The Sun Mountain Club Glider Meridian is one of those rare products where I hardly ever hear a negative review.
Everyone I know who owns one loves it.
I’m one of them. Mine has been all over the world with me, and it keeps coming back home in one piece, with my clubs and stuff totally undamaged.
But I’ve always had a short list of nitpicks. It’s not the biggest bag out there. The build quality is good without being bulletproof. And it has never been cheap.
So when Sun Mountain announced the ClubGlider3, I was curious: Did they actually fix the stuff I griped about, or is this pretty much the same bag for more money?
I took it on a trip to Canyata (the Golf Digest Top 100 course you probably don’t know much about) to find out.
Why the Meridian Was Already Hard to Beat
Let me back up for a second, because you can’t judge the ClubGlider3 without understanding what it’s replacing.
The Meridian is still on sale, by the way. It retails for $380, and Sun Mountain isn’t discontinuing it (at least as of now).
Of all the products I’ve reviewed on Breaking Eighty, the ClubGlider is one of the few that seem to be universally praised with literally no exceptions. I’ve taken my Meridian model on like 15 to 20 trips, and it has held up great every time.
The Sun Mountain Club Glider Meridian is a fantastic golf travel bag, with a very convenient "glider" system. It's not quite as robust and durable as the Club Glove Last Bag, but the unique design more than makes up for it.
The point is that Meridian set a pretty high bar. I’ve loved the ClubGlider wheel system, which I’ll get into more as we go. And I was honestly skeptical about what the ClubGlider3 could really add to an already very solid experience.
First Impressions of the ClubGlider 3and What Sun Mountain Actually Changed
Pull the ClubGlider3 out of the box, and it looks very familiar. Same silhouette and general idea as with the other ClubGlider models. Sun Mountain didn’t reinvent anything, which is a good idea considering how popular this product line has been.
But when you look closer, you definitely start to notice some upgrades.
The first thing that caught my attention was the material. The Meridian used ballistic-style nylon. The ClubGlider3 switches to a ripstop material that feels more high-end and tougher.
Then there’s the protection. The top of the bag, where your clubheads sit, now has a rigid thermoform-molded casing, and the interior is lined with velour.
Listen, my clubs seriously have never gotten damaged at all with the Meridian. That said, the protection with this ClubGlider3 is a definite step up. So I’d say it’s going to give you even better peace of mind if you’re checking something expensive.
And if you’ve ever been on the fence about trusting a soft-sided bag over a hard-shell case, this bag feels like kind of the perfect middle ground. The extra molded texture and padding won’t turn it into a hard case, but it does close the gap enough that I wouldn’t have any concerns at all about checking pricey clubs with it.
You also get a couple of new features with the ClubGlider3.
There’s an integrated TSA lock, so now you can actually secure the bag.
And you’ve got a dedicated pocket for an AirTag in case you like tracking your clubs when they are in transit.
The zippers also got an upgrade. On the old bag, the zippers were the part that didn’t feel quite as high-quality, and I always thought they would be what failed first on the bag. The two-way zippers on the ClubGlider3 feel more robust. They’re still not up to the overbuilt zipper quality you get on a Club Glove, but they’re a clear improvement over what came before.
Also, this bag is a little bit bigger than the Meridian. Not dramatically, but just enough to make packing noticeably easier. I’m notorious for throwing a lot of extras into my travel bag, and the ClubGlider3 definitely accommodates that better. I’ll go into more detail on that in a minute.
The ClubGlider3 improves upon nearly every aspect of the previous iteration of this. bag. It's more durable, has more space, and is every bit as convenient as the older model. Only downside? At $450 MSRP, it ain't cheap.
How the Sun Mountain ClubGlider 3 Held Up at Canyata
My first real test with the ClubGlider3 was on a trip out to Canyata, which is probably the least-played course on the Golf Digest Top 100, out in the middle of the country near Marshall, Illinois. Hardly anyone gets to play it. If you’re curious, check out my deep-dive review on that very special experience.
Anyway, the logistics on that trip were the exact kind of thing that punishes a travel bag. Two flights, a rental car, and a long drive out to a course with a driveway that runs through a river.
I didn’t have a single issue with the ClubGlider3. No damaged clubs. No broken zippers. No wheel problems. Nothing.
I get it that “everything worked” isn’t the sexiest line in a review, but that’s the whole job of a travel bag. Ideally, you forget that it even exists until it’s time to get your golf bag out to go play.
For what it’s worth, my dad took my older Meridian on the same trip, and it held up just as well. That may tell you what you need to know about whether or not it’s really necessary to upgrade, which I’ll come back to.
I’ve also since done a second golf trip to Sand Hills in Nebraska, with absolutely zero issues.
How Much You Can Actually Pack in the Sun Mountain ClubGlider3
Space is one of the areas Sun Mountain actually improved. The ClubGlider3 holds more than the Meridian did, and as someone who likes to overpack, I welcomed the extra room.
There are two shoe pockets on the outside of the bag, same as before. Each one holds a single shoe, so a pair has to split between the two. Not a dealbreaker, just something to know.
The upside is the extra room inside. For the Canyata trip, I slid in an extra pair of shoes and a pair of sandals, on top of everything else I packed, without any problem.
But this isn’t a bag that you can totally max out by throwing everything you own in. If you carry a larger hybrid stand bag, something like a Vessel Player V Pro or the Jones Utility X, it fits perfectly. Move up to a full cart bag or a staff bag, and I think you’re going to want to size up to a bigger travel bag.
After a few trips with the Club Glove Pro Traveler, I got used to just cramming everything in. Four pairs of shoes? Sure. Rain gear, extra shirts, a couple of hats that won’t fit in my suitcase? Toss it all in there.
As a bit of a packrat, I miss that. The ClubGlider3 gives you a little more room than the Meridian did, but it isn’t in the same class as the bigger bags.
So if maximum space is your priority, Sun Mountain does make a larger bag in the lineup, and Club Glove’s bigger models are built for exactly that kind of overpacking.
But for a normal trip with clubs, a couple pairs of shoes, and the usual gear, the ClubGlider3 handles those trips great.
The Glider System is Still the Whole Point
I talked briefly earlier about the wheels. And it’s still the best thing about these Sun Mountain ClubGlider travel bags.
If you’ve never used one, you stand the bag up, you pull a lever, and an extra set of wheels pops out. Your clubs basically glide through the airport while you barely touch them.
I can’t overstate how much easier this makes travel. You can honestly guide the bag with one finger. Seriously, my at-the-time-4-year-old daughter could move it across a terminal without any help.
This is the main reason that golfers who fly a lot keep gravitating to these ClubGlider bags. Every other feature is a nice-to-have, but this wheel system is totally unmatched with competing products.
And it works identically on the ClubGlider3, which is a very good thing.
Club Glove for Durability, Sun Mountain ClubGlider 3 for Convenience
Club Glove builds the most bulletproof travel bags I’ve tested. The material and zippers are overengineered in the best way. If you’re flying with your clubs several times a month and putting a bag through real abuse, that extra durability margin is probably even more important to you than the glide feature on the ClubGlider bags.
If you’re that kind of traveler, I’d point you at the Club Glove Pro Traveler instead.
There’s also the full Club Glove travel system to consider. Pair one of their travel bags with their suitcase and you can daisy-chain the two together, then pull both with one hand. It’s a slick setup. But it’s also a lot of money, since the suitcase alone costs around $750 to $800, so it isn’t for most people.
But for what it’s worth, that $800 suitcase is the best one I’ve ever owned.
For what it’s worth, this is how I split it personally. On longer trips where I’m gone a week or more and packing a lot, I prefer the Club Glove Pro Traveler and that Club Glove suitcase because of the durability and the raw capacity.
But for shorter trips or anytime I’m not hauling my whole life with me, nothing beats the convenience of the ClubGlider, and that’s what I grab.
Which Sun Mountain Travel Bag Should You Buy?
Here’s how I’d sort it out.
If you’re buying a travel bag from scratch and budget isn’t the deciding factor, get the ClubGlider3. The tougher material, the molded top protection, the TSA lock, and the better hardware are real upgrades over other ClubGlider models. At $450, it’s still cheaper than most hardshell cases and far easier to actually live with.
If you already own a Meridian, you don’t need to upgrade. The improvements in the ClubGlider3 are real but not major enough to justify upgrading until something on your current bag fails.
If you’re choosing between a new ClubGlider3 and an older model on sale, it comes down to the discount. If you can find the older bag for more than $100 less, it will serve you just fine. Otherwise, I think it’s worth spending a little bit more to get the latest model and the better features with the ClubGlider3.
And if you travel constantly and want the most durable option, that’s when I’d recommend the Club Glove.
For most of us who fly with clubs a handful of times a year, the ClubGlider3 is one of the best travel bags you can buy. In fact, it might be the overall best.
The ClubGlider3 improves upon nearly every aspect of the previous iteration of this. bag. It's more durable, has more space, and is every bit as convenient as the older model. Only downside? At $450 MSRP, it ain't cheap.
Sun Mountain fixed almost everything I nitpicked about the Meridian, but does that make it worth $450?
The ClubGlider3 takes a bag people already loved and fixes pretty much any nitpick you could find with previous models. It's more durable, better protected, more secure, and a little roomier, all with the same effortless glider system. The only real knock is the price, because $450 puts it in the premium travel bag category.
The Good
- The glider wheel system is as effortless as ever
- Tougher ripstop material with upgraded hardware and zippers
- Better club protection with molded top casing and velour lining
- New TSA lock and AirTag pocket
- A little more packing space than the Meridian
The Bad
- At $450 it's a premium price
- Not as roomy as the dedicated max-capacity bags
- Not as overbuilt as a Club Glove
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Features and Quality
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Personal Affinity
