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I got my first bucket-list bag tag when I visited Pinehurst in 1999, playing all eight courses in four days.
Not bad for my first golf writing assignment.
A quarter-century and 1,100+ courses later, I've got more than 100 bag tags from all sorts of famous courses. By my estimate, I've got bag tags from golf courses in 12 different countries and nearly 30 different states. All of which begs the question: Which courses are bag tag-worthy?
Although I've played more courses in both Scotland and Ireland than in Florida, the Sunshine State tops the list of golf destinations where I've rounded up the most. I've got fancy Florida bag tags from 14 different clubs, ranging from the famous (Bay Hill and Streamsong) to the obscure (Mystic Dunes) to the deceased (World Woods, now Cabot Citrus Farms). Hawaii comes in close second with 13 and Scotland a distance third with eight.
The free bag tag has always been an interesting business decision by clubs. They're certainly not cheap, but I know why they do it: Free marketing. Every time that golfer returns home, their friends will feel that tinge of envy about where he/she just played. Souvenir bag tags can also justify a higher green fee.
But for every famous course that hands one out on the first tee, there are two or three more that don't. Bandon Dunes used to hand them out for each individual course played in the early days but eventually stopped.
Pebble Beach Resorts and Pinehurst Resort have always gifted them to golfers. My collection shows some interesting trends in the evolution of the bag tag.
Pinehurst started out with a firm plastic bag tag, went metallic during what I consider the glory years of bag tags in the early 2000s and then returned to plastic when I last visited in 2014. I need to go back to find out what they're sharing these days, and play all the new courses I haven't seen in the last decade - The Cradle, the redesigned No. 4, the purchased No. 9 and the new No. 10 by Tom Doak (not to mention Bill Coore & Ben Crenshaw's forthcoming No. 11).
I still favor the gray metallic bag tags. They're durable and artistic but they seem to have fallen out of favor, probably due to cost.
Perhaps the best way I can show the evolution of the bag tag is this collection from Hammock Beach, a nice 36-hole resort on Florida's Palm Coast. Check out this mix, including the cheap circular plastic piece I should probably recycle, the slightly upgrade in the form of a hotel key card replica and the fancier metallic shell.
Here's a sampling of some of Hawaii's bucket-list bag tags handed out since 2011, the first year I visited the islands. Most of them are small token of appreciation for spending $250 to $400 for that tee time in paradise.
Bag tags from a trio of legendary Scottish links also feature some interesting contrasts through the years. Scroll through the gallery below.
My 10 favorite bag tags in the lead photo at the top of the article all tell their own tales. They spark a smorgasbord of memories: the classy, traditional Royal Melbourne bag tag from my first visit to the Australian sandbelt in 2022, the all-leather Whistling Rock Country Club bag tag from South Korea during my only golf trip to Asia and the iconic circle medallion for all the times I've been lucky to play at Pebble Beach Resorts.
Other favorites I find interesting just for their unique qualities. The metallic surfboard from Kohanaiki on Hawaii Island is just plain cool. It had to cost the most. I also appreciate the shell from Florida's Hammock Beach and ram's head from Canada's Banff Springs for their shapes and style. My most recent Kingsbarns bag tag gets bonus points for listing my name and the date I played.
The funny part about my collection is I don't keep them hooked to the bag. They add weight and clutter. Plus, I've heard too many horror stories of the straps failing as the bag tags fall off or even potential thefts. I keep my bag tag collection where all my other golf treasures live: a storage bin in the garage.
Not what all the course marketers, owners and operators want to hear, I know. And just in case you're interested, here's most of my entire collection in one giant organized mess.
What favorite bag tag adorns your golf bag? Share a photo and a story in the comments below.
Comments (4)
Sawgrass has one of the coolest bag tags. It's the 17th green cut into the rectangular frame, and they will imprint your score for the hole on it if you want.
Sounds nice. I haven't played Sawgrass in 20 years, so I'm definitely behind the times there.
My favourite tag is the Old Course at St. Andrews Links, my all time favourite course from 400 courses played in 20 countries. No 2 is Royal Troon, home of the Open in 1950 the year of my birth, with an engraved tag with your name and date played used to provide the starter evidence you are entitled to be on the tee. Pebble Beach add your name and Royal Melbourne, your name and Club. All these courses make my top 10 anywhere.
In terms of collectables, proud to have acquired over 1000 ball markers from around the world but particularly I have every authentic Masters Tournament dated ball marker from 1960 through to 2025. I am told (without any proof) 1960 the first year Augusta National sold this collectible.
Sounds incredible Robert. I would love to chat more about your collection. I also have an incredible collection of ball markers from a major. Mine is a cool run of 75 years of The Open Championship, plus thousands more. Someday I'll write about it.