By Carolyn Heller @ Golf Depends
There are a lot of things you have to take into consideration when you combine golf and travel. In this post, there are both basic and advanced tips for travel with your golf clubs. That ensure the complete safety of your expensive, precious golf clubs.
Factors like checked luggage fees, golf travel bags, etc. matter a great deal. So then why not rent golf clubs instead? Well, that’s an option too, but only if you don’t mind using a set of golf clubs you just aren’t familiar with. After all, you may have put a lot of thought into choosing the most functional set based on your skills and game. So why leave that behind!
Instead, just get to know all that goes into traveling with golf clubs and making sure that they reach your destination safe and sound in one piece.
How to Travel with Golf Clubs – Complete Instructional Guide
Before the various factors are discussed at length here, let’s get one thing straight. When traveling with your own golf club set, don’t always expect everything to work out in your favor. Meaning the chances of your golf equipment getting damaged, lost, or stolen are likely.
Airlines and luggage handlers at airports don’t exactly care about your golf clubs as much as you do. But then there are effective strategies that can be implemented to boost protection and safety.
1. Choose A Proper Golf Travel Bag/Case
You can either get a hard case or a soft case golf travel bag. Most airlines have a weight limit of 50 pounds (more on that later), which is enough for your golf clubs, shoes, and other gear. This should also be factored in when deciding between soft case or hard case because the latter is slightly heavy.
So it’s quite evident that the hard case is sturdy, thus offers more protection. Also, did you know that the majority of airlines cover damaged golf clubs only if they were packed in the hard case?
As for the soft case, it’s made using a soft fabric, mostly nylon. And that makes the travel bag lightweight as well as easier to carry. Therefore, more fitting for shorter trips. For example, these top-rated Sunday golf bags are lightweight yet sizable.
2. Book A Non-Stop Flight
Booking a non-stop flight (don’t confuse it with direct flight) is very, very important here. Because switching flights just doubles the chances of baggage handlers not being careful with your precious golf clubs. So you can avoid this greater potential of ill-treatment and damage of clubs simply by booking a non-stop flight.
At the same time, a non-stop flight is also convenient when flying with golf clubs. Agreed that you might pay extra for the ‘non-stop’ option, but then you have to lose something to gain something.
But then a non-stop flight isn’t available all the time. For instance, flights to Phuket are often 1-stop. After all, Phuket does offer some of the best golf tour packages. In that case, you better know how to place your golf clubs in your travel case the right way. Speaking of which.
3. Place Your Golf Clubs Upside Down and Remove the Clubheads
Proper storage is essential when packing and traveling with your golf clubs. In order to protect them, make sure to place the clubs topsy-turvy. Meaning the lower part of the shaft and the hosel, which are the most vulnerable, touch the base of the bag. So no breaking or bending.
You should also remove the clubheads. It may take up a generous amount of time but just think of the greater cause here. You’re actively minimizing the likelihood of the clubs breaking.
4. Label or Mark Your Golf Travel Bag
Attaching a carry ID (with your name, phone number, and email address) after packing the bag is a must. Stick it on the outside part of the travel case.
Some even add easier-to-identify things like a sticker or ribbon. And make sure that it’s large and obvious because you don’t want frantic travelers to grab your bag by mistake.
Packing Golf Clubs the Right Way
Now here’s how you can go about packing your golf clubs so they don’t get damaged in any way:
- With adjustable clubs, remove the clubheads and place them into their headcovers. Or cover them with thick, padded socks.
- Use the Stiff Arm, which a protective telescopic pole designed to extend over the shaft length. What it does is drastically minimizes the chances of your golf clubs breaking while they’re sliding down baggage carousels at airports.
- After storing all your golf clubs, pack clothes in the leftover space to build more cushioned protection inside the bag.
What About Airline Baggage Weight Allowances?
Some airlines charge an extra fee for golf clubs, such as Ryan Air and EasyJet. And in this case, the maximum weight limit is around 20kgs.
Then there are airlines that don’t charge any extra fee for checking in your golf clubs as long as the luggage weight allowance is not exceeded. British Airways, Lufthansa, and AirFrance are some of the airlines that consider golf clubs as standard checked baggage. And the maximum weight limit is 23kgs for economy and 32kgs for first and business class.
Shipping Your Golf Clubs Instead
You can obviously ship golf clubs to your desired destination as well. Thanks to services like Ship Sticks. It is indeed a hassle-free way of traveling. But then are you okay with paying the extra cost of shipping golf clubs?
Ship Sticks charges $119 for next-day delivery, $109 for 2-day delivery, $79 for 3-day delivery, and $39 for ground shipping.
Then there’s Lugless too, which determines the price according to the destination. So, for instance, their charges of shipping your golf clubs to Danang, Vietnam, in case you happen to find their art, culture, and trail golf holiday package irresistible, are different than those of any other destination.
And your final option is shipping your golf clubs through FedEx or UPS.
The EndNote
There’s never a right answer when deciding between traveling with your own golf clubs or playing with rentals at the destination golf course. But one thing’s for sure – that using leased clubs isn’t going to feel like you brought your ‘A’ game with you. Because your own set of golf clubs includes those you’re most comfortable with.
Then there’s the additional cost of spending money on hiring golf clubs. And these rentals, more often than not, are not cheap. Plus, there are plenty of other limitations involved too.
So why not just travel with your own golf equipment. Be sure to get the breakdown of the cost and effort of traveling with clubs and then decide if it’s all worth the trouble or not.
