SPY ZINGER Posted November 18, 2013 Share Posted November 18, 2013 SPY ZINGER TRAVELS LIGHT In Early November, I traveled to Carlsbad, California, to visit the top three equipment manufactures in the area. Now, I am from Minneapolis, and my home golf course is closed for the season. There is no way I'm traveling to Southern California and not playing a couple rounds of golf, mixing business with pleasure. I don't care if you are trying to squeeze some golf in on a business trip, or planning a golf getaway, there is nothing worse than lugging your clubs in a travel case. Think about it for a minute. It's a pain in the crotch to say the least. Into the car, the ticket counter, baggage claim, the car rental shuttle, the rental car, your hotel, on and on. 45 pounds of misery, only to do it all again on the way home. If you're traveling with a couple buddies, you better be renting a mini-van. This time around, I decided I have had enough and was going to ship my clubs. I contacted Ship Sticks, and it was one of the best travel experiences I have had involving golf. Ship Sticks contracts with two companies: UPS and FedEx. That's it. They receive a volume discount, and pass the savings along to the consumer. The result is, you pay a lower rate than walking into a UPS or FedEx location to ship on your own. The process is simple. Contact Ship Sticks by telephone or fill out their online form. The rate you pay is determined by your home or shipping location, and your destination. Since I was leaving from Minneapolis to San Diego, ground shipping is $60 each way, for $120 total round trip. This includes $1,000 in insurance, and you can purchase more if needed. Expedited shipping options are also available if you are shipping less than five days out. Based on my route, UPS was the contracted carrier. Ship Sticks prepares a pre-printed UPS Label for both shipments, and sends it directly via email. I packed my clubs into a hard sided travel case, taped the label on with clear box tape, and brought my clubs into a UPS Store near my house. My clubs were shipped directly to the La Costa Golf Resort in Carlsbad, CA. You can track them with the standard UPS tracking number however, Ship Sticks will send you an email once they arrive at your destination. When I arrived at the course, the staff knew exactly where my clubs were, and the process was flawless. The last course I played on my trip was Torrey Pines. At the conclusion of play, I packed them up in the hard sided travel case again, taped the label on the box, and left them with the staff. The following day, UPS picked them up on their regular stop at the course, and they were on their way back to my front door. Simple service to use, and the added cost is worth the convenience. Obviously, it is more cost effective to pay the baggage fee at approximately $50-60 round trip. For the extra $60, I found Ship Sticks to be well worth the cost to avoid the headache of the process involved with lugging the clubs to and from your destination. I appreciated the fact that I could send them right in the travel case, it was easy to set-up, and the operation was flawless from start to finish. If you are planning a winter golf getaway this winter, Ship Sticks is worth the splurge. You've been lugging your clubs around long enough, take a break and enjoy travel without them. After this experience, I'll never travel check my bags at the airport again. http://youtu.be/QVka0BCrwTI Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SPY ZINGER Posted January 7, 2014 Author Share Posted January 7, 2014 Heading to the PGA Show? Ship Sticks is giving MGS members a 5% off coupon code to use on the Ship Sticks website: PGASHOW2014 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hckymeyer Posted January 7, 2014 Share Posted January 7, 2014 Very cool of them, just wish I had some to place to travel... Driver: SLDR w/ Fujikura Ventus Black 3w: '16 M2 hl w/ Diamana D+ 82 5w: Launcher HB w/ HZRDUS Yellow Hybrid: 22 deg. Launcher HB w/ HZRDUS Black Irons: 5i - gap Launcher CBX w/ Nippon Modus 3 125 Wedges: 54 CBX & 58 Zipcore w/ Nippon Modus 3 125 Putter: Red 7s Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wbealsd Posted December 15, 2014 Share Posted December 15, 2014 Has anyone else used this service? I'll be traveling to the PGA Show in a few weeks and not only does this sound better than lugging my clubs through the airport but, if I'm reading their "oversize baggage" section correctly, with a $200 charge (each way) for anything over 62 linear inches, it looks like it would cost me $400 to check them with United, even though I get 2 free bags as a United Club member. I've never shipped or checked my clubs before, but this sure seems like the way to go. What's In the Bag Driver - GBB Hybrids Halo XL Halo 18* & T-Rail 20* Irons T-Rail 2.0 Wedges 60* TS / SCOR 48* 53* 58* Putter Ball Bag Datrek DG Lite Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hckymeyer Posted December 15, 2014 Share Posted December 15, 2014 Has anyone else used this service? I'll be traveling to the PGA Show in a few weeks and not only does this sound better than lugging my clubs through the airport but, if I'm reading their "oversize baggage" section correctly, with a $200 charge (each way) for anything over 62 linear inches, it looks like it would cost me $400 to check them with United, even though I get 2 free bags as a United Club member. I've never shipped or checked my clubs before, but this sure seems like the way to go. I would recommend calling United first and asking specifically about golf clubs. With a typical travel bag I don't think you would be over the 62" limit. Plus you can remove the head from your driver and pack it separately. Taking out the longest club should easily put you under that length limit. Driver: SLDR w/ Fujikura Ventus Black 3w: '16 M2 hl w/ Diamana D+ 82 5w: Launcher HB w/ HZRDUS Yellow Hybrid: 22 deg. Launcher HB w/ HZRDUS Black Irons: 5i - gap Launcher CBX w/ Nippon Modus 3 125 Wedges: 54 CBX & 58 Zipcore w/ Nippon Modus 3 125 Putter: Red 7s Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wbealsd Posted December 15, 2014 Share Posted December 15, 2014 I would recommend calling United first and asking specifically about golf clubs. With a typical travel bag I don't think you would be over the 62" limit. Plus you can remove the head from your driver and pack it separately. Taking out the longest club should easily put you under that length limit. Oops, I worded their size limit wrong, what they have on their site is a max of 62 Linear Inches (L+W+H) - "Baggage is measured by length + width + height, including wheels and handle. The dimensions of each measurement are added together to compose the total number of linear inches/centimeters." I DO intend to double check with United, since I initially thought I would be able to check the clubs for free, but I don't see how a case containing clubs wouldn't exceed the limit. What's In the Bag Driver - GBB Hybrids Halo XL Halo 18* & T-Rail 20* Irons T-Rail 2.0 Wedges 60* TS / SCOR 48* 53* 58* Putter Ball Bag Datrek DG Lite Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SPY ZINGER Posted December 15, 2014 Author Share Posted December 15, 2014 Once you do it, you'll never go back. Email sent, to see if they've got a coupon code this year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wbealsd Posted December 15, 2014 Share Posted December 15, 2014 Once you do it, you'll never go back. Email sent, to see if they've got a coupon code this year. Thanks!! What's In the Bag Driver - GBB Hybrids Halo XL Halo 18* & T-Rail 20* Irons T-Rail 2.0 Wedges 60* TS / SCOR 48* 53* 58* Putter Ball Bag Datrek DG Lite Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SPY ZINGER Posted December 16, 2014 Author Share Posted December 16, 2014 Shipsouth10 for 10% off Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wbealsd Posted December 17, 2014 Share Posted December 17, 2014 Shipsouth10 for 10% off Thank YOU!!! What's In the Bag Driver - GBB Hybrids Halo XL Halo 18* & T-Rail 20* Irons T-Rail 2.0 Wedges 60* TS / SCOR 48* 53* 58* Putter Ball Bag Datrek DG Lite Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wbealsd Posted January 9, 2015 Share Posted January 9, 2015 Thanks again, got my order in tonight! What's In the Bag Driver - GBB Hybrids Halo XL Halo 18* & T-Rail 20* Irons T-Rail 2.0 Wedges 60* TS / SCOR 48* 53* 58* Putter Ball Bag Datrek DG Lite Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SPY ZINGER Posted January 9, 2015 Author Share Posted January 9, 2015 Cool, did the code work? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wbealsd Posted January 9, 2015 Share Posted January 9, 2015 Cool, did the code work? Indeed, it did! I had to call customer service, as I wanted to ensure I could drop off my shipment since I live "off the paved roads" and a lot of delivery trucks can't make it in and out of our place in the winter. The first thing I mentioned to him was I heard about the company from MyGolfSpy What's In the Bag Driver - GBB Hybrids Halo XL Halo 18* & T-Rail 20* Irons T-Rail 2.0 Wedges 60* TS / SCOR 48* 53* 58* Putter Ball Bag Datrek DG Lite Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SPY ZINGER Posted January 9, 2015 Author Share Posted January 9, 2015 Cool! Glad it worked out. It worked flawlessly for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.