Where Are Your Golf Clubs Right Now?

As the holiday song says, “Baby it’s cold outside.”

If your clubs are stored anywhere that’s chilly, you should move them.

Cold = Bad

In short, the trunk of your car and/or your garage, (unless it’s temperature controlled) are not where you should store your clubs.

The cold will accelerate the deterioration of your grips leading to cracking and making them prematurely slippery.  It can even affect the epoxy that helps secure your clubhead to the shaft.  Shafts, both graphite and metal, are best stored at room temperature.  Cold makes them brittle over time.  (If your golf club stores your clubs for you, make sure they are careful about the temperature of the room.)

The best place is find a corner of your closet, extra bedroom or office, and store your clubs there.

Clean = Good

Have you ever really cleaned your clubs…I mean deep cleaned?  I’m talking about more than just swiping them with a wet rag when you’re leaving the course.  Grass and dirt left in the grooves will only be more difficult to remove later.  Dish soap, warm water and a toothbrush work perfect.  And you can use mild soap and water for most all grips, except on Winn grips, which are the exception because they’re synthetic.  Winn grips require water only and no scrubbing.  If you live in a humid climate, you can use a light coat of vaseline on the faces which will prevent rusting on your irons and wedges.  However, you must wipe it off under the Rules when you play again.

New Grips?

Finally, look carefully at your grips.  If you haven’t replaced them in several years, it may be time.  You’d be amazed at the difference new grips make.  The golf stores all carry a large selection of grips.  For a few bucks per club they will re-grip your clubs after you select new grips.  By the way, they make some nice cushy grips that feel good on your hands.  Check those out, especially if you have a little arthritis in your hands like I do.

Feeling handy?  Did you know you can do it yourself?  You can buy grips online or at the golf store.  Then you’ll need to purchase a hook knife, grip tape stripper, double-sided tape and Goo-Gone.  Here’s a video of how to re-grip a club on YouTube.  My husband can’t cook dinner, let alone a grilled cheese sandwich, but he can regrip my clubs.  Bonus:  with this equipment in your garage, next year any time a grip gets slippery you can just replace it— five minutes and viola’.  Once you learn how to do it, it’s easy.