Airline travel

This is certainly the way most golfers travel with their clubs. While it is typically a straightforward concept, there are always a few key factors that you should consider when you travel with your clubs:

• Airline: Reputations often precede themselves in this space, and which airline you are flying can certainly impact the reliability of your clubs making it to you.  Do a little research prior to your flight to see what others have said about their experiences. We’ve always found Delta, Southwest, and Alaska/Hawaiian Airlines to be very reliable.
• Travel cover: This is a big one.  We’ve all seen the videos of how airline crews slinging around our clubs would make any golfer cringe, so selecting the right travel bag is vital for your travels.  To us, this all comes down to how many golf trips you take.  If you’re an avid traveler, it’s hard to beat Club Glove. Its brand is not cheap by any means, but you get what you pay for on this one as their products hold up time and time again, and its patented TRS System (Train Reaction System) allows you to easily stack multiple bags and your clubs with minimal effort. If you’re looking for a great, more affordable option, check out the Bag Boy T-10 Travel Cover. Its crush-resistant ABS top will help your clubs arrive unscathed despite TSA’s best efforts, and you can easily pack the fabric body inside the hard top to minimize the amount of trunk space needed to store it. Be sure to check it out, and you can also peruse Bag Boy’s website as it has multiple options at great price points.
• How many connections you have: This is where things can get a little dicey…the more flights you have, the more risk there is for your clubs to end up in Tennessee when you need them in Pinehurst.  If you’re connecting multiple times, it may make shipping your clubs a more viable, reliable option.
• Airline credit cards: This is another sneaky great move to save you money when you are traveling with golf clubs.  Airlines seem to charge more for checked luggage and minimize the number of free bags they allow you to check during travel these days.  It could be worth looking into getting a credit card with your favorite airline provider to cover these costs.  For example, a member of our team based on the East Coast just traveled with her family to California, and their new Delta SkyMiles Gold American Express credit card’s initial point bonus covered the cost of two their flights (saving about $1,300), and they estimated the baggage cost savings at about $470 as they were able to travel with two bags each for free.  At a $150 annual fee, this card more than paid for itself on this one trip alone for a long time.  With the right planning, this can be a huge benefit.