Club Glove has long been known for making high-quality products. The fanatical attention to detail and durability they build into their travel cases is almost legendary. If professional tour usage is any indication of quality, Club Glove is king of the hill. 90% of PGA Tour pros use Club Glove to protect their golf clubs.
For years I’ve used a hard plastic travel case from a rival brand and have been happy with it, but despite the durability of hard cases, the weight and size are drawbacks. I am only able to fit a small carry bag with the driver removed in the plastic case, and it weighs in at about 46 – 48 pounds with only a lightly loaded bag inside. Most airlines limit weight to 50 pounds before charging you extra, so excessive weight is a constant problem when traveling with golf clubs.
Recently I traveled to Antalya, Turkey to represent Team USA in the World Amateur Golf Championships and as part of the package I received a sweet new custom staff bag. Because of the size of the new bag, I needed a new travel case to fit it in. That’s where Club Glove’s Last Bag comes in!
The Last Bag from Club Glove is their top of the line golf travel bag. This premium large collapsible bag weighs about 11 lbs unloaded and accommodates nearly any golf bag and up to a 47″ driver, plus still has room for additional gear and accessories. Here are the specs:
Club Glove Last Bag – Specs
- 51″ H x 19″ W x 16″ D • 86 linear inches
- Single piece burst proof construction made with Invista™ Cordura® 1000 D water resistant nylon up to 3x stronger and lasts up to 5x longer than standard polyester
- 1600 D ballistic nylon base reinforcement
- Reliable and durable YKK® zippers and ITW Nexus® Buckles
- Patented high-impact plastic wheelbase with integrated support and super high rebound 70mm 78A inline skate wheels with bearings for smooth and quiet transport (U.S. Patent #7,188,714 and # 7,219,902)
- Over the top zipper for easy loading
- Patent-pending integrated carry handle integrates with Train Reaction™
(Patent Pending Ser#12/348,857) - Patented adjustable restraint device to secure golf club set (U.S. Patent #6,901,979)
- 2 exterior shoe/storage pockets with nylon shoe bags
- ID card holder
- Made in the USA
Real World Testing
Specs are nice and all, but how does the thing perform when being tossed around by disaffected airline baggage handlers? The bottom line is this: If you are anything like me, you’ve spent a lot of time and money putting together a set of golf clubs that look great and help you perform your best. I personally have about $3500 worth of custom made equipment to protect when I travel, so I don’t want to throw my clubs in some cheap $25 travel case you can pick up at Walmart.
When I first received my Club Glove Last Bag, I was impressed with the thick cordura nylon and solid construction, but I was a little worried that my huge 9.5″ Burton staff bag would fit. My fears were misplaced however, because the bag fits inside easily. I picked the bright yellow color to make it easy to spot in airport baggage claims, and it also matches this website’s logo color. When packing my clubs I usually weave a couple extra towels back and forth between the irons to prevent them from banging around against each other too much. I then fit the golf bag’s rain hood on it, then slide it into the travel case.
In my opinion, one critical accessory for this travel case is the Club Glove Stiff Arm. The Stiff Arm is a metal pole with a plastic cap on top that expands and protects your clubs, should the soft-sided travel bag be dropped on its head. Simply place it in your golf bag and expand until you get a tight fit against the rain hood. The Stiff Arm extends past your driver and three wood to absorb any impacts, giving your clubs additional protection. When you buy on Amazon they send you the Stiff Arm free.
Once packed, the entire thing closes up nicely without much room to spare. The compression straps on the side of the bag allow you to take up that extra space for a nice tight fit. After adjusting the straps, it all felt very tightly packed and solid. The heavy-duty YKK zippers glide nicely and installing a standard TSA lock to secure the zipper ends was no problem. Once packed the bag weighed in at 46 pounds fully loaded, giving me some wiggle room for the airport baggage weight limit.
My trip from Florida to Turkey and back included layovers in New York and Istanbul both ways, so that meant that my golf clubs would be handled (or mishandled) by airport staff at least 8 times. Getting the clubs through the airport to the check-in counter was a breeze. The large rollerblade wheels roll smoothly, the beefy grab handles are easy to use and the hard plastic skid plate allows the bag to negotiate curbs and escalators with ease.
When I arrived in Antalya, Turkey I was happy that my bag arrived without any signs of wear and tear other than a bit of dirt and dust. The bag was intact and all my clubs were ready to go. After the return trip the bag showed some signs of tampering, but it was just the TSA that had opened it for inspection. It turns out that they rummaged around quite a bit because my lock was in the bottom of my golf bag instead of attached to the travel case, and some of the clubs were not in their usual position.
After traveling over 13,000 miles and being tossed about and handled by various baggage handlers, airport security, customs agents, bus drivers and golf course attendants, the Last Bag stood up to the abuse and came out smelling like roses. The fact that there was no damage or appreciable wear to the bag and its contents is testament to the build quality of Club Glove products.
In the end, the Club Glove Last Bag lives up to its name. If you are in need of a solid, high quality golf travel bag, this is the last bag you’ll ever need. The $299 MSRP may be a bit steep for some, but considering the investment you are protecting I think it’s worth it. This bag is tough as nails, easy to transport and functions perfectly. It even integrates and attaches to Club Glove’s other fantastic travel luggage to form a train for easy transport. If for some reason the Last Bag is not big enough for your bag, you can even get the Last Bag XL for those huge old-school staff bags. For more info, visit www.clubglove.com
