The story behind Callaway’s St Andrews tour bag

Callaway 2022 Open Tour Bag

Callaway engage St Andrews local community to design a tour bag for the 150th Open Championship.

For as long as we can remember, Callaway have created limited-edition tour bags for their staff players at every Major. Usually a team of product specialists are responsible for the designs but Callaway broke with tradition for the 150th Open, tasking local children to design a bag for every one of their staff players this week.

Budding artists from two St Andrews schools, Madras College and St Leonard, were commissioned to design a St Andrews inspired golf bag. Sixty five designs were submitted, but only 10 were shortlisted.

The winning entry, from 17-year-old Iona Turner, was chosen by a panel of Callaway executives, as well as Danny Willett and Min Woo Lee who are just two of the 34 players using the bag this week. Others include Jon Rahm, Xander Schauffele and Sam Burns.

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All 10 designs which were shortlisted have also been turned into larger-than-life sculptures, which have been on display around St Andrews in the lead up to The Open.

These specially-commissioned sculptures have also formed a new attraction, known as The Big Bag Trail, a route from which locals and visitors can explore the town. The trail remains open until Sunday July 17.

Iona’s winning design takes inspiration from many of St Andrews’ iconic and recognisable landmarks, including the famous Swilcan Bridge, the colourful houses by the harbour, the historic cathedral (where Old Tom Morris is buried), and the town’s beautiful seafront location.

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After being selected as the winning artist, Iona said: “I’m thrilled that my artwork was chosen. It’s been a fantastic experience to be involved in this design project with my fellow students. It will be a little surreal seeing my bag used by some of the world’s best golfers, but I can’t wait.”

Neil Howie, President and Managing Director, Callaway EMEA, said: “To engage the local community in this way and ask local students to do something like this has been truly unique. What is brilliant is that it’s just so visible, and to think that Iona has the potential to see one of our Staff Professionals in contention, with her bag visible to so many people, is just phenomenal.”

Neil Coulson, Chief Executive of St Andrews Links, added: “Huge congratulations to Iona on her spectacular and colourful winning design. I’m sure it’s a proud moment for her and her family, it will be special for her to see the bag in action.

“The public’s response to The Big Bag Trail has been incredible, it’s allowed us to engage with local schools and the St Andrews community ahead of what will be a truly memorable Open at the Home of Golf.”

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Following the conclusion of The Open, the 10 supersized sculptures from The Big Bag Trail will be sold off at a special auction at the Tom Morris Bar & Grill in the St Andrews Links Clubhouse on July 19. You can enter your own bid here.

All proceeds will go to CHAS (Children’s Hospices Across Scotland) and Scottish Sports Futures (Changing Lives Through Sport).

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Bag facts

500 Limited-edition July Major staff bags have been been produced by Callaway.

80 bags will be available for tour use. The other 420 will be sold through Callaway stockists across Europe. You can purchase yours for £699.

300 matching headcovers have also been produced.

Winner Iona Turner’s story

How did you feel when you were told you had won?

I was really surprised, I didn’t expect to win at all. I’d seen a few other designs which I thought were really well put together. I was, however, very excited when I found out, and my excitement has really grown. When I found out, I had no idea what to expect. I didn’t realise what a big deal it was and how much of my original design would feature on the bag.

What’s your favourite part of the design?

I’m very proud of ‘Nessie’ swimming under the Swilcan Bridge! It was a fun thing to do and I’m glad I included it.  

How long did it take to research and draw your design?

It took me about a week to play with ideas and designs. I came up with the final design the night before the deadline and ended up colouring it in on the day it was handed in!

Why is art such a passion?

I’ve always spent my free time painting and drawing. As a family we spend time together doing art, so my parents are very supportive and encouraging of my artwork. I’m really improving and have become more expressive as I gain confidence.

Would you like to pursue art as a career?  

Winning this competition has inspired me to consider art and design as a future career. Until now I’ve felt I should concentrate on more traditional academic subjects, but I’m rethinking my plans now. I loved chatting with Callaway’s design team in California and seeing how they took my piping golfer design and made him into different items.

Iona’s inspiration

“In preparation for designing the bag I walked around St Andrews with some friends and took photos of the things we thought were most important, most iconic and recognisable in the town. We included the famous Swilcan Bridge on the 18th hole of the Old Course, the colourful houses by the harbour, the cathedral and, of course, the sea.” 

“Next, I took inspiration from the whole of Scotland. I was keen to include Nessie – the Loch Ness Monster – due to how iconic she is, so she was placed at the centre of the design. I felt I needed to include bagpipes and a kilt, because they’re things my mind automatically jumps to if someone asks me about Scotland.”

When the time came to add colour to the design, I chose bright colours that reminded me most of summer in St Andrews – which I felt was important as The Open takes place in July.”

“I finished the design by deciding on a concept for the zips, for this I found inspiration in my friend Tess, who suggested ice cream would be a good idea. Jannettas Gelateria is an essential part of St Andrews, so I felt it deserved a reference in my bag design.”  

“I wanted the design to be full of the things I love about Scotland.”

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