First proper MB trip done. Played Caledonia, True Blue, and Barefoot Resort.
Biggest lesson is do not fly with clubs. Paid almost $200 in baggage fees round trip and one iron came back with a scratch. Next time shipping them ahead for sure.
Anyone else made the switch? Would love to know what service people are using these days.
Having taken my clubs on dozens and dozens of trips, never have had a damaged club. What kind of carrier do you use? Were your clubs overweight?
I have read comments from some saying cost is about the same.
The weight and which airline you use may affect the cost.
I have not shipped clubs. Shipsticks is what I hear about the most.
If your clubs were in a covered golf travel bag, even a soft one, I don't
see how the iron got scratched. Maybe it happened during golf and you
didn't notice it?
How were the courses?
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My clubs have flown with me many times over the years. Just one mishap - my travel bag had a big slash in it when I got back from MB. No club damage. If you fly on regional airlines you might have more problems because they use smaller planes and have less room for baggage. At times they also have to be "weight balanced" which can lead to checked baggage being removed from the flight.
Everyone I know that ships clubs use Ship Sticks, they can send to the first course or where you are staying, I would check first to make sure they are good at either the course or where you're staying.
How was golf?
Let the Big Dawg Bark!!!
I think it comes down to convenience more than anything. After dealing with airport baggage a few times, I can understand why people are looking at shipping options. I’ve seen ShipMyClubs around when people talk about golf travel. How was the trip overall? Caledonia, True Blue, and Barefoot are all places I’d like to play someday.
used a soft travel bag, probably right at the limit on weight. fair point, might have been more careful with the packing
courses were great honestly, Caledonia was the highlight by far. fair point on the scratch too, might have happened on the course
@codynomad thanks for the input, really helpful. going to look into ShipMyClubs more before the next trip. have you ever shipped clubs yourself, curious how it went if you did. and yes all three courses were worth it, Caledonia was the highlight for me personally, greens were in great shape. True Blue was solid too. you should definitely make the trip someday
used a soft travel bag, probably right at the limit on weight. fair point, might have been more careful with the packing
I used a hard sided travel bag and never paid more than what the standard charge for extra luggage is, unless I am overweight.
I've never had clubs damaged when flying with them. The bigger problem for me, which has occurred several times and is especially painful on a golf trip, is when the airline doesn't make sure my clubs travel with me. On several occasions, I've had to rent clubs if I was scheduled to play the day of or the day after my arrival. One time, using rented clubs, it took me three or four holes to figure out that the irons I'd rented had been adjusted "closed" so I was hitting everything with a big hook--my natural shot is a slight draw.
It's not so bad on the way home although once, Southwest managed to fail to deliver my clubs on a return flight from Orlando. I really did not understand that failure since I had gotten to the airport three hours early and my flight was a nonstop!
Even with all those hassles, I still generally fly with my clubs rather than shipping them. Most of the airlines have an affiliated credit card that includes a free checked bag. With the annual fee between $100-150, I beat the checked bag fees with one trip per year. On flights to Ireland and Scotland, the airlines include a checked bag free of charge.
