Welcome to Road Rules, a GOLF.com series in which we pick the brains of expert golf travelers, ranging from professional golfers and caddies to globetrotting course raters, teachers and writers. We’ll unlock their must-have travel items, go-to airline tips, favorite golf spots and more to inform you for your next trip.
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Trevor Immelman has globe-trotted with the best of them, and he’s still at it, now as the new lead golf analyst for CBS Sports.
So when he was at the Berenberg Invitational last fall, we asked the former Masters champ and last year’s International Presidents Cup captain for his go-to travel tips.
For starters, Immelman says, you need to make sure you have enough chargers and battery packs. That’s crucial. After that?
“TSA PreCheck and CLEAR is a must,” he said. “It’s a game-changer; there’s no doubt how much time it can save in the space of a year. Just thinking about this morning even, it must have saved 30 minutes in security just with that.”
TSA PreCheck is an expedited screening program where you apply, go through an in-person interview and, once approved, can breeze through security at airports. The application fee is $78 and it lasts five years. With CLEAR, which costs $189 for a year, you step up to a CLEAR airport pod, scan your boarding pass and verify your identify with your eyes or fingerprints before proceeding to the front of the security line.
The other key to traveling, he says, is something his wife is always good at, although she doesn’t travel with him as much anymore.
“She always pre-books all the restaurants and stuff like that [at tournaments], so we have a place to go every night,” he said. “A lot of times when you are at a big event and there’s a lot of fans in town that kind of stuff books up pretty quick. Restaurant reservations are a must.”