Traveling with clubs

I haven’t travelled for golf in a bit. Flying to kiawah in February and have the time to ship my clubs and wait for them on the back end... is that better than putting them on the plane?

Depends how much stuff you want to carry. Ship Sticks is double the cost of checking my clubs for a flight. 60 vs. 30 each way. If spending double for the sake of convenience is worth it to you personally, then I'd use a club shipping service. Otherwise, if you want to save some cash, check them with a good bag and backbone.

Depending on company but I check my golf bag for $30 with Jet blue.

Thanks! I’m looking at a number of factors... my number one is knowing my clubs will be there when I arrive. Airlines seem to be better nowadays but I have a short layover and a bit of travel distance between airport and course... I don’t really want a demo set as I’m tall and like what I like.

cost is a factor...

either way you go, I strongly recommend a hard cell travel case if you like your clubs. If you're looking for an excuse to get new clubs, go with a soft shell travel bag, haha.

Well, I’m still gaming the irons that mark Omeara used to win the 96 open (not his clubs, and I’m not 100 percent sure the date or tournament is right)... so I would mind a new set!

I use to fly back and forth all the time from Minnesota to North Carolina with my clubs. Never had a problem with them being damaged just sometimes on the return trip they got held up at the Charlotte airport and arrived a couple days after. I will say double check your bag before you ship it because some stuff like spare batteries for my range finder aren't allowed on planes. I agree with the backbone or hard case comments though because airlines won't cover damaged clubs.

I need to price out UPS... if cost is close to the same, I'm going to ship just due to convenience. I'm not in a rush to get my clubs back as it's still cold up here... but I also have a 30 minute layover, so I'm concerned about my bag making it!

Yeah any sort of short layover is always tough with baggage. Which airport are you flying into?

Well to be technical, that was 98 - Im guessing since he was a Taylor Made guy those were like the Burner Tour? Anyhow back to flying, I do at least one trip every year flying with my clubs going back to the late 90's then most times I do at least a flight with clubs 1-2 more times a year - knock on wood, coming and going have not had issues on planes. None of the 8-12 guys who travel on our buddies weekend trip have ever had issues either. One year I did use Ship Stix, we were hitting some baseball stadiums up the east coast on the way to Boston and didnt want to lug clubs onto train from DC to PHilly then Philly to NY so I used Ship Stix, worked out well, had them shipped straight to our round 1 course - they were there waiting for me.

Most of our travel trips are Southwest - which golf bags are free and have generally never had an issue. I heard Jet Blue now has no Free Bags, they used to have 1?

My rule of thumb is if I have a direct flight my clubs come with me. If I have connecting flights I ship them. I only fly a couple times a year so the extra cost to ship is not a concern. I use a Club Glove Last Bag with a Stiff Arm and never had any club damage.

With a tight connection, it might be a good idea to consider ShipStix or UPS. Since you don't need your clubs at home, you can ship the slowest way, which is also the cheapest way. When comparing costs, consider the price of a new travel cover, if you don't have one already. You can do a few round trips with ShipStix for the cost of a good travel bag. If you plan to fly with your clubs regularly, a well-made travel bag is a great investment.

Contrary to what some others suggest, I don't think a hard case is necessary. I've flown a bunch of times using my Club Glove, and use their Stiff Arm to maintain the "length." I've never had a single issue. Hard cases have two potential drawbacks, in my view. First, if they DO get mishandled, the hinges can get bent, or the clasps broken, and they simply won't close tight any more. With good quality soft cases, that isn't an issue. The second potential problem is space. Hard cases have a problem fitting into the trunk of many rental cars, soft cases can fit in a little easier. And when not in use, a soft case can be folded up pretty small, the hard case stays just as big as it ever was.

+1 for Club Glove Last Bag and Stiff arm. Had my bag for 17 years and it looks beat up but is in perfect shape. Never had an issue with airlines messing anything up. Maybe just been lucky. Never used ShipSticks but from what I hear they are great. I know a bunch of folks take the heads off of the driver/wood/hybrids. I always think about it but just get lazy since the stiff arm always works great.

Agree with everything Dave said. My own two cents that ive commented on similar threads before is that i do not think "clubs getting mishandled" is something to take into consideration when comparing one vs the other. If you ship clubs they are getting loaded and unloaded onto planes and the delivery trucks no different than if you were to travel with them. To me the biggest factors are cost, convenience at the airport (to me only matters if you have parts of your trip that do not invole golf, as someone mentioned earlier on the thread) and if you have tight connections and/or just do not want to risk your clubs missing your flight and being without then. That being said i have read stories on here of people whos clubs have been lost with ship sticks for weeks as well so its not a 100% guarantee either.

At the end of the day i think its easy to get caught up in the horror stories of various issues for both routes but these are pretty uncommon when compared to the number of times people have no issues

Yeah, I'm not overly concerned about them getting beat up... It's not a new set of forged Miura or anything... more than anything, I want to ensure they are where I need them to be, when I need them there... Using UPS greatly reduces the chances of them not being there on time on the way out (since I can ship them a week ahead of time). I just wanted to make sure the options were similar before I decided... I have a decent travel bag, so that part is good to go.

Appreciate all the advice!

When we used to visit my folks in Palm Desert we'd ship clubs UPS - it was March and didn't miss them before or after. On a trip to Laguna Beach a few years ago in June we had a direct flight to Irvine and I bought a hard case - took up a bunch of room in our rental (not a major), got tired of it pretty quickly but clubs were safe. After reading stuff on here went to Club Glove and stiff arm - one trip to Cali, two trips to Scotland and no issues. Always take the heads off my driver and 3w and turned the irons upside down - no damage, and on both of our trips to Scotland the folded up bags vs. two hard cases was imperative for rental car space.

Yeah, I'm thinking shipping them is going to be the way to go... The few days of shitty weather I'm without I can make it work... I can always go demo clubs at the golf shop by my house! I've got a good soft shell travel bag.

For the most part you can take batteries on a plane. They might have to be in your carry on luggage however.

It depends on your needs and your definition of "better".

It is more expensive than airline baggage fees. But it might be worth it for the convenience. It also might reduce your rental car costs.

Better is ensuring they are where I need them to be when I need them without spending a ton of extra money... I think shipping reduces the risk of them not making it (I have a tight connection) and since I have time to ship them ground, shouldn't be much more expensive.

I'll say this in yet another thread because this myth that a tight connection matters is just not true. It used to be but systems are too advanced now. I suppose it might be true on some of the LCCs. Honestly I'm not sure about their systems but, on a major carrier, if you have time to make your connection then your clubs have time as well. They may not make it but it'll have nothing to do with your connection being tight. Misses still happen but they are becoming more and more rare.

I can assure you that I have specific insight from one of three major airlines in the US due to time I've spent working with them. It costs them a fortune for your bags to be late so they hate it as much as you do. That's why it continues to improve.

Your odds will be slightly better with a shipper. Slightly? Yes, only because the odds of them not making a connection are so low. I'd definitely use a golf specific service to do it though. They should cost roughly the same and they are used to doing it so any hassle is removed. The only time I use a shipper rather than carrying myself is when I have a business round where I won't be traveling just to that event. In that situation it is extremely handy. Fill out a form, they pick them up from my club and are at the course when I arrive. Tell the bag guys at the away place they are being shipped and they're back in club storage before I'm home. They give you labels to print but I honestly never bother because the course does it for you.

Thanks for the insight... yeah, baggage has gotten way better and them having to lug my clubs from Charleston to Kiawah would be expensive for them... I think it's probably a coin flip either way... just a little added convenience of not having to wait on bags at the airport and I can ship my clubs off earlier in the week and not worry about them but paying a little extra for that convenience.

never had a problem traveling with my clubs. We go on yearly trips and hard case/soft case, they have all arrived in fine condition. Some Arlines like Southwest take clubs as normal baggage so no upcharge. I typically pack most of my clothes in with my clubs and then just take a carry on.

Well lithium batteries are always an issue with most airlines. Or at least they always ask about it when I get my bag and my bag was held up one time because of it.

If i didnt get the airline costs waived for checking in clubs (shoutout AA) i would 100% ship them. If i had any sort of tight connection (less than 1.5 hrs), i would ship them.

i guess if $ is no issue, always ship sticks. However i travel probably 20 times a year with clubs, and with proper packing (good bag-stiff arm-good padding etc) i have yet to encounter any issues.

by the way, my first time using ship sticks was actually heading to Kiawah last year. For business traveling its not a good look be seen with golf clubs so i shipped them ahead of time. Service works as advertised and i found the bag im my room after checking in.

I have had flights with two connections and never had issues traveling with my clubs. Usually I get picked up so rental car issues is not a factor. I travel to Kiawah several times a year. My best friend lives there.

If you are trying to go cheap on the rental car then you probably want to ship them. Especially if you have a small car and more than one person.

I have flown back and forth to Charleston SC at least 20 times in the past six years. All on AA. Never had an issue with the clubs.

Yes - taking the heads off is ideal as it shortens the longest clubs which are most commonly broken.

az2au, there have been a number of these type of threads and in most there seems to be a theme that US carriers are likely to lose your clubs in transit or alternatively baggage handlers are in the business of dropping them from great heights and breaking clubs.

Given you are in the business was this perception reasonable years ago? you are saying its not the case now.

As in most travel threads, whatever @davep043 said is on the money

It was never highly likely but it was more common a few years ago. Mostly it is fear based hearsay like many things on the internet. I’m not in the industry but do have that insight based on one of the major carriers being a client. Oh and I’ve also flown over 5,000,000 miles in the last 20 years. At least 1,000,000 of that has been with golf clubs. I never do any of the crap I see listed here. Mostly it is a complete waste of time. Soft bag, the last few years I’ve used a stiff arm. No chance whatsoever I would use a hard case (they aren’t allowed if you’re going on a golf trip with me) and wouldn’t consider taking the heads off. No problems. Ever. That’s the same story for 99%+ of people. Bad stuff happens but nothing you do is really going to matter and the time or space you waste taking extra precautions is just that. Wasted.

I've been travelling with golf clubs for years, multiple times per year. I have never experienced breakage or lost or delayed clubs. Maybe I'm just lucky.