Tips for Shipping Golf Clubs

Airline Fees are Skyrocketing

Golf vacations are getting a lot more popular, but airlines are not a golfers best friend. Now, in order to make up in lost revenue, airlines have been charging ridiculous fees for bags, golf bags included.

When already paying $25 or even $50 for the first bag, and then another $25-100 for the second each way, that suddenly means a lot more in airline fees and a lot less cash for greens fees or a few stops at the 19th hole.

Enter Shipping Golf Clubs

To get around the issue of trying to travel with golf clubs, more and more people are looking to ship their clubs.

It makes sense, after all.

The clubs will arrive at the hotel, there’s no need to haul clubs through the airport, and no fear of baggage handlers tossing that new set of Callaway sticks around like a rag doll.

A number of brands, as well as the major shipping companies, have capitalized on this and realized that shipping clubs might be where its at.

Granted, the shipping costs may vary depending on the size and weight of your bag and clubs. But, in a lot of cases with a little bit of planning ahead, clubs should be able to be shipped for a lot less than putting them under the plane.

The Basics of Golf Club Shipping

The traditional big boys in the shipping industry, FedEx and UPS both offer golf club shipping options. And they make the process pretty easy.

The number one thing to remember is to plan ahead. To get the absolute cheapest rates, ship your clubs about a week before arrival, so keep that in mind.

The second thing to know is buying a shipping box isn’t necessary. Just ship the clubs in the standard travel bag or case that would be used a plane. That will save a bit of money too, pretty sweet, right?

Let’s look at how it works using the FedEx Golf Travel Planner.

First, get the zip codes of where you are shipping, and the weight and dimensions of your clubs and travel bag handy.

Enter your information on this main page.

So in this instance, say I want to travel from Boston to Pebble Beach to play a few rounds over my Thanksgiving break.

I’ve got the zip codes, dimensions and weight of my bag and since I need my clubs by the Friday after Thanksgiving, I have to ship them the week before.

The results are pretty good.

The results of my search.

Now, if I had waited till the last minute and needed my clubs on Monday, taking them on the plane and paying the fees are going to be the best bet.

But, since I planned ahead, I can get my clubs shipped to California for less than $60. I like the sound of that.

My check out screen.

Since shipping golf clubs is becoming a lot more popular, there are actually a ton of pro shops and club houses of courses around the country that will accept club shipments.

So, if I didn’t want to ship the clubs to the hotel, I could contact the course I’m playing and see if they will accept the clubs and hold them safe and sound for a few days.

For another option check out the site ShipSticks, which has been made to just ship clubs. They offer the option of a courier to come to the house or office and pick up the clubs, which sounds pretty good too.

Weigh the options and figure out what is going to work best for each situation.

Now, with the number of affordable options available out there, destination golfing is easier than ever.

Photo courtesy of ShipSticks.