Any advice on how to safely pack a travel golf bag?

[Matt Hutch]

22 hours ago, Nolan220 said:

I had a travel bag that my buddy gave me and I just bought the stiff arm threw that in and also removed any heads I could.. put a bunch of clothes in the top of the bag so it would help cushion the clubs in case of a fall... I had a cheaper version of the stiff arm and it broke the first time I used it. 

Thank you, this is super helpful, I really appreciate the time!

[Matt Hutch]

22 hours ago, Tom the Golf Nut said:

I travel often for golf, Oops I mean work. I travel next week then home a week then gone another week. All work related golf trips. I used to use a hard case because the airlines will replace anything broken if you use one. Well they actually broke the hard case three times in one season. They did pay for a replacement but it was so difficult to deal with getting to and from the airport in rental cars. You have to get a rental big enough. So I gave up and went to the Club Glove. Best thing I ever did.

I do go the extra mile when packing. Always use a stiff arm or cut down a broom stick, hockey stich or PVC pipe if you don't want to purchase a stiff arm. make sure it is at least 1/2" longer than your longest club. I take the driver head off, put the head in the head cover and place it in one of the pockets of the golf bag. Usually the one with my rain gear (extra padding that way). Then I put the shaft in the bag upside down to protect the tip. 

Next step is to move the putter to the center of the bag and move an iron somewhere else. The irons then get wrapped with my golf towels, weaving in and out and around. The travel rain cover then goes on and zipped up. I slightly unzip from the top and shove a little bubble wrap in there. TAKE A PICTURE. Then this all goes into the travel bag and buckled in place and zipped up. TAKE ANOTHER PICTURE. Never had a problem except every once in a while at a small airport they do a manual check. They open everything up and don't put everything back correctly. If anything ever gets broken you can show them the pictures of how it was packed and they will have to replace it because the damage was done due to the carelessness of the TSA Inspector. 

Also if your bag gets lost you can show them the picture of the bag. I had to do this once. It was the hard shell and it was all black. the operator of the luggage cart that took it off the plane did not see it in the dark. But interesting enough. The system showed the bag arrived and what cart it was loaded on. They called the guy on the luggage cart and he looked in the bin and there it was. Always have your tracking numbers on hand. 

Thank you so much for the detail, this is amazing, great hacks for travel!

[MGoBlue100]

6 minutes ago, Tom the Golf Nut said:

I have had good luck with Dry Cleaners that do alterations. We just had a canvas display for trade shows break a zipper. We brought it to them and they replaced the zipper which was heavy duty and about 6 feet long. Check you local places that do alterations.  

That's a great idea; my son has a friend who's family owns some dry cleaners.  I'll inquire, thanks for the idea.

[GatorrDave]

I just bought the Izzo High Roller because of the MGS rankings on protection. It'll be my first time traveling with my sticks. Fingers crossed it works out for the both of us! 

[Matt Hutch]

21 hours ago, GatorrDave said:

I just bought the Izzo High Roller because of the MGS rankings on protection. It'll be my first time traveling with my sticks. Fingers crossed it works out for the both of us! 

Drop us a line in this thread after your trip, I haven't heard any direct feedback on that one. Any hacks you have in general would also be appreciated!

[floridagolfer]

On 9/6/2022 at 3:13 PM, Matt Hutch said:

I travel for golf often and I want to maximize the soft sided travel bag that I have. I have anxiety on every trip until check my clubs and gear are safe, any tips, tricks or hacks?

Thanks!

Matt

 

 

 

On 9/8/2022 at 10:26 AM, Tom the Golf Nut said:

I have had good luck with Dry Cleaners that do alterations. We just had a canvas display for trade shows break a zipper. We brought it to them and they replaced the zipper which was heavy duty and about 6 feet long. Check you local places that do alterations.  

I have a Clubglider and I also have a Club Glove. Clubglider is all I use now. Important thing is get an extension bar. Can be bought at golf stores or online. It extends to the top of your bag so it helps prevent your driver and other clubs from getting bent or broken from the top of the bag. 

[Tarheel Jack]

Club Glove for travel is the ticket! Wrap your golf towel between the iron section slots ti prevent damage, especially on forged irons. Shoes on the side vs pockets. Don’t overpack.

[JohnFP]

I agree with wrapping a towel around the shafts but the other thing I do is put an old pillow around the top of the clubs to protect them.

 

Or take one that you like that way you have a good one in the hotel you're staying at.

Edited September 10, 2022 by JohnFP
Messed up

[chisag]

On 9/6/2022 at 3:45 PM, DaveP043 said:

I've had a ClubGlove travel bag for years, and have never had a problem, at least a dozen and maybe close to 20 trips.  I do take the head off the driver, I do use the Club Glove Stiff Arm, I do wrap a towel around the clubs, and then I stop worrying.  

 

 

... Pretty much exactly how I travel but don't use a towel around my irons/wedges. I use my clean socks that become excellent iron head covers in the ClubGlove. On the return trip I use my dirty sox to cover irons/wedges. If your socks are very thin, use two. 

[Tom the Golf Nut]

1 minute ago, chisag said:

 

 

... Pretty much exactly how I travel but don't use a towel around my irons/wedges. I use my clean socks that become excellent iron head covers in the ClubGlove. On the return trip I use my dirty sox to cover irons/wedges. If your socks are very thin, use two. 

Now that's funny. I hope TSA doesn't take your iron covers off! 

[70445]

I remove the woods heads, and put them in a padded sock like thing in the bottom larger compartment, put the shaft upside down in the bag, and remove anything I don’t want to loose (rangefinder, other things).  Never had any problems!  Oh I forgot, I tape the putter to a divider, just in case, don’t want it bent.

[HDTVMAN]

Traveling by plane next week. First, take all the heads off your woods if adjustable, and place them in the head covers and a pocket. I put head covers on the irons and place them facing the center, wrapping my towels around them. I have a Bag Boy t-750 and have never had an issue.

[Scoobs]

So I ALWAYS take my driver head off, first and foremost. And then I take a big beach towel, twirl it up, and wrap it around all my club tops and cinch it tight. I tuck the ends into the bag top as well. This secures the clubs from clanking around into each other, protects your shafts, adds extra padding, and usually I'm going somewhere where the extra beach towel is nice to have as well... 

[TitleistMike]

As others will note. 

Heads off driver fairways. Put fairway heads in shoes in travel bag. I travel with 2 pairs shoes.

Put golf towels shoes and rain gear around top of bag. Put some irons in upside down if golf bag allows.

I've seen long painter's extension pole as stiffener.

[Everardo]

My Club Glove bag has lasted almost 10 years now and been amazing.

[divotman]

On 9/6/2022 at 2:13 PM, Matt Hutch said:

I travel for golf often and I want to maximize the soft sided travel bag that I have. I have anxiety on every trip until check my clubs and gear are safe, any tips, tricks or hacks?

Thanks!

Matt

 

 

A friend of mine cut a PVC pipe the length of his driver shaft and puts his driver in it for the trip.  I use bubble wrap around my clubheads.

[CaptStang]

Buy a Club Glove and a Stiff Arm...IMHO only way to protect the body slamming from the airlines.

[ChuckZ]

With all the restrictions of flying today, most airlines with not insure golf clubs unless they travel in a hard case.  That is what I have used for many years and they have survived worldwide travels and handling by, should I say by gorillas.  Just kidding, but the do take a beating.  I have the smaller SKB hard case that I purchased in the early 90's that I pack a Titleist lightweight golf bag in, seems to meet Delta's requirements for a bag and I can keep it under the weight limit.  Being an AEX Gold card frequent flyer get one free bag.  Have had a couple of issues over the years, but customer service was always there with replacement parts.  Have nothing but high praise for this travel case.  Have loaned it out to buddies when they travel and they love it as well.  Easy to handle thru airports, but not fit well in a small vehicles.  Need to check out length if purchasing one.  Well padded, protecting driver/fairways, and plenty of room for shoes (with small bag), with dual locking mechanism.    

[Everardo]

17 hours ago, CaptStang said:

Buy a Club Glove and a Stiff Arm...IMHO only way to protect the body slamming from the airlines.

+1 for this setup. Been using a Clubglove and stiff arm for over 10 years. Remove club heads, pack a couple extra towels around irons and you should be all good

[Matt Hutch]

Thanks, these are all amazing tips, I really appreciate the insight! I love to hear about any storage hacks with the golf bag and storage in general. Cheers!