There is a good chance if you’re a traveling golfer and enjoy bringing your clubs with you on an airplane, then you’ve exhausted every thinkable means of protection — from stuffing towels around the head of your driver to pool floats — all in the hopes of preventing baggage handling damage.
Sometimes your precious cargo made the trip unscathed, sometimes not. Those who have experienced getting to a resort location for a week of golf only to unpack and find a snapped-off driver head or a bent iron shaft know the feeling.
It’s aggravating, annoying and potentially an expensive fix.
There is now more than just hope, there is a solution to safely packing away your golf clubs for that dream vacation.
It’s called AyrSupport, which is a premium inflatable insert that wraps around your golf bag inside your travel cover. It shields your clubs from impact, pressure, and the abuse that comes with airline travel — without adding bulk or stress.
Made from ultra-durable TPU (the same material used in avalanche gear and high-end outdoor equipment), it’s designed to handle real-world travel and is airline tested, according to founder and CEO Tyler Beckley.
At the recent PGA Show in Orlando, Florida, orders approached 1,500 units and the product won a 2026 Best New Product award.
“It’s something that everybody who plays golf and likes to go play somewhere understands,” says Beckley. “That’s why I think it really resonates with golfers; they can really relate to it and the product is pretty easy to maneuver and use. Once golfers see it it really clicks for them.”
AyrSupport, which weighs just 5 pounds, blows up in 60-90 seconds with a pump that is included in the $299 price, and neatly folds away from easy storage.
“It’s inflatable so the great thing is it conforms to any bag size,” Beckley says. “We have found that the best way to use the product is blow it up first, then put it in your golf travel bag and deflate it depending on the size of your bag.”
Shy of a nail puncturing the product, AyrSupport is virtually indestructible since it fits around your clubs inside your travel bag, meaning that item takes all of the wear and tear — and not AyrSupport.
With swift sales out of the gate, price point doesn’t seem to be an issue.
“I’m not looking for dumb stuff when I walk through the PGA Tour Superstore, but I see something like an $85 head cover and I think, ‘Man, we as golfers will pay a lot of money for a lot of stuff that is quite silly sometimes,”’ Beckley says. “And the AyrSupport is not silly. The fact that most every golfer who travels knows the struggle, I felt like I had a pretty good market. And there’s really nothing out there like it, I thought I probably had a good shot at making a little wave if nothing else.”
Beckley worked on the invention for about eight months, with a half-dozen or so prototypes developed before polishing off the finished product.
He recalls testing it during the summer at Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas and being approached by a bystander.
“It was 110 degrees out at 9 o’clock at night and the guy kind of laughed and asked, ‘Why do you have your clubs, you going to play?’’’ Beckley says. “I said I wasn’t playing, but that I was just testing a prototype. I unzipped it and showed him. He sat straight up and got out of his chair and said ‘Man, I’ve worked in the golf industry for 25 years and I’ve never seen anything like that.’ Getting those kinds of reactions for months were encouraging and a lot of fun to see.”
As of now, AyrSupport works with stand, carry and mid-sized bags — those that most golfers own. Beckley says the design is still a work in progress with additional product down the line that will fit cart and larger staff bags.
“We wanted to get a solid product off the ground first, sort of crawl before you walk mentality,” Beckley says.
There could even be avenues for other sports that need to be “cushioned” when traveling via air.
“We’ve discussed other equipment such as skis, snowboards, and someone mentioned baseball bats — even items like TV or photography tripods,” Beckley says.
Beckley hasn’t gotten much sleep since the overwhelming response of AyrSupport at the PGA Show in late January, trying to secure additional product while fielding calls from potential investors.
“Winning the best new product award was a dream come true,” Beckley says of the honor at golf’s largest tradeshow. “I just felt such a broad swath of people would understand it. “We’re flying high and it has just been an overwhelming response that we got. We were at the PGA Show for the exposure and we got every bit that we wanted … and it’s still going.”
