Golf Travel Bags: Best Hard & Soft Cases To Protect Your Clubs
Imagine going on a vacation to a dream resort with the goal in mind of playing lots of golf during your trip. But when you arrive at the resort and open your golf travel case, you find broken golf clubs or clubs that have been battered and scratched up.
This would not be an ideal way to start off vacation. Sometimes insurance won’t even cover the damage done to your set of golf clubs or is a pain to handle and deal with.
Therefore, we’ve outlined several golf travel bag options below, both hard case and soft case, so you can take that extra security step to protecting your golf clubs during travel.
Take a look at the pro’s and con’s or hard vs soft cases and see our recommended products for each type.
Hard vs Soft Golf Travel Bag: Which is best?
When deciding between a hard vs soft golf travel bag, there are a few important quality features to watch for.
- Extra padding within and on the outside of the travel bag
- Easy to understand instructions written in plain simple English
- Strongly attached wheels and handles to make traveling through the airport easy
In addition to those features, here are pro’s and con’s…
Hard Case Bags:
Pro’s
- Hard barrier to fend off other luggage from making contact with your clubs/golf bag
- Fit most golf bags and driver lengths, but check dimensions to be sure
- Latching and locking systems for better security
Con’s
- Take up more space in your home
- Can be more expensive
- Less pockets / storage compartments
Soft Travel Bags:
Pro’s
- Can be cheaper depending on the model you purchase
- Can be larger, more spacious to fit a wider variety of golf bags/golf clubs
- Easy to fold up and store away when not using
Con’s
- Not as protective of your golf clubs
- Zipping system not as secure as a locking system on hard cases
Overall, we would recommend hard travel cases as the best option for your golf clubs protection. The variety of features like hard-shell body, locking system, strong wheels help give you more confidence and strong peace of mind during travels. With soft bags, you can get many great features as well, but you still take that risk of your golf clubs being damage.
Now that you have a better idea of the pro’s and con’s of both travel bag types, let’s get into our best recommended options for buying a golf travel case.
Best Hard Golf Travel Cases
SKB Deluxe Standard ATA Golf Travel Case
Our first recommended hard case for traveling with golf clubs is the SKB Deluxe Standard ATA. It’s a higher end model option and then below we present a more affordable hard case option as well.
The SKB Deluxe is contoured to fit cart bags, carry bags, and drivers up to 48 inches. Just open up the case, set your golf bag inside and make sure your clubs are tucked in before closing.
The new patent pending industrial strength latches are great for superior valance closure and overall latched security so you don’t have to worry about the case popping open during travel and your clubs falling out or getting damaged.
You’ll also enjoy the TSA locking system for ease of airline travel and stress free worry of theft.
The valance bending system is another great feature, providing tight, secure fits that prevents dirt, dust and moisture from getting into the case
Lastly, the wheels are smooth to help you transport your golf bag case to and from the airport.
Product Information:
- Product Dimensions: 21.9 x 35.6 x 27.9 cm ; 8 Kg
- Shipping Weight: 9.4 Kg
This hard case travel golf bag will cost you £277. This is higher priced, but if you travel often, protecting thousands of pounds worth of golf clubs is an insurance worthy of paying for.
Cargo Golf Guard Deluxe Hard Travel Case
Our next hard case for golf clubs holder is a more budget friendly travel case. The Cargo Golf Guard Deluxe is built for durability to protect your clubs from airport works tossing around your luggage in the airplane.
Made of heavy duty plastic the Golf Guard Deluxe will protect your valuable investment in golf clubs from even the roughest handling.
It has a large capacity, holding golf bags up to 11″ in diameter and drivers up to 46″ long. The design includes protective rib for the lockable latches. It also includes a 5 year warranty.
With the weight of your golf bag inside and the abuse the travel case takes going through airports, you’ll be happy that the Golf Guard Deluxe features super tough wheels. This makes transporting this heavy case much easier on you and without worry that the wheels will break.
Product Information:
- Product Dimensions: 130 x 38 x 42 cm ; 5.44 Kg
- Shipping Weight 8.3 Kg
The Cargo Golf Guard Deluxe will cost you £139 which is why we’ve included it as a cheaper alternative option.
Top Soft Golf Travel Bags
Athletico Padded Golf Travel Bag
The Athletico Golf Travel bag is built for golf club protection with thick 5mm padding throughout to safeguard your clubs throughout transit.
It has 4 protective feet on the bottom + hard vinyl base to protect against wear and drag. It also comes with padded tote handles, top handle, and shoulder straps to give you ultimate flexibility and comfort in carrying.
The shoulder strap is removable and is built with made-to-last METAL hardware to prolong it’s life since should straps tend to fray and tear apart from heavy use.
It also features wide gauge, quality zippers that wrap around for easy loading of golf bag and clubs. The metal zipper pulls can lock together for added safety and security.
This golf travel case can be used when flying on an airplane, at the airport, or for added protection in the trunk of your car.
Let’s take a look at the basic product specs:
- Dimensions – 53 x 12 x 14 inches [135 x 31 x 36 cm]
- 1.7 kg shipping weight
- 100% money back guarantee if you’re not satisfied
Izzo Unisex 2 Wheel Travel Bag
Travel simply, travel fast. The two-wheeled travel cover can handle all your basic travel needs at an affordable price.
The Izzo Unisex 2 Wheel travel bag offers you padded, soft case protection during travel with a durable vinyl base to provide you with added protection.
It has a padded carry strap for comfort and 2 durable wheels making it easy to wheel around the airport.
Spacious interior holds full size cart bags. and the bag expands to 51″ which makes it long enough length wise to fit all golf clubs, including drivers (which can measure 45-46 inches).
Not using the bag? The Izzo Travel bag will collapse to 7.5″ making it convenient for storing away in your home.
Product Information:
- Measures 51″ x 12″ x 14″
- Only 2 LBs in weight
- Manufacturer warranty
Currently you can purchase this soft case travel bag on Amazon for £39.95 making it a very affordable option.
What to consider when choosing the best golf travel bag:
Protection
The top section of a travel bag is most vulnerable to damage since one wrong toss can cause your clubheads to bang together and crack potentially. Therefore, look for a golf travel bag with added padding and protection in this top section. Soft bags tend to have a stiff section at the top to serve as harder casing protection with the rest of the bag being softer material.
Storage Space
You can also shop golf travel bags based on extra pockets and storage space. But to be honest, you really don’t need lots of extra storage space when it comes to golf travel bags. Your golf bag itself has multiple pockets for housing shoes, tees, balls, ball markers, etc.
And more pockets, means more chances to misplace things and forget about them since your travel bag will be stored away in a closet at your home for most of the year.
Maneuverability
Don’t forget about maneuverability when packing your golf bag. Think about weight balance so the weight is well placed throughout your bag. This will make it much easier to push around and wheel around. Make sure your bag design has strong, durable wheels and well placed handles to make transporting it as painless as possible.
Durability
Since your golf bag will be going through multiple trips over its life span, you want a product that is durable and can withstand the beating taken during travel. One area to focus is the wheels since cheap plastic wheel can easily crack and make wheeling around your bag a nightmare. Find high quality, durable wheels, straps, and compartment zippers/locks depending on soft or hard bag options you look at.
Value
Just because the golf bag is priced “cheap” doesn’t mean it’s materials and makeup is cheap. There are some good budget options out there for both hard case travel bags and soft case golf travel bags. Hard travel cases tend to cost more than soft travel bags, but within the hard case category, you’ll see a wide range of prices. This is due to branding not necessarily quality of the bag itself so keep that in mind and don’t be afraid to settle for a less expensive bag if the features stack up against the top tier brands.
