Depending on what airline you choose for a golf trip, taking your golf clubs along as luggage can be expensive. If you're flying Southwest Airlines, you're good; your clubs can fly free as checked luggage. Other airlines will charge from $60 to $300 round trip to handle your golf bag.
Alternatively, you can pre-ship your clubs to your golf destination using a niche shipping service like Shipsticks. There are definite advantages to shipping your clubs:
You avoid the hassle of lugging your clubs and bag around airports and on ground transportation.
If you're traveling with a lot of other luggage, your golf clubs might not fit in your rental car. Shipping your clubs eases that worry.
You arrive at your destination and your clubs are there for you.
You can have the clubs picked up at your house, so you don't even need to drop them off at a shipper's office.
You can put your clubs and bag in a soft- or hard-shell carrying case. Some airlines accept only golf clubs in hard-shell cases. Most others accept soft-shell cases, but you must sign a limited release of liability for damage, should your equipment get messed up during transit.
Shipsticks includes $1,000 in insurance on your clubs, and you can increase the amount of coverage for a few dollars. Airlines often have limits on how much you'll be reimbursed in the event that your clubs get lost during transit, which may not be enough to cover your loss.
Of course, there are disadvantages to the golf shipping services:
To get the best shipping deal, you'll need to ship your clubs several days before your departure. That means that prior to your much-anticipated golf trip, you won't have your clubs available for practice.
You could choose the overnight or 2-day delivery option, but you'll pay a steep price. You might as well take your clubs on your flight and save money.
If you don't have a soft- or hard-shell golf bag carrying case, you'll need to find a box for your clubs before Shipsticks picks them up. Your local golf shop or sporting-goods store might have one for you. Or you can buy one for $14 at a FedEx facility.
Shipsticks isn't the only game in town, it's just the most well known. Also check out these golf-specialty shippers:
Alternatively, you could ship your clubs directly with FedEx or UPS – but you may not save money, since Shipsticks works with those carriers to get wholesale rates. If you want to check out the FedEx or UPS options, see instructions at FedEx or UPS.
Takeaways
Unless your golf trip includes travel on Southwest Airlines, you're going to have to pay to get your golf clubs to where you're going.
Shipping directly using FedEx, UPS, or even the U.S. Postal Service is likely to be the most expensive option. Using a service like Shipsticks or Lugless probably will be cheaper, because those companies negotiate paying wholesale fees with the big shipping carriers.
If you can deal with the hassle of handling your clubs at the airport, checking you clubs as luggage is probably the best option. Some airlines charge fees low enough to beat the golf-specific shippers, while others are more expensive.
For me, I wouldn't want to be without my clubs for a few days before taking a golf vacation, so I'd opt for using the airlines. You just need to be aware of what an airline you're considering taking charges for golf clubs as luggage.
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