The line between genius and huh?! is a slim one — and Czech golfer Ondrej Lieser is pushing up against it at this week’s European Tour event.
Lieser, who is the 186th-ranked player in the world, is in the field at the Magical Kenya Open, in Nairobi, a second-year event on the European circuit with a $1.1 million purse. But it is not his appearance in the tournament that has generated buzz — it’s his golf bag.
The 29-year-old showed up at Karen Country Club with a bizarre, inside-out bag, the likes of which we’ve never seen before.
The most obvious difference between Lieser’s contraption and traditional bags is that his clubs are fully exposed. The only protection from the elements comes in the form of individual holders on the grip side of each club, which affix the shafts, and by extension, the clubheads in place.
The bag, from the Czech company Golf Geum Technology, comes in the carry-bag version Lieser has been modeling, and also a push-cart style with either two or three wheels. The only model currently available on the company’s site is an electric version, which retails for €5,600, or about $6,600.
While some have brought up valid concerns about Lieser’s bag (namely, what on earth he’s supposed to do if it rains), we salute his new device. For years, golfers have made various runs at reinventing the golf bag, from satchel-esque holders to micro-bags that minimize space and weight.
It’s easy to forget when looking at Lieser’s adaptation that the golf bag was once little more than leather and canvas. Over the years, it has morphed into a fashion symbol, in a variety of models, colors, sizes and weights.
As for this bag, we’re going to take a wait-and-see approach before declaring a new trend in the golf world. Still, we admire Lieser’s willingness to be a club-toting maverick.
