Equipment Care - Dirty Golfers Are Not Welcomed!

A basic rule of golf, or any sport, is to take care of the equipment. It may be more true in golf than in other sports, but the appearance of a player and his golf accessories will tell you a lot about that person. By taking pride in your golf apparel, in particular your clubs and golf bag, and keeping everything in shape, you will look better and most importantly, your expensive golf equipment will last a lot longer.

Keep the Club Face Free of Dirt

When you hit a shot, the grooves on the face of your iron will become crusted with dirt. You really need to keep the clubface clean and free of grime. The best way to do this is to immediately wipe off the clubhead with a rag or small towel and then use the sharp end of a tee to scrape each groove.

You clean the club face not just for appearances. Removing encrusted dirt and mud, will actually help you maintain both the accuracy and distance of your shots. Using a dirty club can cause you to lose control and your ball will not reach the distances desired.

Cleaning Your Golf Balls

When you arrive at each tee box, you will see a small structure on a pole designed to help keep your golf balls clean. Some of these contraptions have a round handle on top, and some have a crank-type handle on the side.

These are called ball washers and the purpose is to enable you to clean your golf balls. You simply place the ball in the designated area and once finished, the ball will come out perfectly clean.

When cleaning your golf balls, keep it courteous. These ball washers can be extremely noisy so be sure not to use the machine when one of your playing partners is about to make a shot. It's best to wait until the swing is over before you operate the ball cleaner.

Keeping Your Shoes Clean

First, you should be wearing spiked shoes during your golf game. Second, keeping them clean is as important as keeping the rest of your equipment clean. After a golf game, be sure to scrape off any of the excess dirt and grass from the spikes before taking off your shoes.

Not only will this prevent the trunk of your car from getting dirty from your shoes, you will also be able to keep an eye on the spikes and know when it's time to get new ones installed in your shoes.

Note: You can purchase a package of spikes to keep your footing fresh at all times. Each package should come with a small wrench that has two claws. You will insert these claws into the holes at the base of your cleats in order to remove the spikes. Replace them with the new spikes but be sure not to tighten them up too hard because it may be extremely difficult to remove the spikes for future replacements.