The year was 1985. Peter Jacobsen, a professional golfer and beloved Oregonian, found himself in St Andrews with his brother David. The two fine golfers had a week to themselves, and the Old Course beckoned. Sensibly, they elected to take a caddie in order to navigate their way around the revered ground. The caddie master assigned one Rick MacKenzie to them and instructed that he would be carrying double for the round. Rick took one look at the Jacobsen brothers’ over-sized golf bags and shook his head. He proceeded to remove only the essentials from each bag and loaded this into a single leather pencil bag.
The two Americans had an incredibly memorable week in the Old Grey Town, and enjoyed playing their way around the Old Course with bags carrying only the things they truly needed. They found that playing this way seemed to bring them closer to the essence of the game.
Upon returning to Oregon, they commissioned a local leather craftsman to make a beautiful, uncomplicated leather golf bag inspired by the simple bags Rick MacKenzie was carrying. And so, the MacKenzie Walker was born. Its classic nature was the whole point; nothing unnecessary and only a couple of models - either one pocket or two.
Over the years only subtle modifications have been made to the Mackenzie Walker with the intent of improving on it’s pure functionality while maintaining its timeless style. In fact, today’s MacKenzie Walker is nearly indistinguishable from the very first one that was crafted in 1985. Yes, the leather is of a higher quality, the hardware is improved, the strap is more comfortable and the golf bag is lighter and more pleasing to have over your shoulder. And despite the thoughtful refinements, the MacKenzie Walker's heritage remains untampered with.
Simple. Beautiful. Useful. The earliest decisions about the MacKenzie Walker provided us the same mantra we follow today.
Your MacKenzie begins in a select few tanneries. The resulting leather hides find their way to the expert hands of our leather cutters, who carefully select the ideal sections of the hide for each part of your golf bag. The parts are then skived, folded, hammered and matched before being passed on to the practiced hands of our stitchers. Dozens of individual pieces of leather are guided through subtly powerful sewing machines as your MacKenzie begins to take shape. The finishing touches and final pieces of hardware are applied with meticulous attention to detail. All of this is done one step at a time, by hand, of course. Each step contributes in its own way to the deep-rooted heritage of the MacKenzie Walker. It is a golf bag we expect you to carry for many, many rounds.
Every golf bag is crafted using only the finest full-grain leather available. Years of experience have proven that it is the only leather from which our golf bags should be made. Our waxed canvas comes from one of the world’s oldest fabric finishers, dating to the 1800s. Naturally, these companies set the industry standard for quality, making fabrics that will be put to use in conditions much harsher than most golf bags will ever experience.
Many products speak of their evolution, however, the MacKenzie Walker was born fully formed and over the years its evolution is more aptly described as refinement. It is akin to a sculpture… We have taken away whatever isn’t necessary for the golf bag to fulfill its original purpose: carry your clubs, golf balls, and necessities in an elegant and uncomplicated manner.
