Garage Golf Caddy

The 6″-radius half-circles on the top piece are simple to cut out with a jigsaw. Your golf bag will neatly nest in this opening.

Although my shop keeps me busy, I still find time for hunting in the woods surrounding our home, fly fishing and lately, swinging some iron with one of my favorite golfing partners: my son, Josh.

Much like woodworking, as Josh and I have become more active in the sport of golf, our collection of golf-related paraphernalia has grown. Clubs, balls, tees and spikes began cluttering our family’s garage and back hallway. (And you thought woodworking was expensive?) I decided a quick but sturdy cabinet would be the perfect garage storage solution.

This cabinet holds two golf bags with all our stuff at the ready for those days when the weather is perfect and cabinetmaking can wait. We just pull our truck forward a bit, load it up and head for the course.

Here I’m dry fitting the carcase of my garage golf caddy. Tight fitting dados will ensure a stable project. And before someone writes me a letter, let me just say that I know that sandals are not a good choice for woodworking footwear.

This project is easy enough to build on a Saturday, ensuring ample time for the links on Sunday. Basically, the project works like this: The sides are dadoed to accept the top and bottom. The two adjustable shelves hang on pins between the two partitions. Everything else is assembled using nails and glue.

At first, I was a little concerned with how stable the cabinet would be without a back. But as long as your dados are tight, I can assure you that your cabinet will be rock solid. The top back splash does an excellent job of adding rigidity to this open cabinet.

Selecting the perfect wood for a project is a lot like selecting the perfect iron to put a ball on the green. I chose oak for its durability, strength and relatively inexpensive cost.

Hitting the Fairway
First, cut all your parts to size according to the cut list. Make the miter cuts on the three pieces that make up the ball tray on the top.

Next, lay out your two 6″-radius half circles on the top piece, as shown in the diagram. These half circles cradle your golf bags. Your best bet is to use a piece of string attached to a pencil to lay out these curves. With the line marked on the top, cut the curve using your jigsaw.

Now cut the 3/4” x 1/4” dados in the sides to receive the top and bottom. Lay your dados out according to the diagram. You can either use a dado set in your table saw or a straight bit chucked into your router to make these cuts. Dry fit the top and bottom into your sides, making sure the fit is tight. As I said earlier, a tight fit will ensure a stable cabinet. No need to take a bogie here.

Place your partitions using the diagram then nail them in with a finish nailer. A little glue helps, too.

Once your dados are cut, lay out the angles on your two sides according to the diagram. I cut these angles using my jigsaw, but a band saw will work, too.

Now it’s time to drill the holes for the shelf pins so grab your drill and a 5mm drill bit. I use 5mm shelf supports instead of ?” shelf supports because the 5mm supports require smaller holes that don’t stand out as much. You can purchase these supports at most woodworking stores or from catalogs. Woodcraft Supply, Lee Valley Tools and Woodworker’s Supply are all good sources for this item. Don’t forget that you’ll also need a metric drill bit, which is also easy to find in most catalogs these days.

The holes are spaced 2″ apart. Drill 12 sets of 5 mm holes on the inside face of each partition for maximum shelving flexibility.

Nearing the Bar
Before I assemble anything, I like to sand my projects to 180 grit. Sanding now will be much easier than waiting to sand after the project is put together.

First, assemble the top and bottom to one of the sides. Then add the other side. Next, using a finish nailer and glue, add the two partitions. Now add the splash. You could pocket screw the splash to the backside but I stuck with my nailer and glue and it’s held up to abuse just fine.

Next comes the mitered tray pieces. Again, I just used my brad nailer and glue to assemble these. Attach the tray to the top using glue and a couple brads from underneath the top. Finally, place your adjustable shelves in between the two partitions.

Once everything is assembled and dry, sand all your front edges and then spray the entire piece with a couple clear coats of lacquer or whatever finish you are most comfortable with.

Now it’s time to hit the pro shop and fill all the shelf space you’ve just created. PW

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Troy Sexton is a contributing editor for Popular Woodworking.