Have Clubs, Will Travel

It’s a grey, cold November day here in the northeastern U.S. and it’s days like this that drive me to the travel section of golf magazines to dream of a winter golf trip. Trouble is, to get to those places I have to fly. I hate flying.

I once flew a lot on business so I’ve seen first hand how struggling airlines and new security measures have turned a fun adventure into a gigantic hassle. Flying with clubs doesn’t make it any easier.

For me, it’s not just wrestling the bag around that’s the problem. It’s the worry factor. Are the gorillas on the tarmac going to snap my $400 driver? Are my clubs headed to Oshkosh while I’m headed to Scottsdale? Here are some thoughts, products, and services that may allay your worries…

Airlines as Adversaries
As anyone who’s flown recently can attest, the basic attitude of airlines today is “sit down, shut up, and maybe we’ll you’ll get there eventually.” And “Baggage? We don’t want no stinkin’ baggage!”

That said, a quick perusal of the major airlines does reveal that, in most instances, they still accept golf bags for free as along as it counts as one of the two or three pieces they allow. Weight restrictions vary between 50 and 70 pounds depending on the carrier.

All the airlines define a golf bag as 14 clubs, one pair of shoes and a dozen balls. But, obviously, any weight within reason will get by.

Delta, for one, requires you to sign a waiver of liability if you use a soft cover instead of a hard case. American strongly recommends a hard case and thus may also require a waiver. Here’s a link to a brief review of major airline policies, although it would pay to check your own airline when you book the flight since some destinations (like overseas and the Caribbean) may have special limits.

Hard or Soft?
You must have a cover. I just cringe when I see naked golf bags with just the rain hood snapped on going through baggage. It’s like attaching a sign to the bag saying, “Dear baggage handler: help yourself to some Pro V1s and check out my putter while you’re at it.”

Choosing between a hard case and a soft cover comes down to your degree of paranoia and your level of practicality. Hard cases are safer and can be locked securely. They’re also much heavier and become something of a hassle when you get to your destination and try to fit it and the rest of your luggage into a rental car trunk.

Soft cases are a lot easier to deal with and can be stuffed with as much as you think you can get away with weight-wise. But while the zippers can be locked, it’s just fabric, after all.

Obviously, airline security today requires all checked baggage to be unlocked. But at some airports where the baggage is screened on the concourse (O’Hare comes to mind), I’ve been able to ask the security people to lock my bag after screening and they’ve been happy to oblige.

So what to choose? Here are my top two picks…

Golf Telebag
Named a “Best New Product” at the 2005 PGA Merchandise show, the Golf Telebag is a hard case that gets around the car trunk conundrum because once your bag is out of the case it collapses into a much more manageable 24-inch height.

While it won’t accommodate a staff bag (do you really want to travel with one?), it will hold most carry and cart bags. The fit is intentionally snug to keep your clubs from banging around inside it.

Made of a polyethylene material, it weighs about 12 pounds and comes equipped with in-line skate wheels so you can dolly it around the airport. You can find it for $119.95 at various golf stores, cheaper even than the Telebag web site.

Club Glove Last Bag
The ultimate soft cover is so named because it’s supposed to be the “last bag” you’ll ever need. Club Glove says that it’s the most used product on the professional tours. I don’t doubt it since there’s probably not a hard case that would fit a staff bag and weigh less than 20 pounds.

This thing is beautifully built with heavy Cordura fabric, padding around the club heads, two shoe pockets with two shoe bags, and a hard plastic bottom to which the in-line skate wheels are attached.

It comes in a choice of 14 colors including champagne pink and desert camouflage. That ought to help you pick it out when it hits the carousel. Unfortunately, it’s very expensive. Suggested retail price is $279.

Club Glove maintains it’s great protection for the clubs. The only breakage seems to occur when the bag is dropped directly on the club heads from a height of around 6 feet. Ouch. That’s why if you opt for a soft bag, I’d suggest this…

The Stiff Arm
Also made by Club Glove, the Stiff Arm is essentially a telescoping rod that you put in the bag and adjust so that it’s taller than your driver. The mushroom-shaped cap on the top is designed to absorb the shock when the baggage handler decides to test the effects of gravity on titanium and graphite.

Retailing at around $25, I think it’s cheap insurance for anyone using a soft cover.

And Then There’s This…
If you’re willing to pay for ultimate convenience and no doubt better security than airlines offer, you might want to check out Sports Express. Basically, they pick up your clubs at your home, office, or club and ship it via UPS, FedEx, or DHL to your hotel or resort.

They track it along the way and give you email updates on the status. Based in Durango, Colorado, they handle all kinds of sports equipment including skis and kayaks. The service is personal and comprehensive. You don’t have to do much more than affix a label they supply and hand it over to the carrier.

As you might guess, convenience doesn’t come cheap. Round trip from Newark to Scottsdale with 3-day service would run about $265. U.S. to Scotland round trip would be about $552. Still, when you think about it, it might be worth it.

Club Glove is running a promotion with Sports Express offering $50 off a round trip with the purchase of one of their covers through the end of the year.

In the End…
When it comes to travel, flying has become a necessary evil. So give some thought to protecting your clubs from evil when you take to the formerly friendly skies.