drink, and the “ZBP” (Zipperless Ball Pocket). The cell phone pocket is handy for obvious reasons, although you might choose to use the valuables pocket if your phone isn’t too big. The scorecard and pencil pocket were well placed and handy but I found that my pencil would slip out after a couple of holes which was annoying. I ended up slipping a pencil in my pocket for scorekeeping. The ball pocket does a good job of holding golf balls, although that’s all you’ll want to put in there as there are a couple of small holes to the sides that allows smaller items to slip out. I guess thats why they call it a “Ball Pocket.”
Woode™ Club Management System
One of the most recognizable innovations from Ogio is their Woode™ club management system. There are four slots running along the left hand side of the three-way club dividers to keep woods separated from irons. This feature is well worth the price of admission as it protects graphite shafts in woods or hybrids from the steel shafts in your irons. It makes every club accessible and recognizable as you stand up to a shot. I felt pampered using the Woode™ slots and I think you would enjoy them too.
Irons are separated in a three way-divider. Sticky grips don’t prevent you from getting clubs in and out easily. The only gripe I have with the three-way divider is that the irons tend to bounce around and get shuffled a little as you walk or ride. I’m not overly anal about keeping my irons in perfect order during a round so it didn’t bother me too much. My 3-6-irons were in the top tier, 7-9 are in the second tier, and two wedges were in the bottom slot.
There is a separate slot at the top of the club slots for a putter. I keep my putter head cover on all of the time, but it is nice to know my putter is getting a little TLC by not being in with the other clubs.
Quality
The Grom is well made and obviously sturdy. I don’t worry about any part of the bag breaking or coming apart. The outer skin is well constructed as is the inner frame. Every part of the bag should withstand years of abuse.
The legs, while very solid, were my biggest dissappointment. The good thing about the legs is that they are made out of fiberglass. It is highly unlikely that they’ll bend or get too beat up. My only gripe with the bag is that when I walk the legs bang to the rhythm of my pace and this is annoying. The other thing is that they will sometimes get cross-legged and require a little jiggle when you set the bag down so that they’ll extend and hold up the bag. Whether or not this was unique to this bag alone is anyone’s guess, but it is a major feature of any stand bag and something you’ll want to keep an eye on as you shop.
Carrying
The carry straps are well made and comfortable. There is enough padding to keep the straps from digging into your shoulders and they seem to distribute weight nicely. They are also easy to get on and off your shoulders.
At 6.3 pounds, the Grom is a good bit heavier (up to two pounds) than many other carrying bags. You might notice the extra weight when walking a full 18 holes. Those who live in warmer climates or who place a high priority on a light bag might find the Grom too heavy. I don’t mind carrying the Grom for 18 but I walk about 90% of the time, so I’m used to it.
Style
The Grom, like other Ogio offerings, scores some serious style points. It is obviously a well made bag. Each component is high quality and a lot of attention to detail went in to making this bag. The material used on the shell is sturdy and cleans up nicely.
I got the Indigo (blue) offering, but several other colors are available from red to camouflage. They are good looking bags and have enough variety to satisfy the tastes of about any golfer.
Extras
Whenever I would ride a cart prior to using the Grom bag my bag would get twisted and turned around during a round. The clubs would face a different way than I put them in and I’d have to readjust the bag a few times. Not so with the Grom. The “Torq Strap” or “Anti-Twist Cart Strap” is another impressive Ogio invention. Whenever you ride a cart, just strap the heavy rubber Torque Strap around the bag rack, secure it with the cart’s included strap and the Grom will not move during a round of golf. I was pretty proud of that little feature during a few rounds this past summer.
Through a bit of trial and error the “Ball Silo” has become a valuable feature to me. Generally I don’t have to dig around in the ball pocket anymore because the “Ball Silo” carries three balls out in the open. If you scuff a ball or hit one into the woods (which I never do!) there are two or three others waiting for you out in the open. One caution: Make sure that each of the balls is pressed firmly into place or you could lose one or more of them when you aren’t looking. Once you figure this out there are no worries as the “Ball Silo” holds golf balls firmly in place when used properly.
To either side of the “Ball Silo” are slots for two tees. If you go through a lot of tees you might end up bypassing this in favor of pulling them out in handfuls from one of the other pockets. The tee holders, like the rest of the bag’s features, are well thought out and implemented.
Conclusion
Overall, the Ogio Grom stand bag is outstanding. If you’re looking for a new bag, know that the Grom has enough features to make it worth considering. It is good for both walking and riding. I recommend you consider the Grom if you are looking for a new stand and cart bag.
Their golf bags are impressive but their entire line of bags is so extensive. Thanks for the link; they have an excellent web site too!
Why not review the Schilng bag from Ogio? I am interested in how this may make a difference. I really value reviews here. $200 is just too much to spend without some nod from you guys.
The Schling is a carrying strap, not a bag in and of itself. We have another Ogio review coming up soon, but it’s of the Straight Jacket (travel bag). I’m curious whether the Schling works, too, so we’ll do what we can to get a review of a bag with the Schling together.
Had the same problem with the legs banging to the cadence of my pace. Here’s the fix that Ogio gave me and it worked:
“It sounds like the tension in your legs is not tight enough. You can fix this problem by adjusting the H-clip. This is the piece that is connected to the two spring wires in the middle of the bag and in most cases looks like the letter “Hâ€Â. You will want to move this piece up on the wire. It is hard to move and you will need to use some force but it does move. You will know you have gone to far if the legs begin to cross at the bottom. “
Jay,
Thanks for passing along the information on the legs. I did what you suggested, albeit nearly a year after the review, and that does the trick!
Hey,
I have one and i DIG IT. Good point though in the review that when you walk, the iron heads swing back and forth in the bag. Other than that, LOVE IT
Jay,
thanks a million for the H-piece tip! I’ve had my Ogio for two years with the legs bouncing. But because the Izzo before had the same fault, I figured I had to live with it…
I would further like to hear about reviewing the Schling.
The torq strap on my Ogio Bag broke and I’m tring to replace it where can I go to buy another one ?
These are the best bags ,I’ve ever had !
It is interesting I came across this…I purchased a Grom stand bag about 1 1/2 years ago and the strap is coming out near the top of the bag…after speaking with Ogio and them telling me that it is out of warranty and because that part is riveted they can not do anything more than to offer me 50% off retail of any of their bags. Does that sound fair to anyone? The fact that I have to consider purchasing another bag every other year doesn’t make sense to me…help anyone????
what do you expect? a lifetime warranty? sh*t happens and things break. i’d say 50% is pretty reasonable of them….
I have played with this bag a full season, I play multiple times a week and walk 80% of the time. My previous bag was an older sun mountian, with the fat arm straps. When walking the bag is great. People complain about the legs bouncing but there is an H bracked, just slide it up a little and it takes care of it (it’s hard to move). The leather around the neck where the clubs go in has rubbed, but it does no look bad, just used. It is easy to adjust and the pockets are in good places. Best part is the zipperless ball pouch. It is great.
On the cart, the best part is the anti-twist strap. It is a verticle rubber strap that is easy to loop around the bar on the cart that the bag straps are on. It keeps the bag from turning/twisting while on the cart. It also holds it on the cart if the cart strap comes undone. Biggest con is when the cart strap is looped around the bag the valuables pouch and the sunglasses pouch is covered and you can’t get in it. This is a pain.
Rain hood is serviceable, but not the same quality as the rest of the bag. Woode system is great, but I am short and if my bag is on the right side of the cart it is hard to see over the woods to select an iron.
😯 My 3+ year old Grom finally died…what a great bag. My buddies always were envious as I usually had everything I needed stored inside. After a couple weeks of research, I decided to get the new version. What a disappointment… took it to Myrtle for 7 rounds and mid-trip the anti-twist strap took some hard jiggling on a rough cart path and it yanked itself from the bracket. Busted. No way of fixing after checking it out at home.
Was setting it up to hake it out yesterday and the legs spread eagle and the bag slammed to the ground. Sure it was fully loaded but the mechanism has been engineered differently than the old model.
Took it back today. Super bummed because I was looking forward to the dependability that the old model gave. Ogio messed with success. Perhaps others will have my problem and they’ll re-engineer for ’10
Just bought one yesterday after a lot of shopping. I am just wondering if I will like it as much for riding or on my 3 wheeler as I will when carrying. It seems like the Woode system will be inconvenient on carts and the clubs would seem to be in backwards with the shorter clubs in the back.
I Just order this bag last week, so i havent had a chance to try it out yet. I been wanting to get this bag for some time now but due to the price it was little of out my buget. After couple weeks of research i did find a great deal on TGW for the bag with the additional 15% off for presidents day it ended up being less than $100 they also have the Ogio ozone bag on clearence for even less then that.
Bought one mid season 2008. Used it a season and a half and the shoulder straps have already worn through their attachment to the bag. Granted I played 75+ rounds last year and walked all but 2 I still feel a bag should last more than a season and a half especially at more than 130$ at time of purchase. I called Ogio and the bag is out of warranty as I expected, but inquired if I could send it to them anyway and PAY for repair, for some idiotic reason this is not possible. The tension on the legs has to be adjusted once a round for them to set properly when the bag is placed down and when they are set to a tension where they sit wide enough so the bag will not blow over in the wind, they bounce up and down during your walk hitting the back of your legs. The bag is heavy. Do not purchase this bag if you have any qualms at all about weight when it comes to your bag options, especially if your a player and carry your allotted 14. The days I walked 36 with this bag were rougher than they should have been. The only features that seems to work properly are the “Woode” club divider, which does do nicely when it comes to minimizing clubs bouncing off each other, and the water bottle cooler which is very well placed and does keep your liquid cool. Aesthetically, awesome bag, consistently best looking bag in my foursomes, performance wise, miserable.
I was wondering if there is a cell phone pocket on the 2009 grom bag? The only pocket i see is the zippered valuables pocket on the outside. I cannot find the one for my cell phone????
I bought this last week, one of the colors (Merlot) was more than 50% off at a few sites, not sure why. As I moved my stuff over to this bag I was absolutely blown away by the design an engineering of the bag. Unfortunately when I played with it, I found it doesn’t do the one thing a stand bag should do: STAND! The foot to extend the legs is very small and close to the bag. I have used a stand bag forever, I put it down the same way and where the ground was soft or uneven the legs wouldn’t fully extend unless I pushed down on the bag. I finally got frustrated and just put it down regularly and it tipped over 6-7 times in the last 9 holes. I am returning mine and hope I can find something else I like.
I am surprised that people here don’t seem to know that the tension setting for the legs is adjustable. I have carried this bag at least once a week for almost two years now and it still works as well as it did the first day I bought it. The straps are a little worn, but okay, some days I played 36 holes… and a few times more than that so it has been extremely durable for me.
I am in the market for a second stand bag now for a second set of clubs and am horrified that Ogio seems to maybe have messed with the formula. Has quality really gone down hill that much or are there possibly trolls from Sun Mountain maliciously posting fakey slander comments to get people from buying arguably the best bag on the market? lol!
Now I am a tad twisted over what to buy. I am going to call Ogio direct and see if they can offer any perspective… but then again what are they going to say?
“uh yeah, we farm them out to Indonesia now and so the quality has rrrrreally languished lately”
I don’t know what to do now.
Hey Mike. Don’t worry about it too much. I’ve had several Ogio bags in the past, liked them all but love my Grom and Edge bags. I have the ’08 Grom and ’08 Edge, got them both because I couldn’t decide which to go with and i had the money. Anyway… I recently picked up a 2010 Grom in Hoth Camo. Wouldn’t have been my first color choice but the person who sold it to me sold it, brand new in plastic cover, for $80. They won it in a draw!!!
Ok, so I bought it, loaded it up and finished off our lovely Canadian golf season with it. Played it from Sept until mid November when they shut down our courses. No issues whatsoever. No collapse with the legs, no issue with the torque strap, no issue with anything, and I’m even getting used to the color!!
I don’t think you’ll regret going with another Grom or even the new 2011 Grom or Edge. Mine plays well and I’ve seen the new ones in the local Golf Town store, not much changes to the Grom except the ball silo is more low profile, no plastic parts to break by accident.
Faith in the brand, and the customer service. I stayed the course and am happy I did.
Good to hear that Jeff. I am liking what I see with the new Grom. I am going to pick it up soon. The old Grom still works flawlessly… still going!