The 8 Best Golf Travel Bags for Safe, Easy Travel

The best golf travel bags give you more than protection for your golf clubs, they give you peace of mind when you travel.

Until recently, some airlines forced you to sign a waiver if you checked golf clubs without a hard travel case. That illustrates the lack of confidence airlines had in those soft-sided golf travel bags.

In some ways, they were right. After all, with a hardshell case, it's less likely that your shafts can break.

I've been traveling by air with my golf clubs for more than three decades. In my busiest years, I probably checked them with airlines 40-plus times a year, and I've used at least a half dozen different travel covers over the years. So yeah, I have a pretty good idea of what makes a good travel case.

A hard case offers the best protection, but they take up a lot of room in the car once you remove your clubs, which is a deal-breaker for me. If protection is your top concern, however, by all means, consider a hard case.

Keep in mind, whichever case you choose must stand up to the most careless baggage handlers your clubs will ever encounter. I’ve witnessed handlers throwing entire sets of clubs from the belly of the plane into a luggage carrier eight feet or so below. That's a quick way to damage clubs.

When choosing a golf travel cover, ask yourself what your priorities are. Is it protection, ease of use, or ease of transport? One brand in particular stands out in this last category.

Here’s a look at some of the best golf travel bags on the market today.

Pros:

• By far, the easiest to transport through the airport
• Ample room for an average-sized bag and shoes

Cons:

• Not as easy to get clubs in and out as some other covers

Sun Mountain's golf travel bag with wheels is, in my experience, the best travel golf bag out there.

The Sun Mountain ClubGlider is my go-to most of the time because it’s super easy to get around the airport with this travel case.

Sun Mountain’s proprietary leg system retracts and extends and has two permanent skate wheels on the end. You could just drag the bag on those wheels, but there are also two legs toward the middle of the bag that retract to give the bag four wheels and enable it to stand on its own.

I can literally pull this cover with one finger, as it glides effortlessly. When you’re in line, the bag sits on the wheels instead of lying on the ground or forcing you to balance it standing up. When you check your ClubGilder Meridian, simply snap the legs in place on the bottom of the cover.

The Meridian is actually the middle size of three ClubGlider models. You can also choose from the lighter and smaller Journey, or the larger ClubGilder Pro. The latter is designed to carry a staff bag or midsize stand bag.

As for the Meridian, other great features include two large inside pockets accessible from the outside, and a good amount of padding at the top to protect your clubs. 

Pros:

• Lots of padding for great protection
• Very durable

Cons:

• Can feel a bit bulky

A Club Glove travel cover was my first premium travel case. I used it for 20 years-plus and I always felt like my clubs were well protected. ClubGlove claims to be the No. 1 brand used on tour, and I can see why.

The Pro Traveler is the middle size of the three offerings and suits most players. It’s large enough for a good-sized hybrid bag, and has a lot of padding. It also comes with a stiff arm for added support, though ClubGlove still recommends removing the heads from the woods.

The Pro Traveler is 100% waterproof, has a wide, hard base at the bottom, and has lots of room inside. Once you cinch the straps around the cover, everything feels super secure in this travel cover.

Short of a hard case, this offers the best protection of anything on the market. It commands a premium price ($400), but these travel covers can last a lifetime.

Pros:

• Great Value
• Easy to pack

Cons:

• More expensive brands offer more protection

The Bag Boy T-750 from Dynamic Brands is one of the more lightest travel covers on the market at 8.5 pounds.

It features a zipper system that opens up the entire front of the travel cover, so it’s much easier to pack your clubs in this cover than covers that offer a single zipper in the front.

This travel cover is big enough for a midsize cart bag, and while it doesn’t offer as much protection as the ClubGlove, the top does have a good bit of padding.

At $140, it’s a great value. If you only travel with your clubs on airplanes every once in a while, this is a great option.  

Pros:

• Can accommodate stand and cart bags
• Easy to maneuver

Cons:

• A little on the heavier side

The Izzo High Roller has a zipper design that allows it to open up fully, making it very easy to pack and seal.

However, the feature I like best is that it has six wheels, including two inline skate wheels for dragging it around the airport, plus four wheels on the bottom to move it around when it’s standing up. That’s especially great when you’re in line to check your luggage at the airport.

This bag also has five external lift handles, two internal elastic pockets for shoes or other accessories, an external zippered pocket, and a unique folding design that makes it easy to store.

Pros:

• Superior protection
• Easy to load and unload

Cons:

• Like many hard cases, not the easiest to transport around the airport or in a rental car

SKB specializes in building cases for transporting stuff much more valuable than golf clubs, like priceless musical instruments and even military weapons. So the folks at SKB know how to build protection, and their golf travel cases fall right in line with everything else they do.

The ATA Staff Pro XL Golf Travel Case is one of the best money can buy. This heavy-duty hard case has a TSA-compatible lock, accommodates drivers up to 49 inches long, and can handle stand bags and cart bags. It also comes with a lifetime warranty, and like the Vessel travel case, SKB guarantees against club breakage up to $1,500.

Pros:

• All-terrain design
• Above-average protection for a soft case

Cons:

• Top handle could be more user-friendly

When traveling with your clubs, you’re not always dragging them around on smooth surfaces. For example, you might be getting off a shuttle from the airport and have to pull your clubs across cobblestone, grass, or gravel. This is where a travel cover like the Ogio Renegade comes in handy.

It has larger “off-road” wheels, designed to handle different surfaces, so you can pretty much tote it anywhere. Plus, the case is well-padded to a nice level of protection.

It has two heavy-duty grab handles and features Hypalon corners to protect it from wear and tear. The wraparound zipper opening makes it easy to pack and unpack. Lastly, it has two outside zippered pockets.

Pros:

• Hard top for extra protection
• Easy to store

Cons:

• Some users report that it’s not very waterproof

If you want the best of both worlds, you might want to consider the CaddyDaddy Enforcer Travel Cover. It has a hard top and soft bottom.

The top protects like a hard case, while the soft folds the case into itself, helping you store it in small spaces.

This case also has a full wraparound horseshoe zippered opening, making it much easier to pack or unpack your clubs. Two oversized pockets provide storage for your other gear, and it can accommodate cart bags up to 10 inches. At around $180, it’s an excellent value.