My partner and I both enjoy playing golf when we get chance at the weekends. With the ever changing British weather, we can set off in the bright sunshine and after 3 hours on the golf course we might be in the centre of a rainstorm. After the first few times we realised we needed to be better prepared for the weather and decided to buy a couple of golf umbrellas. Golf is quite an expensive hobby with the price of golf clubs, green fees and the need to replace all the balls I lose, so we wanted to keep the cost to a minimum.

There was no need to worry about that! The first place I looked was my usual for sports equipment, Sports Direct. In the entrance to the store there was a huge selection of Dunlop golf umbrellas all priced at £2.99! I thought it was a joke! I picked up three; one for myself, one for my partner and another for my dad who I would be seeing the next day as he likes to play himself. There were a number of different designs available all at the same price. I went for the blue and black stripes and also chose a plain black one and a red and black striped one.

The umbrellas are as large as you would expect for golf umbrellas with a 62 inch diameter. It feels strong and sturdy however bad the rain is. It's also very good windy rain conditions, but then again I'm used to fold up handbag brollies! Rather than just my head, it keeps the whole top of my body dry in rain showers although with my little body it's sometimes hard to control such a large umbrella! It's actually big enough for two to fit under quite comfortably. The grip is very good which is necessary to control such a large umbrella. Even though these brollies are clearly 'man size' my hand still fits comfortably into the grip. The tip of the umbrella it a spikey point made of metal which for me is an inconvenience because I end up hurting myself on it, however my partner tells me that he uses it to stick the umbrella into the ground when he's taking a shot! The material itself is strong enough to cope easily during even heavy rain and I've never experienced any leaks. However, the material is quite thin and doesn't feel particularly good quality which would expect from something more expensive.

These are not the most feminine of umbrellas and I have never used it off the golf course as it's bulky and you can't just fold it up in your handbag if the rain stops! It would be annoying to carry round during a shopping trip but it's the ideal umbrella to keep in the car boot in case of an emergency as you never know when you're going to need it!

I have an official Ryder Cup umbrella which cost £35 and is much more sturdy, but then again, at that price, it's hardly a surprise. For the £2.99 it would be impossible for me not to recommend the Dunlop Golf Umbrella. Even if you never play golf in your life this is the ideal umbrella to keep in the house or in your car boot as you never know when you'll need it. This is an absolute bargain and such good value for money that I can't give it anything but 5 stars!