Watch The Viral Airport Video That Is (Understandably) Triggering Golfers Right Now

Players from the East Tennessee State men’s golf team witnessed a horror as they landed in California ahead of the NCAA DI Men’s Golf Championship

Bags being thrown from the plane to the ground by baggage handlers
East Tennessee State men’s golf team got a shock after touching down in California
(Image credit: X @ETSU_MGolf)

Players from the East Tennessee State men’s golf team are days away from one of the biggest tournaments they will ever compete in, with the NCAA DI Men’s Golf Championship taking place between Friday 24 May and Wednesday 29 May at Omni La Costa Resort & Spa in California.

However, baggage handlers at the airport seemingly didn’t quite grasp the significance of what was to come.

The team caught a flight to California in good time to prepare, but before the players could even get off the plane, they caught a glimpse of one of every golfer’s worst fears when traveling – the sight of their golf bags being tossed carelessly from the plane’s cargo hold onto the ground before being thrown onto the truck to take them to the terminal.

Anyone about to head off on a golf trip and planning to take their clubs on a flight might want to look away at this point. That's because, such was the horror unfolding that one of the members of the traveling group took a video from their seat on the plane as the team waited to disembark, helpless to do anything to stop the unfolding nightmare.

The video has now been published by the team’s official X account, along with a sarcastic comment aimed at Delta Air Lines reading: “Nice of @Delta to handle our clubs with such care.”

Not surprisingly, it has gone viral, with approaching two million impressions just hours after it was released, and attracting plenty of comments from disgruntled golf fans unhappy with the handling of the bags.

The sight of their bags being flung from the parked plane onto the tarmac would have made for an anxiety-inducing wait until the players could pick up their bags once inside the airport.

Assuming the clubs avoided damage, the team will be hoping the issue marks a low point of the trip as it competes in the championship for the fourth successive year and attempts to follow in the footsteps of 2023 winners the Florida Gators.

Mike Hall
News Writer

Mike has over 25 years of experience in journalism, including writing on a range of sports throughout that time, such as golf, football and cricket. Now a freelance staff writer for Golf Monthly, he is dedicated to covering the game's most newsworthy stories. 

He has written hundreds of articles on the game, from features offering insights into how members of the public can play some of the world's most revered courses, to breaking news stories affecting everything from the PGA Tour and LIV Golf to developmental Tours and the amateur game. 

Mike grew up in East Yorkshire and began his career in journalism in 1997. He then moved to London in 2003 as his career flourished, and nowadays resides in New Brunswick, Canada, where he and his wife raise their young family less than a mile from his local course. 

Kevin Cook’s acclaimed 2007 biography, Tommy’s Honour, about golf’s founding father and son, remains one of his all-time favourite sports books.