Traveling and your Clubs

[DDBowdoin]

Ok... so I'm headed to Ireland in september and after spending a paycheck on tee times I'm worried whether I should bring my sticks or not

I'm not worried about them being damaged but rather them being stolen in the process

has anyone here ever experienced their travel case disappearing...

[obsessedgolfer]

i was taking clubs to arizona in december, the head of my r7 460 snapped of from the shaft in the flight, through that whole experience i have learned to USE A HARD COVER TRAVEL BAG.

[DDBowdoin]

Ive heard nothing but great things about the club glove bag when used with the extended arm

[Southpaw]

Ive heard nothing but great things about the club glove bag when used with the extended arm

My mom actually got me, my dad, and brother those for Christmas last year because we fly to South Carolina frequently for golf and they're definitely worth the money.

After traveling so many times with clubs through one of the worst airports ever (LaGuardia), I'd be more worried about clubs getting broken than stolen. But that's my perspective.

[Mr.Buckethead]

I go to Naples, FL about 3 weeks out of the year. My brother-in-law usually ship them via UPS as opposed to packing them on the plane. It runs about $100 round trip.

Not pertinent to the OP's question but just another way to travel with them.

Now for a trip overseas, I would check in on what you can rent. If you aren't happy, then bring your own clubs. I think I would like to play those courses with my own clubs just because I have an attachment to them.

[GaijinGolfer]

I would rent if it were me. Less hassle to deal with with customs and you wont have the risk of your clubs getting lost.
I dont know about you, but Id be VERY upset if my golf bag and clubs were lost.

[bruce]

A lot of golf clubs get stolen on the flights to Ireland,my buddy had 3 of his friends fly there and there 3 sets were stolen,i was reading an article in golf digest this year where he also went to Ireland and his clubs were stolen.I think travel insurance only covers up to $1000 per case and golf clubs fall under this catergry,don't quote me on the travel insurance though.

[Surefire]

I travel all over the place with my clubs many times between the UK and US and I have never had a problem.

I use a hard case, and my clubs always arrive in good condition. I've never had any issues getting clubs through customs, as they are quite a normal thing to travel with. Just remember you can't lock you bags, otherwise the bag may get broken into if customs want to inspect it.


If you are worried about damage or theft, get a golf insurance policy. This will cover clubs to a higher value than travel or home insurance.

The UPS idea might work for domestic travel, but to Ireland would probably cost about $500 each way!

[DJYoshi]

I travel appx 20 weeks of the year with my clubs when I'm on tour to cities with nice courses. The tour Trek bag that I picked up last year is AWESOME.
1. it has an insurance policy on your clubs. it won't cover the cost of your clubs if they're over like $1000 I think...but it's better than nothing
2. the extra foam is awesome
3. it's light-weight

If you're traveling, I suggest booking your trip with American Express. I've seen and heard some horror stories with clubs and Amex covers everything for you and your travels up to 5k

[DDBowdoin]

damn guys, now I'm really worried

I probably have upwards of 3 grand in my bag, if I rent I'll probably play bad golf considering my specs on my clubs, I'm sure rentals are OTR

so pretty much the workers just lift the bag right off the line and its gone huh? no travel insurance through aer lingus?

[Norm3333]

damn guys, now I'm really worried

How do you like those Macgregor Pro Ms? Gunmetal must be quite striking.

[glebert]

I haven't travelled much with clubs, but I always thought it would make sense to ship (either on the plane or via carrier) your clubs only in a double walled box and then just rent a bag when you get to the destination.

I'm still toying with the idea of putting together a travel set: 3w, maybe a hybrid, half set of irons, SW, putter, and then making a carrying case out of thin walled PVC (like a fishing rod case except a little bigger). I've also got an old Dunlop collapsible golf bag that would fit into a suitcase so I wouldn't even need to rent a bag.

I also think a hard sided double rifle case would be a good way to travel with clubs.

I know, I'm weird.

[DDBowdoin]

How do you like those Macgregor Pro Ms? Gunmetal must be quite striking.

pretty unreal

a company who's flying low under the radar now after some years of poor releases. the gunmetal catches a lot of peoples eyes and I'm expecting to see more and more manu's start to release this as an option macgregor didnt release their forging house information, they claimed it would compromise their market competition - others equate that with a cheaper chinese forging house but these things have just performed really well. I'm not even the most consistent ball striker and my miss tends to be a shot towards the toe and I dont lose much yardage I'm enjoying them!

[DJYoshi]

damn guys, now I'm really worried

you can opt to pay for travel insurance. as an amex plat holder, you're automatically enrolled in travel protection. it's an extra $10 a flight, but who cares...I have around 3k in the bag too. that $10 is cool if it means my clubs are covered. i think they have higher tiered insurance too that covers up to 20k but i think that's like $50 a flight...

[Norm3333]

pretty unreal

DDBowdoin, thanks for the info. I had Macgregor send me their free Pro M 7 iron to demo. I had it bent 2* flat for me and hit it. I loved it. Didn't hit it as far as my Mizuno MX-23s, but it was consistently straighter.

The gunmetal looks very interesting. I don't know if I have the balls to get it though. That line overall (Pro M) is very good looking I demo'ed them with the Cobra Pro CBs and the Mizuno MP-67s. Couldn't hit the 67s. The Cobras felt as good as the Macgregors just not as handsome. I went to high school with a Bowdoin. In Fitchburg. Any relatives there?

[DDBowdoin]

no no... Bowdoin was where I went for my undergrad

I love these clubs... my brother has the mx25's and while I hit them further than my macgregors I cant work the ball with his clubs, they simply go straight and high

[Surefire]

you can opt to pay for travel insurance. as an amex plat holder, you're automatically enrolled in travel protection. it's an extra $10 a flight, but who cares...I have around 3k in the bag too. that $10 is cool if it means my clubs are covered. i think they have higher tiered insurance too that covers up to 20k but i think that's like $50 a flight...

That kind of makes the assumption that everyone or at least the original poster has amex plat.

Why not just get either a travel and\or golf insurance policy. My worldwide multitrip travel policy covers my clubs and costs me £35 a year for me and the Mrs. Its much easier that way than having to sort it out every trip. Its cheaper too, even if money is no object I'd rather spend it on something fun than on insurance. Also I really wouldn't worry too much about damage or theft of clubs, I think it is the exception rather than the norm. You hear stories about it, but then it wouldn't really be much of a story if all the people who had no problem told you they travelled wiith golf clubs and nothing happened, so you're not gonna hear the other side of things.

[Anand]

I don't think you have anything to worry about so long as you take care of two things:

- get a solid travel bag (preferably hard cover)
- ensure you have a travel policy which specifically covers you for for loss / damage to your equipment for the value you need. This may require buying separate travel or golf insurance.

In the past 12 months I've travelled from the UK to California, Morocco and Mauritius with my clubs with no trouble at all. I have a soft travel bag, but am going to upgrade to a hard cover one now (now that I've upgraded all my equipment ).

Amex Platinum has plenty of cover for golf & ski equipment so I don't even worry about a financial loss. The only problem would be if I was unlucky enough that they were stolen on the way out, I'd have to rent or worse, not play at all!!

As for breakage, touch wood so far I've had no trouble.

//Anand