There are golf courses that claim their designs will have you using "every club in the bag," but most golfers rarely use all 14 clubs during a round. I could have easily gotten by during my last round without one of my hybrids and my 3-wood for starters. And many players certainly don't use their long irons enough to justify them. This is part of the concept behind the new El Camino Stand Bag from Sunday Golf, which takes its place among the best carry bags on the market.
"If you ask most golfers if they use every club in their set during a round, you probably won't find many who do," said Ronan Galvin, co-founder of Sunday Golf. "Walking golf (in large part because of the pandemic) has also seen a huge resurgence... The El Camino is designed for golfers who want a lighter, more comfortable experience while carrying most of their clubs. "
The Southern California company, which successfully rolled out its true Sunday bag, the Loma, a couple of years ago, now offers a rig that's sleek, has plenty of features, and is designed to hold 10-12 clubs. It's also very easy to transport, whether that's in the trunk of the car or checking it on an airplane with a smaller travel cover perhaps. And it works great for those practice sessions at the range and the short-game area.
"El Camino," by the way, translates into "the way" or "the path" from Spanish to English. An apt name, to be sure, it's a bag that is first and foremost great for walkers. Because it's thin, it's not ideal for most push carts, though.
What we like about the El Camino is that despite its slim profile, there are lots of very usable pockets. It weighs just 3.8 pounds, yet there are five good sized pockets, a four-way divider on top with full length dividers, and a self-balancing double strap that's very comfortable.
Among those pockets is a "frosty" insulated pocket, which can hold four cold beverages. The ball pocket is certainly big enough to comfortably hold a dozen balls, plus there are three netted pouches inside for tees or whatever else you want to separate from your golf balls. And above the ball pocket is an easy-access pocket for rangefinders, which is a critical for walkers.
The largest pocket, located on the right side, is plenty big for outerwear or a jacket. And there's a nice-sized, lined valuables pouch as well as another open pocket on the right side, which is angled perfectly to carry a large water bottle if you're walking.
In addition to the pockets, the El Camino bag also has back padding on the left side to make it more comfortable to carry, as well as a towel ring and velcro to hold a golf glove. It's also a great looking bag, coming in several color combinations. They include Matte Black, Heather Gray, Midnight Green and Seafoam.
The truth is this bag, which retails for around $180, would work for so many kinds of players. Those with slower swing speeds really can't hit low lofted clubs anyway, so they really don't need more than 10 clubs. And anyone looking to walk and carry during a casual round, can certainly lighten their load with two or more fewer clubs -- and probably become a better player for it.