Fifteen years ago, BIG MAX created a line of leather golf bags under the name JoeJo. For the founders, it was a true passion project and the realization of a long held ambition to create a golf bag that was both beautiful and exceptionally well made.
In the end, genuine leather did not fully meet the standards BIG MAX sets for its products. The ambition remained, but one question stayed with BIG MAX: is there a material that offers the soft feel of leather without its weaknesses?
That development took five years. Five years of testing, rejection, and refinement to create a material that met BIG MAX standards for robustness, durability, and long term performance.
For a time, standard PU seemed like a solution, but in practice it quickly showed wear, scratches, and abrasion. The answer lay deeper in those five years of development in a material that became known as SoftGuard PU.
SoftGuard PU brings together qualities that rarely exist side by side in conventional materials. It is scratch resistant and abrasion resistant, allowing the surface to maintain its character even after intensive use. It is water repellent and weather resistant, performing reliably in a wide range of conditions. It is easy to clean, without the need for extensive care or treatment. It remains structurally stable and durable, preserving both its shape and surface over time.
At the same time, it feels soft and luxurious to the touch, and is robust enough for the realities of everyday golf, from the cart to the car trunk, from travel to the driving range.
So what better place to showcase this incredible development than a quarry! Stone, dust, and rough surfaces create an environment that could hardly be more demanding. No studio. No artificial perfection.
Take a look what SoftGuard PU has to offer https://youtu.be/V9pSwRISZ7s
The Prime Collection
With Prime, BIG MAX has created a line for 2026 that goes far beyond individual products. The Dri Lite Prime, the Dri Lite Hybrid Prime, and the Dri Lite Silencio Prime combine proven Dri Lite construction with SoftGuard PU as the core material.
Prime is not a departure from the rest of the BIG MAX world. It is a natural next step that shows off the brand’s desire to innovate, experiment and deliver the very best.
“With Prime, we never wanted to develop a bag that simply looked good. From the very beginning, our goal was to create a material that solves a real design challenge.” Commented Maxi Reiter, Head of Marketing at BIG MAX. “SoftGuard PU is softer than standard PU and more durable at the same time. That is not a compromise, it is focused material development. That is exactly what drives us: creating products that prove themselves in use.”
What BIG MAX has successfully done with trolleys for decades, Prime and SoftGuard PU now brings to the golf bag. The question was clear from the start: why should golfers have to choose between a luxury feel and true durability? SoftGuard PU is the answer. It is a design solution that is thoughtful, tested, and made for the golf course.