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GuideCigars for a Round of Golf
A golf cigar has three jobs: last the right number of holes, survive being set down on a cart tray, and cost little enough that losing one to a cart path doesn't ruin the hole. Every pick below comes from a full review on this site.
The course is a terrible place for a precious cigar. It gets set down mid-swing, it goes out while you look for a ball, it rides a bouncing cart in the sun. That's not a reason to bring a bad cigar... it's a reason to bring a good, forgiving, fairly-priced one. Here's how I'd stock the bag.
Match the cigar to the holes
The size math this site runs: a corona goes 30-45 minutes, a robusto about an hour, a toro 90 minutes to 2 hours, a Churchill 2 hours and up. Nine holes runs about two hours... that's toro territory, or a robusto if you smoke the front nine and talk the back. Eighteen holes is a two-cigar round, not one giant cigar: light the second when you want it, not because the first has to last five hours.
The bag
The everyday choice... an easy-smoking toro that you can rebuy by the box on its quarterly sales for around $8 a stick, which is exactly the price you want riding in a cart:
The Filthy Viking Toro Review (American Viking Cigars)
The Filthy Viking Toro from American Viking is a Five-Pack (3/4) at $11.44 street... with a standing exception you should know about: catch these...
The step-up... more flavor for a few dollars more, with one course-relevant caveat straight from the review: it asks for a lighter more than it should, so it pairs well with the torch advice below:
Oliva Serie V Toro Review
The Oliva Serie V Toro is a Five-Pack (3/4) at about $13 street... a sweet, nutty, medium cigar that punches way above its price tag, and asks for a...
The front-nine robusto, right at $10:
Asylum 13 Corojo Robusto Review
The Asylum 13 Corojo Robusto is a Five-Pack (3/4) at about $10 street... a mild-to-medium creamy-bread smoke that flipped my "Asylum is a gimmick...
And the good-round cigar... when the occasion earns it, the closest thing to a box on this site that isn't one, and the toro I'd bring before I'd gamble course money on something unproven:
Crux Guild Toro Review
The Crux Guild Toro is a Five-Pack (3/4) at about $12.50 street... and the closest a cigar has come to the box without getting one.
The two pieces of gear that matter out there
Wind is the course's whole personality, and a torch handles it the way a soft flame can't. This one is cheap, it's a triple jet, and it's the one I'd hand a beginner anyway:
Vertigo Hawk Triple Jet Flame Lighter Review
The Vertigo Hawk triple jet lighter is a Buy Again at about $10 street... and if you're just getting into cigars, this is the one I'd hand you first.
And because golf is where wrappers crack... a cigar rolling around a cart tray or riding a bag pocket takes abuse... ten dollars of field repair insurance earns its slot:
PerfecRepair Cigar Glue Review
PerfecRepair cigar glue is a Buy Again at $10 street... it's ten bucks, it saves cigars, and one bottle lasts basically forever.
Course rules worth knowing
A cigar that goes out on the course is normal, not a failure... relighting is part of the game, same as it is on the deck. Purpose-built protection matters more in a golf bag than almost anywhere else; the traveling with cigars page covers what actually keeps a stick smokable in heat. And mind the group: smoke drifts, so check before you light, and downwind is good manners even among friends.
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The under-$10 list as it actually stands: what earned a verdict at street price, what's merely fine, and why it's short right now.
The First Five Cigars
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