Travel bag

[Cwing]

What affordable travel bags are you guys using? What features are a must? Best place to buy?

[Colby327]

Keep an eye on craigslist. There are some crazy deals to be had on there.

I picked up, what in my opinion is the best bag money can buy, a Club Glove Last travel bag for $50. It was used once. Tags/receipt were even stuffed in one of the pockets. And it came with the Stiff Arm club protector (which I highly recommend). I saw another club glove a few weeks back listed for $75, but no stiff arm. If you're patient you'll see them come through every once and awhile.

[gr8blueheronbird]

Nice pickup! I am in the transportation business and that travel bag is the best bag. I would also recommend a travel case as a much better way to protect your clubs when on the move. Never had any damage issues with the SKB case that I use. Its a little cumbersome when I get to destination but I can live with it for the peace of mind for the added protection.

[YMark]

Another plug for Craig's list. I scored a Club Glove for $80, almost new.

[dcmidnight]

I bought an SKB travel case on Amazon - free shipping with Prime - and it is an absolutely fantastic case. IMO - and I wont start a debate over soft sided or hard sided cases - but a solid travel case is not something to cheap on, you definitely get what you pay for.

If you want something inexpensive, I used the Plano Golf Guard Travel Case for many years. It was $50 brand new (Amazon Prime) but the latches on it break very easily. However, with a travel strap, it served me well on a lot of trips.

Dont skimp. I'm amazed at how many people with $1500-$2000 invested in their bag will scoff at spending $150 on a good travel case to protect your investment.

[myspinonit]

Agree don't go cheap on the quality, bargain on quality is good. You want real good padding and wheeled. There probably are variances how the balance is with wheels, so you could be manhandling a fair amount of weight plus whatever else luggage you have. A Club Glove protector is a great idea (I've seen a Clicgear one recently but no idea how they compare to quality).

I don't have room to store hard-sided but spent some coin on the Sun Mountain Meridian Glider and it hasn't got one noticeable mark after maybe10 plane trips. Half- folds for less storage at either end. Also the benefit that the self-supporting wheels mean you can pull it with one finger. Really. I would have looked at the Club Glove line if they had been stocked in Canada at the time I got mine.

Some other considerations:
Airlines sometimes want you to use a hard-sided one or sign a waiver for damage. Consider the weight of the travel bag for airline weight limits (mine weighs nearly 14 pounds) and the size of rental car you may need with travel case and baggage. We get no smaller than a standard vehicle, usually full-size, with golf bags on the back seat. We also plan arrival/leaving day itineraries to avoid having them exposed in the car at mall lots etc.

I would also recommend you check your homeowners/rental insurance policy for sporting goods coverage. Though we have some coverage on our policy, mostly because we regularly travel with them, I'm carrying a separate rider that includes breakage, replacement cost, $25 deductible and no increase on the homeowners policy if I ever had to use it. A PITA is that if one is switching clubs all the time you would likely need to update the rider listing.

[gr8blueheronbird]

[quote name='dcmidnight' timestamp='1384882080' post='8172620']
I bought an SKB travel case on Amazon - free shipping with Prime - and it is an absolutely fantastic case. IMO - and I wont start a debate over soft sided or hard sided cases - but a solid travel case is not something to cheap on, you definitely get what you pay for.

If you want something inexpensive, I used the Plano Golf Guard Travel Case for many years. It was $50 brand new (Amazon Prime) but the latches on it break very easily. However, with a travel strap, it served me well on a lot of trips.

Dont skimp. I'm amazed at how many people with $1500-$2000 invested in their bag will scoff at spending $150 on a good travel case to protect your investment.
[/quote]I agree with you. One must protect ones investment and I look at musicians and Logistics. I am involved in Logistics and Hard sided cases are better than soft sided because of the protection factor offered by the harder material.

[dcmidnight]

I will add a couple things in the SKB corner and again not hard sided in general but just this brand. One is a $1500 damage protection against any damage that happens in their cases. Two, which I really like, is that their latches, wheels and handles are all modular and built to be easily replaced. So I had an issue with TSA damaging the locking hinge, they sent me out a new one overnight and it took me three minutes to replace it.

As far as weight goes, my case, and completely full bag was 46 pounds. On the way back it was 42 lol, I must have lost 4 pounds worth of golf balls at Kiawah! Anyway, both are under USAir's 50 pound limit.

[ryu123]

Hi Cwing,

clearly hardsided travel cases offer maximum protection. But I travel with 9 clubs, two pairs of shoes, and clothing. So with a stiff arm protector my soft-sided Taylor Made bag weighs 30 lbs.

I also have a hardshell case, but it is a pain in the rental car & hotel. Since I travel relatively light, I haven't used it in years.

There are plenty of websites that offer helpful easy tips on packing clubs with clothes. (I have a friend who takes the head off his driver and carries it on the plane.)

[About 1/2 the time I ship my bag with Fedex. It always has gotten there on time. Fedex suggests buying a box ($20), but that's not mandatory & then you have to deal with the box at your resort.]

[sompin2do]

I have an SKB that's big enough for the 9" staff bags. It holds my Sun Mountain C130 perfectly and I can add shoes plus other gear and keep it under 50lbs. Just used it on a week long trip to PGA West and was worried at first since we rented a Hyundai Elantra 4 door. Got there to pick up the car and had no problems. Just laid the SKB across the back seat and put 2 large rollers, 1 medium, and 2 small in the trunk.

Bought local on Craigslist for $80 and it's been great.

[Cwing]

Thanks guys. A hard case is out there is no way they will all fit in the trunk of a car along with luggage. I may just try to borrow one instead or I may ship them to Scotland. Anyone ship overseas?

[xThor]

If you are just using it as a one time travel, ask local golf shops if they rent travel bags. I was discussing travel with the owner of a shop near me recently, and he informed me that his store rents them out for a few dollars a day. That might be an option to try if you can't find a deal to purchase one on the cheap from somewhere.

[asommers14]

I have a soft case Maxfli and I got it for 50 dollars at Golf Galaxy. Most likely not the best brand but it has held up the couple times I have used it.

[myspinonit]

[quote name='Cwing' timestamp='1385909785' post='8232494']
Thanks guys. [b]A hard case is out there is no way they will all fit in the trunk of a car along with luggage[/b]. I may just try to borrow one instead or I may ship them to Scotland. Anyone ship overseas?
[/quote]

Sounds like you are looking at everything going in the trunk for security. If you have a friend with an adequately padded travel case, perhaps borrow one to see if you can actually get a soft-sided case and luggage in the trunk of the size of vehicle you are renting. Even 460 drivers are a challenge to get sideways without taking them out of the bags in some trunks these days. I've never planned that a golf travel case and luggage will fit in the trunk. Clubs go on the back seat, so that takes some planning for safety not to leave them sitting somewhere exposed.

Even when we've rented an SUV, that has been the case with two golf travel bags and luggage, unless one folds one seat down. But I generally turn SUV's down as rental companies don't tend to order them with sliding overs in my experience, so anything back there is exposed. (i.e. So we can't even leave our clubs in the car safely after a round if we stop for a beer or lunch.) Even with our own vehicle, a RAV 4 hat we picked for golf trips, we fit our two sets of clubs (no travel case) stacked, with room for two more small cases and one sports bag if needed between the clubs and the back seat. Then the cover goes on so they are hidden.

[jtmagic]

As others mentioned, find a good used Club glove Last Bag and don't look back. I used to go through a travel bag (mid-priced) every 12 to 18 months. I've had my Club Glove for 10 years and it is still in great shape.

[bjackson]

[url="http://www.clubglove.com/CG/ViewProdcss3XTRS.asp?ProductID=13"]Club Glove Burst Proof 2[/url] - works great! Make sure get a [url="http://www.clubglove.com/CG/ViewProdSC.asp?ProductID=18"]Stiff Arm[/url]!

[TMadigolf]

I bought an Ogio Monster travel bag(big enough for a staff bag) 3 years ago on the bay for around $80 shipped. It's very comparable to the club glove last bag. Has held up perfect on 4 trips for me.

[portland]

Club Glove bag + stiff arm is a great option. SKB is also a great option. Regarding travel and using a SKB case. Fitting an SKB case in a rental car is does not always work. Most recently on a gold trip, we had a rental Camry and with the rear seats folded down and one guy had an SKB case would not fit in the car. We had to upgrade to an SUV. Not a big deal to some, just more of an FYI.

[jshel]

I've had a Club Glove Burst Proof for about 10 years and it is still going strong. When it wears out, I will get another Club Glove in a second.

Would maybe go for the bigger one, but the smaller one is fine for a carry bag.

[sheppy335]

I have SKB bag that is hard shell it worked great for me but it is large.

[Hateto3Putt]

 

Even when we've rented an SUV, that has been the case with two golf travel bags and luggage, unless one folds one seat down. But I generally turn SUV's down as rental companies don't tend to order them with sliding overs in my experience, so anything back there is exposed. (i.e. So we can't even leave our clubs in the car safely after a round if we stop for a beer or lunch.) Even with our own vehicle, a RAV 4 hat we picked for golf trips, we fit our two sets of clubs (no travel case) stacked, with room for two more small cases and one sports bag if needed between the clubs and the back seat. Then the cover goes on so they are hidden.

 

I've had SUV's for years... here's what I do and it works amazingly well....

 

Go to any fabric store and pick up 2 yards of black cloth, as long as it's not shiny like silk, it will work.

 

When you throw your stuff into the back of your SUV cover the stuff with the cloth. When you close the hatch, with tinted windows, the hatch looks absolutely empty. Your clubs will virtually disappear.... An added bonus is that you're not limited to only what the tonneau covers can cover, the cloth will cover (hide) anything. Two yards is even enough to cover the entire cargo area with the seats folded down!

 

Two yards of cloth folds into nothing when packing, and an added bonus is that it can double as an emergency tire changing blanket.

 

Everyone who has seen mine, ends up getting one. I call it my Abra-cadabra security shield.

 

It's an illusion......

 

[myspinonit]

Even when we've rented an SUV, that has been the case with two golf travel bags and luggage, unless one folds one seat down. But I generally turn SUV's down as rental companies don't tend to order them with sliding overs in my experience, so anything back there is exposed. (i.e. So we can't even leave our clubs in the car safely after a round if we stop for a beer or lunch.) Even with our own vehicle, a RAV 4 hat we picked for golf trips, we fit our two sets of clubs (no travel case) stacked, with room for two more small cases and one sports bag if needed between the clubs and the back seat. Then the cover goes on so they are hidden.

 

I've had SUV's for years... here's what I do and it works amazingly well....

 

Go to any fabric store and pick up 2 yards of black cloth, as long as it's not shiny like silk, it will work.

 

When you throw your stuff into the back of your SUV cover the stuff with the cloth. When you close the hatch, with tinted windows, the hatch looks absolutely empty. Your clubs will virtually disappear.... An added bonus is that you're not limited to only what the tonneau covers can cover, the cloth will cover (hide) anything. Two yards is even enough to cover the entire cargo area with the seats folded down!

 

Two yards of cloth folds into nothing when packing, and an added bonus is that it can double as an emergency tire changing blanket.

 

Everyone who has seen mine, ends up getting one. I call it my Abra-cadabra security shield.

 

It's an illusion......

 

 

Great idea. Thanks.