Post: #1

Anyone have any advice/thoughts on traveling with sporting gear for an extended trip (1 year+)? Normally when traveling for 1 to 3 weeks I would just rent some gear or not indulge if it was a short term stay. But about to make the jump to a long-term stay in EE and debating on whether to bring my own gear and if it’s worth the hassle. Any thoughts? Feel free to PM me.

Post: #2

Well, the million dollar question is...what sport?

A pair of boxing gloves, sure?

A canoe or a horse? Probably not.

Post: #3

Golf clubs...I’ll be long-term in EE (1+ years) and thinking I want to play some rounds and maybe use it as a way to make some social inroads and contacts. At the same time because of visa restrictions will be moving every 3 months or so.

Post: #4

(11-10-2018 11:18 AM)coopers317 Wrote:  Golf clubs...I’ll be long-term in EE (1+ years) and thinking I want to play some rounds and maybe use it as a way to make some social inroads and contacts. At the same time because of visa restrictions will be moving every 3 months or so.

How long/short is the golfing season in EE?

Post: #5

You'll get pretty sick of lugging clubs around every three months and paying extra baggage fees, etc.

Rental clubs are generally not good and in EE they'll likely be even shittier, but it's not a bad trade-off if you're only playing occasionally. A high-end course may have decent quality rentals, but I wouldn't hold my breath.

Unless you're a scratch or low handicap golfer and will be playing almost every day it's not worth it.

When I moved to Europe for the first time many years ago I brought my clubs and only used them a few times. They're still gathering dust in a friend's garage if they haven't been thrown away.

Post: #6

I bring at least one jiu jitsu gi (usually 2), and a pair of boxing gloves everywhere I move. I usually even bring a gi for weekend trips just in case I find somewhere to train. Different sport than golf, but I'm also a cheap bastard and don't want to keep buying sports equipment I already own. Clubs are probably way more of a hassle since you have to treat them as a separate piece of luggage. May be worth just investing in some nice ones once you're there.

Post: #7

Really depends how much golf you'll be playing and how good your clubs are in comparison to hire clubs. Depending who you fly with it's going to cost you about the same each flight as it would to hire for a round.

The one major positive I've had hauling golf clubs around is the extra 7-10kg of baggage that allows you to be a bit more flexible.

The other question is how you'll travel, flying is a pain but if you're doing buses/trains they'll often charge you for an extra ticket for the clubs as well (not sure in EE to be honest). It can also be a pain depending on how much other stuff you're hauling, how much walking will be done with the bags and what not.

I generally worked on the rule that it was worth taking the clubs if I thought I'd play roughly 2x as much golf as I'd do flying, ended up being ahead financially for the most part on that basis and anything more than that the hassle of lugging them around starts to make you money. Plus always nice to have your own clubs as well.

Post: #8

Quote:You'll get pretty sick of lugging clubs around every three months and paying extra baggage fees, etc.

Rental clubs are generally not good and in EE they'll likely be even shittier, but it's not a bad trade-off if you're only playing occasionally. A high-end course may have decent quality rentals, but I wouldn't hold my breath.

Yeah, from what I'm hearing the equipment that is rented out can be pretty bad. I have a pretty decent set of clubs.

Quote:The other question is how you'll travel, flying is a pain but if you're doing buses/trains they'll often charge you for an extra ticket for the clubs as well (not sure in EE to be honest). It can also be a pain depending on how much other stuff you're hauling, how much walking will be done with the bags and what not.

Apart from the flight there, I mainly plan to travel by train which for the most part is pretty cheap by western standards. I'm still thinking it might be a hassle, but I'm not really planning on moving around every couple of weeks either.

Still deciding, but thanks for the feedback.