Rental Clubs (good and bad stories)

[Goober]

 First off , happy holidays to all. Currently been around Palm Springs and the Phoenix area for 3 weeks now. Touring, exploring, and getting some rounds of golf in. I also attended a three day clinic at the Tour Striker Academy. 
  Decided not to bring my clubs as a bad experience with an airlines in the last discouraged me. So this time I’ve been renting clubs at every club I play at. Kinda like a pot luck of what you get in their bags. 
  Hardest clubs to get used to are the wedges and driver. 
 

What are your thoughts on rental clubs when traveling ? Good or bad experiences ?

[NC Golfer]

Rented a year ago in Las Vegas while on vacation. Callaway Mavericks, Epic woods. Great experience. It was sold as apart of a green feen, cart package and was quite affordable. I see this as a lessed talked about subject and a fantastic way to trial clubs and or shafts.

[Bossfan]

In Maui I rented from the Maui Golf Shop. I reserved a set of irons before I got there. I picked out everything else when I got there. They had plenty of choices. Most everything I saw were pretty recent. I think it was $40/50 for the day and all three of us were very happy with the bags we put together.

[GolfSpy_APH]

I'm hoping @GolfSpy_BOS will chime in with his latest experience.

I've only played 2 rental sets and a couple borrowed.

I'm fortune i travel a good amount, but almost always in winter. 

I've played a TM Jetspeed set in St. Lucia Sandals which I'll admit was fun. The driver was not, but the rest of the bag was good and i was pretty impressed with the condition. Now I'm a lefty so likely not used much.

The other was further back and a cobra set. I couldn't hit driver for the life of me so just kept it in the bag and we'll my skill wad pretty poor at that point so don't recall too much outside of cobra and bad driver.

The used sets were more fun. Random. Rounds with great ppl, I'm pretty sure I did a thread on one of them when I was in Scotland and the other one was TM MC which were fun! 

[Golf2Much]

In the past, I would typically take the risk and travel with clubs.  Most recently however, I've decided to rent if I'm only going to play one day or round.  As one might expect, the quality of the clubs is often directly proportional to quality of the course. 

Most recently, we traveled to Aruba to celebrate our 40th anniversary where we honeymooned.  There was a nine-hole course across the street, so on a whim we decided to go and play.  The rental clubs were a mishmash of flexes, models, shaft materials and overall conditions.   As bad as the set was, we had somewhat low expectations (which were met), we had no intention to set the golfing world on fire and it gave us a chance to say we played in Aruba. 

The other end of the spectrum was our trip to Scotland this Summer.  We decided to take one day when we were in Edinburgh to play.   Months in advance we picked a course (which was on the upper end of the great courses in the area) and contacted them about rental clubs.   They had "newish" Taylor Made clubs and asked us specifically what flex and shaft materials wanted.  When we got there, the rental sets were in great condition and represented what we asked for.  Unfortunately, I we were rushed to get to the first tee and I didn't notice that I was missing a sand wedge.  We played (and walked) 36 holes that day and I was able to get a wedge for the second round.  

So, for suggestions:  Go to the club's website and see if they mention the rental clubs that they have.  It's worth contacting them to see if they have the style, shaft type and flexs that will work for you.  Set low expectations.  The clubs may not have grips in the greatest condition, may not be the style of clubs you typically play and will likely be different that what you are accustomed to.  Many golf courses are tough enough before adding in a high degree of variability with different clubs.

[doubleduhric]

On 12/11/2022 at 8:29 AM, Goober said:

 First off , happy holidays to all. Currently been around Palm Springs and the Phoenix area for 3 weeks now. Touring, exploring, and getting some rounds of golf in. I also attended a three day clinic at the Tour Striker Academy. 
  Decided not to bring my clubs as a bad experience with an airlines in the last discouraged me. So this time I’ve been renting clubs at every club I play at. Kinda like a pot luck of what you get in their bags. 
  Hardest clubs to get used to are the wedges and driver. 
 

What are your thoughts on rental clubs when traveling ? Good or bad experiences ?

I do the same at least once a year. The bags are typically a mix of decent clubs, but lately they all have hybrids rather than long irons. Great for most.. but hybrids are my nemesis. I also completely agree with you on the Driver... its... Hit or Miss... on the fit you will find. 

[GolfSpy BOS]

Thanks for the tag @GolfSpy_APH! 

I just got back from a Disneyworld trip where I had the chance to play at Lake Buena Vista golf curse at the Saratoga Springs resort that we stayed at. 

I'll try to focus my thoughts here on just the rental aspect of the golf and not the whole experience which I want to share about later.  I'll caveat this by saying it seems I am fairly sensitive to shaft changes.  I'd like to say it is just in my head, but I'll notice something feeling different without knowing what the shaft is supposed to do.  I'm just a bit of a feel player I guess.  Now no one can accuse me of not having feelings.  Also, I don't normally fit into a standard length/lie.  I'm short, and have played my irons -1/2 and 2 flat for years now.  

The Good:

• I got to golf, in December, on vacation, with my Son and Father-in-law without spending an exorbitant amount of money.
• The clubs were a season or so old (SIM2 lineup) and while they showed some wear, the grips had been well cared for or replaced.

The Bad:

• They only offered Stiff or Regular flex.  Now, I'm no tour player and I could easily play MODUS 120s shafts over MODUS 120x, so the only offering "stiff" isn't a problem.  But the weight was.  Everything was lighter than what I'm used to playing/fit into.  Most of it by 20 grams or more, the iron shafts were 35 grams lighter.
  • The Stiff offering was some light weight KBS steel offering.  85 gram class I believe.  It felt VERY different in weight compared to the 120x shafts.  I mean, its nearly a 30% difference in weight.  This was hard to get used to and I found myself trying to guide the clubhead more than I would usually.
• Wedges were the SIM2 set wedges.  Not the most versatile in the world, but if you're playing casually it's not the end of the world.  I had one bunker shot, which  I did get out of on the first try, but I was thinking more "get it on the green" than executing any real sort of skilled shot.
• 6 balls were included.... but they were not exactly a "tour ball" of any brand  (I brought some of my own along in the suitcase expecting this).

Overall:

• If you're going to play "seriously" or get a lesson.  I know I would want my own equipment, or know ahead of time if they were at least close in spec to what I was used to.
• If you're playing casually, I think it worked really well.  I just didn't have any great expectation for scoring on the day.

Would I do it again?

• I'm still a little on the fence.  I think I would, but maybe I'd limit it to nine holes over 18.  I'm pretty competitive in my mindset even for casual rounds (I enjoy the struggle of trying to improve and score well) so I might not be the middle of the bell curve for rental golfers.  But for a quick, casual nine hole round I feel I can play well enough with a rental set to enjoy the course beyond trying to score.

[NC Golfer]

What's the pricing on shipping clubs these days with the airlines or I quickly looked at Shipsticks and it seemed very expensive. I am planning a trip to Muskoka this summer and I am not sure if it is worth shipping clubs vs $75 a pop for clubs and balls? 

Edited December 12, 2022 by NC Golfer

[RichL85]

12 minutes ago, GolfSpy_BOS said:

Thanks for the tag @GolfSpy_APH! 

I just got back from a Disneyworld trip where I had the chance to play at Lake Buena Vista golf curse at the Saratoga Springs resort that we stayed at. 

I'll try to focus my thoughts here on just the rental aspect of the golf and not the whole experience which I want to share about later.  I'll caveat this by saying it seems I am fairly sensitive to shaft changes.  I'd like to say it is just in my head, but I'll notice something feeling different without knowing what the shaft is supposed to do.  I'm just a bit of a feel player I guess.  Now no one can accuse me of not having feelings.  Also, I don't normally fit into a standard length/lie.  I'm short, and have played my irons -1/2 and 2 flat for years now.  

The Good:

• I got to golf, in December, on vacation, with my Son and Father-in-law without spending an exorbitant amount of money.
• The clubs were a season or so old (SIM2 lineup) and while they showed some wear, the grips had been well cared for or replaced.

The Bad:

• They only offered Stiff or Regular flex.  Now, I'm no tour player and I could easily play MODUS 120s shafts over MODUS 120x, so the only offering "stiff" isn't a problem.  But the weight was.  Everything was lighter than what I'm used to playing/fit into.  Most of it by 20 grams or more, the iron shafts were 35 grams lighter.
  • The Stiff offering was some light weight KBS steel offering.  85 gram class I believe.  It felt VERY different in weight compared to the 120x shafts.  I mean, its nearly a 30% difference in weight.  This was hard to get used to and I found myself trying to guide the clubhead more than I would usually.
• Wedges were the SIM2 set wedges.  Not the most versatile in the world, but if you're playing casually it's not the end of the world.  I had one bunker shot, which  I did get out of on the first try, but I was thinking more "get it on the green" than executing any real sort of skilled shot.
• 6 balls were included.... but they were not exactly a "tour ball" of any brand  (I brought some of my own along in the suitcase expecting this).

Overall:

• If you're going to play "seriously" or get a lesson.  I know I would want my own equipment, or know ahead of time if they were at least close in spec to what I was used to.
• If you're playing casually, I think it worked really well.  I just didn't have any great expectation for scoring on the day.

Would I do it again?

• I'm still a little on the fence.  I think I would, but maybe I'd limit it to nine holes over 18.  I'm pretty competitive in my mindset even for casual rounds (I enjoy the struggle of trying to improve and score well) so I might not be the middle of the bell curve for rental golfers.  But for a quick, casual nine hole round I feel I can play well enough with a rental set to enjoy the course beyond trying to score.

Interesting that a few of the things changed. I rented clubs from one of the other Disney courses in December of 2021 (Magnolia). Same Sim2 woods and hybrid, but they had M6 irons with some MG wedges. I won't swear to it, but I think it was the M6 gap wedge, with MG2 56 and 60 degree wedges, so no real complaints on the wedges. I'm with you on the weight of the iron shafts being a bit of an issue compared to the Modus 120 and KBS Tour 120 I've been playing. I believe I did comment when I posted about renting the clubs that the grips I got could have used replacing at the time, so at least that is something they seem to be looking at. I believe they gave me the TM Tour Response balls to use, but like you I brought some of my own just in case. Realistically, if I'm only going to get to play once while I'm in the area for work, I'd rent over taking my clubs with me. Different story if I'm getting to play a few rounds, so it's situational for me.

[Dweed]

I've only had to rent clubs a few times in the past 5 years. I guess my experiences were more like the more expensive the course, the better their rentals were.  A couple of places even allowed me to pick ahead of time for a small deposit.  If I'm playing a Muni I just expect that the rentals are going to be of lesser quality and go with the flow. At least I'm out there.

 

[RichL85]

5 hours ago, NC Golfer said:

What's the pricing on shipping clubs these days with the airlines or I quickly looked at Shipsticks and it seemed very expensive. I am planning a trip to Muskoka this summer and I am not sure if it is worth shipping clubs vs $75 a pop for clubs and balls? 

Last time I flew with my clubs it was my second checked bag, so it cost me $40 each way. This was with American. It was a work trip so they covered the first bag, I didn't push for the company to cover the baggage fee for my clubs. So like I said, if I'm playing one round during a trip, I'll just rent clubs because $80 and the hassle of getting my clubs through the airport is not worth it for just one round, maybe even two. Anything past that, I'll bring my clubs.

[GolfSpy_KFT]

My only experience with rental clubs is as follows....and I find it quite comical.

I picked up golf when I was in college after some injuries forced me to hang up my baseball cleats and I needed something to do in the spring and summer. I took a golf class in college as part of some one credit class requirements for my major (glorified gym class, but I wasn't complaining!) and I didn't yet own any of my own clubs. There was a local golf course right down the street from my university and they gave college students awesome rates. We'd go to the driving range for class and it was basically whatever club you could find that the school had, you could use. Being a lefty, my options were extremely limited haha! So after that class I decided I was going to stay and play a round one day and needed to use rental clubs at the course. This is not a course (at least at the time) where they had brand name full bag rentals. It was a mixed bag of old clubs and the driver was a Nike driver that was black, otherwise I don't remember anything else. The reason I remember the driver is because on my literal first swing on the driving range, I hit the ball and the club head flew off the shaft and went further than the ball ! Shortly after I had a friend of my uncle's gift me a set of used clubs as he was a lefty and had a couple extra sets he no longer used. 

[Goober]

I just got back from a 5 week trip in the south west. Played 14 rounds of golf and took a 3 day teaching academy clinic. Each day I got a different set of rental clubs. Will stand by my first post that the drivers I got were like hooks machines for me. But no matter what iron set I had. I seemed to really hit some great shots with them. Maybe it was the three day tour striker clinic that helped. But never playing these courses, I even impressed myself with some of my irons swings. For some reason regular flex for the rental drivers was a norm. So played my old aim 30 Yard right sling hook. 
 

Next time I come out in the spring I will get rentals again. Just don’t want to deal with the airline mess of waiting and hoping all your bags are there. Now if I drove the 3 days to the southwest I would most certainly do it 

[Stuka44]

Played one round in Kenya at Sigona Golf Club with my oldest daughter.  I didn't really take note of the irons, they were a little worn but I actually hit them well.  This I do know the set had an older Taylor made Burner driver, I don't know when that was from, but I was piping that thing like I had been hitting it forever.  And with the 6000 foot altitude, I felt like John Daly.

[Pooter McGavin]

The shafts are too light, and not stiff enough.  I do not get along with rentals.  

[Mucer1968]

On 12/11/2022 at 10:29 PM, Goober said:

 First off , happy holidays to all. Currently been around Palm Springs and the Phoenix area for 3 weeks now. Touring, exploring, and getting some rounds of golf in. I also attended a three day clinic at the Tour Striker Academy. 
  Decided not to bring my clubs as a bad experience with an airlines in the last discouraged me. So this time I’ve been renting clubs at every club I play at. Kinda like a pot luck of what you get in their bags. 
  Hardest clubs to get used to are the wedges and driver. 
 

What are your thoughts on rental clubs when duck life traveling ? Good or bad experiences ?

Rental clubs can be a good option when traveling, especially if you don't want to deal with the hassle and potential damage that can come with bringing your own clubs on a trip. However, it's important to keep in mind that rental clubs may not always be in the best condition and may not feel as familiar to you as your own clubs, which can affect your performance on the course. It can also be more expensive to rent clubs for an extended period of time compared to bringing your own. Ultimately, it depends on your personal preference and the specific circumstances of your trip.

[hands39]

Just played Stone River in Omaha and used rentals. The set was a box set of Clevland launcher clubs made for rental situations. 
 

Best thing about them was they had the lofts stamped on each of the irons. This really helped with knowing what club to use as they were loft jacked by about 4 degrees compared to my gamers. 

Edited July 4, 2023 by hands39
Spelling