Traveling with golf equipment is stressful because no one wants to have their gear go missing or get damaged on a golf vacation. Sadly, my clubs were lost for four days when I flew from Manchester, England, to Edinburgh, Scotland, after the 2006 British Open, which meant I played Carnoustie and The Old Course at St. Andrews with borrowed clubs while wearing running shoes.
Danielle Kang felt that stress last week because her clubs were lost for two days before the Solheim Cup in Spain started. She plays Titleist clubs, but Ping’s equipment truck was the only one on-site at Finca Cortesin, so Ping supplied Kang with equipment so she could practice until her gear (and a second set rushed and hand-delivered by Titleist Europe) arrived on Tuesday evening.
Whether you are planning a once-in-a-lifetime golf vacation to Europe or a buddy trip to Arizona, these five tips can help lower the anxiety of traveling with golf equipment.
Apple Air Tags (Apple)
I dropped an Apple Air Tag into a small pocket of my golf bag three years ago and will never travel without it again. AirTags emit a secure Bluetooth signal that nearby iPhones can anonymously detect. Those phones send the location of your AirTag to iCloud, so when you open the Find My app, you can see the precise location of the Air Tag. So, if you land in Phoenix and your golf bag doesn’t arrive, you can show the airline exactly where the bag is and follow its progress in real time to your location.
On a recent trip, I could see my golf bag was on the plane with me. (David Dusek/Golfweek)
Ogio Alpha Travel Cover Max. (Ogio)
Knowing where your golf bag is located is only half the battle; you need to keep your clubs safe. To do that, you need a travel bag loaded with cushioning that, ideally, is easy to move to and from your car and around the airport. There are several excellent models to choose from brands like Sun Mountain and Club Glove, along with Ogio, the maker of the Alpha Travel Cover Max. Made from Ballistic 1680D polyester, it can hold any golf bag, has 360-degree reinforced foam padding, oversized wheels and a heavy-duty plate on its bottom that absorbs bangs and collisions with curbs.
Bag Boy BackBone Travel Cover (Bag Boy)
Baggage handlers are not known for their gentle touch with large bags, so this device can be a club saver. Add a BackBone Travel Cover to your golf bag, next to your driver, before you put your clubs in your travel bag, then extend the arm up so the umbrella portion fits snuggly in your travel bag when it is zipped up. Now, instead of your driver getting crunched when someone drops your bag, the telescoping post takes the shock and saves your clubs.
Ship Sticks can pick up and transport your clubs. (Ship Sticks)
Unless you have elite status with your airline, you can expect to pay $35-$50 to check your golf club with your carrier. For a few dollars more, you can skip bringing your clubs to the airport and ship them from your home to the course or resort where you are heading. ShipSticks takes your packed travel bag and uses companies like FedEx, UPS and DHL to get your clubs to your destination. Everything is trackable and comes with $1,000 in insurance. Rates vary by distance and expediency, but standard ground shipping cross-country will take about a week and cost about $75. Faster (and more expensive) options are also available.
Removing the heads from your woods and storing them in your bag makes travel safer. (David Dusek/Golfweek)
Take a picture of the hosel setting on your driver, then use the torque wrench that came with the club and remove the head. Drop the driver head into your clubhead cover, stash it in one of your golf bag’s pockets and repeat the process with your fairway woods. Voila, the heads of your clubs are safe. When you arrive at your destination, refer to the photos you took and reattach the heads to the shafts.
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