The travel case, if it is a hard shell, it is probably the safest as far as not breaking or damaging your clubs in transit. Unlike mine, a Belding soft case cover, a "stiff arm" is needed to support the heads from breaking.

Golf trips are always exciting- or at anytime golf is involved :-)

I would buy one those adjustable poles that has a mushroom top you can find in any golf store and extended it where it is taller than your driver. It will fit in any of the slots in your golf bag. Also I would interweave a towel around all of my clubs to keep them from moving. I have never had a club damaged with these precautions when I fly.

I don't go anywhere without a Club Glove! Stands up taller than any club in the bag and takes the beating that your driver would otherwise take! Also, i wrap everything in my huge Titleist towel so there's no iron chatter or anything moving around at all for that matter.

If you have a soft case, use a stiff arm from Club Glove, works really well. If you can remove the heads from woods and put them in your suitcase. Wrap the irons in towels. I have traveled with mine on Southwest, and used the above tips. No issues so far. Good luck.

I would highly suggest getting a "Stiff Arm" from Club Glove. Put it in the same divider as your driver and three wood and it should protect them.

Other than that I really don't do anything special. I have a Club Glove Last Bag travel bag (soft sided) and have my Stiff Arm in there and so far so good.

On the way back I put some dirty clothes in the bag but I am not sure if that helps or hurts.

The Stiff Arm in my opinion is key.

Enjoy the trip!!

Hopefully you have a quality travel bag...I use phenomenon last bag by Club Glove. I also use towels to wrap between the irons to protect from bag chatter as well as a stiff arm.

Get bubble wrap and wrap the club heads so they don't get chipped up

If you have a soft travel case make sure you have a stick in there to protect your driver. You can buy them at your local golf store or just cut a 2x2 that is slightly longer than your driver. This protects the head when they throw your clubs up against something. I usually empty my bag to a bare minimum. Remove anything you don't want to lose like special ball markers or divot tools.
Have a fun trip. Play well.

Ive heard of people using bubblewrap around all the heads and tops of shafts to create a solid mass in the past.

Cant say i have personally tried it, but does seem to make sense.

Travel case is fine. Only suggestion would be to stuff a bath towel of sorts in and around your club heads for additional padding in the rain hood if you still have it around. I've flown 2 or 3 times with my clubs and that has worked well.

I always take my Driver Fairway & Hybrid Heads in my carry on bag.
Makes for packing the Travel bag so much easier. Just make sure you protect your shafts and the tips.

Safe Travels!

Dr. K

I always remove the adjustable heads from my driver and 3w, then wrap them in a towel and put them in a pocket of the golf bag.

Added tip, take a picture on your phone of your settings before removing them, that way you are assured of putting them back to the correct setting.

I use the "Stiff Arm" in the middle of my bag to protect the clubs. Just do a google search to see one....it is invaluable!

Since you don't say whether you have a hard or soft case, you might want to consider getting a StiffArm to help in protecting your clubs.
I have a hard case, so I don't worry to much about breakage. I do wrap a towel or two around all my club heads and put my rain hood on to keep them all in place.

Personally, when I must fly with my clubs, I will only take non-stop flights, to limit the chance of them being lost. I would also check into baggage insurance.

I use a generic looking ClubGlove soft-sided travel case. Unfortunately, a Titleist-branded case makes the clubs look more attractive to potential thieves (some of whom wear TSA uniforms). Very often, they will open the case for security checks. Almost every time I have carried clubs with me, I have found a TSA card inside letting me know they inspected inside the travel case.

I wrap every head that doesn't have a headcover in bubble-wrap. I use an extendable insert pole in the middle of the bag to take the brunt of any blows to the top portion of the bag (like if the baggage handlers throw the clubs, heads first, onto the ground.) These poles extend above the driver and are available where you buy golf bag travel cases. I stuff more bubble wrap inside around the whole set of clubheads and shafts.

When I arrive at my destination with the clubs, I carefully unpack all in my room, and save all the bubble wrap for the return packing. The night before I leave, I go through the same process as above.

Whenever I am to board a plane, I like to watch the luggage being loaded (when possible) to make sure I see my bag go onto the plane. It gives me some comfort before boarding that my clubs are at least flying non-stop with me.

After landing, I try to be at baggage claim before anything comes out on the conveyor belt. I set up close to where the bags come out so I can see everything that enters. No chance anyone will get to my clubs before I do. (A new set of Titleists has a nice return for baggage thieves.)

Enjoy your trip. Hopefully you won't be as paranoid about your clubs as I am about mine.

I use a stiff arm and weave 2 towels through my clubs. The two towels are really nice bath towels from a really nice hotel that I've had for years! LoL The reason I use bath towels is dual purpose. 1) If it's hot where I'm playing I have a nice large towel to wipe off with 2) If it's cold and or wet I can use one for the cart and one for me to wipe off with.

All great recommendations and are greatly appreciated. I should have mentioned that the travel case I have is hard sided up where the club heads will be and then the rest of it is soft sided. With the hard sided up by the club heads, should I still get the "stiff arm" to put in my bag?

I will definitely use my golf towels to wrap around my irons and wedges.

Just curious if anyone has bought iron headcovers, and if so, are they worth it for traveling?

Definitely need the stiff arm. I also put socks on all my irons then wrapped my towel in and around clubs. Once you have your bag in the travel bag pack any extras around the top.

Enjoy your trip

next to the travel case I suggest to put some towels around the club heads.
Also a stiff arm can help a lot

club glove and a stiff arm work great. I also wrap/stuff towels around the irons for extra peace of mind. have fun.