Stand bags part of Burton Golf comeback

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