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Earlier this month, 30 college men’s golf teams earned the right to compete in the 2024 DI NCAA Championship that’s slated to kick off in California later this week. That includes the squad representing East Tennessee State University, which was understandably less than thrilled with how some Delta employees handled their bags while heading to the tournament.
Enough golfers fly with their clubs on a regular basis to the point where every major airline in the United States has an official policy concerning the boxes you need to check if you’re traveling with your bag (most of them simply treat it as a standard piece of checked baggage, although the rules vary from carrier to carrier).
Unfortunately, the internet is filled with horror stories concerning people who arrived at their destination after planning a dream golf vacation only to be greeted by a mangled mess of twisted metal—a problem that has spawned companies that can justify charging a premium by specializing in shipping clubs from one point to another to ensure everything arrives in one piece.
The golf team at Eastern Tennessee State University decided to take their chance when they hopped aboard the flight that transported them to California for this week’s NCAA Championship, which will see the Buccaneers compete against the other 29 teams in the field at Omni La Costa Resort & Spa in Carlsbad when the tournament kicks off on May 24th.
On Monday night, we were treated to a video of what unfolded during the journey after someone affiliated with the ETSU golf team hopped on Twitter to call out the Delta baggage handlers who didn’t exactly handle their clubs with care based on a video of what unfolded while they were being unloaded from the airplane.
Nice of @Delta to handle our clubs with such care… pic.twitter.com/5tcIivt9dy
— ETSU Men’s Golf (@ETSU_MGolf) May 22, 2024
Now, I don’t want to cast too much blame on ETSU, but not opting for a hard shell case when you’re traveling with golf clubs—especially when you’re on the way to the NCAA Championship— is the ultimate rookie mistake (Delta essentially tells you that’s the case on its website, as anyone who opts for a soft-sided bag needs to sign a liability waiver).
ETSU hasn’t posted any additional updates, so it’s safe to assume their equipment arrived relatively unscathed.