Craftsman Headcovers - 2023 Forum Review

[Big moose]

14 hours ago, tchat07 said:

Do you feel you use those more frequently than others? 

Yes those are probably the ones that I use more, that could be why that is happening. 

[tchat07]

8 hours ago, Big moose said:

Yes those are probably the ones that I use more, that could be why that is happening. 

Seems like it would be the most reasonable explanation plus the heat of being in a car.

[tchat07]

On 5/30/2023 at 6:40 AM, tchat07 said:

The Review - June 14th 2023

Craftsman Golf Headcovers - Official MGS Forum Review by tchat07

Intro

First, I would like to thank MGS and Craftsman Golf for this opportunity. This is such a unique test I am excited to participate and see if I can help those in the market for new head covers. I golf weekly in season being from May to September, I work in education so once school starts, I become very busy. Play most of my golf in Maryland, I have been seriously golfing for 10 years and like to think I am pretty engaged in the golf landscape. When it comes to head covers in my bag, I like to have custom ones from companies I support or ones with cool designs that I like. I am not a sock or animal head cover owner, mostly like the “boxing glove” style head covers for their fit and normally looks very nice in a bag. I take good care of my head covers, not a toss them on the ground during a shot type.

I think the biggest test for any head cover is durability. Durability of shape, can it maintain its elasticity after being removed multiple times. Durability of design, do the stitches remain intact, does it fade from being outside. I will be getting a set that comes with a driver, wood and hybrid. To test this product, I am going to be aggressive with the driver since it will be used the most. I am going to drop it, throw it, spike it (we all know those golfers who in a fit after a 3 putt take it out on their poor head cover). The wood head cover I am going to expose to the elements, leave it in my car after rounds, toss it in the back of the cart during rounds, let it get wet, bake in the sun etc. Finally with the hybrid head cover I am going to treat it as normal. 

Below is a picture of the most recent head covers I have had. The driver head cover is from Sunfish Sales. This is no longer in the bag because I got a new Callaway Driver and the head cover it came with is clean with nice stitching. The next is what I currently use on my 3-wood it is from Oahu Golf Apparel and I have had it for years. The blue head cover is my second favorite, the design from Almigos is top notch with the faux blue alligator skin. Finally, is my favorite my putter head cover from Oak and Anchor, which no longer seems to exist, so this is probably a collector's item now! The knock off Louis Vuitton look is solid but the best part is on the logo in the middle it says, “Go Low, Stay Fly”, what an awesome motto to have on your putter head cover.

I have open spots on my driver and my hybrid right now for head covers. To stay in the bag, it will need to maintain its shape well and maintain its look, I am gentle with my head covers so there is no reason it should not last a very long time but that’ll be up to the craftsmanship (pun intended). I had not heard of Craftsman Golf before, but I have a decent background understanding of what to expect out of a good head cover. 

First Impressions (14 out of 20)

The first thing we have to talk about is not the product but the website design. You get on to Craftsman Golf and are instantly hit with one of those add your email spin the wheel get money off pop ups. The impression I get from the website is it is very basic but certainly nothing on the opening page grabs my attention. You scroll through their collection, and it remains basic designs; “birdies”, USA, bombs and clovers. Nothing did I really love but I thought the clovers looked clean so I went with them. 

Shipping came through in the expected amount of time. Packaging was simple if a little overdone with each head cover been double wrapped in plastic. Looking at the head covers they are very clean looking with the contrasting white background and green clovers. Interesting design of with three attaches clovers and three embroidered clovers. I personally prefer the embroidered clovers; I think they have a cleaner look and seem like they would take on less damage over time. They also are all the same color, whereas the attached clovers differ slightly in color. The driver, wood and hybrid covers are all based off the same template so all look exactly the same. This is something I am not a fan of, I like the personality you apply with your head covers and to have 3 that are exactly the same takes a little away from it. 

Will say this seems to fit with the website design and available cover designs, does not seem to be a lot of creativity and seems to be more about minimization of cost. I will add though this seems to allow for a decrease in price with all their head covers being reasonably priced in the $30-40 range.

Aesthetics (20 out of 30) 

As mentioned before I like the contrast with the white leather head cover, grey felt interior, and solid green clovers. The head covers all have held up nicely to the trials I have put them through. I have been rough with the driver head cover and the only difference since I started using it has been it has become slightly looser making it a little easier to get on and off the driver. The wood head cover  I have gone to extremes to see if I could get the green to fade or cause some type of damage. I have left it outside at the beach, I have soaked it and left it in a hot car, I even got it dirty and tested how easily it was to clean the smudge. The pictures can be found below. First is the smudge, second is after being cleaned with just water and third is after using dish soap. It has passed all tests except for one which I will talk about later in my review. Finally the hybrid cover I treated as I do most head covers with care. Same as well prior it has not shown much wear other then with the one test I spoke of earlier.

On close inspection there are a couple errors when it comes to the stitching. On one embroidered clover on the driver the stem and clover border were much closer than you see on all other embroidered clovers. On the wood head cover there is a clear miss in the stitching border of one of the attached clovers. Finally on the driver head cover one of the border stitching and the attached clover do not line up as well as all the others do. The hybrid head cover seemed to have the best quality, which was very interesting considering it is the smallest of the batch and you would think it would the most difficult to get the details cleanest. 

The Good, the bad, the inbetween (22 out of 30)

This is a very unique type of test, you aren’t really gathering any data or able to see any change to your game it is all subjective. For this very reason I felt it necessary to come up with some type of “test” that could differentiate the quality of this head cover from others, in comes the “swing test”. I am sure many have done this before maybe to warm up but the swing test is when you swing your club with the head cover still attached. For this test I had to include my previous head covers as a baseline, they have a few years in them so it should show if the Craftsman stretch quickly. 

First we will begin with the bad, the hybrid head cover slips off very easily after an its brief time of use. I actually launched it backwards on my back swing and all of these swings are at 50% so its not like I was going quickly. This compared poorly to my TaylorMade head cover that has been in the bag for about a year, will add the caveat that the TM has the high sock design at the bottom of the leather portion so a little more grab. I found this concerning because as you go through a round and the clubs are bouncing around in your bag I could see the ease of this head cover coming off to lead it to pop off during your round. To me the worst type of head cover is a lost one so that certainly would be less then ideal. Next came the wood cover, compared to my own that has been in the bag for about 3 years. This I was actually surprised with because my other head cover feels a snugger but both matched on the swing test and came off during the down swing.  Finally was the driver cover and weirdly enough this performed great! I was able to do a full 2 swings without it coming off which out performed the 5 year old head cover I previously had on my driver. 

Play it or Trade it? (14 out of 20)

Well at the beginning I said that there were positions open in my bag and I will be adding a head cover to my bag, however, it will only be one of the three. The driver cover will be joining the bag, it performed well in the swing test and I truly do like the compliment of the white cover and green clovers within my bag. The hybrid cover will not be joining the bag because of fear of losing it due to the looseness of fit after only a short time. The fit of the wood cover I was comfortable with but as I mentioned earlier it is an exact replica of the other two. It is a nice design but not so nice that I feel the need to have two of the same in my bag and I appreciate uniqueness of head covers so this would not fit what I am looking for in a head cover. Once again I will mention as I did earlier that the pricing for these head covers is reasonable and I feel matches the others in the market that support the $40 head cover market. These to me are a great gift for a golfer who is just finding there way into golf and might not have head covers or have older ones so a great cost affect way to spice up the bag.

Conclusion

Craftsman Golf provided me with a nice set of head covers at a reasonable price. There offerings are ones you have seen elsewhere and the head cover seems to be made off the same template so do not go in looking for something unique. There were minor flaws in the craftsmanship but I think that seems to correlate with the template design, once again do not go in imagining you are getting a 1-of-1 production. Over the brief time I had them they held up nicely and did not fade or have major problems cosmetically. There was a change in the fit on the clubs, not as snug as when I first received them, so it does take into question whether these end up in the lost and found at a course. Overall I think this would be a good head cover for a reasonable price for those who are not cover snobs (I am one).

Final Score (70 out of 100)

Final review has been posted! 

[Javs]

Great reviews on the headcovers!

[Big moose]

The craftsman head covers I have still look really nice. I like that they have a long neck on them. Like I said in my last post the opening is curling on them and it makes it hard to get the club in. I have always  taken the head cover off and thrown it in the basket on the cart, now I stick it in my pocket so I can put it on after I hit so I don't hold everyone up trying to get it back on. Like I said before I like the way they look and fit and how well they are made. 

[Alf. S]

Hi All

I have just posted my review of the Craftsman Headcovers.

Apologies for the lateness but I've had a pretty torrid time in the last 3 weeks, hospitalised for 8 days, back out only to be affected by vertigo issues which means I can't walk any distance without getting dizzy. This means golf is out at the moment and pretty much reliant on my wife to drive me around.

Anyway hoping for better days.

Enjoy Your Golf

Alf 

[tony@CIC]

17 minutes ago, Alf. S said:

Hi All

I have just posted my review of the Craftsman Headcovers.

Apologies for the lateness but I've had a pretty torrid time in the last 3 weeks, hospitalised for 8 days, back out only to be affected by vertigo issues which means I can't walk any distance without getting dizzy. This means golf is out at the moment and pretty much reliant on my wife to drive me around.

Anyway hoping for better days.

Enjoy Your Golf

Alf 

Alf - sorry to hear that - hope you have a speedy recovery

[Randall Robbins]

Hope you're better soon!

[Javs]

5 hours ago, Alf. S said:

Hi All

I have just posted my review of the Craftsman Headcovers.

Apologies for the lateness but I've had a pretty torrid time in the last 3 weeks, hospitalised for 8 days, back out only to be affected by vertigo issues which means I can't walk any distance without getting dizzy. This means golf is out at the moment and pretty much reliant on my wife to drive me around.

Anyway hoping for better days.

Enjoy Your Golf

Alf 

Get better soon!

[rkj427]

11 hours ago, Alf. S said:

Hi All

I have just posted my review of the Craftsman Headcovers.

Apologies for the lateness but I've had a pretty torrid time in the last 3 weeks, hospitalised for 8 days, back out only to be affected by vertigo issues which means I can't walk any distance without getting dizzy. This means golf is out at the moment and pretty much reliant on my wife to drive me around.

Anyway hoping for better days.

Enjoy Your Golf

Alf 

Very nice review, and here's hoping that you get well sooner rather than later, and back out on the course.

[GolfSpy_APH]

It has been a while, but with my Titleist irons I am reconsidering some covers and have to say Craftsman Golf makes some incredible kit. I am just really impressed. Definitely worth looking into for all and helps with the expression of character in your bag too!

What would you be buying if you could right now? Screenshot and send it to us to let us know!

[KC Golf]

9 hours ago, GolfSpy_APH said:

It has been a while, but with my Titleist irons I am reconsidering some covers and have to say Craftsman Golf makes some incredible kit. I am just really impressed. Definitely worth looking into for all and helps with the expression of character in your bag too!

What would you be buying if you could right now? Screenshot and send it to us to let us know!

Are you asking about iron head covers?    Wow that’s controversial…  I am not a big fan… so I have never used them. 

[GolfSpy_APH]

3 minutes ago, KC Golf said:

Are you asking about iron head covers?    Wow that’s controversial…  I am not a big fan… so I have never used them. 

I just want to let them pretty. Thinking more of a off the course travel protection. 

[KC Golf]

Hadn’t really thought about off course transport.  That does make sense if they are getting shipped a lot.

[GolfSpy_KFT]

Testers, how have your headcovers held up since you put them into play? I may be looking into some aftermarket covers for my fairway woods and curious about the durability that the Craftsman covers provide.

[Big moose]

5 hours ago, Jnoble89 said:

Testers, how have your headcovers held up since you put them into play? I may be looking into some aftermarket covers for my fairway woods and curious about the durability that the Craftsman covers provide.

Mine still look like new, I am probably going to order hybrid covers from them I like them so much. I ran one over with the golf cart twice and it didn't do anything to it. 

[Randall Robbins]

Here's a photo of a few of the head covers alongside the 3 iron cover which was never used.  So you can see how well they have held up with over 40 rounds on them.