Traveling with your golf clubs can be an adventure. They're big and bulky and sometimes hard to pack effectively, and above all, you don't want them getting lost or damaged in the process. Here are a few tips to help you keep your golf clubs secure.
1. Choose your travel bag wisely. Both hard and soft travel bags are available for golf clubs, and although you might think a hard bag would provide more protection, a soft bag protects your clubs just as well and is a lot easier to store once you're done using it.
The quality of the bag should also be considered. You can get a soft bag very cheaply for around $50, but the quality will be very low. Depending on how expensive those golf clubs were and how important they are to you, you'll probably want to go with one of the higher-end options.
2. Pad the packing case. After you've purchased your travel case, the next thing is to pack the golf clubs as carefully as you can. Keep your golf clubs in your regular golf bag, and place the entire bag into the travel case. One thing you can do to provide some extra protection is to pad the travel bag with clothing or towels - think of it as just another packing bag. This will keep your golf clubs from banging together. If you want to be even more careful, you can deliberately wrap some of the clothing around the heads of the clubs.
3. Take precautions in case of loss. If you plan on traveling more than once a year with your clubs, consider getting some insurance for the clubs, especially if you're using a soft case, as most airlines will not cover damage if the clubs weren't in a hard case.
Whether you have insurance or not, make sure you have a record of everything that was in that travel bag. Use a digital camera to take a few pictures of the clubs you're packing. If something goes missing, you want to be able to show the authorities exactly what it was.
4. Find out where your golf clubs will end up. As soon as you arrive at your destination, go to the baggage office to ask where golf clubs would be sent, as some airlines direct golf bags into the section for oversized baggage. If your clubs will be in a separate location than your regular luggage, retrieve the clubs first. Your other luggage will still be there when you get back.