This Week at TravelGolf.com: August 7, 2008

Golf courses need to get with the times and rethink their rental-club options

Now that most airlines charge either a mandatory checked-bag fee of $15 or $25 for a second checked bag, it's a not a friendly time to be a golf traveler who likes to carry along your own golf clubs.

Delta Airlines recently announced they'll be charging $50 per second bag checked. To their credit, the first is still free. That means it could cost up to $100 to bring your clubs on your golf trip. Of course that doesn't even guarantee your clubs will show up on time. If you're not playing three or four times, you may as well rent.

Now here's my beef with golf courses in a lot of destinations: many only offer one fee for rental clubs, and it's usually pretty steep, between $40-$60. Sure, they offer a choice between, say, Titleist or Callaway, but the fee is the same and for the middle-class golfer, it's steep.

To put things in perspective, to rent a car during a recent trip to play golf in Las Vegas I paid $15-plus about $9 tax to rent a car every day. It was a tiny Toyota Yaris; I passed on the upgrade to the convertible. I don't need to floss while I'm on the Strip, I just want the basics.

And it's the same with my rental set.

Not every golfer needs the a set of new Titleists. Many of us just want some decent cavity backs and an oversized titanium driver. For a lot of people I know, at least my stingy friends, paying $50 for a round of golf is pushing it, not to mention just for the rental clubs.

So what they should do is have the high-end $50-$60 set for the corporate outings and swanky weekend getaways. Then they should have a beater set, maybe some Excaliburs, for $10-$20. Ensure they all have the same shaft flex and that's it. Most golfers I know have bad clubs anyways. They won't tell the difference.

Scour the web enough, and you'll discover golf resorts coast-to-coast offering free or discounted rental sets if you book a golf package. Airlines are waging battle with your golf clubs, it's time for golf resorts' rental policies to strike back.

As always, TravelGolf.com welcomes your comments.

Seattle's workout palace: Bellevue Club puts the tennis racket in trendy digs

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Storybook Prince Edward Island has redefined itself as a premier golf spot

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Rhodes Ranch in Las Vegas to host Xtreme Couture G.I. Foundation event

Ultimate Fighting champion Randy Couture founded the Xtreme Couture G.I. Foundation more than a year ago to give back to our troops in Afghanistan and Iraq. Beginning Sept. 25 he'll be hosting his first celebrity charity golf tournament. Sign up now by calling (702) 616-1022.

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