Penfold Golf Combines Class and Luxury with Simplicity

Among the various hip brands in golf, Penfold is one that will stand out to many. Not only did they win me over with an awesome personalized note and their roots that are local to me, but their brand is one that encapsulates several distinct adjectives — classy, luxurious, and simple — into one single company.

I must admit I was hesitant to take my fourteen clubs out of my Titleist Players 4 StaDry bag. It has been great to me over the past two years and provides plenty of storage with enough space that my clubs don’t get caught in the dividers. That last part is a non-negotiable for me with a golf bag.

However, their Sunday Stand Bag gave me all of those things and then some. It provided space, simplicity, and minimalism, so much so that I thought it was more of a Par 3 bag instead of a full-size golf bag:

It may not look as fancy or as flashy as the bags that plaster their brand name all over them. We all love to show off who we choose to play, but the non-branded Sunday Stand bag has gotten more comments than any other bag I’ve ever had.

“I like that.” “What brand is that?” “Wow, I really like that color!” 

Here are some images of what my clubs look like in the bag:

…and an idea of the ball pouch:

A couple of things I was not a super huge fan of, and these are sort of nitpicky:

• The vertical zipper pockets make it tough to get things out of. They’re awkward, and the one I keep tees in is hard to both put tees in and take tees out of.
• The rain hood is a snap-on design that attaches with buttons. It’s not very easy to get clubs out of in the rain, which I’ve had to do three times so far through the two months I’ve been using it.

Really, these are not a make-or-break, and they shouldn’t be.

The Brand Itself

Penfold has a different vibe than most golf brands. It uses its rich history to truly solidify and bolster its expertise in the game. It also has a lot of really awesome vintage golf photos, and uses it for the aforementioned reasons:

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Penfold’s history spans all the way back to 1927, founded by A.E.Penfold, and set up in the Bromford Lane factory under the name Golf Ball Developments Ltd in Birmingham, England.

On its website, it lists several milestones of Penfold:

• Born in 1884, Albert started as an apprentice at the Silvertown company, where he revolutionized golf balls with a pure-white gutta-percha ball.
• In 1919, he joined Dunlop and, within three years, designed the famous Maxfli ball.
• In 1930, he met the R&A’s challenge to develop a ball that met new specifications while outdriving others, resulting in the iconic Penfold ball.
• Albert’s lattice balls thrived in the UK, offering longer carries due to the damper climate and softer fairways.

Product Lineup

Apart from bags, Penfold offers everything from balls to ball markers to shoe bags to clothing. It all varies in price, but here are a few of my favorite pieces. To be transparent, I don’t have all of these in my possession, but a few I do:

NPeal x Penfold 1/4 Zip – $195

Classy, clean, and formal. I wasn’t sent this piece, but I love the look and would love to sport this on a cold day!

007 Playing Card Ball Marker – $35

I will admit, I am a bit of a James Bond fan. Especially the recent Daniel Craig saga, which became a regular in my rotation of ball markers. Unfortunately, I do not have my Wilmington Country Club one anymore, so I have rotated between this one and the ones from Hazard Hunters.

If you don’t know, Bond used an Australian Penfold Golf Ball in the 1964 film “Goldfinger”:

PGA Valhalla Backpack – $135

I’m a sucker for a good backpack. I love the color of this, and it’s always nice to have merchandise from a specific event. It’s a great conversation starter at the course or even in public. Someone will always have a comment about apparel from a certain tournament, at least in my experience.

Cover Image via Penfold on Facebook