To view an interview with Ship Sticks Founder
and CEO Nicholas Coleman, please click the play
button on the video above.
Note: The following review was drafted after I used
Ship Sticks for the first time at the Myrtle Beach
World Amateur. Since then, I have been a regular
"club shipper" and the app and service has worked
like a charm. Look for a member offer from
AmateurGolf.com and Ship Sticks soon.
Relax. It's handled. Don't worry about your clubs.
They'll be there when you arrive.
Do these statements come to mind before
your
golf trip? Me neither. Until my trip to South
Carolina
for the Myrtle Beach World
Amateur,
when I
decided
to try Ship Sticks. These guys have it dialed in!
I've seen Ship Sticks boxes many times,
typically
at Bandon Dunes or other golf resorts where
AmateurGolf.com runs tournaments. But I have
had
great luck checking bags with Southwest and
United
Airlines, and my status on United provides me
with a
free checked bag, which is nice (Southwest still
allows a free checked bag for everyone). Still, I
always wonder - what if? What if my clubs don't
arrive, or they get broken? You hear it happen to
your
friends all the time, and you even hear stories of
Tour
players arriving "sans clubs" and posting it
on social media. But I've been lucky.
For my Myrtle Beach trip, I was forced to use
two
airlines, and the second one, Spirit Air, is
notorious for
allowing no carry-ons of any size, and charging
for
checked bags. Facing the possibility of having to
leave
the secure area of the Chicago airport, collect my
bag,
recheck it, and go through security again, I knew
I had
no choice. I had to find a way to ship my bags.
That's
when I remembered Ship Sticks, and all those
savvy
travelers who go to Bandon Dunes, only to find
their
clubs safely awaiting their arrival.
I booked the trip through the Ship Sticks
mobile-
friendly website from my phone. It's simple. Enter
the
pickup location and date, destination location and
date, and shipping options, and you're home free.
I'm
guessing many people do it the way I did - pay a
bit
extra for a two-day shipping to the resort,
(around
$99 for golf bag only) so I can practice as long as
possible, and choose the basic return ($59)
because
after a week of golf I'm not going to be playing
much
when I return, and even if I do I've got a backup
set
at home.
And that's when I started relaxing. Knowing I
had a pickup for Wednesday meant that not only
would my clubs precede me, I would be
"forced" to take care of something I
always wait until the last minute to do -- pack my
travel
bag. Ship Sticks accepts boxed golf bags, hard
cases,
or soft cases like the Club Glove that have hard
bottoms. (They don't recommend you ship a soft
case
without a box unless it has a hard plastic
bottom.)
When I booked, I received an email with links
to
my shipping and return labels. And if I ever lost
the
return labels I could easily login and reprint them.
I
also got an email the next day reminding me that
"hey, this is it, please make sure your clubs are
ready for pickup in the morning."
------
Now, here's where it gets pretty amazing. It's
the
part of the story where my expectations were
greatly
exceeded.
The day before my clubs were set to be
picked
up, I got a friendly email reminder from Ship
Sticks
asking me to click to confirm my clubs would be
ready. I did that, and made sure they were in my
office packed and ready in the morning. About
9:00am
on pick-up day, my cell phone rings and on the
other
end is a representative from Ship Sticks,
confirming
I'm all set. Now, I'm sure this call serves them as
well, because the whole service breaks down if a
client forgets or is late packing the clubs. UPS or
FedEx is going to show up, and nothing's ready.
But
still. That follow up was awesome, and in a busy
world
a lot of us need reminders.
The next day, my clubs were at my
destination.
How did I know? An email from Ship Sticks of
course.
When I arrived, with just a small carry-on in
hand, my clubs and clothes were promptly
delivered
to my room in perfect condition. I kept packing
materials ready in the corner of my room, and
after an
awesome week of golf in Myrtle Beach, I packed
up
everything to return to Carlsbad. But there was a
small change
to my trip. My clubs would be ready a day sooner
than planned, so I emailed Ship Sticks to ask
them to
take care of this. Not only did they respond
promptly,
they told me that I could use the same labels I
had
pre-printed. They would simply adjust the date.
 |
Ship Sticks sends emails every
step of the way |
A few days later, completely tired out from
the
road trip (and needing to catch up at the office) I
hardly missed my clubs when they arrived in time
for
an end-of-week practice session and weekend
game.
I'm completely impressed with Ship Sticks, and
will
use them again. I don't think you pay any more
than if
you brought your clubs to UPS or FedEx yourself,
and
their extra service is so good that it would be
certainly worth it if it did cost more.
National Car Rental may have coined the
phrase
"Go Like a Pro" but when it comes to
taking your clubs on the road, Ship Sticks is the
"Hassle Free Way to Go" -- give them a
try and let us know what you think!
Visit Ship Sticks's website at www.shipsticks.com.