What in Hell's name are these?

[Socketeer]

Been having a look at Facebook this morning over my coffee and saw these, (see screenshot).

 

I have been in the game over 35 years but these have totally flummoxed me.  Does anyone know what they are and what they are used for?

 

 

[5 O'Clock Charlie]

They go inside your golf bag and extend to protect your golf clubs inside a soft sided travel bag. So if the airlines drop your clubs upside down, it hits the big plastic piece and not your driver / wood heads.

[st1800e]

I think it was club glove that first came out with these,

called a “stiff arm”. 

[Socrates]

You guys are too straight up.  I would've been all over that (marital aide etc...).

 

The OP's gotta get out more.

[Ghostwedge]

I agree... its a martial aide, clubs don't get trashed and I don't have to buy new clubs and wife is happy about that. ☺

[Socketeer]

2 hours ago, 5 O'Clock Charlie said:

They go inside your golf bag and extend to protect your golf clubs inside a soft sided travel bag. So if the airlines drop your clubs upside down, it hits the big plastic piece and not your driver / wood heads.

I had a look around after I'd posted and I came to the same conclusion.  I used to be a windsurfer back in the day.  I never took my gear away on any flights but I saw what happened to a board once.

 

The disembarking was a bit on the slow side and I watched the baggage handlers off-loading from the hold.  Jesus!  Those guys couldn't give a s*it!

 

I suppose if you have a £500 or even a $500 driver in the bag you have to take measures to protect it some how!

[mat562]

A stiff arm and protective cap that sits vertically alongside the clubs in your bag to stop your driver being snapped as it's hurled around the hard standing at the airport.

[Abh159]

If you use a soft case (which I do) a stiff arm is a necessity.

 

*Knock on wood* I've been using one for years alongside my Club Glove Collegiate and have not had an issue to speak of.

[IndyArcher]

So, call me crazy, but doesn't the post describe EXACTLY what it is??? "Golf Bag Support System". Assuming it isn't group therapy for your golf bag, what else could it be???

[bobfoster]

I travel a lot, and don't like hard cases. So I've used one of these for years. 

[kmay__]

It goes under your boat cover to keep water from pooling. 👍

[elwhippy]

Or wrap a couple of towels round the heads when travelling by air. 

[dashanks]

We all need a support system.

[david.c.w]

These things should be basic issue for any golfer who will ever go on a trip.  Same as @Abh159, my CG Last Bag and stiff arm have been hanging around for 20+ years.  Finally had to take the bag to get a seam stitched back up.  Dark green and super dirty, my clubs always arrive safe.  

[bobfoster]

21 hours ago, elwhippy said:

Or wrap a couple of towels round the heads when travelling by air. 

Actually - modern drivers offer an interesting option. I have a buddy that wraps a towel around his FWs, but takes the head of the driver completely off (he once had one cracked during travel and is paranoid about it). With most of today's adjustable drivers, it takes all of a minute to remove the head.

 

And really, I'm totally with @Socketeer - anyone who has even once seen how baggage handlers actually "handle" bags takes additional steps if they aren't using a hard shell case. Those guys are  positively brutal with luggage. Not saying this to throw shade on them - I mean, that job has to totally suck. I can't imagine unloading the luggage from even a single 737 with 150 passengers. But they have to do it multiple times a shift, and are always under pressure to do it very quickly. People start complaining if they have to wait more than 20 minutes or so before they start to see bags appearing at baggage claim - but imagine what it takes to get 150+ bags (some weighing close to 50 lbs) off a plane, across the airport to the right claim bay, and then back onto the belt. And airlines don't make money when planes are sitting at gates - you can't start loading the next flight until you've cleared the last one. So yeah, they throw our precious luggage around like it is sacks of potatoes. Not out of malice, but because both the passengers and airlines want it done as fast as humanly possible. 

 

People just have to take that into account. Assume your clubs will be tossed around. Land on their side or even top. Have other heavy bags thrown on top of them. Is just the nature of travel. Doesn't matter a whole lot if it is a suitcase full of clothes. But if you have several thousands of dollars worth of good clubs, with the driver alone worth $600+, it is a different story. Anyone that doesn't take appropriate steps is just asking for trouble. 

 

No one has come up with a device to automate the process or make it any gentler. I assume many airlines and inventors have tried to figure something out. But baggage handling is still just brute manual labor. It's the job. You "lift things up and put them down".