Traveling for golf this summer? Make sure your clubs arrive in one piece

Having your own clubs when you travel can help you have the best experience on the course.

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Whether it’s a short trip or an extended stay to a bucket-list location, traveling to play golf is always a fun experience — and there is no better way to experience golf on the road than to make sure you have your trusted clubs with you.

But anytime you take your clubs on the road there is always the risk that a club could break on its way to your final destination — in most cases it’s a driver or fairway wood, since they’re the longest clubs in the bag.

We don’t want that. So to give your clubs the best chance of arriving safe and in one piece we’ve put together a quick guide so you have one less thing to worry about on your next golf trip.

Have the right gear
Considering the price of clubs and the cost of travel, investing a small amount into a proper travel bag and a few other accessories will go a long way in helping to make sure your clubs arrive safe. Although there is always a debate between soft-shell and hard-shell travel bag users the general rule of thumb is that both offer the same amount of protection when packed correctly.

travel bags
A travel bag is a must to help keep your clubs protected. Golf.com
Think about your travel bag like a car, and your clubs like a package in the car. The better secured the package is the less it will move around and potentially break. The tighter you can pack your golf bag into the travel bag means less rattling, less compressing, and safer clubs. This is why using something like a Club Glove stiff arm helps to prevent top-to-bottom compression and breakage where the club head meets the shaft.

Club Glove stiff arm
Club Glove stiff arm. Club Glove USA
Seriously, don’t forget to use a travel bag and end up like the golfer below!

Another way to help prevent breakage is to completely remove the heads on any adjustable clubs and store the heads in a separate pocket or extra container to help keep them safe during travel.

When a hard-shell case is best
Although a soft-shell case is ideal for most travel and ease of storage when not in use, for those golfers who use ultra-lightweight clubs and might be unable to take the heads of their driver and fairway woods because they don’t offer adjustability, a hard-shell case can be a great option – just make sure use a stiff arm to keep everything in place.

Or, you can use something that offers the best of both worlds like the Bag Boy T-10 below which has a hard-shell top but can still be stored easily when not in use.