Ogio's Schling carrying system is radical, but is it comfortable?

When Izzo Golf introduced the dual-strap carry bag over ten years ago, it was hailed as revolutionary. It was indeed an improvement over the single shoulder strap, which hadn’t changed design in, oh, ever. But revolutionary?

I mean come on, how hard is it to look at a backpack and say, “Hey! Let’s do that on a golf bag"?

What is surprising is that no one had done it sooner.

Enter Ogio’s brand spanking new Schling carrying system, which, on the other hand, is revolutionary. It’s radical, even. And it’s so new, it’s not even on the company’s website yet.

But is it comfortable?

The Schling is a rigid plastic yoke-like harness that sits atop your shoulders in a semi-circle around your neck. It is padded, and can be lifted, positioned, and removed with just one hand (the right hand). By getting rid of shoulder straps, the Schling allows your arms to be completely free.

But a plastic yoke?

Yesterday I walked 18 holes at the moderately hilly Lake of the Woods Golf Course in Mahomet, Illinois, carrying my Ogio Vision SS stand bag (around $200 retail) fitted with the Schling.

The padding on the Schling is not luxuriant, and both I and my playing partner who tried it on commented on the fact that you do feel pressure up around your trapezoid muscles in the back and collar-bone in the front.

Nevertheless, the Schling made my relatively heavy set of clubs feel quite light, and it distributed the weight very evenly. For me personally, an unanticipated upside to the Schling is the fact that it prevents me from “cheating,” and just looping one shoulder strap over one shoulder, which I tend to do with a normal dual-strap bag. After a hole or two of cheating in this way, I begin to notice my lower back complaining and my sciatica firing up. And by the end of the round, I notice that my right shoulder is tired, my right arm not firing through the ball, my hands not closing, and my shots drifting too far to the right.

With the Schling, none of these unsavory developments occurred.

As my playing partner rather conservatively pronounced, the Schling is “different.” (Yep. It is that.) I must also concur with his other comment, that “it would take a little getting used to.”

However, the Schling does appear to offer a truly radical alternative to the status quo. And for those of us who find the contortions and twisted straps associated with dual-strap systems irritating, the Schling is a welcome option.

One note of caution, though: You cannot throw the Schling on in a fit of anger after a bad shot. I did so once and jabbed myself in the left jaw with one side of the Schling. As far as I’m concerned, anything that forces me to maintain self-control on the course, is worth a try.

Ogio’s Schling: “Yoke ‘em up and hit the links, boys!”