Care · 3 min read
How to look after your golf clubs
Most of the performance people lose from their clubs is lost to neglect rather than wear. Grooves fill, grips glaze over, and both happen slowly enough that you don't notice until the ball stops checking.
After every round
Clean the grooves. A wet towel and a tee is enough. Packed grooves cut spin dramatically on wedges and short irons — it's the difference between a ball that checks and one that releases through the green.
Once a month
Wash the grips with warm soapy water and a brush, then dry them properly. Grips glaze with hand oils and sunscreen, and a glazed grip makes you hold on tighter, which tightens your forearms and costs you clubhead speed. It's the cheapest speed you'll ever find.
Things that quietly ruin clubs
Leaving them in a car boot through a Lincolnshire winter — temperature cycling degrades grips and epoxy. Leaving them wet in the bag. And headcover-free woods knocking together in the boot, which is where most crown damage actually happens, not on the course.
- Re-grip roughly every 40 rounds, or annually if you play less
- Get lofts and lies checked yearly — they move, especially in forged irons
- Store somewhere dry and temperature-stable, not the garage
