The other day, I was eating a pack of fruit snacks. Right now, my wife and I are knee-deep in the potty-training of our twin, two-year-old boys. The fruit snacks serve as a “dangled carrot” of sorts. Pee in the toilet, pop a pair of gummies. Pee in your diaper, and you get diddly-squat.
As the lone financial backer of this program, I feel it my responsibility to test the quality of the incentive products I offer my kids, especially when there’s college football on television, and I’m in a snacking mood. Anyway, I recently noticed some interesting verbiage on the packaging …
“Made With All-Natural Flavors”
The Welch family can brag about this as much as they like, but at the end of the day, all this really means is that they at least attempted to make their snacks taste like actual fruit …
Which is kind of the whole point, right?
- It’s marketing speak.
- It’s package copy.
- It’s filler.
THIS is how I feel about bag dividers in disc golf.
They sound important …
And that’s about it.
Bag dividers are vertical slats that come with many backpack-style disc golf bags. Their intended purpose is to help organize the golf discs they carry. Here’s a picture of two of ‘em, if needed:
As you can see, thankfully, they’re lined with velcro, making them detachable. I say this, because they virtually do nothing. Well, not nothing, as they DO take up space for additional frisbees.
But that’s it.
It’s my belief that they’re little more than an easy “feature bullet” bag retailers can add on a product-description webpage. And one likely composed of leftover materials, so why not?
Users will argue their bag dividers make it easier for them to separate their putters from their midranges and their midranges from their fairway and distance drivers – some iteration of that.
But is this really a problem? And assuming it is, is it pressing enough to sacrifice the in-bag real estate that might be better served for an extra disc or two? Built-in putter pouches help with organization. Side pockets do, too. Also, simply knowing your bag makes this a non-issue.
Think about it …
Is a bookshelf better with more vertical dividers?
Of course not.
It’s craftsmanship, the durability of the product and the quality of the materials used during construction that make a sizable difference. It’s the same exact thing with disc golf bags.
Ray Charles might’ve benefitted from bag dividers, but if you’re not visually impaired, they’re not that big of a deal – hardly a marketable selling point. With peace of mind, assuming they came with your latest disc-totting purchase, trash ‘em with the rest of the bag’s packaging.
You won’t use them.
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Counterpoint: bag dividers are great for beginners as they can be used to stop discs from falling over. I know that when I started I had 4-7 discs in a dynamic discs trooper bag. If I had bag divider I could have supported the discs instead of having them fall over. Although I do agree, it doesn’t make much sense to use them when you are already tight on space.
That’s a good point, Jacob!
Thanks for chiming in.
It’s true …
Most (true) beginners only have four or five discs – makes sense 🙂
As an added point, when my family and I started out I would of loved dividers since we had one bag for 4 people. Also to help stand them up then you only have a few! Either way I always enjoy your takes.
Thanks, Andy!
And hey, I’ve got some kids, myself …
This is good to know 🙂
(they still need a few years of growth, but they’ll get there)
I’ll counter that and say if beginners only have 4-5 discs, they should just carry them. It’s way more convenient to just carry five discs than a whole backpack. Sometimes I’ll go for a casual toss/dog walk all-in-one and grab five discs I think will work for the course. It reminds me how liberating it is not to carry a 30lbs backpack.
I use mine alot… When I go for rounds with a minimal disc setup. Helps you keep your disc upright easy to access.
And if not just for the fact that it keeps the tight together an no moving around while carrying the bag.
Which in turn has helped me lots in immediately noticing that I’m missing a disc.
So yes I totally do not agree with your.
And I hardly believe that they put them in there just to make it look like more value.
This is why I love bags like the Shift or Easy-Go …
No, they don’t hold everything on earth, but just by looking, you can tell if you’re missing a disc.
There are few things worse for a disc golfer than realizing you’ve left a proven flier behind.
I use one for my putting putters. I prefer that over unzipping a putter pouch every time I reach for my putters. Yea my bag is cheap.
That’s a good idea!
Most putter pouches can be left open, though, you know?
What bag do you have?
(nothing wrong with a cheap bag, BTW)
Not really sure. I got It off Amazon years ago for about $40.
I was leaving the putter pouch open and one fell out. Luckily I got it back. It scared me enough to change my bag layout.
Nice!
Glad your current setup is working nicely for you 🙂
Sounds to me like somebody has never spent much time filling bookshelves. If Bookshelves didn’t benefit from added dividers, bookends wouldn’t exist. If you don’t have enough books to fill out a shelf, you risk damaging them by leaning them or laying them flat. Urethane based(premium plastic) discs damage much quicker from the same the thing than do books. It could take years for a book to take damage from leaning over, propping up a row of other books. A urethane disc can warp in an afternoon given the right conditions. Furthermore, in SMARTER bag designs like the Upper Park Shift or the Big Hyzer Bags Ergo, where the discs are arranged vertically along your spine instead of bouncing off your lumbar area, the dividers are necessary, acting as pockets which hold the discs.
The “articles” on this site remind me of Peggy’s Musings in the Arlen Gazette on King of the Hill. Writing just to fill space. Why does a spiral notebook need holes AND perforations? Why does the spiral notebook even exist when perforations are a thing? Spiral notebooks are, therefore, useless. You should just throw them out.
Big fan of “Kind of the Hill.”
Not sure if that was a compliment or not, but going to take it as such …
Whatever you think of our content, appreciate you reading and chiming in!
Thanks, Williams 🙂
They work of you want to put something besides discs in the main compartment. Especially something that may not be there the whole round. A jacket could come off as it works up or a 6 pack could get smaller. It keeps your discs from falling over.
Oh, that jacket idea’s not half-bad …
Never heard of that before.
Thanks for the tip!
(there’s always just carrying a smaller bag, of course)
I always thought I’d use mine maybe one day…but I do not. I usually lay them in the bottom of my bag for added stability and to raise my discs a bit for added access.
Hey, there’s an idea!
Never heard of that one before …
Pretty cool 🙂
Separating drivers from fairways is essential for time management. Especially nowadays when there is a 30 second shot clock. Having your disc selection organized is critical and crucial to making the decision process simple. Also keeps discs from warping. I found your article while i was on the toilet , and it also stunk.
I don’t have data on this, but to be fair …
My guess is most people find our articles while on the toilet.
That’s when people read articles. Haha.
Thanks for sharing!
Here’s a Pointer to help determine when they’re Pointless.
If you notice you’re using them, they’re useful.
If you notice you’re not using them, they’re useless.
Some bags (or cart), some circumstances, I find myself using them. Other bags, other times, I don’t.
Isn’t that the Point?
Thanks, Purple!
For discs, this logic makes sense …
I can see it.
But how would circumstances change the need for bag dividers, exactly?
Number of discs for one thing. Plans for the round, for another (because that can affect number and type of discs). Wind and weather for a third (ditto, plus layers). Idea is that, for me (your results may differ), upright and in order discs make disc golf less annoying. Depending on circumstances, dividers may be needed for that.
I either roll my cart (Zuca Transit holds up to about 30 discs in one long row), or carry one of several medium or small bags (max capacity of either 15 or 8 discs). Never replaced my last worn-out backpack—if I need that many discs I’ll take my cart.
From my house it’s a half-mile walk to my home course on a small college, including down a 100-yard fairly steep hill (they call it Upper Campus and Lower Campus). On the way home, I have to roll cart or carry bag back up the hill, and weight matters! (Even empty my water bottle before I start back up.)
So I’ll typically take 20-25 discs in the cart, and use a lightweight divider made of a loop of cardboard with a couple small air packing pillows (from Amazon shipments) inside the loop. It will expand/contract with number of discs, and keeps the discs standing up with drivers on one side and mids/throwing putters on other (ordered by speed, then stability). Will sometimes pull the divider and add discs when I know the course will be empty, to do a little one-way field work on the couple of long, open fairways.
Same principle with Med bags. A medium bag of 14-15 discs/no divider stays packed for All-Vibram round 2-3 times a month. Or might take a med bag of 10-12 discs w/one divider if I want to move a little faster, or going to a not-cart-friendly course.
Eight-disc bags need no divider…you got me there. (I keep three packed. One each of all-MVP or all-Prodigy ultralights, because they’re too hard to find to carry more. One for me when I want to simplify, or loan the bag, or going to an overgrown course (so bright-colors, easy-to-replace discs).
Purple, you have the transportation of discs down to a science …
Good gravy, you should teach a course!
How many bags + carts do you own in total, if you don’t mind me asking?
(no judgement, BTW – this is judgement-free question)
Thanks for chiming in on the matter!
I use the divider also. I lay it in the bottom of the bag to help support the wall to wall discs in it
So, like a mattress for your discs?