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Response to taking clubs on airlines. If you have persimmon woods and like them, be careful. The clubs in the cargo section of the airplane go through dramatic temperature changes. Check the option of boarding them with you, or you might want to buy inexpensive metal for your journey’s. Keeping persimmon woods in hot car trunks during the day is also bad for them. Chuck
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Squeaks…I have that same problem with rental cars in Europe… except it’s because I don’t fit in them! :-)
<snort! Mark, I’ll bet that’s why you’d be a better wind player than I am – a good stiff wind tends to blow me over! Squeaks
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: I agree except for one problem: when you get where you’re going you’d : better make sure the vehicle you’re traveling in can accomodate it. I : flew into Barcelona with my hard case and we couldn’t get it in the : rental car – had to stick it out the trunk. Squeaks…I have that same problem with rental cars in Europe… except it’s because I don’t fit in them! :-) Good Putting! Mark — Mark Koenig, Technical Consulting || These views are my own. "Mondays, what a terrible way to spend 1/7th of your life"
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Response to taking clubs on airline. If you’re woods are persimmon, you may want to leave them at
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If you will be flying or travelling by train, I recommend a hard case rather thean a soft bag. The hard cases don’t cost much more, usually have wheels, are lockable and of course offer much more protection.
I agree except for one problem: when you get where you’re going you’d better make sure the vehicle you’re traveling in can accomodate it. I flew into Barcelona with my hard case and we couldn’t get it in the rental car – had to stick it out the trunk. Squeaks
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I agree w/ Dan in that a hard case is better. It offers superior protection and the wheels are a MUST. However, if space is tight, go with the soft case. My hardcase wont fit into the trunk of most midsize or compact cars (accord, camry, and lumina to name a few) so they have to go in the back seat or you have to flip one of the seats down. The best thing to do is to ditch the case in a hotel closet asap and forget about it until the return flight. On the other hand, you can really fit a lot of stuff into the hard cases like shoes, a few dozen balls, or any extra stuff that you always end up with when traveling. -Alex – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – If you will be flying or travelling by train, I recommend a hard case rather thean a soft bag. The hard cases don’t cost much more, usually have wheels, are lockable and of course offer much more protection. I usually wrap the iron clubheads with newspaper before I lock the case. This prevents the heads from dinging each other when the baggage handlers start throwing things around. BTW, wrapping your clubs in foam rubber won’t do any good when that baggage handler throws my hard case on top of your soft bag. 
Good Golf Dan I will be traveling with my clubs very shortly. My son-in-law advises me 1) to get a soft sided travel bag, 2) pack the irons upside down in the golf bag, 3)wrap the woods with foam rubber and pack the bag with foldable clothing to prevent movement of the clubs.
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A friend I have that travels a lot with his clubs uese softsided… he has some foam rubber that he found from some packing and adds that. For travel he puts covers on all clubs.. irons too, then this foam.. he sez never a problem. I would check on insurance tho… I’d want them covered for sure… — Kevin Wandtke – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – I’m going to Virginia for my parents 40th anniversary and want to bring my clubs to play golf with my dad (who still won’t believe that I can hit my 3-wood further than he can). I can’t decide whether a soft-sided, padded carrier would be better than a hard-sided one. I am also concerned about breakage or loss – has anyone experienced problems? Did your homeowners insurance cover your clubs or is it the responsibility of the airline? My clubs aren’t particularly expensive, but I would hate to have to replace them… Thanks for any help – I figure the cost of a travel case will pay for itself since I won’t have to rent clubs when we travel now and in the future (hopefully the dream trip to Barbados this February???). Heather
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I will be traveling with my clubs very shortly. My son-in-law advises me 1) to get a soft sided travel bag, 2) pack the irons upside down in the golf bag, 3)wrap the woods with foam rubber and pack the bag with foldable clothing to prevent movement of the clubs.
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If you will be flying or travelling by train, I recommend a hard case rather thean a soft bag. The hard cases don’t cost much more, usually have wheels, are lockable and of course offer much more protection. I usually wrap the iron clubheads with newspaper before I lock the case. This prevents the heads from dinging each other when the baggage handlers start throwing things around. BTW, wrapping your clubs in foam rubber won’t do any good when that baggage handler throws my hard case on top of your soft bag. Good Golf Dan – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – I will be traveling with my clubs very shortly. My son-in-law advises me 1) to get a soft sided travel bag, 2) pack the irons upside down in the golf bag, 3)wrap the woods with foam rubber and pack the bag with foldable clothing to prevent movement of the clubs.
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I’m going to Virginia for my parents 40th anniversary and want to bring my clubs to play golf with my dad (who still won’t believe that I can hit my 3-wood further than he can). I can’t decide whether a soft-sided, padded carrier would be better than a hard-sided one. I am also concerned about breakage or loss – has anyone experienced problems? Did your homeowners insurance cover your clubs or is it the responsibility of the airline? My clubs aren’t particularly expensive, but I would hate to have to replace them… Thanks for any help – I figure the cost of a travel case will pay for itself since I won’t have to rent clubs when we travel now and in the future (hopefully the dream trip to Barbados this February???). Heather
I have only used the soft sided ones, but I have a friend with a hard sided one. It’s very nice but it seems to take up more room in the car/truck because it is rigid and unyielding in shape. It also offers a little more security from pilfering airline workers It youpur a nice little lock on it. If you travel with a soft case you can protect your clubs by putting a strudy broom handle (or two) in your bag.It/they should be couple inches longer than the longest club in your bag. You can also stuff the travel bag with towels/clothes for added padding.
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I’m going to Virginia for my parents 40th anniversary and want to bring my clubs to play golf with my dad (who still won’t believe that I can hit my 3-wood further than he can). I can’t decide whether a soft-sided, padded carrier would be better than a hard-sided one. I am also concerned about breakage or loss – has anyone experienced problems? Did your homeowners insurance cover your clubs or is it the responsibility of the airline? My clubs aren’t particularly expensive, but I would hate to have to replace them… Thanks for any help – I figure the cost of a travel case will pay for itself since I won’t have to rent clubs when we travel now and in the future (hopefully the dream trip to Barbados this February???). Heather
Heather, There are a number of ways you can go… Hard-shelled cases offer the ultimate protection for your clubs. Just make sure you get a case large enough to hold everything. If your bag is one of the lightweight carry bags (like a Ping Hoofer), you can get a hard-shelled case for as little as $100 or so. These cases are lockable, which I consider a must, given the horror stories I’ve heard about clubs being stolen by baggage handlers. The soft-shelled bags can be had for alot less (I’ve seen prices as low as $50-$60). If, over the next several years, you could see yourself doing a fair amount of traveling with your clubs, I’d suggest spending a little more and getting a really nice bag. The best one I’ve seen is the Club Glove bag. It’s soft-shelled, lockable, and has wheels. A little pricey (about $250 if memory serves). But if you’re gonna travel your clubs around a couple of times a year, it’ll last many years, and will be well worth the price. I’m planning on making it my next purchase! Randy
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I use a padded soft-sided case and have had no trouble & I can’t imagine that a hard case would be easier to store when not in use. Just as a precaution, I usually pack some clothes in with the clubs as extra cushion.
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If you use a soft sided bag, cut an old broomstick about an inch or so longer than your driver (or longest club). Add it to your bag to take the pressure off your driver.
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I have a tip for travelling with golf clubs. Before putting your bag of clubs into a carrier, put the heads of your clubs down into your golf bag (grips sticking up); then put your golf bag into the carrier (I use a soft carrier bag This can help prevent the heads of your clubs from getting lopped off.
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I have a tip for travelling with golf clubs. Before putting your bag of clubs into a carrier, put the heads of your clubs down into your golf bag (grips sticking up); then put your golf bag into the carrier (I use a soft carrier bag This can help prevent the heads of your clubs from getting lopped off.
I’m not sure all my clubs would fit "heads down" into my Hoofer bag. However, if you have a larger bag that came with a snap-on cover, I’d definately use that to keep the clubs from rattling around inside the travel case. If it’s a hard-shell travel case, you probably wouldn’t need it, though, as they provide a pretty snug fit. Randy
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A word of caution regarding travel bags – the hard shelled ones offer the best protection but are the hardest to handle from car to airport and airport to car. If you are renting a car, forget getting anything else in the trunk if you have a hard shelled travel bag and with some of the rentals, the hard shelled bag won’t even fit in the trunk. I have been travelling with my golf clubs valued at over $2000 for many years. I use a padded, soft sided carry bag and have never had any damage done to a club. I did have all my luggage go to the wrong airport once, but all items were recovered and delivered to my home the next day. I am glad it was on the inbound trip instead of the outbound though. I usually travel with my wife who also plays golf so there are 2 bags to wrestle with and fit into a mid-size rental car along with 4 or 5 suitcases. The padded, soft-side is the way for me to go. Have a great trip and my Dad never thought I could hit a 3 wood further than he could either. When I finally could, he stopped playing and has since passed. If I could play one more time with him I would let him beat me all over the course. Be easy on the old guy when you play him. Regards; stymie
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I’m going to Virginia for my parents 40th anniversary and want to bring my clubs to play golf with my dad (who still won’t believe that I can hit my 3-wood further than he can). I can’t decide whether a soft-sided, padded carrier would be better than a hard-sided one. I am also concerned about breakage or loss – has anyone experienced problems? Did your homeowners insurance cover your clubs or is it the responsibility of the airline? My clubs aren’t particularly expensive, but I would hate to have to replace them… Thanks for any help – I figure the cost of a travel case will pay for itself since I won’t have to rent clubs when we travel now and in the future (hopefully the dream trip to Barbados this February???). Heather