politeness
We all know how hard it can be to travel with golf clubs, and nothing is worse than a long walk with bags and golf clubs to the car or wherever you want to go after a long trip.
Being stationed near a large airport and notoriously difficult to navigate (the infamous Philadelphia International Airport), I know the drill. Even though I don’t drive to the airport often, when I do, it always seems like I end up flying off a passenger, getting off at one station, and back at another. In the PHL, that can mean walking more than half a mile, which doesn’t sound like much, but consider everything from the top, bridges, escalators, and elevators, you get the picture.
With the Old Golf Bag Travel Cover, those trips mean not only expending energy hauling the bag but also holding it while it’s no more than – but no less than – 50 lbs. Contents are angled to allow the wheels to work.
However, since I switched to the Sun Mountain ClubGlider Meridian, trips back to the car or train platform are a lot easier.
(Full disclosure: I won a ClubGlider in an Instagram giveaway from Sun Mountain before I got into the golf industry, but I had no idea I knew I’d want to use it enough to keep using it today.)
Sun Mountain ClubGlider Meridian—$339.99
Unlike a traditional golf travel cover with only two wheels, the ClubGlider has a set of extendable legs with wheels that support the entire weight of the bag, allowing it to easily – as the name suggests – slide through the airport, parking lot, train station and anywhere!
Here are the reasons why you should not travel without it anymore.
1. Ease
Walking to the check-in desk used to be a problem pulling my bags and getting my boarding pass and ID at the same time. Now, I just gently push the ClubGlider in front of me a few steps, and reach out to grab my phone or wallet.
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Club Glider Meridian
$339.99
Meridian reduces the hassle of traveling with your golf equipment. The dense foam padding on the top of the bag protects your batons; leg mechanism supports the weight of your bag; And the swivel wheels make the bag highly maneuverable. Pulling a loaded ClubGlider is almost as easy.
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I really can’t describe how much better moving the ClubGlider is than a traditional travel lid. The extra wheels almost make it feel weightless.
Pulling the leg assembly out is also easy and locks it back in when I drop my bag at check-in.
2. Weight / volume
I only travel with a carry-on these days due to how unreliable the airlines are. This means that my travel cap is usually home for anything that doesn’t fit on my skateboard, including toiletries, shoes, anything I buy while I’m away, etc. I thought the extra weight from the legs would be an issue, but I haven’t gotten my bag overweight yet because the legs are surprisingly light and sturdy.
There’s also plenty of room to stuff boots, rain suits, extra balls, and anything else you might need on your trip.
3. Protection
The ClubGlider isn’t a hard-shell holster, so you’ll still want to toss a rigid arm in your bag to keep your long clubs secure, but it uses ballistic-style nylon so you can rest assured that your 14-inch batons will make it to your bag. Destination in 14 pieces. The padding at the top end is thicker than my previous bag.
4. Storage
Even with the legs assembled, the ClubGlider folds in the same way as a traditional travel cover and can usually fit in the back of every rental car along with your paddles.
However, if you have a tight space at home or like to travel as light as possible, you might also want to check out the Sun Mountain Kube.
KUBE Travel Cover
$269.99
The Kube, the latest travel bag from Sun Mountain, is an exciting new development in travel gear. We used heavy duty ballistic style fabric with half plastic shells. When not in use, the Kube folds to 9 x 13 x 14.5 inches for storage.
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The Kube features the same ballistic material used in the ClubGlider with two hard plastic pieces on the top and bottom. When not in use, the bag folds between the two plastic sleeves and zips together for tucked away storage. When in “Kube” shape, the bag is 9 by 13 by 14.5 inches, smaller than the average handbag, making it easy to stash in a small apartment or small rental car.
Sun Mountain Cube Travel Cover – $269.99