The Best Golf Accessories and New Gear for 2021
As spring draws nearer, the itch to get back out on the golf course grows stronger by the day, and that means it’s time to review the best golf accessories and gear for 2021! This is an excellent chance to reward yourself for the time you took to practice golf at home and do those golf stretches to limber up for the season.
And if you’re in position for a little stimulus money, then why not treat yourself to some new gear? From clubs to shoes to equipment, Great Golf Memories has you covered with the nudge you need to trick out your golf game and make this your best season yet.
The Best New Golf Clubs for 2021
Apart from country club fees, golf clubs will always be the most expensive part of the sport. Club technology has moved forward immensely in the past decade, and will likely continue. While your irons are typically good for five years or more, experts recommend replacing your woods, wedges and putters every 2-3 seasons.
And the space age materials manufacturers are using, combined with more precise construction techniques, and engineering breakthroughs promising more distance, more accuracy, and more control, this is a good time to upgrade. Here are a few of our favorites.
The Driver: Callaway Epic MAX LS
It was only a matter of time before we started seeing AI creep into golf. This year, Callaway has used computer modeling to redesign the face of their Epic MAX LS driver to promise golfers extra distance and control. The company has pushed material science, and computer aided design to the cutting edge by incorporating the “Jailbreak A.I. Speed Frame” into the clubface.
According to Callaway’s marketing materials, the Jailbreak Speed Frame stiffens the connection between the crown and the toe to return more energy to the ball when contact is made. Coupled with a proprietary carbon fibre construction for a lighter club, and an adjustable 13 gram perimeter weight, the Epic Max LS looks like a helluva lot of fun.
The Original GOAT Gets an Upgrade: The Odyssey White Hot OG Putter
The Odyssey White Hot is one of the most legendary putters ever produced. Just in time for the 20th anniversary of the original, Odyssey (Callaway) have revamped the classic with some modern touches, and the unbeatable precision offered by 2021’s manufacturing prowess.
The White Hot OG comes in four distinct club head shapes – the #1, a 2-ball, the Rossie and the #7 – which have been cast and milled down to their final profiles. Each contains the same, legendary White Hot insert that made the club so popular, in hopes that this legendary fan-favorite putter will be better than it has ever been.
An Affordable Take on the Best Putter Ever Made: Kirkland’s KS1
Most people trust Costco for everything from bulk food to outdoor furniture, but did you know they’re starting to make some pretty fine golf gear? While their attempt at replicating the legendary Pro V1 and Pro V1X golf balls ended with a lawsuit, the company behind the Kirkland brand continues its expansion into the golf industry with the Kirkland Signature KS1 100% milled putter featuring a thick SuperStroke grip. Modeled after the equally legendary Scotty Cameron Newport, this putter further solidifies Costco’s presence in the golf world.
After a limited release in the summer of 2020 that may have been overlooked due to the pandemic, Costco is now stocking the KS1 at stores nationwide. With an additional weight kit for $40, the KS1 offers the customization you love about heritage brand putters with a $149 price point that appeals to the everyday player. Is it worth the hype? Dave Wolfe at MyGolfSpy definitely thinks so.
The Best Golf Accessories for 2021
Club Finders
No new set of clubs would be complete without a bit of personality. These personalized golf club finders will give your golf clubs a custom feel with an insurance policy if you happen to leave one behind. Because they are easily inserted into the rubber grip of any golf club, they are a breeze to install and feature long-lasting durability. If you’re going to spend a few hundred bucks on a new driver, or a few thousand on new irons, making sure your contact info is clearly printed on each one just makes sense.
Golf Shoes
Like clubs, the influx of new technology and advances in manufacturing have started to fundamentally change how sports shoes “help” wearers compete. The carbon fibre launch pad in Nike’s Vaporfly might be causing controversy when debating world record times, but that won’t stop regular users from enjoying the benefit they provide to their morning jog.
The same goes for golf shoes and this year’s tech-driven startup from David Paynter and Mike Forsey.
Payntr X 001 F
It was only a matter of time before golf shoes got an energy returning spring, and the Payntr X 001 F is a shiny new example of the exciting possibilities the technology is bringing to footwear. The golf shoe was created, in part, because of cricketer David Paynter’s frustrations with finding suitable golf footwear.
Alongside apparel guru Mike Forsey, the duo have designed a golf shoe that is truly unique. A sole that has been divided into four distinct quadrants seeks to provide stability and power for the all important swing, while still being comfortable on the walk from the tee to your ball. An embedded graphite power plate returns as much energy as possible from the ground, through the golfer’s feet and up into their body, maximizing swing efficiency and delivering more distance (assuming you’re able to hit the ball square).
The Best New Golf Apparel for 2021
There’s something so awesome about a sport that you get to dress up for. The Sunday morning ritual of putting on some pastels, filling the cooler and making sure the trunk is packed with anything you could possibly need for four-plus hours in “nature” is the one true path to zen.
PUMA x Arnold Palmer
As a Pittsburgher, I have an affinity towards Arnold Palmer, as a golfer, I have an affinity towards Arnold Palmer, and as an enjoyer of summertime beverages, I have an affinity towards Arnold Palmer. So of course I was very excited to see that PUMA have teamed up with his foundation to bring a new line of Palmer-inspired golf apparel.
The line will, of course, feature the newest in space age fabrics designed to wick away sweat while ensuring that golfers get the range of motion required to freely swing the bigger clubs. The 2021 Arnold Palmer collection also features a great color palette and “iced tea” prints. The collection looks to have sponsored Ricky Fowler, so we should be able to catch a glimpse of him sporting the umbrella logo during this year’s PGA tournament season.
New Golf Bags for 2021
A new set of duds needs a bag to match. Whether you like to walk, ride, or wheel yours along, a new and better bag is a great way to instantly improve how you feel about the new season.
Ping Hoofer
The Ping Hoofer golf bag has been a favorite amongst walkers for a couple of decades now, so when they decided to update the bag in 2020, golfers took notice. Everything from the addition of new pockets (there are now 11), to a more robust top that promises more room for your clubs, to a much quicker “puck” system that makes transitioning from a single strap to backpack style carrying a breeze: this is just a great bag.
Carters need not worry, however, as Ping included a pathway for the golf cart strap that passes securely under the front handle, and an under side pocket to maintain accessibility even when your golf clubs are strapped in tight. For some, it’ll be the little touches – magnetic clasps and an ergonomic water bottle holder – that will be the biggest selling feature for this righteous golf bag.
Personalized Golf Toolkit
It would be a shame to get a nice new bag and not have a lovely, personalized divot repair tool and ball marker set to go with it. Sure, you can always fish a golf tee out of your bag to fix the damage you just inflicted on the green, but being able to pull out a monogrammed, pewter (or brass) divot repair tool just has an air of adult-ness to it that’s hard to pass up.
New Golf Balls for 2021
Everyone has their favorite golf ball. Each sleeve of those pristine white orbs provides a new opportunity to chase eternal glory on the field of play. Like most other things on this list, golf balls have benefited tremendously from advances in technology, and 2021 sees another leap forward from a couple of brands that are famously forward thinking.
Bridgestone e12 Contact
Anyone who golfs a few rounds a year will be able to recognize a Bridgestone ball. Those hexagonal dimples just make them look wholly different from most other balls on the market. This year, Bridgestone have gone further by incorporating a raised “bump” into the center of each trademark dimple with their Bridgestone e12 Contact.
The company’s reasoning here is that by incorporating the raised area, there are more points of contact between club face and ball, increasing the energy transferred on impact, and making the ball fly farther. These “contact force dimples” also show a decrease in horizontal rotation during flight, translating to less curve off of the tee.
TaylorMade TP5 / TP5x
TaylorMade claims that the new TP5 & TP5x are the only 5-layer Tour ball, and with pros like Rory McIlroy, Dustin Johnson, Ricky Fowler, Jason Day and John Rahm choosing to play it, there must be something great behind the new technology.
Not only have TaylorMade revamped and improved the guts of their new golf ball, they have redesigned the dimples on the soft cast urethane cover to provide a more aerodynamic flight, and a more optimal club/ball interaction. Our guess is that it’s only a matter of time before the other heavy-hitters in golf ball manufacturing follow suit to deliver more complex core-layering, incorporating more materials science than ever before.
New Golf Gadgets for 2021
All this talk about space age materials, club technology and manufacturing progress leads us to the cutting edge of golf: gadgetry. Of course, being able to hit the ball farther and straighter than ever before is great, but what is “ever before” if we can’t keep track of it? Rangefinders have come a very long way from that set of binoculars with lines printed on the lenses, and in-game analytics have become important to golfers who take the sport seriously, and anyone who just wants to be able to measure how they play.
Desert Fox Phone Caddy
We have featured the Desert Fox Phone Caddy in our gift guides in the past, and will continue to do so because we love it. Phone prices are only continuing to go up, and our ability to stay off them going down, so having something to safely attach that phone to a golf cart seems like a no brainer.
With all the tracking apps, activity monitors, and other social/entertainment that occurs on your phone, using a cup holder designed in 1992 to fit a can of beer as a means of securing your $1000 device isn’t the best option. With its compact design, and personalization options, the Desert Fox is easy to keep in your bag, and will quickly add a bit of flair to your cart when needed.
Arccos Caddie Smart Sensors
Simply put, the Arccos Caddie Smart Sensors are a radical blend of technology.Just plug one of their sensors into the grip of your golf club, connect it to the app, and get ready to be inundated with data. When paired with the app, the sensors track club speed, distance, and other performance metrics that are all aimed at helping you become a better golfer.
The app shows only the stats you care about, and with the new AI driven “Strokes Gained Analytics”, users can push themselves to improve with every swing.
Garmin Approach S62
Smart watches have taken over sports, leisure and exercise in ways few saw coming. We track steps, heart rate, pace, distance, calories, and somewhere, deep inside the software, the time. Garmin have certainly come a long way since their early days of vehicle-based GPS, and their venture into smart watches has been profitable for them, and valuable for the consumer.
The Garmin Approach S62 uses GPS to map the course you’re playing, and feeds back that data straight to your wrist on a bright, full color display. Being able to glance at your watch to get full analytics on your approach, wind speed and terrain is wildly beneficial to any golfer, so the integration of club trackers in 2021 is likely to pay off for Garmin in a big way.
The Best Golf Accessories for On-Course Refreshment
For a lot of people golf is about the poetry of the game. The chances you make for yourself out there, alone on the field of play. For others, it’s about drinking in the sun with a stogie. These are the golf accessories that will keep you happy even when your round is not.
Caddyswag Par 6
Gone are the days when you could shamelessly rock up to the course with an igloo full of beverages of your choice. Whether it is a measure put in place to maintain decorum at the club, or simply a way to charge golfers a premium for tepid Miller Lites at the turn, golfers have a keen ability to skirt the rules.
And manufacturers have heard our call. Enter the Caddyswag Par 6, the stealth cooler that will comfortably hold a chilled sixer, while being slim enough to fit in your bag’s side pocket. There are a lot of stealthy golf drinking apparatuses here, but short of drinking hard liquor from a fake driver, or shelling out enough cash to buy Rodney Dangerfield’s kegerator bag from Caddyshack, this seems like a good middle point.
Personalized Cigar Cutter and Case
You’ll never feel more fancy than looking out over the hills of a big par 5, hand shading your eyes like you’re trying to judge the wind, then slowly pulling this bad boy out of your bag and offering a stogie to your teammate before pulling out one for yourself. Golf and cigars go together almost as well as golf and beer, and I’m certainly not about to pass a verdict on the winner.
Made out of stainless steel, and laser engraved with your initials, this personalized cigar cutter and case won’t rust, or wear down, and their precious cargo won’t be easily smashed by a careless club insertion or carting accident.
Whether you’re going to treat yourself to a new driver, or just test out a sleeve of space-age golf balls, the 2021 season will probably be one of the most memorable summers in years.