How you bring your clubs internationally

[Guest]

HI folks,

 

Wondering how do you usually use to protect your golf clubs and bag?

What travel case/bag you prefer?

[Precis1on]

Any Club Glove variant that fits your bag + stiff arm.

[Guest]

Yeah I guess consider the amount we spent on the clubs make sense to invest into the travel bag instead of some amazon cheap one.

[Precis1on]

I’ve had my Club Glove since college, probably over 12-13 years ago. Only issue is one ripped seam on the backside of the bag where I’m guessing took a lot of the abuse when the bag gets dragged or hits the ground, but I sewed them back together with some tough fishing thread. The ballistic nylon has never torn. I’ve never had a broken club.

[Guest]

Did you get the one with wheels or without?

I am also thinking those hard case one but seems like club glove really got nice reviews.

[Precis1on]

 

With wheels.

Only big thing with hard cases is size and weight for travel. My club glove fully packed comes to 40-45 lbs depending on how much clothes and balls I have in there. In the right car, the club glove can fit in the trunk without dropping a seat while a hard case will probably have some issues. On the other hand, you could literally take a knife to a hard case and it would probably deflect it...

[Guest]

Oh yeah that's another concern of hard cases, easily get overweight without really much more protection.

[dubbelbogey]

Another thing with hard cases is that they can get 'racked' from impact damage. I.e. twisted so the hard shell halves don't fit together so well and the clasps need to be forcibly aligned so they'll close.

So, needless to say, I'm also a big fan of Club Glove bags with a rigid rod-like thing to give it support. The official Stiff Arms work well for most, but a few of us have actually had them bend. So, I now use an old, cut-down hockey stick with tennis balls at both ends. That will never get damaged.

Finally, I think soft bags are just easier to deal with when traveling in vehicles. Depends on the vehicles of course. If you have a big van, then it doesn't matter so much.

 

[golfunderpar18]

Hard cases —SKB are the gold standard— provide ultimate protection. Absolutely no comparison. I’ve had soft cases before and shafts can get snapped easily. I had the legs on my stand carry bag broken And when that happened I went to an skb. Airlines have gone thru mine at airport check in before to confirm I haven’t packed non golf stuff inside before. Shouldn’t matter as long as its under 50lb but it can get really close with a bag, 14 clubs, balls and a few pairs of shoes. Some airlines state on their website that you cannot pack non Golf stuff inside. Make sure you review what you can/cannot pack and check the weight max. The potential issue is what your transportation will be at your destination. Both times I’ve been on golf trips in Scotland, Ireland or wales I’ve had tour bus, van or trailers with driver as our transportation so no issue For me with the hard case. I’ve had customs break thru my skb lock before so make sure whatever You take you do not lock it. They leave a nice sorry note but your case lock will never be Functionable again unless you get it fixed.

short answer.....skb hard case if you Go hard case. It’s worth the Premium price. You can often find them lightly used on many buy/sell sites. You won’t regret the peace of mind protecting your Expensive club investment. Rental cars in the UK are small so if you are renting keep that in mind as that will be a challenge.

[68bronco]

Club Glove with wheels and the protection device thingy they sell at Dick’s. I’ve used it while traveling on international trips a handful of times. It is also handy to slide a 1/5 of your favorite liquor in the bag for a nice pour once you arrive at the hotel.

[Hawkeye77]

Club Glove Collegiate with stiff arms or equivalent (found one someone else makes I like better, but can't remember the brand) - no issues. Both times to Scotland had to take them - for more than one bag the hard cases would have required a much larger level of vehicle just to accommodate the cases.

I have an SKB and it's a tank, took it to Cali once, but dealing with it proved to be a hassle, IMO, so I bought the Club Gloves.

[golfunderpar18]

If you want to ensure Your clubs and bag arrive Undamaged get an skb (I own 3). Have you watched airline baggage staff toss luggage? You want you $3000 in clubs tossed without proper protection ? I doubt it. You need to consider your transportation at the destination though as another key factor. I’ve never had an issue with my skb traveling in North America or Europe. A standard full size car rental likely cannot fit an skb in the trunk without folding the seats down.

[FaReal87]

I would recommend a soft case. In the past, I’ve traveled with a relatively cheap soft case and have had no issues. I’ll remove the heads off the woods/pack them in headcovers just in case. They are extremely flexible once you reach your destination as well.

recently upgraded to a club glove bag during one of the Linksoul 50% sales. Don’t intend on having to buy another one for a long time.

[TerpFangolfer]

Yep, my clubs have been around the world with me - Asia, Europe, South America (more than 15 Intl trips)...I use Club Glove (w/ wheels) and remove all the heads from all my woods/hybrids.

Never had an issue (knock on wood!)

[davep043]

Club Glove (with wheels, I didn't know they sold a case without them), Stiff arm, remove the driver head and pack separately. Never had a problem.

[FlyingLaw1]

Seems to be some opinions to the contrary... but I love my hard case. I’ve had it for probably close to 15 years now and it has yet to let me down—and that’s with using it many many times (probably 50+). My bag with all the gear I need (balls and all) never climbs higher than the allotted weight and I usually have my shoes in the case as well. It can be a bit hard to maneuver/fit into cars, however.

[dubbelbogey]

While blindly accepting what the touring pros use as gospel can lead to sub-optimal equipment choices at times, I think the fact that the vast majority of those who depend on their clubs to make a paycheck use soft cases is a decent indicator of how well they work.

I also agree with removing any removable heads as an extra measure of protection.

[davep043]

To be fair, a great many of those guys are flying small charters, and I imagine that their baggage is treated with much more care than those of us flying commercial. Still, I'm happy with my Club Glove.

[dubbelbogey]

Very true, but I think this holds true even in the lower pro and collegiate ranks.

[Hawkeye77]

And to expand on my earlier post, like @davep043, we remove the heads that are removable and I also put my irons in upside down, only club I worry about because of the way it sits is my putter.

[FlyingLaw1]

On 7/28/2020 at 11:53 AM, FlyingLaw1 said:

Seems to be some opinions to the contrary... but I love my hard case. I’ve had it for probably close to 15 years now and it has yet to let me down—and that’s with using it many many times (probably 50+). My bag with all the gear I need (balls and all) never climbs higher than the allotted weight and I usually have my shoes in the case as well. It can be a bit hard to maneuver/fit into cars, however.

I shouldn't have said anything... American Airlines broke my case 3 days after I posted this.....

[dubbelbogey]

1 hour ago, FlyingLaw1 said:

I shouldn't have said anything... American Airlines broke my case 3 days after I posted this.....

Ouch. Sorry to hear that news.

[FlyingLaw1]

21 minutes ago, dubbelbogey said:

Ouch. Sorry to hear that news.

Thanks... Filed a claim with AA. Hopefully they'll give me something. In the mean time I got a ClubGlider. MUCH easier to maneuver through the airport.

[LeoLeo99]

2 hours ago, FlyingLaw1 said:

I shouldn't have said anything... American Airlines broke my case 3 days after I posted this.....

 

Are the clubs ok?

[gandolf_wiz]

Club glove with a tree at the end longer than the driver and never had an issue

[FlyingLaw1]

12 hours ago, LeoLeo99 said:

 

Are the clubs ok?

Clubs are fine! They ripped the handle clean off (the one you have to grab on to pull the case). Nothing “major” but made the case essentially unusable. 

[LeoLeo99]

2 hours ago, FlyingLaw1 said:

Clubs are fine! They ripped the handle clean off (the one you have to grab on to pull the case). Nothing “major” but made the case essentially unusable. 

 

The case sacrificed its life for your clubs.  AA might take care of you.  Let's hope so. 

[Pearson10M]

Soft sided bag (Club Glove, Sun Mountain or another reputable brand) coupled with a  Stiff-arm device is all you need.  Remove your driver and wood heads if you can and pack them either in your carry on or wrap them in your golf towel and store them in one of your golf bag's side pockets.  Wrap your irons with a towel, coves or bubble  wrap and then you're set.

A cheap option to purchasing a Stiff-arm device is to get a wooden broom stick  and cut it 2-3 inches longer than your longest shaft in the bag.and then put a tennis ball over the top of the stick.  If you have an expensive putter, but a cover on it.

You could go with a hard case, but they don't fit in most car trunks, especially outside of the US, are heavier, and I am not sure they offer much better protection.

 

Make sure you get some TSA approved locks to look your bag.

[TheMoneyShot]

Do any of you guys travel with staff bags?  If so, what cases have you had success with?