Airline apologises after footage of mishandled golf clubs goes viral

Delta Airlines has issued an apology after footage of baggage handlers mishandling golf clubs went viral.

The official X account of the East Tennessee State men’s golf team posted a video of ground staff at San Diego airport hurling their clubs onto the ground shortly after their arrival in California.

The account captioned the video: “Nice of @Delta to handle our clubs with such care…”

The team was travelling to take part in the NCAA Championships at Omni La Costa Resort and Spa.

Team members can be heard responding as, one by one, their golf bags are roughly thrown to the ground.

Nice of @Delta to handle our clubs with such care… pic.twitter.com/5tcIivt9dy

— ETSU Men’s Golf (@ETSU_MGolf) May 22, 2024

A team spokesperson later told the Daily Mail that a couple of bags, as well as some other items, had been damaged in the incident.

At the time of writing, the 24-second clip has been viewed more than seven million times.

In a statement, Delta Airline said that the handlers filmed were not company employees but insisted they would, nevertheless, work with East Tennessee State to find an amicable solution.

“We apologise to the ETSU Golf team and ask for a mulligan on how their equipment was handled,” it added.

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“We’re in direct contact with the Bucs to ensure they have what they need to successfully compete in the NCAAs.”

East Tennessee State is bidding to win the NCAA Championship for the first time in its history.

The University of Florida are the defending champions, following their victory over Georgia Tech at Grayhawk Golf Club in Arizona in 2023.

Previous winners of the individual title, meantime, include Tiger Woods, Luke Donald, Max Homa, Bryson DeChambeau and, more recently, Matthew Wolff.

The 2024 NCAA Men’s Golf Championship is scheduled to take place from May 24-29.

Michael McEwan is the Deputy Editor of bunkered and has been part of the team since 2004. In that time, he has interviewed almost every major figure within the sport, from Jack Nicklaus, to Rory McIlroy, to Donald Trump. The host of the multi award-winning bunkered Podcast and a member of Balfron Golfing Society, Michael is the author of three books and is the 2023 PPA Scotland 'Writer of the Year' and 'Columnist of the Year'. Dislikes white belts, yellow balls and iron headcovers. Likes being drawn out of the media ballot to play Augusta National.

Deputy Editor