The right call isn’t about loving your clubs enough — it’s about how many rounds you’ll actually play with them.

Every summer the same question comes up before a trip: pack the clubs, or sort it out at the other end? It’s tempting to default to bringing your own set out of habit, or hiring out of convenience — but the honest answer depends on one thing: how much golf you’re actually playing once you’re there.

If it’s your main golf holiday — take them

When golf is the actual reason for the trip and you’re playing most days, your own clubs are worth the hassle. You know your yardages, your grips, your quirks — hiring for a full week usually costs more than any baggage fee, and unfamiliar clubs are a genuine handicap on a trip built around scoring well.

If it’s just the odd round — hire instead

If golf is one afternoon of a wider holiday, hiring is usually the better call. No baggage risk, no lugging a bag through an airport for one round, and it means you’re not paying to insure and transport a full set for the sake of eighteen holes.

The airline picture, if you are taking them

Policies vary more than people expect, and it’s worth checking before you book rather than at check-in:

British Airways treats a golf bag as part of your standard checked baggage allowance, provided your ticket includes checked baggage — though it’s classed as oversize baggage requiring advance notice.

Etihad carries one set of clubs, up to 15kg, completely free and in addition to your normal baggage allowance.

KLM and Air France’s Flying Blue programme allows a free golf set with a Flying Blue Golf voucher, or in place of a checked bag on Standard or Flex fares.

Budget carriers like easyJet charge golf clubs as a separate sports equipment fee on top of standard baggage, generally with a one-item-per-passenger limit

The pattern: legacy carriers tend to fold clubs into normal allowance or offer a genuine free allowance; budget airlines almost always charge extra. Worth checking your specific airline before assuming either way.

The clever alternative: shipping instead of flying with them

A growing number of golfers skip the airport entirely and use a door-to-door golf club courier service, which collects clubs from home and delivers them directly to the resort or hotel — avoiding baggage fees, check-in queues, and the risk of clubs going missing at the carousel. Costs vary by destination and speed, but for long-haul trips it’s often cheaper and considerably less stressful than airline oversize fees both ways.

Or don’t bring them at all — hire at the other end

Clubs to Hire, the largest golf club rental provider globally, covers 16 destinations including Spain, Portugal, Turkey, Cyprus and South Africa, with clubs either handed over at the airport or delivered straight to your resort. Book eight sets or more as a group and one set is thrown in free — worth knowing if you’re travelling with a society or larger group. Similar delivery-based rental services exist locally in destinations like St Andrews and the wider Scottish golf coast, for anyone playing a handful of rounds rather than a full week.

But if you are taking your clubs:

Whichever way you go, packing them properly is worth the extra five minutes. PGA coach Georgia Ball shares her own packing tips for flying with clubs below — a few small habits that are the difference between arriving ready to play and arriving to a damaged driver.

Why not join Women & Golf on our Coaching Break – Seven nights at the five-star Penina Hotel & Golf Resort in the Algarve, five rounds of golf, and daily coaching from PGA professional.