Flying with Golf Clubs to Orlando

[aiyyer]

First time ever flying with a set of clubs and my friend has offered his travel bag. This is a planned family vacation to Universal Orlando and I m trying to sneak in some 9 hole rounds.

I would appreciate any travel tips and golf course info in Orlando. May also visit the Hall of Fame.

Thanks

[chas521]

Just sayin'. You may want to check out Ship Sticks.

[sheldonjhacker]

Turn the irons upside down in your bag...and buy a club glove stiff arm for your travel bag.

[BlackDiamondPar5]

Stiff arm as mentioned is a must in a soft side bag. I also wrap the heads in a bath towel to keep them tightly together.

Made the trip many times without issue.

At MCO there is an oversized baggage area where your clubs come out.

Courses... So many to choose from. You should have good results just by shopping around on golf now.

Also if you aren't flying Southwest where bags fly free, you can always rent clubs more economically than bag fees, especially if you only play once or twice. The good resort courses usually have quality clubs to rent.

[JimNewton]

You need to rent clubs? huh?

Yeah, I flew in and didn't want to fly with them, so do you have a rental set?

Hmm I don't think we have any rental sets anymore .... Actually, I think Gene has an old set of mcgregors in the back, let me check. Hang on a sec.

[guy goes in the back, loud voices muffled]

EY GENE!!
>HAAAH!!?
You got that set of mcgregors around here somewhere?
>HAAAH?
Some kid's here says he needs to rent clubs. Wheres that set you have?
>... a set of mcgregors?
Yeah that brown bag with the persimmons you had back here. He can use those right?
>Wilsons! No they're wilsons. Yeah he can use them. The 5 iron is missing and the grip on the 8 is fallin off. And that putter is xxxxxx cursed!! The bag's in the back corner ... by the garage door.

[BlackDiamondPar5]

[quote name='JimNewton' timestamp='1451156895' post='12765678']
You need to rent clubs? huh?

Yeah, I flew in and didn't want to fly with them, so do you have a rental set?

Hmm I don't think we have any rental sets anymore .... Actually, I think Gene has an old set of mcgregors in the back, let me check. Hang on a sec.

[guy goes in the back, loud voices muffled]

EY GENE!!
>HAAAH!!?
You got that set of mcgregors around here somewhere?
>HAAAH?
Some kid's here says he needs to rent clubs. Wheres that set you have?
>... a set of mcgregors?
Yeah that brown bag with the persimmons you had back here. He can use those right?
>Wilsons! No they're wilsons. Yeah he can use them. The 5 iron is missing and the grip on the 8 is fallin off. And that putter is xxxxxx cursed!! The bag's in the back corner ... by the garage door.
[/quote]
Haha it's nothing like that... Most resort courses have pretty good equipment for rent.

[JimNewton]

That was my cousin's trip to SC. He had to go for there for work and showed up at the nearby course trying to get a round in. It's a funny story the way he tells it...

The point is, never assume they have decent rentals. They probably do but call ahead and make sure you can reserve a rental set you'd like. I've done that every time I've had to fly, I'd rather just play a set of pings or something than trust the bag throwers with my irreplaceable bag. (that's their actual job title, throwers ... lol)

[aiyyer]

[quote name='Andy L' timestamp='1451143234' post='12765038']Stiff arm as mentioned is a must in a soft side bag. I also wrap the heads in a bath towel to keep them tightly together.

Made the trip many times without issue.

At MCO there is an oversized baggage area where your clubs come out.

Courses... So many to choose from. You should have good results just by shopping around on golf now.

Also if you aren't flying Southwest where bags fly free, you can always rent clubs more economically than bag fees, especially if you only play once or twice. The good resort courses usually have quality clubs to rent.[/quote]
I'm flying southwest and hence the temptation to take my own clubs

[quote name='JimNewton' timestamp='1451156895' post='12765678']You need to rent clubs? huh?

Yeah, I flew in and didn't want to fly with them, so do you have a rental set?

Hmm I don't think we have any rental sets anymore .... Actually, I think Gene has an old set of mcgregors in the back, let me check. Hang on a sec.

[guy goes in the back, loud voices muffled]

EY GENE!!
>HAAAH!!?
You got that set of mcgregors around here somewhere?
>HAAAH?
Some kid's here says he needs to rent clubs. Wheres that set you have?
>... a set of mcgregors?
Yeah that brown bag with the persimmons you had back here. He can use those right?
>Wilsons! No they're wilsons. Yeah he can use them. The 5 iron is missing and the grip on the 8 is fallin off. And that putter is xxxxxx cursed!! The bag's in the back corner ... by the garage door.[/quote]
Ha ha

[BlackDiamondPar5]

[quote name='JimNewton' timestamp='1451169001' post='12766206']
That was my cousin's trip to SC. He had to go for there for work and showed up at the nearby course trying to get a round in. It's a funny story the way he tells it...

The point is, never assume they have decent rentals. They probably do but call ahead and make sure you can reserve a rental set you'd like. I've done that every time I've had to fly, I'd rather just play a set of pings or something than trust the bag throwers with my irreplaceable bag. (that's their actual job title, throwers ... lol)
[/quote]

LOL--- Sort of reminiscent of this

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8C-e96m4730

[BlackDiamondPar5]

Since your taking SW, then take your clubs without worry.
Take a look at the Disney courses also. You really can't go wrong in Orlando.

[Blade Junkie]

Swimming Pool noodles from your local DIY store are excellent (and cheap!) for padding out a soft-sided golf travel bag

[Cwing]

[quote name='sheldonjhacker' timestamp='1451139787' post='12764906']
Turn the irons upside down in your bag...and buy a club glove stiff arm for your travel bag.
[/quote]

This. And take your heads off your woods/driver if you can.

[Arpeggi]

I've traveled twice to MCO from LAX this past year. Always remove the heads of the clubs that you can. I used a soft travel bag and didn't have any issues at MCO.

[Pepperturbo]

Never travel without my clubs. Always snug in a Club Glove Burst Proof II bag (Maxpedition Tactical TSA Locks) with Stiff Arm and beach towel wrapped around wood shaft and arm. No problems to date. Given I only take one Pathfinder bag and Everki Atlas backpack carry-on, when traveling, golf clubs often travel at regular luggage price.

[Carolina Golfer 2]

As Cwing said, if you take the head off your driver and FW's (assuming you have adjustable loft heads) you'll be fine without a stiff arm, also having a good quality travel bag ClubGlove is never a bad investment.

protip: take a picture with your phone of your driver and fw settings before taking them off. Just saying you'd be surprised how easy it is to forget what they were set at.

[Pepperturbo]

[quote name='Carolina Golfer 2' timestamp='1451328920' post='12772258']
As Cwing said, if you take the head off your driver and FW's (assuming you have adjustable loft heads) you'll be fine without a stiff arm, also having a good quality travel bag ClubGlove is never a bad investment.

protip: take a picture with your phone of your driver and fw settings before taking them off. Just saying you'd be surprised how easy it is to forget what they were set at.
[/quote]

The problem I found with taking heads off, and using Club Glove, the bag head itself falls over making it more difficult to stabilize overall. Leaving heads on and using stiff arm helps stabilize and tighten the bag overall, especially when wrapping a towels around shaft ends.

[BlackDiamondPar5]

[quote name='Pepperturbo' timestamp='1451330973' post='12772414']
[quote name='Carolina Golfer 2' timestamp='1451328920' post='12772258']
As Cwing said, if you take the head off your driver and FW's (assuming you have adjustable loft heads) you'll be fine without a stiff arm, also having a good quality travel bag ClubGlove is never a bad investment.

protip: take a picture with your phone of your driver and fw settings before taking them off. Just saying you'd be surprised how easy it is to forget what they were set at.
[/quote]

The problem I found with taking heads off, and using Club Glove, the bag head itself falls over making it more difficult to stabilize overall. Leaving heads on and using stiff arm helps stabilize and tighten the bag overall, especially when wrapping a towels around shaft ends.
[/quote]

I don't remove the heads nor flip my irons either using my club glove travel (great bag btw). Like you said, stiff arm and towel seems to work very well. Packing tightly provides rigidity, strength and protects from damage.

In the last few years me and my buds have over 100 combined flights to/from mco in soft sided bags and not a single damaged club.

Only issue ever was on a flight home, 2 hours of moderate turbulence, bag must have had something rubbing on it and wore some small holes in the bag. Club Glove replaced it free of charge...great company.

[Tee2Green85]

All depends on how much you value your sticks? I will always ship my clubs when traveling. It's just not worth the hassle if something goes wrong.

[RobD74]

I would use Ship Sticks.

[tim_harris]

I just got back from a family vacation in Central Florida. Did the whole Disney thing at the beginning of the week and took my clubs to go play Sawgrass and Valley course late in the week. This was my first trip flying with my clubs so I probably went overboard. If this is a one time deal it might not be a bad idea to check on renting clubs but I plan to take mine with me on future trips as well so I went ahead and made the investment.

I purchased a club glove and stiff arm. The bag is a little expensive but considering I will probably never need to buy another one and it is protecting thousands of dollars I figured it was worth it. Also wrapped my clubs in a couple towels. Traveled back and forth from Springfield, MO to Sanford on Allegiant with no issues.

Just to be safe I went ahead and had my insurance company insure them. Very inexpensive to add them to an existing policy. Probably not needed but I'm covered if I ever need it.

[aiyyer]

Got my friends bag and he already had the stiff arm thing.
I'm taking my beater set and the setup should be okay -I took the advice of stuffing shirts etc.
Thanks for your help and hope the family cooperates.

[cristphoto]

[quote name='Andy L' timestamp='1451157750' post='12765726']
[quote name='JimNewton' timestamp='1451156895' post='12765678']
You need to rent clubs? huh?

Yeah, I flew in and didn't want to fly with them, so do you have a rental set?

Hmm I don't think we have any rental sets anymore .... Actually, I think Gene has an old set of mcgregors in the back, let me check. Hang on a sec.

[guy goes in the back, loud voices muffled]

EY GENE!!
>HAAAH!!?
You got that set of mcgregors around here somewhere?
>HAAAH?
Some kid's here says he needs to rent clubs. Wheres that set you have?
>... a set of mcgregors?
Yeah that brown bag with the persimmons you had back here. He can use those right?
>Wilsons! No they're wilsons. Yeah he can use them. The 5 iron is missing and the grip on the 8 is fallin off. And that putter is xxxxxx cursed!! The bag's in the back corner ... by the garage door.
[/quote]
Haha it's nothing like that... Most resort courses have pretty good equipment for rent.
[/quote]

True. When I went to Pinehurst two years ago their rentals were either Titleist AP1's or AP2's - all with mid-sized staff bags.

[Pepperturbo]

[quote name='cristphoto' timestamp='1451494423' post='12780248']
[quote name='Andy L' timestamp='1451157750' post='12765726']
[quote name='JimNewton' timestamp='1451156895' post='12765678']
You need to rent clubs? huh?

Yeah, I flew in and didn't want to fly with them, so do you have a rental set?

Hmm I don't think we have any rental sets anymore .... Actually, I think Gene has an old set of mcgregors in the back, let me check. Hang on a sec.

[guy goes in the back, loud voices muffled]

EY GENE!!
>HAAAH!!?
You got that set of mcgregors around here somewhere?
>HAAAH?
Some kid's here says he needs to rent clubs. Wheres that set you have?
>... a set of mcgregors?
Yeah that brown bag with the persimmons you had back here. He can use those right?
>Wilsons! No they're wilsons. Yeah he can use them. The 5 iron is missing and the grip on the 8 is fallin off. And that putter is xxxxxx cursed!! The bag's in the back corner ... by the garage door.
[/quote]
Haha it's nothing like that... Most resort courses have pretty good equipment for rent.
[/quote]

True. When I went to Pinehurst two years ago their rentals were either Titleist AP1's or AP2's - all with mid-sized staff bags.
[/quote]

During my travels, I, too, noticed many better golf clubs offer decent rental clubs, but they mostly offer "R" or weak "S" shafts. Since I travel multiple times per year, paying daily rental cost over a week or three weeks of golf would be tantamount to 3-4 times the cost of RT shipping my own clubs and paying a onetime $300 for Clubglove bag.

I spose for a short trip to a well know golf resort and flex isn't important, a call to see what kind of rental clubs has merit.

[farmer]

There is a golf shop I know that rents hard cases. I have friends who have done this with good results.

[cma8516]

I usually do 1-2 trips a year to Florida and from Philly and do Ship Sticks every time. I wrap my bag towels in around my club heads and have a soft travel bag. Have never had any issue with them and they also have great customer service, was traveling around a holiday once and they called me a few days before my trip to let me know of delays they had been experiencing to suggest I ship my clubs out a day earlier to make sure they arrived in time.

It is also usually cheaper for me than taking them on a plane with baggage fees. You also may luck out if your playing at a resort course your entire trip and get free shipping back home as a thank you, has happened to me a couple of times.

[SadTrombone]

Charter a private jet. I work with several operators and can shop the price around for you.

[Carolina Golfer 2]

As Cwing said, if you take the head off your driver and FW's (assuming you have adjustable loft heads) you'll be fine without a stiff arm, also having a good quality travel bag ClubGlove is never a bad investment.

 

protip: take a picture with your phone of your driver and fw settings before taking them off. Just saying you'd be surprised how easy it is to forget what they were set at.

 

The problem I found with taking heads off, and using Club Glove, the bag head itself falls over making it more difficult to stabilize overall. Leaving heads on and using stiff arm helps stabilize and tighten the bag overall, especially when wrapping a towels around shaft ends.

 

To quote phil Mickelson , I'm such an idiot. I don't have the ClubGlove anymore. Not that anything was wrong with it, other than the tipping issie you mention.

 

I now have the ClubGlder by Sun Mountain. The pop out legs definitely solve that issue and it has seemed very good at protecting my clubs so far theofh 4 trips.

[aiyyer]

Guess what - no golf.

A sick kid and the Universal rides made even a trip to the range impossible.

Importantly the bag made the trip without any damage!

[BlackDiamondPar5]

Guess what - no golf.

A sick kid and the Universal rides made even a trip to the range impossible.

Importantly the bag made the trip without any damage!

 

Sorry about the sick kid. Glad your clubs made the trip OK. Universal is a pretty fun place at least.

[aiyyer]

Guess what - no golf.

A sick kid and the Universal rides made even a trip to the range impossible.

Importantly the bag made the trip without any damage!

 

Sorry about the sick kid. Glad your clubs made the trip OK. Universal is a pretty fun place at least.

Thanks.

Universal was incredible and riding with an eight and thirteen year old was fun.

Does suck though. Visited the Bay Hill pro shop and picked up some shirts and stuff. My usual protocol is to buy course stuff as consolation when I cannot play. Unfortunately the depressing list of vacation courses not played is adding up - Wild Dunes, Bay Hill, Oceans Edge, Kingsmill Ocean Course, Bayside, Lodestone etc.