As a non-elite, I would probably be charged at the check-in counter, no? (No CO experience - the one time so far I traveled with clubs was on US.)
And I have seen rolov's golf bag. I'm still not sure what else is in there, but I have no right to question since he laid about a 7-stroke whooping on me.
ETA: I'm surprised that the CoC still says a hard case. The soft cases (e.g. Club Glove) are much more prevalent, I'd think.