Are you golf clubs looking a little tired or old? Unfortunately golf clubs will age and get dirty over time which can reduce their performance and aesthetics.
Nobody wants to stand up to the ball and place a dirty looking golf club behind it. Not only does it look bad, but grooves full of dirt can affect how much the ball spins on the club face and thus makes it harder to hit the ball straight and stop the ball on the green.
Golf clubs can be an expensive piece of equipment, so it’s important that they are properly well maintained and looked after to increase their lifespan.
Luckily for you I recently played a round in bad weather, my clubs are filthy and in desperate need of a clean and polish. In this article I’ll go over the steps on how to polish golf clubs and get them looking as good as new.
Drivers and fairway woods have a smoother face and shallower grooves and therefore are much easier to wipe down clean. The need to clean and polish your driver and woods isn’t as big as the need to clean your irons.
What you will need:
- Bucket or sink
- Warm water
- Dishwasher liquid or soap
- Toothbrush or soft bristled groove cleaner
- A towel
- Chrome or steel polish
- A cloth
How to polish golf clubs - Step 1: Gather everything you need
Step 2 - Soak your clubs
Fill your sink or bucket with lukewarm water (don’t go too hot or you won’t be able to hold your clubs whilst scrubbing!) and a little dishwasher soap. Let your clubs soak for a few minutes to help loosen the dirt from within the grooves and the other hard to access areas of the cavity. If you check on the clubs and the dirt is still being stubborn, then just leave them in the water for longer.
Step 3 - Scrub, rinse & dry
Take your clubs out of the water one by one, and using your soft bristled brush, agitate the dirt inside of the grooves, the back of the club and the bottom. Ensure each individual groove is cleaned properly as even the tiniest amount of dirt can negatively impact your game. If the dirt is being stubborn, soak the clubs for longer or rinse under running water. Once your club head is clean, rinse it under cold water, dry with your towel, set aside, and repeat for every club.
Step 4: Applying your metal polish
You don’t need much metal polish to lightly coat your clubs. Apply the polishing cream to the metal surfaces in circular motions. Try your best to avoid getting it in the grooves as you’ll only have to take it back out again, and the grooves don’t need polishing – only the ‘shiny’ areas. Once it’s applied let it sit for a couple minutes, until it has dried hard.
Step 5. Polish and buff
Using your soft cloth, buff the club head until all of the dried metal polish has been removed. You should be left with a beautifully clean and shiny golf iron! Metal polishes work by removing small scratches from the surface of the metal. If you have any deeper scratches or scores on the club head (likely, if you’ve been playing with them a while) the metal polish will not remove them completely.
Before
After
How to polish golf clubs - Summary
Looking after your golfing equipment is part of the game. Unfortunately it’s an area most amateur golfer neglect. When you’re spending hundreds of dollars on a new set of irons, it’s worth the 15 minutes it takes you to clean and polish your clubs which can add years onto their lifespan.
At the very least you should have a golfing towel on your bag, so you clean your clubs in-between each shot you take.
Hopefully this article has answered your query on how to polish golf clubs. You can see from the before and after pictures above that an amazing transformation is possible. My clubs are now back in my bag and ready for the next round!