By John Strege

Is there anything this push cart-golf bag combination cannot do? Maybe, but we're hard-pressed to find it.

The Duo Cart from Alphard Golf is made for walking, but on those occasions the walker is required to ride, the wheels can be removed, allowing the Duo Cart to be strapped on the back of an electric or gas cart.

Then there's this: "The outer layer of the fabric, or we call it the 'skin,' is interchangeable so that one can prolong the lifetime of the product when the fabric wears out," Alex Tse, designer of the Duo Cart, wrote in an email.

For storage purposes, the Duo Cart easily folds down to a size not much bigger than a typical cart bag. It weighs 20 pounds.

The Duo Cart LT retails for $299, while the Duo Cart DX with upgraded fabric and an insulated cooler pocket, retails for $329.

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By John Strege

This falls into its own category: for the golfer who has everything and money to burn. It is a $9,500 golf bag from an Italian concern that specializes in hand-made shoes, including golf shoes it sells for nearly $1,000 a pair.

A product of Treccani Milano, the golf bag is hand made from your choice of calf (shown here), alligator or ostrich leather. A travel bag detailed in the same leather and color is included with the bag.

It is probably too late to order as a Christmas gift; a bag can take up to 12 weeks to craft with what the company calls "artisan labor."

We can't say where it fits among golf's most expensive bags, but by way of comparison, its price dwarfs this offering from Chiarugi ($3,613), another Italian company.

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By John Strege

The MacKenzie Walker Golf Bag Company, which has its roots in hand-crafted leather carry bags that pay homage to the history of the game (and hence were the bags used in the film "Golf in the Kingdom"), has a new offering constructed of waxed cotton.

"We can't help ourselves when we come across classic ideas," MacKenzie Walker President Todd Rohrer said. Rohrer said he received a phone call from a customer in the United Kingdom, who asked why the company wasn't making the bag in waxed cotton.

Rohrer found a company in New Jersey, "a seventh generation fabric finishing company," he said, its quality "just as good as can be found anywhere in the world, and it's a USA fabric. I love that we are USA made."

The bag shown above was the first MacKenzie Walker waxed cotton bag made and belongs to a member of Garden City Golf Club in Garden City, N.Y. Rohrer was having the bag made for himself, when the Garden City member, a customer, checked in and asked what the company was up to. Rohrer wound up shipping the bag, complete with Garden City Golf Club logo, to the member.

The waxed cotton bag retails for $495, substantially cheaper than the leather bags ($735). The company also offers a MacKenzie Ballistic Walker ($275). The bags can be ordered through the company's website.

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By John Strege

Lightweight is the objective in carry bags (and even cart bags), but how light is too light? "There's a danger zone that if you go too light it starts falling apart," said Tom Glocke, global vice president of Ogio.

Ogio has just introduced its Endurance Lightweight Collection -- four men's, two women's cart and carry bags -- that reached for the optimum combination of lightweight and durable. The Nebula (shown above), for instance, weighs in at a scant 3.8 pounds, even with a 10-inch top.

"We really try to walk the line between still being very quality and lightweight," Gocke said. "It's become an art figuring out how to build lightweight without giving up tensile strength. We went to nylon instead of a poly for these bags, and what we found is the strength and durability per weight is excellent on this material. It's actually the same material they use for making parachutes. We figure that if people stake their life on materials not tearing we're probably OK getting away with it on a golf bag."

Ogio also upgraded its threads to nylon, "out of what I would call the YKK of threads," Gocke said. "The best." YKK is the largest and most prominent zipper manufacturer in the world. "When you go to these light weights, you want to make sure you get thinning and high tensile strength materials that won't break at the seams."

The Nebula features eight zippered pockets, one of mesh, a feature of all the bags in the collection. The cart bags weigh in under five pounds, while the carry bags go as low as 3.6 pounds.

The collection, which ranges in price from $150 to $200, can be seen here.

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By John Strege

The NFL and golf have a history of partnerships, the latest involving Bridgestone Golf, which has announced it has become an official licensee of NFL logo golf balls and golf bags.

Bridgestone will offer its golf balls and bags with logos of each of the 32 NFL teams, for those who wish to combine their passions for golf and a particular professional football team.

The NFL's partnerships with golf go back at least to the late Payne Stewart, who had a contract to wear NFL team colors and logos.

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TaylorMade Golf's RocketBallz (or RBZ) brand already enjoys a measure of prominence on which the company expects to build with golf bags and accessories bearing the name and logo, and, of course,its green, black and white color scheme.

Among the products it is introducing are two lightweight bags -- the RBZ Stand (shown above) and the RBZ Cart (prices $170 and $180, respectively). The Stand bag weighs in at 4.9 pounds, while the Cart bag is 5.2 pounds.

The Stand bag features five dividers and six pockets, including a velour-lined valuables pocket and an insulated beverage sleeve pocket, and a cart-compatible base. The Cart bag has a 14-way divider top as well as an integrated putter tube. It has eight pockets, including two velour-lined valuables pockets.

Three RBZ headwear designs, men's and women's gloves, umbrellas and towels are also being introduced.

The company also is introducing its Pure-Lite 3.0 bag ($180), successor to its popular Pure-Lite 2.0 bag and featuring upgraded materials and hardware. It weighs 5.1 pounds and comes in eight colorways.

-- John Strege
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The latest chapter in Burton Golf's long and varied history is being written by Dynamic Brands, the Richmond, Va., company that owns BagBoy.

Burton was founded in 1907 and was renowned for the quality of its golf bags. In 2006, Forefront Holdings acquired Burton. ForeFront was part of the Stanford Financial Group, which in 2009 was seized by U.S. authorities and charged with fraud, effectively shutting down Burton. (Allen Stanford, who controlled the company, is awaiting trial on charges that his company had been operating a massive Ponzi scheme.)

"In essence, we ended up buying it, restarting the brand," said Craig Ramsbottom, president of Dynamic Brands Golf Division. "ForeFront had gotten away from that rich, traditional high-quality product. We wanted to get back to that high-quality product with a high-end look."

Among Burton's newest offerings are two stand bags, the Pro and the Player. The Pro is a hybrid carry/cart bag, "more of a 'I want a stand bag, but I never walk,' bag," Ramsbottom said. "So it's a little bigger [5.5 pounds], hybrid type of bag." The Player (shown above) is a lightweight (4.5 pounds) bag for the player who walks and carries his bag.

The Pro, available in five colors, has a suggested retail price of $219.95. The price of the Player, available in six colors, is $189.95.

-- John Strege

The first thing anyone probably wants to know about a new golf bag marketed as superlight is its weight. In the case of Sun Mountain's new KG:2 stand bag it isn't readily apparent without a decoder. Kidding, of course. But we had to ask. The answer: It's right there in the name, KG:2, or two kilograms (4.4 pounds).

That doesn't make it as light as Sun Mountain's Superlight 3.5 (3.5 pounds), but it does come with more pockets (eight, including one specifically for your cell phone) and hand-holds (three on the top of the bag and a lift-assist pocket panel on the bottom).

It also features Sun Mountain's E-Z Fit Dual Strap System, Roller Bottom leg mechanism and high-tensile aluminum legs. It is available in eight colors.

The bag will be available in November at $199.

-- John Strege

The first thing anyone probably wants to know about a new golf bag marketed as superlight is its weight. In the case of Sun Mountain's new KG:2 stand bag it isn't readily apparent without a decoder. Kidding, of course. But we had to ask. The answer: It's right there in the name, KG:2, or two kilograms (4.4 pounds).

That doesn't make it as light as Sun Mountain's Superlight 3.5 (3.5 pounds), but it does come with more pockets (eight, including one specifically for your cell phone) and hand-holds (three on the top of the bag and a lift-assist pocket panel on the bottom).

It also features Sun Mountain's E-Z Fit Dual Strap System, Roller Bottom leg mechanism and high-tensile aluminum legs. It is available in eight colors.

The bag will be available in November at $199.

-- John Strege

The first thing anyone probably wants to know about a new golf bag marketed as superlight is its weight. In the case of Sun Mountain's new KG:2 stand bag it isn't readily apparent without a decoder. Kidding, of course. But we had to ask. The answer: It's right there in the name, KG:2, or two kilograms (4.4 pounds).

That doesn't make it as light as Sun Mountain's Superlight 3.5 (3.5 pounds), but it does come with more pockets (eight, including one specifically for your cell phone) and hand-holds (three on the top of the bag and a lift-assist pocket panel on the bottom).

It also features Sun Mountain's E-Z Fit Dual Strap System, Roller Bottom leg mechanism and high-tensile aluminum legs. It is available in eight colors.

The bag will be available in November at $199.

-- John Strege