KC Golf News
When the Airlines Lost My Golf Clubs for my dream golf trip to St . Andrews , Scotland by Bill Cromwell
All the best planning for your dream golf trip to The Old Course at St . Andrews can have plenty of hooks , slices , and chili-dips when your golf clubs are “ No Shows .” It seems to be an increasingly common headache for golfers as air travel delays , rescheduling after weather delays , and industry-wide labor shortages often create havoc for travelers .
For Kevin Stallings , the owner of Stone Canyon Golf Club , his air travel woes started in August 2023 . After months of planning a dream golf getaway to Europe , where he and his two daughters planned to tee it up at The Old Course at St . Andrews , among other places , his air travel woes of flight delays , lost luggage , and three sets of lost golf clubs continues in August 2024 as he waits for restitution from American and British Airlines . and 45 minutes prior to our flight taking off , and all our First-Class seat tickets had been kicked off for what reason I still to this day do not know . Then , the flight was again delayed . I had to rent a room in Edinburgh for one night , and we had to fly back home economy .”
Stallings continued , “ Just to be clear , there were six legs of our journey that I booked first-class seatings through American Airlines and its partner , British Airlines , but we only flew two legs of the journey in first class , and the rest were flown in economy after major delays .”
Once back in Kansas City , Stallings says , “ We finally got our golf clubs and luggage back with many damaged clubs approximately two weeks after we returned [ to Kansas City ] from our trip .”
Stallings says , “ This was a trip to cheer up my daughters after my late wife , their mother , passed away from cancer in May 2023 , followed by my mother ’ s passing very shortly after . To make it a tribute in her memory , something fun we could share together .”
However , Stallings said , “ Out of the gate , our flight from Kansas City ( MCI ) to Dallas ( DFW ) was delayed . The plane out of MCI had mechanical issues and was delayed over an hour and a half . From there , it was a domino effect . Then , once in Dallas , our flight from Dallas to London was delayed . Our three sets of golf clubs and all our luggage landed at Heathrow Airport . I had Apple AirTags in the luggage , and I can prove my luggage arrived at Heathrow [ London ] airport . However , our luggage and clubs were somehow lost in the airport . I was able to talk to security , who would not let me back to identify my bags . There were over 400 sets of golf bags not claimed at Heathrow Airport underneath British Airways at that time . Then we had a 24-hour delay for our flight from Heathrow Airport to Edinburgh .”
Ultimately , Stallings and his two daughters had no clothes , no personal items , no golf clubs , and had to buy everything in Saint Andrews , Scotland . “ We spent almost $ 5,000 on clothing and rental golf clubs , and they [ American and British Airlines ] don ’ t want to refund any of that expense back to me .”
Stallings said , “ We made the best of it and bought what we needed to get through this trip .”
But his travel woes didn ’ t stop there . “ I guess the part that really leaves a bad taste in my mouth is when we were leaving Edinburgh to come back home to Kansas City ; we got to the airport two hours
20 August 2024 TEE TIMES GOLF GUIDE
One year later , Stallings is still negotiating with American and British Airlines for ticket refunds , lost / damaged golf clubs , and luggage for a claim he filed with the airline in October 2023 . On June 19 , 2024 , American Airlines responded to Stallings saying , “ After analyzing the receipt received , we can confirm that the following has been authorized as reimbursement of your eligible out-of-pocket expenses for your flight originating on August 4 , 2023 : meal for layover in DFW on outbound – 45.97USD .”
Stalling says , “ So the fact that we had to buy nearly $ 5,000 worth of clothes and personal items and had to rent three sets of clubs –– multiple times , which we are not getting reimbursement hurts bad enough , but the fact that we are not getting reimbursement for all the air travel delays , downgrades , and related expenses is appalling .
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