Travel bag recommendations?

I am shopping for a travel bag so I can take my clubs on an airplane two or three times per year. I see that some airlines won't pay for damage to clubs unless they are in a hard case. Is this something to worry about or are these airlines just making a big deal out of a small issue?

I already bought a padded, soft case with wheels on sale at a local store. I can still return it if I think I made a poor choice.

Also, I see that today on ebay there is a non-wheeled hard case up for sale. Are wheels all that important?

I also saw an inflatable guard that you put around your club heads before putting it in the travel bag. Good, or garbage?

I'd also like to hear opinions about a travel cover into which you put your own bag, vs. a travel bag into which you put just your clubs and use as a golf bag at your destination.

Any other tips or horror stories?

Thanks,
Ken

hi ken
just got back from playing in spain.
i used a soft travel bag for my trip no wheels just a shoulder strap.
the top is padded to protect the heads and they survived the flight both ways.
sports equipment goes through seperately so maybe they are more careful with them my bag hasnt got a single mark on it from the flights.

Hi Slater:

Thanks for the info on your bag. Do ou think that not having wheels makes the bag lighter and thus easier to carry? I think since my other luggage has wheels it may be easier for me to carry my clubs slung over my back while I wheel the other luggage.

Ken

hi ken
definately easier to carry the clubs and wheel your luggage about. plus you can lump your luggage on a trolley as soon as you get to the airport!

Go with the hard case...absolutely 100 percent....no doubt. If you saw what happens to baggage once it leaves your sight, you wouldn't even need to ask.

Hi Ken,

Well I know what i am about to say dosen't relate to golf but it does relate to your dilema. I go skiing every winter and like golf clubs, I hand over my skis to those dodgey baggage handlers. I am not saying that uk handlers are all that bad but when I arrived at my destination in France my skis looked like they had been bomb dropped. I say this as my padded ski bag had a tear half a meter down it, the skis binding on one of them was shattered with a part missing and to add more injury one of my ski edges was knacked and coming away from the base.

I dont know what they done whether it was the UK or the French staff but mine was'nt the only skis to have dammage on them. Then to ad insulte when at the baggage reclaim desk they said I would have to claim on my insurance or when I get back to the UK because French baggage handling firm was not liable for any damage that occurs.

Anyway I did claim for it from the uk side from the airport, but that was only because I said the dammage happened on the outward flight. If it was on the inbound flight then it would be upto the airline for which sports goods are not covered (BA$T@RDS).

So I would go with the hard case option as that is what I have done with my ski's and when I get the chance of playing abroad I will do the same thing for my clubs.

Cheers
Mark

Thanks, everyone, for the opinions. I just ordered a small hard bag - the kind you put your clubs in and use on the course. I had borrowed a large hard case and found that it did not fit in the trunk of my car! Anyway, the bag I ordered comes with an adapter to make it a stand bag, and it is relatively small.

Ken

Also keep in mind some airlines will make you sign a release form if you use softcases, they do not want to be responsible for damage (because they often are damaged) call the airlines ahead of time, even some hard cases require special handling and may get charged extra, just depends on the airlines, they all handle this differently. I used a Datrek hardcase with wheels, worked great. Flew American Airlines, this was a few years ago, they would not allow softcases at all, if I used one I had would have had to pay $20 for a special box they sold to put it in, and sign a release form. Glad I called ahead, just got a hardcase instead, no problems, no release form required. The onr thing I couldn't utilize was the lock, had to leave it unlocked so TSA could get into it, they put a security tape seal on it. They come off a hardcase, not too sure if you get them tape seals off a softcase without tearing it up, that stuff really sticks.