Is it about time you cleaned your golf clubs and grips?
Are you 100% sure what’s the best way to do clean them? After all, you don’t want to damage your pride and joys, do you? In this article, we’ll show you the best way to clean golf clubs thus avoiding any costly mistakes.
What equipment will you need?
Clubhead cleaning: Bucket or bowl, washing up liquid, 2 Lint-free clothes, old toothbrush
Driver head cleaning: Lint-Free cloth, and a microwave or hot water, old toothbrush
Golf Grips: Bucket, dish soap (washing up liquid), Scrubbing brush, Lint-Free dry cloth, and a golf Tee. (Kits are available)
There are kits available online for cleaning your clubs they contain all the equipment you’ll need to clean your clubs in a handy case. This would be a great gift idea. I just use the equipment listed above which I keep in my garage to use after every round.
Let us get started-How to clean golf clubs and grips
How to clean golf clubs and grips
#1 Prepare your bucket
Add a drop or two of dish soap (washing up liquid) to your bucket or bowl and fill with a couple of inches of warm water, just enough to cover the club head and just below the ferrules. Don’t use hot water (only warm water) as this can loosen the ferrules if you get them wet.
#2 Place your clubs in the bucket to soak
Place your clubs (specifically your iron heads) in the soapy lukewarm water and leave to sit for no longer than 5 minutes. This is enough to loosen any dirt or muck that’s stuck in the grooves.
#2 Clean your grooves
One by one take the clubs out and using your old toothbrush start to scrub the grooves. Never be tempted to use a wire brush, this could do long-lasting damage to your clubs. Cleaning the dirt and muck out of the grooves is one of the main reasons for cleaning your clubs. Removing all the mud and dirt from the grooves will give you better contact with the ball when out on the course. Especially on your wedges, spin control is lost when the grooves are filled with mud so it’s very important to keep them clean and free from dirt.
Check out our review – Best golf irons
# 3 Rinse the grooves
Once all the grooves are cleaned rinse the iron heads in cold water and dry with a lint-free cloth. Don’t let them air dry or sit in the sun as this can cause damage to your clubs. Avoid getting the shaft wet. Inspect the grooves and if all are clean then move onto the next stage which is cleaning the rest of the clubhead. If the grooves are not clean then repeat this process. If you find your grooves are worn and not coming clean you can get a tool to sharpen and clean them up. This will give you better spin and control over the golf ball.
#4 Cleaning the rest of the clubhead
Then you need to clean the base and back of the club heads. I like to use a warm damp cloth for this. This for me is different for everyone depending on the clubs and how they’re made. I have had some sets where the logo on the back of the clubhead is glued on and if you leave them to soak for too long it can come loose. So I thought of a better idea, take a wet lint-free cloth and microwave it for one minute. The cloth becomes hot and still damp. Then use this cloth to clean all areas of the club head. It works really well.
# 5 Drying stage
The final step is to dry your clubs, don’t leave them to air dry as this can cause damage to the club. Never place any club back into your bag without it being 100% dry otherwise you can damage your clubs and also make your bag go moldy.
How to clean your driver, woods or hybrids
#1 Cleaning golf driver clubhead
Don’t place your driver or woods into the water, as the heads can leak water inside them and damage your club. If water goes inside the golf club it can take ages to get the water out and who knows what damage has been done inside. Take a lint-free dry cloth and soak in water, ring out the excess water and place in a microwave for 1 minute. Then take out the cloth whilst still hot and damp and use this to wipe all areas of the club head to clean all the dirt off. If you haven’t got a microwave then dip the lint-free cloth into hot water for a few seconds then ring off the excess water and use that.
#2 Grooves
The grooves on a driver clubface are not as deep as the ones on your irons but it’s still important to clean them. Mine are white and when they get dirty they go black and you can’t tell I even have grooves when you look at them. Dip your old toothbrush in lukewarm soapy water and scrub lightly on the driver/wood clubface until all the dirt has gone.
#3 Drying
Use a lint-free cloth to dry every inch of the clubface, again don’t leave to air dry or leave in the sun as this can cause damage to your clubs.
How to clean your golf club grips
#1 Preparing to clean your golf grips
Before cleaning your golf club grips with soapy water you need to plug the end of the grip so that water doesn’t get into the shaft causing it to rust. I use a golf tee as it fits perfectly and won’t damage your grip and we all have these to hand. See the picture above. Cleaning your grips is very important to ensure you have a solid grip on the club when taking your swing. Any dirt or grease on the grip can be lethal and cause you to lose control of the club through your swing. Fill a bucket or bowl with lukewarm water and add a small amount of washing up liquid and make some bubbles.
#2 Start scrubbing
Never soak the grips in water! Simply take one club at a time and use the scrubbing brush to apply water and soak to the grip and scrub up and down lengthways. Never scrub left to right or across as this can loosen and move the grip. Remove all the muck and dirt from the golf grip.
#3 Drying
Use a dry Lint free cloth and dry each golf club grip and inspect for any damage. Any signs that the grip has moved or any old damage should always be dealt with by having the grip replaced. Kits are available to re-grip your clubs CLICK HERE.
The last thing you want is the grip to come off halfway through your backswing. Make sure to dry any water that may have found its way on to the shaft.
How to clean a golf shaft
I found the best way to clean a steel golf shaft it by using Baby wet wipes. They contain harmless ingredients which won’t harm a baby’s bottom never mind your golf club shaft. So they’re safe to use.
Simply rub the wet wipe up and down the shaft to remove excess dirt and muck and then dry with a Lint-Free cloth. Never spray chemicals or WD40 on the shafts as this can cause damage to other parts of the golf club if it gets onto those areas. 
Never be tempted to use wire wool, it will end up scratching the shaft and this will annoy you when the sun hits your shaft and you see all those scratches.
Final Thoughts- All clean and ready to play!
Playing golf is part Physical and part mental and starting off on the first Tee with a shiny clean set of golf clubs gives you a nice feeling.
We hope this short post on how to clean golf clubs and grips helped you get ready to play well and shoot low.
