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When my friends hear that I’m headed to Hawaii to golf, surf and whale watch, they don’t feel sorry for me. They don’t realize how much work it is to pack for a golf vacation.
Gone are those days when you could just zip up the rain hood on your golf clubs and carry your bag on the plane. Because of possible theft and mishandling of clubs, we now have to put our golf bags into travel covers or hard cases to protect them. If you don’t have a travel bag or case, I probably could recommend a few to you on our site, since I’ve gone through so many of them. These bags go through a lot of abuse and if you don’t spend wisely, you will just use them like disposable garbage bags. (Don’t get cheap by wrapping your golf bags with garbage bags.)
If you take an average set of clubs (regulation count of 14), you will notice it weighs 10-12 pounds depending on whether you have steel or graphite shafts. Once you put your golf bag, shoes, a dozen balls and rain gear in, the overall weight will be in the 25-30 pound range. It’s probably a good idea to get the weight down to 15-20 pounds, especially if you have to change planes or catch a connecting flight. To do this, you might want to consider two things. Either pick up a super-light carry bag that weighs 3.5 pounds or less, or invest into one of those aluminum carry cases that doubles as your golf bag and travel case.
I always have a debate with myself on the number of balls to bring with me. If anyone has ideas, please add your comment on my blog. On many occasions, I think if you’re going to a place where they have Wal-marts and Costco’s, you could probably bring a sleeve of balls and buy a box when you get there. If you’re flying in somewhere and driving out to a resort then it’s probably a good idea to stock up, unless you have deep pockets to pay whatever the resort charges for a case of balls.
On tee times and bookings, I like to use the internet to find all the deals. Most of the hotels that you stay at in Hawaii have high-speed internet access but only some places offer it for free. I haven’t yet found anything for free so I’ve been booking and paying for my green fees before leaving home. I like using ezlinks.com to book tee times for Maui, Kauai and Big Island. If you want to play some of the more expensive courses on the Big Island or Maui, you might want to check out teetimeshawaii.com. If you want to keep your green fees down, plan to play where the locals play. These courses are just as spectacular and usually have more ocean holes than the more expensive courses.
If you’re planning to play on any of the three courses in Kapalua and Pukalani on Maui, or Hapuna, Waikoloa or Makalei on the Big Island, or any of the courses in Kauai, be sure to pack a waterproof jacket with a hood.
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