International Golf Travel TipsTips

International golf trips have become more and more popular over the past several years. For many travelers to Scotland and Ireland, golf is a big draw. The two countries feature some of the most famous golf courses in the world, making them a natural destination for those who enjoy golf travel. Carting your clubs with you overseas, however, can present some logistical problems. If you’re considering doing some international golf travel, it helps to know how the biggest and most popular airlines will treat your golf clubs and other golfing equipment. These tips and golf travel info for major airlines can help you avoid some of the biggest problems you might encounter.

Clean your golf clubs before you travel. Fertilizer residue on your golf clubs has been known to set off bomb detectors, which is a heck of a way to start off your golf vacation.

Invest in a good quality golf travel bag to ensure that your golf clubs are well-protected during travel.

Avoid baggage fees and other hassles that accompany traveling with your golf clubs by shipping your golf clubs ahead to your destination. It’s not much more expensive to do so, and will ensure that your clubs arrive at your destination instead of being lost in transit.

American Airlines counts one golf bag with up to 14 clubs, 12 golf balls and a pair of golf shoes as the equivalent of one checked bag. If it’s a second checked bag, you’ll incur a $35 second bag fee. The maximum free weight on golf clubs is 70 lbs., and the size is limited to the size of a hard-sided golf case.

Continental Airlines will accept one item of golf equipment per passenger, with the item consisting of one golf bag containing one set of clubs, golf balls and one pair of golf shoes. All the items must be in a suitable container, and the golf bag must be covered or encased in a rigid carrying case. The airline is not liable for any damage to golf equipment that is not in a hard-sided case, and you can’t purchase excess valuation for golf equipment that isn’t in a hard-sided case. In addition, if you check a golf bag, you’ll probably have to wait longer for your luggage at the baggage claim.

Delta Air allows you to check one golf bag that weighs up to 50 lbs. and measures no more than 80 inches. If the bag is larger than that, you’ll have to pay an overweight baggage fee. If your golf bag is not inside a hard-sided case, you’ll have to have it packaged in a soft-sided golf travel bag and sign a limited damage release form before you can check it.

Jet Blue will accept golf equipment on all flights at no additional charge as long as your bag is within the size and weight limits. Your golf bag will count as one checked bag. Jet Blue defines one golf item the same as American Airlines.

If you’re taking advantage of golf travel packages to enjoy some Ireland or Scotland golf , these tips should help you prepare your golf equipment for the trip so your golf clubs end up arriving when and where you do, ready to hit the most historic golf greens and links in the world.

Fabulous Underappreciated Courses to Play on Myrtle Beach and Arizona Golf Vacations

Travel agents who book golf vacations often push their highest value golf trips or advertise golf travel to the best known golf courses and golf clubs. While those clubs and courses deserve their accolades, golfers who are unfamiliar with an area may overlook some of the less-publicized courses that offer stellar playability and other amenities for golfers and their families. If you’re booking some golf travel time this summer, make the time to visit these fabulous but underappreciated courses at some of the most popular venues for golf vacations.

Myrtle Beach Golf: Possum Trot

Myrtle Beach is the East Coast destination for golf vacations for a good reason – there are over 100 courses within a short driving distance of your hotel, no matter where your hotel is. With that many courses to play, it’s understandable that some get more attention than others. Possum Trot, located a bit off the beaten track in North Myrtle Beach, is one of those that tend to fly under the radar. The private golf course offers a well-designed and manicured course that’s hard enough to be challenging and easy enough to be fun for nearly everyone. 

What really sets Possum Trot apart, though, is the friendliness of the staff. Golfers – even those who aren’t regular club members – will be pampered and treated like kings. This isn’t the place to go if you’re looking for the patented Myrtle Beach Golf upscale experience, though. The club has been around since the 1960s, and its mission is to make golf accessible to everyone, not just the upper crust elite. If you want a friendly game of golf without all the pretensions, Possum Trot awaits your business.

Arizona Golf: Tucson’s Rio Rico Resort and Country Club

Scottsdale and Phoenix are better known as golf destinations than Tucson, but that just makes this hidden Tucson gem even more spectacular. The Rio Rico Resort and Country Club is located just about 45 minutes south of Tucson, but it might as well be in a different world. In its past, the Rio Rico has hosted qualifiers for the U.S. Open PGA and Seniors tours, as well as the U.S. Amateur qualifying rounds in the 1990s. Today, the most striking feature about the traditional desert layout is its beauty and peace. It’s an ideal getaway for a round of golf on a midwinter afternoon, where temperatures in the 70s provide the perfect weather for golf. Trent Jones considered it one of his classics, and it still provides a challenging golf experience, even for accomplished golfers.

The most memorable golf vacations aren’t always those you’ll spend waiting to tee off on crowded but highly rated courses. Be sure to ask your golf travel agent about underappreciated golf courses to check out on your trip.