Delta Air Lines issues groveling apology and asks for a 'mulligan' after college team's golf clubs are THROWN on to the floor

Delta Air Lines has apologized and asked for a 'mulligan' after baggage handlers were filmed tossing a college team's golf bags off a plane on to the tarmac.

'Nice of @Delta to handle our clubs with such care...' the official account for East Tennessee State Men’s Golf posted on X alongside the clip.

Team members can be heard watching in disbelief and despair as their golf bags - each likely containing thousands of dollars' worth of clubs - are hauled off a conveyor belt.

One by one the clubs - protected only by a travel bag - are then tossed straight on to the floor before another staff member picks them up and throws them on to a trolley.

'We apologize to the ETSU Golf team and ask for a mulligan on how their equipment was handled,' Delta said in a statement to DailyMail.com

The video was posted on social media late on Tuesday evening, a few days before East Tennessee State is due to compete in the NCAA Championships.

The Buccaneers will take on their rivals between May 24 and May 29 at Omni La Costa Resort and Spa near San Diego. 

'We're in direct contact with the Bucs to ensure they have what they need to successfully compete in the NCAAs,' the Delta statement continued.

The championships are being hosted by the University of Texas at Austin, with East Tennessee among the teams to qualify after a regional tournament in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.

It is not immediately clear which airport the plane had landed in before the luggage was hurled on to the floor. 

By midday ET on Wednesday, the clip had been viewed nearly 4million times on X, with many golf fans slamming Delta and the baggage handlers.

It is in stark contrast to other viral videos which show staff in Japan carefully catching each suitcase as it arrives at baggage claim, with some even seen turning bags to ensure the handle is facing flyers.