Golf bags are an important piece of gear that can really make or break your experience on the course. They dictate how many clubs you can carry, how much gear you can bring with you, and how well-protected it all is. 

Depending on how you get your clubs, they may not come with a bag– or, you may just be looking to get a bag upgrade after a while. Either way, it is essential to know the best place to buy golf bags for value, quality, and variety. 

The most popular options are:

• Sporting goods stores
• Online private marketplaces (OfferUp, Facebook Marketplace, etc.)
• Specialty golf shops/online stores

Let’s discuss the advantages of each, and ultimately, which is the best option for someone looking to get a new bag. 

Best Places to Buy Golf Bags

To find out the best place to get a new bag, we’ll start with a table where we rank the value, quality, and variety offered by each, and then give them a total score.

Channel	Value	Quality	Variety	Total Score
Specialty Golf Shops	8	10	10	9.3
Sporting Goods Stores	8	9	7	8.0
Online Private Marketplaces	9	7	6	7.3

Now, let’s discuss why we gave the scores that we did, and go into deeper detail as to what they each have to offer.

Specialty Golf Shops: 9.3

Value: 8

The reason specialty golf shops only got an 8 for value is that most of their inventory is new. While they do offer many sales to keep certain bags below MSRP at different points throughout the year, the average price of a bag at a specialty golf store will likely be higher than a private online marketplace, for example. That being said, the score is still high because they will carry bags that are more than worth their price, and you’re likely to find many bags on sale no matter when you shop.

Quality: 10

Since specialty golf shops will have even the highest-end golf bag brands in stock, and they have expert staff keeping a closer eye on the quality of incoming inventory, the quality found is second to none.

Variety: 10

Another simple explanation: specialty golf shops only sell golf gear, so they typically have just about any bag that will be sold in any store. The only exceptions are bags that are no longer being produced, or limited collections only sold on specific brand sites or at specific courses.

Sporting Goods Stores: 8.0

Value: 8

Sporting goods stores source their inventory the same way as specialty golf shops, and offer similar used inventory, so they get the same score for value.

Quality: 9

While sporting goods stores will ensure that the bags in inventory are free of damage, they don’t typically sell more specialty or luxury-focused brands. So, their quality score is high, since the bags you’ll get will be well-built and free of defects, but not a 10 due to their lack of higher-end options.

Variety: 7

As mentioned above, sporting goods stores lack in variety of golf bags due to the sheer amount of inventory taken up by their other departments. While some of the larger sporting goods stores may do a better job of keeping a lot of bags in stock, the average sporting goods store is far behind a specialty golf shop in variety.

Online Private Marketplaces: 7.3

Value: 9

Online marketplaces get the best value score because of their high potential. It is no question that some people find unbelievable deals on online marketplaces, but it is essential to understand that many sellers aren’t interested in offering much value, and you’re at the mercy of the sellers in your area (or that ship to your area).

Quality: 7

While you can find high-quality gear on online marketplaces, there aren’t any guarantees that they will be free of defects or cosmetic issues. Additionally, whether or not you’ll even find high-quality inventory again relies on the sellers you have access to.

Variety: 6

As you can probably tell from the above explanations, the variety score for online marketplaces is entirely due to the “dice roll” effect of shopping on them. For people in certain areas, variety can be decent year-round. For most, though, this isn’t the case, and nice golf gear gets snatched up quickly unless you want to take a chance buying sight-unseen.

Find the Best Golf Bags at Worldwide Golf Shops

Worldwide Golf Shops provides next-level service to customers of all experience levels, with the best-trained staff in the industry. We pride ourselves on our ability to provide guidance to beginners and to share pro tips with even our most experienced clientele, making us one of the best places to buy golf bags. 

Check out our online store to see our industry-standard variety of the best kids’ golf gear and all of the following:

• Golf clubs 
• Golf carts
• Footwear
• Golf apparel
• Golf accessories 
• GPS and tech

At Worldwide Golf Shops, we take pride in offering brands that we guarantee will provide the highest level of value to our diverse range of golfers. Our knowledgeable staff is ready to assist you in finding the perfect golf gear. Find a store near you today!