Travelling with hard shell case and locks

[GarthM]

Question for the world travelers out there:

When you travel with a hard shell case do you lock it? What happens if/when you do? Do they ask you to unlock it for security or do they warn you that if they want to get in that they will break the locks?

Curious...

[corchard]

I don't lock mine, and it's been more than 10 years. XRay can't tell that that there are expensive clubs inside.

It was openend once (shortly after 9:11) when I brought a spare club for my dad.

I've added three wide nylon straps that hold it together in case it gets handled roughly. The straps has been usefull over the last few trips.

[DIbit]

Depending on the airlines...most do not let you lock your hardcase.
I prefer a softcase as it is lighterand can fit more stuff in it. I can take my wife and I's clubs and shoes and be under the 50 lbs limit. (wife only has 11 clubs. and uses a sunday bag).

[BBKing]

My hardcase has a TSA lock, so they can open it. The Canadian Air Transport Safety folks don't seem to have this capability, so I have to unlock it for them to inspect before it goes into the system, but otherwise, no issues. My clubs, shoes, and sometimes various other clothing items can fit well. It is a bit of a cumbersome thing to fit into some vehicles, and does use storage space. On the plus side, my precious clubs always arrive unscathed.

[Ace-IT]

Was just back from a golf trip and if your hardcase is lock and they decide to check, they will break your lock unless they can use TSA key.

At the check-in, they ask me if it was lock to make sure that I'm aware if they break the lock.
I was check both ways with my hardcase (they leave a note saying they check your case)

So it doesn't worth the risk in my opinion.

[stevek]

Depending on the airlines...most do not let you lock your hardcase.
I prefer a softcase as it is lighterand can fit more stuff in it. I can take my wife and I's clubs and shoes and be under the 50 lbs limit. (wife only has 11 clubs. and uses a sunday bag).

I use a softcase as well and use the foam that came with my clubs to brace all of the heads so they don't rattle. You can fit a lot of clothes, shoes etc in a softbag, but read the rules for the airline as some state only clubs can be placed in the bag. I figure if it's golf clothes, shoes, balls then it should go through ok.

[Colby]

The key is to keep it under the 50 pound mark. If it gets over 50 pounds, you pay big fees. Also, some airlines (Delta I believe) make you sign a waiver unless the clubs are in a hard case.

[Sakuraba]

I have a hard shell that I take to Phoenix and back in March. I've crammed it full of clubs, shoes, flip flops, hats, as long as its under 50lbs, no problems. I closed it with a zip tie last year, and my clubs didn't arrive with the rest of our checked luggage. It was a bit of a hassle, I had to file a claim for missing baggage, and a guy delivered it to the condo later that night. There were about 5 of us Canadian golfers in the same predicament, and we had all sealed our bags in some way. there were probably 30 other golf cases that rolled through without incident on the same flight. Plus, I was the only one with a hard shell case, all the others were soft, and we were flying Air Canada.
So in the future, I'm not locking the case, only making sure it is securely closed, and won't open during transit.

[quinner]

I have flown with both soft and hard cases. The first time I borrowed a hard case (from someone on this forum - mpare possibly) and just used zip-ties to lock it. That way if they need to get in they can and you aren't losing the lock. Most recently I traveled out west with a hard case with TSA locks and I opened it in both directions for them to search it and that was that.

[1800Duffers]

I stuff my soft case with extra clothes and toiletries without locking it . I can get the rest of my stuff in a carry-on. I use copper pipe foam tubes to protect the shafts and also head covers, no problems for 5 years of travel.