Luke is an avid weekend-warrior golfer from the East Coast who plays golf more than he cares to admit.
Golf clubs can be a significant investment and although they will suffer from natural wear and tear over years of use, you can slow down this process by taking good care of them. Here’s how to clean golf clubs from the experts.
If you don’t take good care of your clubs they will not only need replacing but will also affect your performance on the greens.
Luckily, cleaning golf clubs effectively is not a difficult task. In this article, we will explain how to clean your golf clubs and keep them at their best.
The Materials You Need To Clean Golf Clubs
Luckily, cleaning golf clubs doesn’t need any special equipment or cleaning agents but it is best to make sure you have everything at hand before you start.
Fill a bucket with lukewarm water and add a couple of squirts of dishwashing liquid detergent.
There are special cleaners for golf clubs available but you don’t really need to buy these as dishwasher detergent will do the job effectively. You will also need a couple of towels and a brush.
For cleaning golf clubs, the brush is the most important item.
There are many brushes for sale that are designed just for cleaning golf clubs and you can purchase one of these if you wish, but an old toothbrush will also be suitable.
You will need some space as you clean your golf clubs due to the length of the grips so why not take advantage of a nice day and clean your clubs outside?
Cleaning your golf clubs on a sunny day in the backyard or on your porch can be a relaxing and enjoyable activity and doesn’t need to feel like a chore.
Now let’s look at how to clean different types of golf clubs.
How To Clean Golf Clubs
Different types of clubs require slightly different methods of cleaning so let’s look at how to clean each type of club in turn.
How To Clean Golf Irons
Cleaning your irons is very important as they won’t perform as well if they are dirty and covered in mud or grass.
Irons are designed so that the grooves on their faces help to spin the ball in the air so that it can land softly on the green. If the grooves are covered in dirt, this won’t be as smooth and your golf balls won’t land as you want them to.
- Begin by dipping your iron into your bucket of lukewarm water.
- Take your brush and scrub the entire head and face, making sure that the brush gets into all of the grooves and removes any dirt there.
- Remove the iron from the water and use a towel to wipe it clean of any dirt and debris that is still present.
- Put the iron back into your water again and use a towel to dry it once more.
- If there is still dirt and debris, use your brush again and keep repeating the previous steps until it is clean.
Even though you will have wiped your iron dry with a towel, don’t immediately put it back into your golf bag. Instead, wait until you have cleaned all of your irons and allow them all to air dry first.
You can make the cleaning process easier by taking care of your irons when you play.
Dirt is easier to remove when it is still wet and hasn’t had the chance to dry, so take a cloth with you as you play through the course and wipe your irons after every shot so the dirt doesn’t accumulate.
How To Clean Golf Woods
The method for effectively cleaning drivers, fairway woods, and hybrids is a little different from cleaning irons but shares many of the same steps.
Woods typically don’t get as dirty as irons as they are used to hit a ball from a tee and don’t come into contact with the ground as much as irons do.
Their shallower grooves mean that dirt can’t accumulate in quite the same way, too. However, that doesn’t mean that you don’t need to clean them.
If your woods do get dirty, it means that your ball is more likely to curve and won’t land where you want it to.
- Dip the wood into your bucket of lukewarm water
- Remove the wood and clean the head with your brush. You don’t need to spend as much time as you do with your irons on this step, but you should still take care to brush every part of the head
- Put the wood back into the water again to remove some of the loose dirt
- Wipe the entire head of the wood dry with a towel
As with your irons, allow your woods some time to air dry before putting them away. If you put a headcover onto the woods while they are still damp, moisture can become trapped and lead to mildew or a bad smell.
How To Clean Shafts and Grips
It’s not just the heads of your clubs that need cleaning. Make sure you take care of the shafts and grips too as these can also affect how your clubs perform.
If you clean and look after your grips well, you won’t need to replace them as often. In fact, many golfers unnecessarily replace their grips when all they need to do is clean them correctly.
Before paying to get your clubs regripped, we would recommend cleaning them a couple of times first.
You might find that a good cleaning will breathe new life into your grips and avoid the expense and inconvenience of getting your clubs regripped.
- Moisten a small towel and wipe down your grips
- Use a second towel to dry the grips
- If there are stubborn patches of dirt, use a brush and cleaner to remove the dirt
- Dry the grip again
Mixing dishwasher detergent with lukewarm water will also make a suitable cleaner for your grips. However, you can also use a specifically formulated golf club cleaner if you wish.
