The new MIY SL2 Stitch Golf Bag can make quite an impression. At least that was my experience every time I took it to the golf course or the driving range.
The one I tested turned out to have a white body, orange saddle and blue and white chalk stripe strap. When I got it, I personally thought it looked the Houston Astros colors. But someone else pointed out that it was the Denver Broncos. Still one person, whom I didn’t even know, walked up to me at the first tee (I was walking the course that day) and simply said, “Cool bag. Who makes that?”
I might have sold one right then and there as it turned out. It’s a real head turner. It’s also a very functional golf bag, suitable for walking, push carts and power carts because of its design.
But first and foremost with the MIY, which stands for (Make It Yours), I have to talk about how this bag looks and how it can be customized for and by each player. This component concept isn’t too complicated - there are three basic elements, but there are a lot of combinations.
Right now there are two basic choices for the chassis (body) - glacier white or midnight blue. Then you choose a saddle. There are three basic colors - glacier, midnight, and Stitch Blue. The choices also include Tour Saddle orange and Tour Saddle blue ($10 upcharge); and Window Pane, Chalk Stripe, and Camo. And then you choose a strap pattern and color, which basically has the same options as the saddle minus the Tour Saddle colors. If I did my math right, that makes 96 possible combinations. Chances are good that when you run into someone else with an MIY SL2, it will look different than yours. You can also personalize it with your initials.
The fun part is that when you order this bag, it comes in three parts that you get to put together, which furthers the belief that somehow you built your own bag (Don’t worry; the saddle just zips on, and the straps connect really easily. It takes less just a couple minutes). But there’s actually a more important element to this. If you want to change up your look, you can just order one or more of these parts again in a different color. For example, the entire bag has a suggested retail of $448, but if you wanted an extra strap or saddle later, that would be another $34 or $138 respectively.
As for the bag itself, there’s a lot to like, ranking it among the best golf stand bags you can buy. Like all Stitch Golf products, the quality is high with a synthetic leather outer material, YKK zippers, a four-way divider top, and no pockets at the top, the last of which is great for anyone who wants to use these bags on a push cart or powered golf cart because the straps won’t impede your access to anything.
There are five pockets with two fairly large ones on each side at the bottom. (This new SL2 has 50 percent more storage space than older models.) It has a magnetic ball pocket and within that is the valuables pocket, so your wallet, cell phone, keys get extra protection. There’s also a water bottle pouch which can be easily accessed while walking.
My biggest complaint is that there is no magnetic pocket for a rangefinder. That’s not a big deal as long as you have a magnetic device case that you can attach to the bag, but not all rangefinder cases have magnetic closures. My biggest fear when walking is that I will fail to close a zipper and drop my expensive rangefinder somewhere on the course.
Other features include a pen/pencil holder; carry handles up top, mid-center, and on the base; wider legs for greater stability when extended, and an umbrella holder.
This bag is also very comfortable to carry with a well-padded and easy-to-adjust double strap system, and a comfort pad on the side of the bag. It's a bag that looks cool and works well in almost any application. If this is your only golf bag, you couldn't go wrong.
