Ultimate Golf Travel Packing Guide: How-to

Introduction

Embarking on a golf vacation comes with a unique blend of excitement and the need for precise planning. Amidst dreaming of lush fairways and perfect drives, it's essential to thoroughly prepare your gear and apparel to ensure a hassle-free experience. This guide is your go-to for packing effectively, encompassing everything from the must-have equipment to ensuring everything gets there in one piece. Let's get you ready for take-off.

Pre-travel shopping - the necessities

Whether you’re taking your very first golf trip or are evaluating your current gear, it’s always good to ensure you’re equipped correctly for your vacation.  Here are a few categories of items you want to evaluate and a handful of recommendations in case you’re in the market for new gear.

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• Golf Travel Bag - For new travelers, this is often the biggest investment for golf travel, and so we’ll spend more time on this product category accordingly.  At GolferJourneys, we don’t recommend the hard cases. Even though some airlines typically claim they only reimburse in-flight damage claims when a traveler is using a hard case.  The hard cases are nearly, completely unmanageable when you arrive at your destination and can’t guarantee the size of your rental car or Uber/Lyft. We highly recommend using a quality soft-bag and a backbone, and follow our guide below for effective packing to greatly reduce your chances of any damage.  If you are in the market for a new golf bag, here are some recommendations:some text
  • The Club Glove Pro is the Rolls-Royce model, and used by many PGA pros. 
  • Sun Mountain Glider - Another top brand, well-built, and includes great features like pop-out wheels that you’ll appreciate once you're in the airport. 
  • The Amazon cheap option - this is supposed to get the job done; but it may not be a long-term investment.
• Backbone - A necessary purchase to protect the driver and fairway woods. This model is a bestseller:  "Stiff Arm"
• Carry Bag: A less necessary consideration for some, but if your weekend bag is a staff bag or a big cart-bag, getting a slimmer carry bag is generally easier for airline travel.  The Ping Hoofer Lite is a great option if so, and older models can be found, which can also save some money. 
• Rain Gear: Any experienced traveler will tell you to ensure your bag is equipped with the rain gear if you’re going anywhere with greater than 40% precipitation averages.  Buying rain gloves, cheap rain pants, and a rain jacket to stuff in the bag is not a bad idea just for future trips. Jackets go from cheap to expensive, with lots of options in between.

Packing Guide

We’ve covered the essential and optional purchases you may need to round out your travel luggage for your upcoming trip, now let’s make sure it all gets packed and packed correctly. 

• Take Inventory: First thing first, let’s make sure we have everything we want to take. some text
  • You can use the GolferJourneys’ packing list here in Google Sheet form, or print out the 2nd tab if you prefer to check off items with pen and paper.
  • Ensure you understand any potential dress-code requirements at the clubs and restaurants you plan on patronizing. This may mean squeezing in a sport coat.
  • Check the Weather Forecast and Annual Averages.  Most people know that trips to Ireland tend to be wet, but so can those to the U.S. Southeast.  Make sure you’re covered from the elements should you need any rain or wind gear.

• Luggage Allocation Tricks: This may seem straightforward.  However, we think there are some best practices here that many travelers don’t know about or simply forget.  some text
  • Clean Your Clubs - Dirt and debris on your clubs will hurt your performance and move around in your gear in transit. May as well arrive at your destination feeling and looking shiny.
  • Remove the Driver and Fairway Heads - As long as you pack a club wrench, and the pro shops all likely have one if you don’t, this is a good way to ensure the most vulnerable elements of your golf bag aren’t damaged in transit. These can be stuff in the club head covers and/or rain gear in your golf-bag side pocket, or even in your main luggage. 
  • Wrap Your Club Heads Together - This is optional, but grouping your iron and wedges together three at a time and binding them together with zip-ties or clothing can minimize clanging in transit.  Some travelers use their rain gear or their golf shirts for this purpose.
  • Utilize the Weight Capacity - If you have a slimmer set-up, remember that most airlines policy allows for 50 pounds in this item. As such, you can stuff extra shoes and other bulky items to free up space in your other luggage.

• Other Considerations:
  • Pack more essentials: Getting accidentally wet from a sweaty day or a rainstorm can ruin a day. As such, consider stuffing a few extra pairs of socks or even a few extra polos in your golf bag.
  • Ship/Buy vs. Pack: In today’s world of ubiquitous delivery options, we generally prefer to locally buy or Amazon buy (and deliver) potentially messy items like sunscreen and bug spray. This prevents any unnecessary explosions mid-transit in the golf bag, which waste time and energy to clean. This is even a consideration for golf balls, which can weigh down a golf bag. Most hotels/resorts will handle shipped packages for their guests, which makes this option a prudent one for some items.

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Packing for a golf trip requires a small amount of planning. By investing in the right travel bag, and using smart packing techniques, you can increase the odds your equipment arrives safely at your destination. Our comprehensive packing list helps you ensure you get everything you need organized for your upcoming golf trip. Happy Journeys!