Broken Clubs after golf getaway

[awoon]

Last week, returning from a great week of golf in Florida, came home to find out that about $2000 of clubs were damaged :eek: on the flight back.
Not just damaged but the clubs were snapped in two.
1) Titliest Driver
2) Callaway 4 Wood
3) TM 3 wood
4) Ping Putter (bent)
All of the clubs were recently purchased within the last two years. needless to say, our hearts dropped to find our "babies" in bad shape. ive seen how the baggage people handle the clubs which is fine and dandy but for the shafts to actually SNAP, they must have been "excessively" handled to say the least. i couldn't snap a shaft with my bare hands if i tried.
Granted we are well aware that airport baggage workers could give two sh*ts about our clubs but we've always taken super pre-caution when packing the clubs i.e. socks, tie them together, additonal head covers, travel bags. and we've never had a problem in the approx 10-15 golf vacations in the last few years. the claim process takes 90-days before we get a response from the airline.
long story short, does anybody have any similar experiences? i am one PO golfer right now.

[DubRepublic]

I just got back from my trip and thankfully my clubs were fine. I was so worried I borrowed a hardshell case and took my spare clubs. What kind of case were the clubs in?

[bythehour]

Geez, actually breaking the shafts would have required considerable force. they must have put something really heavy on top of your bag, or crunched it besides and container.

I hate to hear stories like yours. I've had pretty good luck so far with my travels (knock on wood). I carry my bag in a soft-sided wheely case, with socks over each clubhead and towels weaved between the shafts.

If you're not happy with the claim response, don't give up. Just insist on moving it up the chain. I assume that you checked your clubs through special items. There's no excuse for that kind of damage.

[Ben Hogans]

Awoon,

Did you use anything to support the top of the clubs...i.e. a dowel or Stiff Arm? I ask because I have a trip coming up and didn't want to spend the cash on a hard shell but bought a Stiff Arm from GT (45 tax in). The guys there says it will do the trick. This post is making me nervous about taking my new clubs.

Last week, returning from a great week of golf in Florida, came home to find out that about $2000 of clubs were damaged :eek: on the flight back.
Not just damaged but the clubs were snapped in two.
1) Titliest Driver
2) Callaway 4 Wood
3) TM 3 wood
4) Ping Putter (bent)
All of the clubs were recently purchased within the last two years. needless to say, our hearts dropped to find our "babies" in bad shape. ive seen how the baggage people handle the clubs which is fine and dandy but for the shafts to actually SNAP, they must have been "excessively" handled to say the least. i couldn't snap a shaft with my bare hands if i tried.
Granted we are well aware that airport baggage workers could give two sh*ts about our clubs but we've always taken super pre-caution when packing the clubs i.e. socks, tie them together, additonal head covers, travel bags. and we've never had a problem in the approx 10-15 golf vacations in the last few years. the claim process takes 90-days before we get a response from the airline.
long story short, does anybody have any similar experiences? i am one PO golfer right now.

[simar]

I've never had a problem when travelling with my hardcase, i usually lock it tho.

[corchard]

beg, borrow or steal a hard case.

I was caught in Chicago a couple of years ago during some pretty serious storms that messed up air traffic for 3 days. Needless to say they lost my clubs. I spent 12 hours in the baggage claim (being exceptionally polite and jovial) at 11:30 PM they said come back in the morning. Usual bulls**t. I came back at 5 AM and I was the only one there. The head handler said come see this (This is where being so polite paid off) I stepped through the door, a couple of steps onto the tarmac and the handelr says, see that hangar over there, well we used front end loaders to pick up/push everyone's luggage into that hangar. All I can tell you is that we scanned your clubs last night and you'll get them after we have had a chance to sort through the piles and get priority on the next plane to your destination. The luggage piles were about 8-10 feet high and they filled the hangar as I can see.

Don't bother locking your case they, just cut them off 80% of the time. I would recommend a secondary strap system to deal with torque.

Having said that my clubs are in a cheap hard case with wide blue straps I added on later. They case has seen some hard times but the clubs came through fine. (my clubs have their own aeroplan number).

Sorry to hear about your clubs.

[jmr73]

I have travelled with a soft case in the past with no troubles. That was until I heard what happened to a friend travelling a couple of years ago. He was flying with Air Canada and had the same result you described. All his woods were snapped in half.

Took a few weeks but he finally got everything settled and some new clubs.

I bought a hard travel case a few months later.

[iyell4]

yikes. the hardshell/softshell issue again!
typical baggage handlers working a double-shift will always deal respectfully with the golf stix of rich
folks rely on these same golf stix to enjoy a luxurious indulgence.
i'm thinkin' of getting clydesdale custom case co. to design an armour-plated flight-case for me.
i'm hopin' my stiff arm n' soft case will do the trick. my entire set cost me just south of one large to assemble over almost two years.
i'm not sure what compensation i'd get from airline or homeowners insurance for such a catastrophic loss.

[nailer]

It's not so much what you paid for them but what the replacement value would be.

[iyell4]

It's not so much what you paid for them but what the replacement value would be.
i figure i paid about $1000, replacement would be about $3,500CDN.:)

[Wildhorsered]

My sympathies, awoon.
What airline? Or is that not a relevant question?

[simar]

My sympathies, awoon.
What airline? Or is that not a relevant question?

actually more importantly, were they marked fragile?

Part of me is thinking that we can never control when someone is having a bad day/week/month/year/decade/life, so if they see fit to toss your clubs around when you arent looking, you cant do much about it. Just pray that its insured under some policy and you will have to spend more time buying new gear if it should ever happen to you.

[awoon]

thanks for the support,

to answer a few questions
1) used a soft case, 10-15 golf trips never had a problem but thinking about investing in a hard case after this incident
2) i think it's mandatory to check in golf clubs with special baggage

the replacement cost shouldn't be too bad, the club heads are still in decent shape, so i'll probably re-shaft all the woods but im waiting to see what the airline has to say cause usually insurance claims use the purchase value.

[XQSmi]

I thought that if you use a soft case for golf clubs, Airlines make you sign a waiver absolving them of damage?? I believe I've read that on the Air Canada website... Doesn't that mean that you won't be able to claim anything from them, and you would only be able to get reimbursement from your travel insurance?

actually more importantly, were they marked fragile?

Part of me is thinking that we can never control when someone is having a bad day/week/month/year/decade/life, so if they see fit to toss your clubs around when you arent looking, you cant do much about it. Just pray that its insured under some policy and you will have to spend more time buying new gear if it should ever happen to you.

I don't think it matters much whether they are marked or not. I just came from the airport this weekend and I saw how hard they baggage guys were tossing the snowboard/skii bags onto the platforms. I was wincing imagining my own gear (board/golf clubs) being handled in this way...

[wiredbeans]

i figure i paid about $1000, replacement would be about $3,500CDN.:)


Come in to the store and we will get you a estimate for the value of clubs, we do price quotes for insurance companies all the time.

One thing to keep in mind: Always ask for replacements and not cash, with replacements they will have to replace you with the comparable current model if the ones you have are out of production (if you bought them only within 1-2 years), we always quote the newer model prices as replacement cost to the insurance people, (of course they shop around as well to see who give them the best quotes but everyone in the business will give them full MSRP numbers just to make the potential customer happy)

Henry