Article copied from National Shooting Sports Foundation Online News Vol. 9 No. 11.  Hunting (Equipment)  and shooting-related equipment has out-driven golf (equipment) in sales, according to data released by the National Sporting Goods Association. New statistics show that hunting gear and firearm sales topped $3.7 billion in 2006, up 4.1 percent from the previous year. Only exercise equipment performed better, with sales of $5.22 billion, according to NSGA’s most recent “Sporting Goods Market” report. Golf equipment, which claimed the No. 2 spot the previous year, fell into the third spot with $3.66 billion in sales. NSGA’s sales projection for 2007 shows golf equipment and hunting and shooting equipment again running neck-and-neck to claim the No. 2 spot, with exercise equipment remaining at No. 1. Included in the hunting- and shooting-related equipment category are firearms ($2.18 billion in 2006 sales), airguns ($224.1 million), ammunition ($977.1 million), knives ($51.8 million), paintball guns/packages ($220.9 million) and reloading equipment ($52.0 million).

When traveling by air with your expensive golf clubs you should always protect your clubs by using a hard golf travel case. Many people put there clubs in a soft case. But this does not protect the clubs from the abuse of air travel including having other luggage thrown on top of your clubs, and just plain old rough handling. There are many different cases on the market, but the best seem to be the SKB hard golf travel cases. A great all-around case is the SKB 2SKB-4814 Wheeled Shaped Golf Case. The case inside dimensions are  Inside dimensions: 48″ x 14″ which fits most standard golf bags and drivers up to 48″. What makes this such a great case is that it is not only very well built, but it is also covered by an awesome warranty. SKB Golf Cases are made in the USA out of durable ABS material and are warrantied for life plus have a “Million Mile Warranty”. Plus SKB has a $1500 Club Coverage warranty as well. If your clubs are ever damaged by the airlines in an SKB case, they will cover up to $1500 of the club purchase price. No other case company has coverage on the case AND your clubs! The 2SKB-4814W also has the new TSA locks for security. If you are traveling with 2 sets of clubs then consider the SKB 2SKB-5020W Wheeled Double Golf Case with inside dimensions of 50″ x 12″x 20″. If you are flying only a couple of times or on a budget you might want to consider the Doskocil Golf Guard Deluxe Case with outside dimensions of 49.6″ x 14.9″ x 16.4″. This case is not as heavy-duty as the SKB cases, but still offers more protection than a soft case and is still wheeled for easy travel. You can see all of the SKB and Doskocil golf cases at Explore Products at discount prices.