Ask any woman on the golf course what they’ve got in their golf bag and the answers may just surprise you. Here are my top 10 items that both myself and the women I coach simply cannot live without.
Tee Pegs To Suit The Moment
I love a colourful tee peg, these paint splatter tees come in such incredible colours and I will admit to choosing the colour I feel I need in that moment. So my bag is littered with these. I also carry the PTS system of castle tees in varying heights.
These tees help golfers tee up at exactly the right height for the club they are using. One less thing to think about. These are great in mats when it can sometimes be hard to get the tee height right. There is quite literally a tee peg for every mood and every job in my bag.
Ball Marker And Pens
Identifying your ball is essential and I like to have a bit of fun with this. Did you know you can draw whatever you like on a golf ball? It’s a chance to not only help identify your ball but personalise it with your own stamp or design. So I carry a few different colour sharpie pens and my trusty PRIDE SPORTS ball line up tool to ensure those short putts go in the hole.
Fuel
Let’s face it not enough of us fuel ourselves properly on the golf course I have found a huge huge improvement in my focus not just energy levels but how well I concentrate over a golf ball by fuelling myself correctly and this doesn’t just mean a banana and some water. I found drinks such as MGP have really hit the mark when it comes to hydration. Worth remembering you shouldn’t feel thirsty out there because this means you’re already dehydrated. So little sips often will help keep you topped up.
Carry snacks such as protein bars. Also grapes and nuts in a Tupperware box means not only do your snacks stay fresh but that roomy little box reminds you to damn well get stuck in. Afterwards you can use the box as a mini bin for your banana skin, baby wipes and tissues.
Chill Out And Focus
Cooling eye spray is something I can’t do without. Hay fever season is in full swing and if like me your eyes take the brunt of it, this makes it really hard to focus over the golf ball. I played around recently and it massively affected my golf. My vision was blurry, I also have a packet of tissues in my bag. A spray over each closed eyelid and I was back in action.
Hair Up
I have 3 different solutions to taming my mane on the golf course so I can actually see the ball. Spare hair ties, a hat to shade my face, as well as to keep my hair under control. If I’ve failed to remember either of these I resort to putting my hair up in a French roll with one of my colourful tee pegs.
Sun Safe
We talk about being safe in the sun but I have started to carry with me a small face sunscreen, it’s perfect for the top of shoulders or V on your neckline and obviously to add onto your face AND the back of your hands.
Take covering up to another level, there’s only so much sun that my shoulders can take so in my Golf Bag as well I tend to carry a long sleeve top. The material of this Penguin Long Sleeve is ultra lightweight, brilliantly ventilated under the arms yet offers full protection from sunshine. It’s a cheeky extra layer as that sun disappears behind a cloud too!
Wiped Out
Baby wipes are a lifesaver. These will clean your hands after applying suncream, remove the makeup on the shoulder of your new white top, wipe dust away from your eyes, act as a soothing eye compress if you are suffering with pollen and heat. If slow play occurs they’ll clean your golf shoes up! I absolutely cannot live without these wipes.
Clear Vision
My sunglasses are a must but often I forget to grab them, so I keep an old pair in my bag that are golf specific. Some women I coach carry a duster or cloth to clean their glasses with. Having something to wipe away pollen and smears of suncream is so important. Clear lenses are a must.
Lights, Camera, Action
I keep this little circular tripod that’s got a suction cup on it in my bag just in case I go to the range and I need to film my swing. It’s so important to get those angles right when you filming and this little beauty also sucks onto the screen of a buggy. It is great for capturing content for social media as well as film me coaching my pupils so they don’t forget what they learnt!
Items You May Not Have Thought About
Something I’ve never thought of is a tic stick. If you play anywhere deer live then tics won’t be far away. Imagine looking for a ball in the long grass and walking straight through a nest of tics. These sticks (available from any Vets or Amazon) literally twist the little soda out. Avoiding infection and disease.
Another item on Debbie‘s list are dog poo bags, I’m the same. I can’t go anywhere without one in my pocket. Even if your golf dog isn’t with you there are always the irresponsible dog owners who leave packages out in the semi rough. So I’ll help out the golfers behind us and scoop it up. Another use is for your wet golf gloves. Trust me these things come in handy and weigh very little.
First aid is pretty important out on the golf course, so small Tupperware boxes have been found in many women’s kit bags, filled with paracetamol, piriton, plasters and antibacterial wound spray in case we catch ourselves on a branch.
“How big are some of these women’s golf bags?” I hear you cry! They’re BIG trust me. Mine however is very small as I often carry it, but it is well prepped and perfectly packed.
So check your bags, take a unit of time and pack it up with some of these goodies. As we know it’s better to be prepared. To “Fail to prepare is to prepare to fail” and trust me when I say that none of the women I coach are under prepared. One woman pulled out a line of Christmas lights when I asked, "What’s in there?" It’s incredible what you find when you’re not looking for it.
