What You Need To Know
- The Sunday Golf Ryder Golf Bag is the company’s revamped full-size, lightweight stand bag
- Features a 5-way top opening with full-length dividers, an insulated frosty pocket, a velour-lined valuables pocket and a self-balancing double strap
- Retails for $259.99, but is being released for a limited time at $229.99 Use code SWINGU15 and get The Ryder for $195.50.
- Available in Toasted Almond, Heather Gray, Midnight Green, Matte Black and Navy Blue
It’s hard to stand out in the golf bag space with different golfers looking for different things out of their bags. If there is one universally respected bag in the industry, you’d have to give that distinction to the Ping Hoofer.
The OG when it comes to carry bags with a stand, the Hoofer has been on the scene for more than 30 years, and while its popularity has never waned, Sunday Golf has put their own unique spin on the iconic bag in the form of their revamped Ryder 23 golf bags.
Borrowing some of the Hoofer’s design qualities, improving it in various areas and adding in their own tried & true features, Sunday Golf has a winner in their Ryder offering.
First Impressions
Having only known Sunday Golf as the small bag company, a full-bag-sized box on the porch was something different, and upon opening, it was clear that the Ryder was nothing like The Loma Bag or even The Loma XL. At the risk of sounding over repetitive four paragraphs into this review, it looked just like a Hoofer through the protective plastic bag, but perhaps a little more compact.
Coming out of the box, one of The Ryder’s biggest benefits was immediately evident: it was super light. At just 4.9 lbs, The Ryder is half a pound lighter than the Hoofer. One of the coolest features of The Ryder is that its 5-way top features full-length dividers, a nice perk for walkers who often find that their grips can get crisscrossed and result in the very uncool yanking of clubs.
Additionally, there are plenty of storage pockets, from a fancy red velour-lined valuables pocket, a cool frosty pocket, ample storage space and durable straps and stands.
On The Course
Loading up The Ryder 23 Bag was a breeze, and left me with more storage space than needed. As a bag-loading minimalist, this was good news because, undoubtedly, over the course of a golf season, the bag will see itself stuffed with more and more old gloves, scuffed-up golf balls, and more tees than I’ll ever know what to do with.
Having the opportunity to play a few rounds with The Ryder, it’s perfect for both riders and walkers – or in my case, riders on cart path-only days who need to take their bags off the cart and become walkers. A cool reveal in doing this was the hinging bottom of the bag that stands tall within the cart, but folds out when the legs of the bag are deployed.
There’s ample drink-holding options from the cool Frosty Pocket — a variation from a tee-holding compartment on the Hoofer — that pretty comfortably carries a couple 12-ounce cans of swing juice if situated horizontally (this was tested purely for reviewing purposes, of course).
There’s also a rangefinder / easy-acess pocket on the side that, if you’d prefer to use the SwingU app vs. a laser, works nicely as an insulated water bottle holder if you’d like to keep something cool in the Frosty Pocket.
The velcro glove holder is a nice touch as is the minimalist towel ring that is there when you need it and subtle enough to not protrude when you don’t.
Lastly, the carry straps are as simple as any I’ve used. The self-balancing straps and disc are a nice touch and allow for an easy carry that won’t let your clubs start to fall out as you walk down the fairway – or ride on the back of a friend’s cart.
The Takeaway
Overall, The Ryder 23 bag is as solid a walking and riding stand bag as there is on the market. Without being in the design meetings, I can only assume Sunday Golf used the Hoofer as the industry standard and enhanced its offering from there.
I can’t say enough about the design of the bag, from the big-ticket items like pocket space and strap & stand reliability, to some of the more “Sunday Golf touches” like the replacement of an accessory pouch for a spacious Frosty Pocket.
All in all, you can expect this durable and pliable bag to jump to the top of a number of “best of” lists this year.
The Ryder 23 Golf Bag retails for $259.99 but is now available for $229.99. PLUS: SwingUreaders can get 15% off that price with promo code SWINGU15. The bag comes in five different colorway options. Visit SundayGolf.com for more information
