Traveling with a golf bag

Heading out of town in a few weeks, my first trip bringing my golf bag. I purchased a club glove travel bag, but have read on a few sites that it may be in my best interest to take the head of my driver/woods to protect them from breaking and package them in the bag. Hopefully the community can provide some insight on the in’s and out’s of traveling.

thanks!!

That's a safe way to do it. As an alternative, if you have the stiff arm and wrap your clubs with a few towels on the top to minimize head dings, you should be OK.

On all woods and hybrids, I take the heads off if I can. If they don't come off, I just flip them upside down and put the head end down in the golf bag with the grip end sticking up.

bunch of other threads about this if you wanna look into them but the gist of most peoples advice: if theyre removable take the heads off, use a backbone/dowel etc. (i dont use one and havent had problems but cant hurt, pack any soft goods around the heads of your clubs to add a little extra padding, take your rangefinder/any other valuables in your carry-on (i take my driver/wood heads as well) just in case somone inspecting has sticky fingers.

theres horror stories people have, but those by far are exceptions and not the norm. for the most part anything bad that has happened to someone would have happened no matter how they packed their stuff so dont sweat it

I have a stiff arm but my last travel experience I just took the heads off any club that had an adjustable hosel and wrapped them in small towels and placed them inside my golf bag. So far no issues. To be safe, do that and use the travel arm... If you're really paranoid.

I've traveled with and shipped my clubs with my club glove and a stiff arm and never had an issue. I use towels to wrap the heads for extra padding/keep everything nice and tight. I HIGHLY recommend that you use a stiff arm, especially if you can't or choose not to remove the heads of your woods. I flew into Mexico for my honeymoon and found the stiff arm bent after unpacking my bag. With or without the head on the club, I'm sure the shaft on my longest clubs would have been broken without it.

I use a thick (1"?) dowel that's ~48" long and put that in the same slot as my driver, then wrap golf towels around all the heads and snug the towel up. I've also heard of (additionally) putting an upside down bucket over the clubs. All this is inside your travel bag.

Awesome. Thanks for the info definitely taking off the heads of my driver/woods and wrapping them. I just picture some airline worker seeing a golf bag and tossing it aimlessly to see what sounds it makes when it hits the ground

I’ve never removed the heads or turned clubs upside down. I just make sure the driver, fw wood, and hybrid are clustered right around the stiff arm. The top of the stiff arm is actually right over the driver. Then just a towel wrapped around everything to keep everything in place. I’ve never had a problem.

I appear to be in the minority here but I use a hard case and I ship my clubs ahead via fedex. It’s prob pricier than shipsticks but I feel better about it.

Stiff arm, take driver head off, put shaft in bag tip first. I also put all my irons in upside down. Gets weight over the wheels and gets the heads away from the tips of the hybrids and fairway woods. TSA used to put them back in right side up but they quit hand inspecting several years ago.

I use a broomstick! Also, take any golf hats out of your bag. A lot of TSA agents with pinehurst, kiawah etc. hats!

I did not. Never dug into it all to be honest. Thanks for the heads up though. Will def look into that the next time we travel and the wife grants permission to actually BRING my clubs. Lol.

That is what I do. A stiff arm is a must wi.th a soft case.

Don’t kid yourself by thinking your clubs are handled any better by FedEx than they are by the airlines.

Make sure to extend the stiff arm just enough to clear for the driver. I over exteneded it once and it pushing through the bottom of the golf bag.

I also wrap the heads with a couple towels at that it doesn't move.

The towel thing always cracks me up. Not because you want to protect objects that hit the ground at 90+mph but because if TSA checks your bag, and they often do, they absolutely pull that towel right out of there. I'd say my bag has a TSA flyer in it about 75% of the time I travel with clubs.

Been a few years since I traveled with clubs but I always found a little note from TSA in my bag that they inspected. I carry my laser gps in my carry on bag.

I love the idea of taking the heads off driver, woods and hybrids. I also bought cheap iron covers (strictly for transportation).

I wrap all club heads together with a couple towels and put the rain hood on to keep everything snug. But 50% of the time, TSA do not put the towels back.

As a side, be aware of what you're doing on the other end of your flight. When I am on vacation with my wife and kids and all the luggage that goes with it, I need to make sure my rental car will accommodate all of this and a hard case bag. If not, I make my kids share a single suitcase

I throw a metal rod that is just longer than my driver shaft in the travel bag as well. Found it to work well. So far no problems.

The club glove stiff-arm has worked great for me. The dome at the top is a bonus on top of just using PVC or something along those lines. I also on shorter flights usually just leave the heads on the woods and stuff a couple towels around the top of the bag and it has worked out great. If I go cross-country or international I may consider removing the heads

I'm not sure that this makes much sense. Most potential abuse happens when the bags are being handled, from the counter through bowels of the airport and into the plane, and the reverse at the other end. In between the clubs are pretty stable, comfortably resting in the luggage hold, whether the flight is 1 hour or 12. I take the same precautions every time I fly: Club Glove, StiffArm, and the head off my driver.

Soft carry case with a Stiff Arm. I don't take the head off my driver. Wrap the club heads in a towel.

I've used FedEx directly, and Shipsticks in the past. So far, no issues.

Done it all. FedEx, shipsticks, mostly airline. SW rocks.

I use the stiff arm, take the heads off, wrap in the head overs and put in interior pockets of bag. Use the foam iron head covers they came with from ping, the wrap everything in my golf towels.

I personally think it's more about a snug fit (stuff not rattling around) than the padding...never had an issue. Even when those shhtheads at the airport out my bag through the carousel rather than large item.

While expensive - shipsticks is the real "way" though...OMG so easy.

I travel with a solid case, and I pack my shoes towards the heads of my clubs. I have taken it on 5 or 6 trips in the last 12 months with no issue.