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I have been a fan of golf since I was a young lad and have flown all over the world and played some amazing courses. When I first started to play I traveled with a soft sided bag but after one bag was all but destroyed on a trip I upgraded to this hard case:
Why? I know that all airlines are very hard on sports equipment and when it comes to golf clubs it is not hard to damage them. Oh and if you are not a golfer you may not know that a full set of clubs can cost thousands of dollars and elite level players may have each club fit for them, that is, they can not just pop into a sporting goods store and replace a broken club.
With all that said the ETSU or East Tennessee State University men’s golf team was recently on a Delta flight (I assume on the way to an event) and Delta luggage handlers were filmed abusing their bags that has in hours already amassed over a million views on Twitter or X. Take a look:
Nice of @Delta to handle our clubs with such care… pic.twitter.com/5tcIivt9dy
— ETSU Men’s Golf (@ETSU_MGolf) May 22, 2024
YIKES!
This is just not OK.
“We apologize to the ETSU Golf team and ask for a mulligan on how their equipment was handled,” a Delta spokesperson told us. “We’re in direct contact with the Bucs to ensure they have what they need to successfully compete in the NCAAs.”
Are you a golfer who flies Delta? Have you had your clubs damaged by this (or any other) airline? – René
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Shocking? Not really… Disappointing? Very much so. Who would ever think that airline baggage handlers would be gentle with anything heavy?
Baggage handlers can be real rough with luggage, and they can even take out their anger on bags and the bag owners’ property inside the bags when the bags are heavy or something about the bag has annoyed or injured them. Has this topic been discussed on Flyertalk as of late? Speaking of Flyertalk, emma dog is to be the next moderator added to the Delta forum moderator group on Flyertalk.
It seems like being consistently critical of an airline isn’t really welcomed there
I usually travel with mine and just hope they arrive intact. Thankfully most reputable golf club bags are over–engineered to protect them from idiots like these.
Side notes: I get that these guys are incredibly lazy and hate their jobs, but treating luggage like this, especially when they surely know that these are very expensive items, is just stupid.
They knew they were being watched in broad daylight and they simply did not care. I’d be surprised if they have not already been fired, although I imagine their union will fight this as a matter of routine.
Maybe ShipSticks IS the answer despite their exorbitant prices:)
Finally, this makes you wonder how often bags get treated like this? I fear all too often.
Yawn. Thats not abuse. Your sticks are further protected inside the golf bag with appropriate head covers. Your bags and clubs get more abused attached to your golf cart. People are so sensitive these days. If there was actual damage, report it to Delta or your Delta Reseve American Express Card for reimbursement.
The video doesn’t show very abusive baggage handling for US airline baggage handlers and even the TSA, so I don’t see any reason why baggage handlers involved in tossing the golf bags in the video should be fired for what seems a long accepted way for baggage handlers to handle such bulky items being offloaded from planes and from baggage carts.
I wish the baggage handlers were gentler with our bags, but no one can count on that when this kind of baggage handling is within the range of normal at airports across the country.
The team needs to watch “United Breaks Guitars” on Y..tube and make a video!!!