'We're Sorry'
Tour pro's bag and clubs ruined 'to a point I didn't think was possible' by airline
As most of you have likely experienced, air travel in 2023 is an absolute nightmare. It's no longer random when something goes horribly wrong at the airport, it's expected. Two-hour delays, overbooked flights, baggage getting lost or forgotten entirely in transit, etc. All of these things have, sadly, become the norm when it comes to flying.
One can't help but feel anxiety every time you go to the airport now, and this is doubly true for golfers who travel with their clubs. There is nothing more fear-inducing than leaving your most-prized possession in the hands of one of these boneheaded airlines. Even in the odd chance they do show up at your destination, you then have to worry about whether or not they were damaged along the way.
Now imagine what it's like to be a struggling tour pro who has to make an actual living with those clubs. All of Wesley Hunter's worst anxieties and fears came to fruition after a flight from Denver to Pensacola, with a layover in Houston, on Monday. Hunter, a mini tour grinder from Alabama, tweeted out photos of what happened to his bag and his clubs, tagging United in the post. "Ridiculous," he said. "My bag and clubs ruined to a point I didn't think was possible."
After seeing the photos, we tend to agree:
You almost have to try to F up a bag this badly. Like set the thing on fire and throw it off a cliff for it to look this bad. Driver broken, wedged chopped up, travel bag looks like it was burnt, just a really bang-up job here.
Making these pictures all the more painful is the fact that Hunter is not some big-time pro who can easily replace these things. He's a grinder in every sense of the word, as Ryan French AKA Monday Q Info reported nicely here after Hunter just missed qualifying for the U.S. Open at LACC last month. He gave French a brutally-honest quote in that piece that is even more brutal now.
"This game just kicks you in the d--k over and over again," Hunter said. You're not kidding. Here's hoping Hunter can replace these clubs soon and get his luck to turn around.