Will You Be AS Lucky As Lowry?

Irish European Tour golfer Shane Lowry was reunited with his golf clubs after they had been stolen at Naples Airport, ahead of last week’s Sicilian Open – amateur golfers might not be so lucky.

The chances of the local police galvanising the force to recover clubs stolen from a tourist rather than a high-profile professional sportsman are negligible. But if you’re flying into nine European destinations you can be sure your clubs won’t be stolen by hiring a top-of-the-range set from ClubstoHire.com for as little as €35 per week.

The Ireland-based company opened in Lisbon and the Isle of Man on Sunday – and planned openings in Tenerife and Gran Canaria in the next week will take the number of outlets run by Ryder Cup star Paul McGinley’s burgeoning golf-club rental business to 11.

McGinley’s fellow director, Tony Judge, explained: “Hiring a set of golf clubs at the destination affords the travelling golfer immense peace of mind. There’s no chance they’ll be stolen like Shane Lowry’s and no chance for a ham-fisted baggage handler to put a dog leg in the shaft of your driver.

“What’s more travelling golfers can save hundreds of euros on excess baggage charges with some airlines charging as much as €120 for a return flight. It makes sense on so many levels which is why we came up with the idea in the first place.”

The first ClubstoHire outlet opened only in 2010 and the decision to open further branches has been driven by outstanding results, with bookings for 2012 up by more than 200 per cent on the same time last year.

Judge added: “We will continue to look for ideal venues to open stores as we realistically believe that we will double our turnover during 2012 and will save travelling golfers a staggering €1,000,000 on excess baggage charges during the calendar year.”

Only recently, Ryanair increased its charges for golf bags to a minimum of €50 per flight, while, before the end of the last year, Air Berlin raised its golf bag carriage charge to €100 return. And, with the majority of European carriers now charging upwards of €60 return, hiring a set of high-end clubs from ClubstoHire makes enormous economic sense while also offering peace of mind.

A broad equipment range is offered from just €35 per week, with options available from TaylorMade (including the R11S driver and the new RocketBallz), Callaway, Wilson and MD Golf; all clubs are offered – left or right-handed, ladies and men’s – and hire is available from just one day to a full four weeks. For those wishing to travel extra-light, shoe hire is also available.

The service couldn’t be easier to use – just order on-line ahead of travel and pick up the hire set at the destination.

Bookings for Antalya, Alicante, Murcia, Dublin, Malaga, Edinburgh, the Isle of Man, Lisbon and Faro can be made online at www.clubstohire.com.