Some companies talk a good game about recycling and other environmentally friendly business policies. Others put recycling at the heart of what they do. Sea Bags is one of them.
The Portland, Maine, company collects and repurposes old sailcloth, especially the Dacron fabric that makes up most of the sails used on the waters of the United States. The sailcloth is cleaned, cut and sewn into a variety of useful items such as tote bags, duffle bags, handbags and luggage.
The company keeps its workforce local, with the cutting and sewing done at a location in South Portland. Its retail shops are dotted along the East Coast, including the store on Baltimore Avenue in Rehoboth Beach. Other Mid-Atlantic stores are in Annapolis and St. Michaels, Md. – but of course, one might say.
Since its founding in 1999, the company claims to have kept 1.5 million pounds of sailcloth from ending up in landfills.
And now Sea Bags can be found in golf pro shops.
I spoke with Tim Pazar of Sea Bags at the 2026 PGA Show as he stood in a modest booth filled with totes and other bags on display.
“Their mission really spoke to me,” he said. “It’s a good company.”
Pazar said the recycled cloth is predominantly Dacron. He stressed that the fabric comes in very different weights per square yard depending on the originally intended use, such as whether it was a spinnaker or mainsail.
“We have a full team of seamstresses. We use everything in the sail that we can. Some of the really light fabric becomes the tags,” he said.
The ropes used as handles for most items, such as the popular market tote, are sourced in New England. The company first looks in Maine and other New England states for the sailcloth but will go farther south if necessary.
Golf is part of the company’s logo branding operation, which it also does for yacht clubs, marinas and other businesses. Tazar showed me a few logo’d tote bags carrying the brands of some well-known Maine golf clubs.
“We have about 10 green-grass shops now, but we’re looking to expand,” he said. “When we’re doing the designs, we can match the Pantone color codes. The sailcloth is never completely white, though, so it always has some character to it.”
Adding another club to the Sea Bag collection is simple and fast, Tazar said.
“It takes about four weeks from the time the design is approved. There’s a six-tote minimum order, with a 12-unit minimum for the accessory items,” he said.
FlightScope
During Demo Day at the 2026 PGA Show, I met with Tyler Burnett, a global marketing manager for FlightScope launch monitors.
We discussed the company’s new Mevo Gen 2 monitor, a smaller design loaded with features currently retailing for $1,299.
Burnett said the trend in electronic devices generally has hit the golf business. Companies continue to add desired elements while still cutting prices.
“How many features can we load into this for a great price? I think that’s one of our strong suits,” he said. “It’s just the value for what you get. With the price point, the data, its features like simulated courses, everything that comes with the product, for the price I don’t think there’s anyone who can match that. It’s not the cheapest, but it’s probably the best value for your money of the launch monitor industry.”
“The Gen2 comes out of the box with 20 data parameters, so we’ve added some ball data, you get angle of attack, spin axis. All the data you need to start the journey to getting better, but also the ability to play simulated golf courses. It comes with eight golf courses, well-known ones like Torrey Pines and Kiawah Island. If you want to add things as you go, we have the packages which are software add-ons for more data features. Those are one-time charges, no subscriptions, you’re good to go,” Burnett said.
We agreed that not requiring subscriptions for continued service is a feature, not a bug.
Burnett also discussed the XC3, the company’s mainline product for club pros, now retailing for under $14,000. That is a steep drop in price from when I wrote about monitors several years ago.
“That’s basically what you want if you want all the bells and whistles. It comes with auto-leveling feet, it comes with long battery life of eight hours,” he said.
“It’s a full tracking radar, so if you’re outside, it will physically track the ball for you down to landing. It comes with 50-plus full shot, chipping and putting data parameters. It also comes with E6 courses if you want to play simulation. It comes with Pebble Beach, St. Andrews and all the top courses. It’s our most powerful radar; it’s going to give you the most precise data for the price point,” Burnett said.
Demand for the Gen 2 is high right now as the new golf season spreads across the country. The company’s website alerts buyers of a three- to four-week lead time from order to delivery.
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Fritz Schranck has been writing about the Cape Region's golf community since 1999. Snippets, stories and anecdotes from his columns are included in his new book, "Hole By Hole: Golf Stories from Delaware's Cape Region and Beyond," which is available at the Cape Gazette offices, Browseabout Books in Rehoboth Beach, Biblion Books in Lewes, and local golf courses. His columns and book reviews are available at HoleByHole.com.
Contact Fritz by emailing fschranck@holebyhole.com.
