How To Travel With Golf Clubs
Do you like golf enough to take a golf trip? Are you trying to figure out how to travel with golf clubs?
Well, you are not alone. Golf is becoming more and more popular with over 25 million people playing.
So, how do you travel for golf more efficiently? This guide gives you some tips.
Read Airline Bag Policies
If you are flying with golf clubs, the first thing you will want to do is read the checked bag policy for the airline that you are flying with. You may discover that one airline tolerates oversized items such as golf clubs more than another one will and that can impact your travel plans.
On the other hand, you could discover that you will have to pay extra money for a flight to bring your golf clubs no matter what airline you choose.
Airlines tend to have very specific policies for oversized items. Depending on what it is, they may start out by stating a maximum bag size or maximum bag weight for your golf clubs. Or, they could specifically mention whether golf club bags are allowed or not on your airline.
If your golf clubs end up being within the size and weight limits of an airline's checked bag policy, you could end up only paying for these as a checked bag. However, other airlines may make you pay extra if they consider the golf clubs an oversized item.
The important thing is to research this before your trip to make sure that you are allowed to bring your clubs in the first place. If you are allowed to bring golf clubs, read the policy so that you are not blindsided by any additional fees.
Book a Nonstop Flight
If possible, you should try to book a nonstop flight if you are traveling with your golf clubs because this decreases the chances of something going wrong. There are a few things that come into play here.
The first is that if you have a layover where you have to change planes, the airline will likely charge you for your golf clubs for each flight that you take. In other words, you could end up paying two to three times the money to bring your golf clubs on flights.
Another thing you have to consider is if there is a delay or flight cancellation along your route. When this happens, it can increase the chances of getting separated from your golf clubs.
Let's say you are flying from Portland, Oregon to Tampa, Florida. In the middle of that route, you have to make a flight connection in Denver, Colorado. What can happen is that you could miss your connection in Denver or the flight from Denver to Tampa gets canceled for some reason.
When that happens, you could get separated from your golf clubs. Then, you have to take time out of your golf trip to locate your golf clubs and talk to the airline about retrieving them.
This happens more than you would expect considering that flights have been delayed about 5.3 million hours over the last few years.
You can take a nonstop flight if possible to minimize this risk. Not only will it do that, you will also have a much more convenient route to your final destination.
Protect Your Golf Clubs
Another thing that you should consider is getting more protection for your golf clubs. One way to do that is by getting a more durable bag to put all of your golf clubs in.
A more durable bag can help withstand any pressure that your golf clubs may face while they are in transit. Let's face it, the last thing you want is to check your golf clubs and find they got damaged by the time you retrieve them. Not only could your vacation be ruined, but you now have to spend time and money to replace those golf clubs.
You might also want to consider getting travel insurance for your golf clubs. This protects you if your golf clubs get lost, damaged, or have a delayed arrival while you are traveling.
Consider Shipping Them
If you are someone that just does not trust airlines, there is another option. That option is to ship your golf clubs to your final destination.
You can reach out to a shipping service and look into how much this costs. Also, check to see if this shipping service has any additional fees of their own for large items.
One of the big advantages of this is that if your golf course accepts shipments like this, you do not have to carry your golf clubs throughout your journey. Even if you can get them shipped to your hotel, you can save a lot of time lugging them around.
On top of this, most shipping services offer shipment tracking that lets you know where your golf clubs are each step of the way.
Know How to Travel With Golf Clubs
If you are someone that is just getting into golf, you may not have thought about traveling to play golf before. Hopefully, this article makes learning how to travel with golf clubs much easier.
Remember to check your airline's bag policy, get more protection for your golf clubs, book a nonstop flight when possible, or consider shipping your golf clubs separately.
Are you ready to travel for golf? Reach out to us for more information about our golf course.