Has anyone flown with their club in a padded box? It's a one way trip so i dont want to spend a crap load on a hard shell.

Will they survive if i buy a sturdy box and pad it like crazy?

TSA will need to go thru your box.

Can't see how you could make it open & close, easily.

Check out Craigslist.

Maybe ship them via FedEx

I use Bagboy golf bag, it's work brilliantly for two trips. out of the 4 times TSA has checked my bag 3 times. I buy the TSA lock, so there universal key will open and close it, and they don't have to cut the lock open.

I know most airlines will have you sign a waiver form if your clubs are in a soft case. What i do is wrap them up in my fleece blanket i have, it keeps them stable, and expands the support around the clubs. The weak point is were the clubs sit outside the golf bag, so i support that. Also if your buying a soft bag, get the bag caddy, its sturdy aluminum with a plastic cap ontop, and you extend it to give the shell its maximum support incase it gets dropped on its head.

If its a one way trip, and your not going to be going on many golf trips involving a plane, just fed ex them. You can insure them as well, fed ex will take better care of the clubs.

Ship them to the hotel at your destination.  Flying with clubs is a pain and I personally wouldnt want to risk the airline losing them.

I fly with a soft case and have never had an issue but I rarely take my clubs. I wrap a towel around the shafts of my graphite woods. But if you fly frequently with your clubs, it's worth the investment to get a good hard case.

I suspect I am in the minority but I have always used a soft bag (Club Glove) with a couple of sturdy poles inserted that are slightly longer than my driver.  The clubs have survived trips to Ireland, California and elsewhere.  I carry my bag when playing so hauling the clubs around is no big deal for me.  I primarily fly Delta so the clubs go free using the Amex card.

Of course, my bag is not filled with the latest offerings so I might feel differently if I had a set of custom built sticks.

I have both a hard case and a soft case. My soft case is a Club Glider which is by far the best golf bag travel case ever invented. I haven't used my hard case since I got my club glider. The problem with the hard cases is they are huge and don't fit in the trunk of many cars. With that hard case I always had to make sure to rent a big enough car, which costs more money.

I've never had an issue traveling with my clubs, and I fly with them at least 3-4 times a year.

I bought a Club Glove used and picked up the Stiff Arm.  Worked fantastically for traveling.

I have traveled with my clubs a lot and tried a couple of different options. Currently I use the Caddy Daddy Co-Pilot and it works well. The bag is light with a hard top to protect the clubheads. The only gripe with TSA is they left one of the pockets unzipped once and a few balls escaped.

My golf clubs have flown all over the world.........

My 2 cents:  Fly with a backup set of clubs so you don't have to worry about them.  After flying with secondary clubs many times without issue, I flew with my "GAMER" set once....I went to St. Croix and my clubs went to Texas.  Everything worked out fine, but I don't think I'll fly with my "GAMERS" anymore...LOL

I have a soft cover that is beat to hell after many flights, but I've never had a club damaged.  For what it's worth....I'd rather fly with a backup clubs.  If something happens to them....I won't care.  If something happened to my "GAMERS" ....I'll be buying top dollar replacements the day I get home!!

If you don't want to buy a travel bag/case then I would say to just ship them.  If you ship them without the bag - it's pretty cheap.  If you need to ship your bag then I think I remember reading it was around $70 bucks . .more of a thinker.

I recently travelled with my clubs for the first time and I thought pretty hard about how to do it.  In the end, I got a Club Glove Burst Proof roller bag and a stiff arm - like Unkynd mentioned above.  I am really happy with that decision.  The clubs seem really secure and safe in the club glove - especially with the stiff-arm . .I feel like it would take an exceptional amount of abuse/neglect to damage them.  Not that I'm going to try it .. but I feel like I could just toss the bag down a flight of stairs and they would not suffer one bit.

It was really easy, too.  The Club Glove rolls better than any suitcase I ever had.  Best part - the empty club glove just folds in on itself and takes up very little room in the car/hotel room.

BTW - if you can fly Southwest Air, they fly your clubs for free.  I was thinking this was going to be a one-time deal .. but now that I have the club glove, I bet I'll be travelling with my clubs more often.