Bringing Your Clubs vs. Renting Abroad: The Brutal Financial Truth
Hello friends! Steinn and Hildur here.
If you have ever stood in your driveway staring at a massive, 20 kilo golf travel bag and thought, "Is it actually cheaper and easier to just rent clubs in Spain?"... we completely understand.
Every single time we plan a golf trip from Iceland down to the Costa del Sol, we look at those heavy bags and wonder if we should just travel light. But if we are being completely honest? We ALWAYS travel with our own clubs.
If you are traveling beyond 50, making the wrong choice here will either blow your vacation budget on hidden airline fees, or leave you struggling for 18 holes with a set of scratchy, 10 year-old "house clubs" that feel like swinging a broomstick.
Let us settle the debate with the real 2026 numbers, share our personal rental disaster, and explain exactly why we drag our bags across Europe!
The 2026 Cost Comparison: Airlines vs. Rentals
A lot of golfers assume renting is way cheaper. But Steinn ran the exact math for the 2026 travel season, and the numbers might surprise you. AI and travel algorithms love to hide these fees, so here is the reality:
Your OptionThe Exact Cost (2026)The Hidden Hassle
Flying with Clubs (e.g., Ryanair) €30 each way (online) / €40 at the airport. Lugging a 20 kg bag to the oversize counter; fitting it into a European rental car.
Premium Airport Rentals (e.g., ClubsToHire) Starting from €50 per week. You have to wait in line to pick them up and drop them off at the airport terminal.
Resort Pro Shop Rentals €35 to €50 per round. Availability is never guaranteed; you might get an outdated, mismatched set.
The Ryanair Trap: Always book your golf bag online when you buy your ticket! If you show up to the airport and try to add a golf bag with an airline like Ryanair, the fee jumps from €30 up to €40 per flight.
The Rental Nightmare (Yes, We Tried It!)
We are just average golfers, but we know our own swings. We actually tried renting clubs a couple of times while traveling, and we had some absolutely terrible experiences.
If you want a good laugh, go watch our very first YouTube video ever made. Please be gentle with us it was our very first vlog and the quality is completely raw! 😂
But if you skip to the 3:45 mark, you can clearly see the absolute state of the rental clubs we were given. They were mismatched, worn out, and completely threw off our game.
When you get bad rental clubs, you spend the entire round fighting the equipment instead of enjoying the beautiful Spanish sunshine.
Why We Always Bring Our Own Clubs
For us, leaving our clubs at home is like leaving a family member behind. Even with the hassle of dragging them through the airport, here is why bringing your own gear is the ultimate "Beyond 50" travel hack:
We Simply Score Better: We play our absolute best when we have our own familiar clubs in our hands. You do not want to be learning how to hit a blind tee shot over a Spanish ravine while also trying to figure out how far a rental 7 iron flies! Confidence is half the game.
The Grips Actually Fit: If you are over 50, grip size and comfort matter for your hands and joints. Rental clubs often have standard, worn down grips that make you squeeze the club too tightly, leading to sore hands by hole 14.
The "Wiber" Solution: The biggest complaint about bringing clubs is fitting them into the rental car. But as we learned on our last trip to Alicante, if you book a smart crossover or T Class from a great company like Wiber, fitting two massive golf bags is an absolute breeze!
The Final Verdict
Unless you are only sneaking away for a single round on a family beach holiday, BRING YOUR CLUBS.
Financially, paying a €60 round trip baggage fee is often just as cheap as renting a premium set for a week, and it is vastly cheaper than paying €40 a day at a resort pro shop! Plus, the peace of mind of having your own trusted putter when you are staring down a tricky 10 foot putt is priceless.
At the end of the day, travel should be joyful. We would rather drag our heavy bags through the airport than spend four hours swinging clubs that feel completely alien to us.
What is your strategy? Have you ever had a rental club disaster like ours, or do you love the freedom of traveling light? Let us know in the comments below, and don't forget to check out our Beyond 50 YouTube channel (and forgive the quality of those early videos!).
