TSA broke my golf bag

[Jc0]

anyone delt with them?

So I am on vacation for the week and I brought my golf clubs. When I took them out something felt wrong with the bag. After some inspection I notice the spine of the bag had come loose. I tried replacing it but it would just pop out. I know that TSA took my bag out and put it back in based on the fact the bag was in a completely different position and one of those cards was left inside of it. I'm planning on filing a complaint and was wondering if anyone has any experience with this and any suggestions on how to get through the process smoothly.

[flyersfan25]

"suggestions on how to get through the process smoothly."

I dont think there is any chance of that unfortunately lol

[golfnut5438]

Are you sure it didn't happen when the baggage handler dropped your bag onto the concrete tarmac from 6 feet, and then dropped another bag on top of yours, before finishing the job with a third bag?? May have to go after the TSA and the airline just to cover your bases. Good luck.

[teeitlow]

I travel between Denver and Coeur d' Alene a lot and they pretty much don't care about your gear, it's a really great program......

[ClarkGrswld4]

I'll just say good luck....you'll need it against those clowns

[doubleBZee]

There are literally thousands of claims. Good luck being the one that is answered.

[WildDog06]

Well this thread makes me so confident about flying with my golf bag next weekend...

[Jc0]

This actually isn't the first time it has happened to me. The first time I had a soft case and heavy luggage was put on top of it breaking three shafts and bending the bag. I think I got like $300 from delta for everything in the end. Because of this I bought a hard case. The problem is this hard case is a tight fit so I always put the clubs in. This is the first time I have ever seen my bag taken out and physically moved in the case. The first one was easier because I was able to deal straight with delta but dealing with TSA seems like I'm fighting an impossible battle.

[TheMoneyShot]

[quote name='WildDog06' timestamp='1313027179' post='3471779']
Well this thread makes me so confident about flying with my golf bag next weekend...
[/quote]
I was thinking the same thing. I will be worried sick the whole time now...

[MileHighClub]

Kind of a related topic. Traveled a few years ago and got pulled out of line for additional screening. TSA guy was using that wand thing and it had a rough edge because it snagged the crap out of my nice (and expensive) golf shirt. Guy basically told me "tough break".

[ramradhakri]

I've got a story as well. I've only carried my clubs on one occasion, on a trip to Hawaii. When I picked up my golf bag from the luggage claim I noticed a tear in the travel bag towards the bottom. I opened it and saw that the tear had penetrated to my golf bag inside and cut a golf ball that I had in the pocket into two halves. I took it inside to the AA luggage office and they said oversized bags are not covered. I took pix and sent it to AA, and never got a reply.

[chas521]

Certainly there has to be some downside to security regarding our flying rights but there ALSO must be some sort of recourse that the flying public has. The worst thing that has happened to me was when my golf clubs were lost by the airline when I went on a golfing vacation. However in their defense, they did tell me to rent what I needed and they picked up the cost. They came a couple of days later. FYI, I went to Myrtle Beach, SC and my clubs went to Germany.

[abc]

I'm seriously considering sending my golf bag by UPS or FedEx rather than with the airlines.

Why get cheap on shipping charges when it comes to safely shipping a golf bag filled with thousands of dollars worth of golf gear? This assumes traveling locally within the US, of course.
It'd be too cost prohibitive to send a golf bag internationally. The round trip cost might rival the financial worth of the bag's contents itself.

[Fore_Man]

[quote name='TheMoneyShot' timestamp='1313030805' post='3472024']
[quote name='WildDog06' timestamp='1313027179' post='3471779']
Well this thread makes me so confident about flying with my golf bag next weekend...
[/quote]
I was thinking the same thing. I will be worried sick the whole time now...
[/quote]

Me too!! Argh!

[TigaTiga Woods Yall]

[quote name='WildDog06' timestamp='1313027179' post='3471779']
Well this thread makes me so confident about flying with my golf bag next weekend...
[/quote]


Same here, and again in a month.

[cmb71]

[quote name='abc' timestamp='1313068205' post='3472897']
I'm seriously considering sending my golf bag by UPS or FedEx rather than with the airlines.

Why get cheap on shipping charges when it comes to safely shipping a golf bag filled with thousands of dollars worth of golf gear? This assumes traveling locally within the US, of course.
It'd be too cost prohibitive to send a golf bag internationally. The round trip cost might rival the financial worth of the bag's contents itself.
[/quote]

Do it, you won't regret it. I have had too many incidents flying with clubs... broken shafts, bent shafts, lost luggage, etc. FedEx has a program for shipping your golf clubs if you are a little short on time and patience. I have so many boxes around from club and bag purchases that I just package them that way and ship the cheapest route with insurance and tracking. Much less chance for problems in my opinion.

[smandrews]

Whenever I fly back to Illinois I ship my clubs, either FedEx or even USPS. USPS Priority mail is about 3 days from where I live in Idaho to my small town in Illinois. I ship them the day before i leave, and have them the day after I get there, its perfect and its insured. The airlines have a tendency to screw people... Dont trust them... lol

[freed0m]

I take my clubs with me on business travel quite often using one of those hard-shell golf bag case for over two years now, so far so good...

[highergr0und]

Hard or soft travel case? For soft, you're definitely SOL. I bet the TSA laughs at you. The airline will probably make it a pain.

Best advice when dealing with customer support is to keep escalating when you're not getting what you want. Rule of thumb is that you want to escalate high enough to get to someone with the authority to give you what you want and doesn't want to waste their time dealing with you. I usually ask the first level or two what their authority is and to just escalate right away.

[typhoonoid]

if you amex they might be able to do something

[Skaffa77]

Wow...I'm always meticulous when I pack my golf bag. I'm amazed when the TSA completely removes my bag and takes clubs out and rearragnes things. I pack a towel around the shafts of my clubs and it's always undone. Oh well, at least nothing has gone missing.

[suphoman]

[quote name='freed0m' timestamp='1313349914' post='3484543']
I take my clubs with me on business travel quite often using one of those hard-shell golf bag case for over two years now, so far so good...
[/quote]



Same, I have a SKB Hard-shell golf case with coverage. If anything breaks, SKB will give me $1500. A must have when traveling with golf clubs.