Introduction
So you have gotten the golf bug and you just finished your first round of a golf. Your clubs look a little different then when you first bought them? Sure when you went to the driving range you’re used to a little green film on the bottom of your irons and metal woods, but now you have you have to deal with dirt all over your club heads.
Have no fear, we have been in your shoes before and we will walk you through each of the steps needed to clean your golf clubs just like we have with many golfers in the past and you won’t need a golf club cleaning kit to do it!
Why should I clean my golf clubs?
Aside from the obvious reasons to keep your golf equipment in tiptop condition there are also other reasons to consider.
It’s no secret that nice fairway woods and a new set of irons cost a lot of money and surely you want to protect that investment.
Regularly cleaning golf clubs can increase a golf club’s longevity and preserve a clubs resale value if you ever decide to upgrade your fairway woods or golf irons down-the-road.
Cleaning your golf clubs is especially important for higher lofted clubs like wedges, keeping your grooves clean will create more spin on the golf ball and allow you greater control over your shots.
It also has the added benefit of making your golf clubs shine allowing your golf bag stand above the rest!
What happens if you don’t clean your golf clubs?
Other than just not looking nice, a dirty club face will not inspire confidence when addressing the golf ball. Clean irons and wedges are one of the many keys for any avid golfer to shoot lower scores.
Mud on the club face can cause shots to start off line, cause lower than desired spin and eventually results in higher scores than if you simply took a soft bristle brush to your clubs or gave your irons a quick wipe with a towel in between each shot.
That is why it is so important to start each round with clean golf clubs.
How often should you clean golf clubs?
Cleaning your golf clubs is just important to your golf success as is spending time on the practice putting green.
Some golfers clean their clubs every few rounds and other more obsessive golfers clean their club heads with a wet towel and a soft bristle brush in-between each shot on the golf course.
We typically find a middle ground, cleaning our clubs with a damp cloth in between shots while playing golf and then doing a more intricate cleaning process with our golf clubs indoors to remove the remaining dirt with a club cleaning brush or an old toothbrush and a small towel.
Regardless regular cleaning will prevent rust buildup on the chrome plating on your irons and keep your golf club heads in the best possible condition.
What’s the best way to clean golf club heads?
The best way to clean golf clubs depends on the resources you have available to you. Below we will highlight two cleaning methods of how to best clean golf clubs:
How to Clean Golf Clubs – Option #1 – Access to a Sink and Warm Water
- Step 1: Soak the club head under lukewarm running water
- Step 2: Clean the grooves using a soft bristled brush or an old toothbrush (Some golfers like to use dishwashing liquid along with the brush, but we don’t find it necessary)
- Step 3: Clean the club head with the same soft bristle brush removing all the mud out of the logos and identifying club numbering
- Step 4: Rinse with warm water and inspect the golf club
- Step 5 [Final Step]: Dry the club head with your golf towel or another soft towel
How to Clean Golf Clubs – Option #2 – No Access to a Sink
- Step 1: Fill up a bucket with warm water (Some people like to use dishwashing liquid, but we don’t find it necessary unless your clubs are extremely dirty) and soak your clubs in the lukewarm water
- Step 2: Clean the grooves using a brush with plastic bristles or an old toothbrush
- Step 3: Clean the club head with the same soft bristle brush removing dirt out of the logos and identifying club numbering
- Step 4: Dunk the clubs back in the lukewarm water and inspect the golf club
- Step 5 [Final Step]: Dry the club head with a dry cloth or another soft towel
How do professional golfers clean their clubs?
Fortunately for professional golfers they also have professional caddies who know how to clean golf clubs.
Keep Your Golf Clubs Clean on the Course
As we mentioned above having clean golf irons will impart more spin on the golf ball leading to more control and hopefully lower scores.
At the very least we think it is important to give your clubs a quick wipe with a towel especially if you faced a particularly muddy lie on the shot prior!
Cleaning Grips
Most golfers neglect to properly maintain their golf club grips. Golfers can accumulate dirt over time and wear down their grip.
While we don’t clean our grips as often as we clean our metal woods and other clubs; cleaning your grips is an important step of cleaning your golf clubs.
Typically we will fill a bucket with warm soapy water using our favorite dishwashing liquid. Then we will place all of our clubs grip-side down and we will lean the golf club shafts against a wall or another sturdy surface.
We will also put a towel down across the clubs to protect each club head. Then on-by-one we will take a club out and thoroughly clean each grip with a soft bristle brush and then rinse of any of the remaining soapy water.
Once rinsed you can either let the club air-dry or take a towel and rub down the grip until dry.
Can you use Windex on golf clubs?
We don’t recommend using Windex on golf club heads, not because it is ineffective, but rather it is unnecessary.
However, Windex is one of the best kept secrets in golf just not in the way you think.
We use Windex on our golf grips all the time. Windex improves the tackiness of our golf grips as they get more worn overtime.
It is only a two step process:
- Lightly spray your golf grip with Windex
- Then with an old towel rub the down the grip removing the Windex from the golf grip.
The improvement in tackiness is immediate. If you don’t notice it right away it probably means it is time for new grips!
Removing Rust On Clubs
So you have had your clubs long enough that they are beginning to have a rust spot.
We will show you how to clean rust off your clubs and the solution may be already sitting in your pantry!
Other ways to keep your clubs performing well
After learning how to clean golf clubs, you may be wondering if there are other things you should be doing to keep your golf clubs performing well.
Don’t let a rainy day ruin your clubs
Some golfers will play in rain and it’s not usually fun! The one positive is that the golf course will be a little less crowded so hopefully you can play in record time.
When you get caught in the elements your first thought when you finish is to dry yourself off and warm yourself back-up, but we neglect to take care of our golf clubs which we often just throw into the trunk of our car until the next time we play.
It is important to take the following steps after completing your round and you are back to where you are staying.
- Bring your clubs inside
- Remove each club from the back and let the clubs air dry
- Open each pocket of your golf bag, and remove the items in each pocket and let those air dry as well
- Once everything air-dried for a few hours you can then wipe down each club
- We typically like letting everything dry overnight before putting our bag back together
Groove Sharpener
Using a groove sharpener is a quick way to revitalize old worn out grooves in wedges and bring the club heads back to life and once again spin golf balls hard towards the pin.
Keep That Head Cover On Your Most Expensive Clubs
The price tag on a new driver or putter can easily exceed $500.
To protect your new investment it is important to always keep your head covers on your woods and putter especially when riding in a golf cart.
This will help avoid “bag chatter” which are those small dings and dents you may see on your irons and wedges.
Conclusion
While taking the time to clean your golf clubs is not the most exciting aspect of the game of golf it is still an important skill to be familiar with and will have added benefits to your game!