With sparkling new golf resorts and picturesque courses opening up seemingly every day somewhere around the world, the golf travel industry is truly booming.
Despite this, the task of getting one’s equipment on and off a plane in safety is still one fraught with risk. All too often, clubs arrive on the luggage belt bent, damaged or broken as a result of careless handling or the simple rigours of travelling in a cramped luggage hold.
Which makes investing in a good golf travel bag a matter of paramount importance for the intrepid golfer.
Thankfully, in recent years baggage brands have put considerable thought into improving the travel experience for golfers, thinking up innovative and protective new luggage options that keep your beloved equipment safe on your travels, look stylish when being wheeled through the airport lobby and provide plenty of convenience when not in use.
At GolfMagic, we’ve been lucky enough to test a wide range of golf travel bags to pinpoint the very best in the biz, whether you want the ultimate in security or more of a low-key option that prioritises portability.
Here are our favourites, starting with the best golf travel bag you can buy for 2025.
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Sun Mountain ClubGlider
The best golf travel bag for 2025: Sun Mountain ClubGlider Meridian
Price: £239
Features:
- Pop-out wheeled legs make pushing and pulling the bag with ease
- Has two exterior pockets for added storage
- Dense foam padding through the top of the bag protects your clubs
Sun Mountain’s ClubGlider remains the gold standard of travel bags in the industry, the model’s unique pop-out legs and easy pivot wheels transforming how easy it can be to transport a heavy golf bag to and from the airport (which is a life saver if this involves a long walk or using public transport). The wheels do, as the name suggests, literally glide across any surface, making walking with your clubs a near effortless experience.
Made from a heavy-duty ballistic nylon reinforced in key wear areas, the ClubGlider also provides plenty of storage for a stand or cart bag, with two additional external pockets for additional clothes or accessories, while the comprehensive foam padding at the business end of the bag keeps your clubs safe from knocks and uncaring baggage handlers. It also packs away into a fairly compact form for storage when not in use.
Shop now: $380 at Sun Mountain
Vessel 2.0 Travel Case
The most stylish golf travel bag: Vessel Travel Case 2.0
Price: £399
Features:
- Pop-out wheeled legs make pushing and pulling the bag with ease
- Has two exterior pockets for added storage
- Dense foam padding through the top of the bag protects your clubs
Crafted with Vessel’s signature focus on minimalist style and luxury, Vessel’s second iteration of the Travel Case is guaranteed to be one of the most stylish things on the luggage carousel when it emerges on the other side of your golfing adventure.
Made from ultra-tough 1680D ballistic nylon with ultra thick foam padding around the club department, the Vessel Travel Case can stand up to basically anything even the most careless airlines and airports can throw at it, with luxurious added touches like genuine leather handles providing that trademark Vessel look and feel.
The more substantial base also makes standing it up on public transport and in crowded areas a much easier task, while the adjustable luggage link cleverly allows it to latch on to your suitcase for ease of transport.
The most compact golf travel bag: Sun Mountain Kube
Sun Mountain Kube
Price: £239
Features:
- Folds away into a tough cube shell
- Added interior pockets provide plenty of storage
- Tough ballistic nylon construction
Often imitated but never replicated, Sun Mountain’s Kube is the brand’s more compact travel bag option, famously folding away into a convenient and tough cube-shaped shell when not in use, making it a great option for apartment-dwellers and those otherwise short on space.
The Kube packs a surprising amount of storage into its tough nylon form. Taken on our travels, we found it easily holds space for a fully-equipped stand bag, a couple of pairs of shoes and even some extra clothes to boot. The only downside of its more portable form is the lack of spine support, which makes dragging it along on longer walks a bit of a chore compared to larger, more substantial bags like the ClubGlider.
If space and storage are equally important to you, however, the Sun Mountain Kube is the most innovative option on the market.
Shop now: $290 at Sun Mountain
OGIO Alpha Slim
The best slim golf travel bag: OGIO Alpha Slim
Price: £199
Key features:
- Recycled 1200D exterior ballistic polyester with recycled 600D interior abrasion panels & recycled 200D soft touch polyester lining
- Foam padding for club head protection
- Interior compression strap
- Exterior storage pockets
- Add-a-bag strap to attach a secondary wheeled piece of luggage
Light in its footprint but as heavy in duty as any of the other bags on this list, OGIO’s Alpha Slim travel bag is packed full of nifty features that add pracitcality without adding bulk. Interior foam padding and interior straps keep your clubs safe and secure at every stage of their journey, while the adjustable strap doubles as an add-a-bag feature for seamless travel.
Available in an array of funky colour schemes, the Alpha Slim’s compact nature also allows it to fold away neatly into a tight package when not in use.
It’s also made with 100% recycled 1200D exterior ballistic polyester with recycled interior abrasion panels & recycled soft touch polyester lining, making it as easy on the planet as it is your clubs. The only thing to consider here is that it’s only really designed to be used with stand or hybrid bags, meaning those with larger cart bags might want to look at a larger model.
Oscar Jacobson Golf Travel Case
The best affordable golf travel bag: Oscar Jacobson Premium Wheeled Golf Travel Cover II
Price: £119
Key features:
- 1680 D ballistic nylon construction
- Extra thick foam padding at club compartment
- Easy roll skate wheels and skid-resistant PVC base
- Interior strap stabilises the bag during travel
We’re seriously impressed by the latest golf travel bag from Scandinavian brand Oscar Jacobson, which despite being less than half the price of its more premium competitors has basically the same features as all of them.
The ballistic nylon outer shell is super tough, while there’s plenty of storage and foam padding inside to keep your clubs and clothing safe and sound on a long trip. The full wrap-around zipper makes accessing your clubs a breeze in the heat of a busy travel day, while the durable, skid resistant PVC base material keeps it easy to stand up in crowded areas.
What features should I look for in a golf travel bag to ensure maximum protection?
Protection should always be your number 1 priority when picking a golf travel bag, and it’s worth investing a little extra to ensure that your bag is fully kitted out to keep your clubs as safe and secure as possible.
Look out for golf travel bags with extra foam padding in the club head end of the bag, as these will ensure the club heads remain safe from jolts and breakages when being handled by airport staff. Bags with interior straps will also lock your golf bag down more, preventing it from twisting around in the travel case and placing your clubs in awkward positions where they might break.
Outside of this, choosing a bag with a tough exterior material will ensure no water or outside material gets in the bag during transit. Many golf bags are now made from high-grade ballistic nylon, which is great for its abrasion and water-resistant properties.
What are the pros and cons of hard shell vs. soft shell golf travel bags?
Golf travel bags come in both hard and soft shell options, each of which come with their own strengths and drawbacks.
Hard shell golf bags are the most effective option when it comes to protection, but look unwieldy, can often be tricky to transport due to their size and, because they don’t collapse into a smaller package when not in use, are really only suitable for golfers with lots of storage space in their garage or shed. They’re also heavier, which is worth considering when flying on airlines with restrictive weight allowances.
While they’ll never be as truly protective as a hard shell case, we generally recommend a high quality soft shell case, which offers layers of foam protection to provide your clubs with the safeguarding they need while minimising weight and storage footprint.
What additional accessories can enhance my golf travel experience?
Even with the best travel bag on the market, golf travel can often be an unwieldy and stressful venture. There are, however, a few things you can invest in to ensure that your golfing odyssey is as smooth as possible.
A small portable tracker like an Airtag is great to slip into your golf bag in the case of your clubs being lost or stolen while on your travels. You can also invest in a protective spine to slip inside your golf bag, which forms an additional umbrella for your clubs to give them extra protection while travelling.
Check out our full range of golf equipment and apparel guides below:
