Things you will need to clean your golf clubs:
One of the tasks of a caddie is to keep the pro’s clubs clean on and off the course. We are going to show you how to clean your golf clubs, the right way.
- Cleaning brush – easy to grip and manoeuvre around the club head. A wheel brush works well for this and is not too abrasive on your grips (yes you need to clean your grips)
- Small groove brush
- Soap – dishwashing soap
- Magic sponge
- Cloth
- 2 x buckets – we prefer a shallow rectangular container with approximate dimensions of 80x60x20cm (55 – 60L)
- Sonic scrubber – to get into small, recessed areas (not essential but nice to have)
- T-Cut scratch remover
- Microfiber cloth
Step 1: Getting prepared to clean your golf clubs
Fill your bucket with lukewarm water and soap. Fill the second bucket with cold water. Do not use extremely hot water as this can cause the epoxy in the hosel of your iron head to break its bond with the shaft! Briefly soak your golf irons and wedges before you start scrubbing with the cleaning brush.
Step 2: Cleaning your grips
Wet your cleaning brush in the lukewarm soapy water and start scrubbing your grips. When you are done, briefly rinse your grips and dry with a cloth. Try not to soak your grips when cleaning and rinsing them as you do not want water getting underneath the grip or through the top of the grip cap. When you are finished drying your grips, they will look clean and feel tackier. If they don’t then consider buying a new set of golf grips. Ecaddie Steve has explained why we should regrip our clubs, so start there.
You grips should be cleaned after approximately 5 rounds of golf. This is not a hard rule though, if your grips look and feel dirty then they should be cleaned.
Step 3: Cleaning your iron heads and shafts
Scrub the heads of your clubs, removing stubborn dirt in the back cavities and on the face of the head. If your clubs have been left dirty for some time, then often there will be dried mud stuck between the grooves on the face or in small, recessed areas. Switch to your small groove brush or sonic scrubber to remove stubborn dirt. Wipe down the shafts with a damp cloth. Graphite shafts will often have more visible marks then steel shafts. A useful tip is to use a magic sponge to remove marks on graphite shafts. These marks often occur from moving your clubs in and out of your bag. A magic sponge works like super-fine sandpaper and will remove the surface layer of marks on your graphite shafts.
Step 4: Optional- Polish your iron heads
Lastly, if you want your iron heads to shine then consider polishing them with T-Cut and a microfiber cloth. Apply a small amount of T-Cut onto your microfiber cloth and in small circular motions rub the T-Cut onto your iron head. This will remove very light scratches and hard to remove ball marks on the the face of your iron heads. The more elbow grease (or we should say thumb grease) you apply, the more shine your clubs will show.
That’s it, your clubs should be clean and shiny, ready to go for another round of golf.
