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Golf Travel Bag --- Hard top or Full Hard (lol)

LordCaldwell

LordCaldwell

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Traveling to Scotland next week to make the pilgrimage to the Old Course

I have an old "hybrid" travel case that is a soft bottom half and a very rigid rigid plastic top

My dad bought a full hard case for the trip and I have been told that a hard case is practically a necessity. I am having trouble justifying splurging $200 for a new case when I have a somewhat serviceable one in my closet that I only used once. I knew I should have jsut invested in the hard one all those years ago.

But thoughts? Any horror or success stories with traveling with either case?

Thanks a bunch you guys
 
Airlines likely won’t accept any liability for damage to clubs if it’s in a soft case. Haven’t had mine damaged but depending on what your clubs are worth and the cost to replace them if they were damaged, should help determine if you need one.

I’m actually looking for a hard case myself but I’ll be buying second hand off of Craigslist


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My research led to hard is great, but you better have a big vehicle on the other side of your flight. Having a backbone and detachable driver head (put in luggage seperately), mitigate the largest risk of soft cases. Still pack the heads with several towels/clothes.
 
Golf Travel Bag --- Hard top or Full Hard (lol)

I’ve traveled 2 or 3 times with a soft case and my clubs were fine. I also have a stiff arm which protects the clubs from getting crushed from the top.

I hear ya on dropping $200 (or more) for a hard case. My suggestion would be to search Craigslist. There are many instances when people buy a case and only use it once and now are looking to sell. I just bought two hard cases this way for $50!! I inspected them before to make sure there were no cracks and the latches worked.

IMG_4499.jpg


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If you don't mind being short a couple of clubs and aren't going anyplace super exclusive, then these things are great:

https://golfdirectnow.com/products/...Lp-qnurO0z7M2_feVmz-2pByDdTMJ1rhoCfykQAvD_BwE


It's a bit awkward to strap to a cart and retrieve clubs from, but it's compact and sturdy.
(I bought mine because I travel by tour bus often and I can just fit it in the storage bay with the music gear and luggage w/o taking too much space)

In the rare instance I'm going to play some place a bit too nice to feel comfortable strapping molded plastic to my cart, I'll call ahead and ask about renting just a bag instead of a full set.
 
I purchased the cheapo hard case from GG and have used it multiple times, all without incident. I didn't see any reason to risk a soft case. Plus you can pack some clothes in with the clubs, as padding.
 
I’m a ClubGider for life guy.
 
I travel all the time with a "hybrid" case and have yet to have any problems (knock on wood). The only thing I noticed is that the bag stand gets a little beat up and isn't as smooth to release when setting the bag down. It's a trade off I'm willing to accept though, since the hybrid bag is a necessity if you don't rent a huge car or are travelling with multiple golfers.

By the way, I just took my bag to Scotland with this case, so you should be fine. The bigger concern would be if you're flying through London Heathrow...they're notorious for losing golf bags for a few days, so if you're playing the Old Course and want to play with your clubs, make sure it's not the day you land! That being said, you can stop at Auchterlonie's golf shop (a block away from the course) and get just about any type of rental club you want there.
 
Jman said:
I’m a ClubGider for life guy.
Click to expand...

Same, and I have been taking 4-5 trips a year with mine and a stiff arm and never had an issue (knock on wood since I am flying out tonight again with my clubs). The hard case is the ultimate for protecting your clubs, but having to haul them around/store them at home and fit them into vehicles... no me gusta.
 
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