How to Properly Clean Golf Grips.
As with all tools, a proper maintenance routine guarantees effectiveness, and an all-around better experience. When handling your golf clubs, about to drive that ball down the deep with an easy swing, you’re counting on your grip to have good traction and enough pressure to maintain just the right amount of control on your swing.
It is common knowledge the average grip might last for as long as a year or 40 to 60 rounds, if you are playing a lot, so simple golf grip cleaning routines in between getting a new set should help lengthen that time or at least ensure your grips are in the best conditions. In this article, you’ll learn in easy-to-follow steps the best methods to clean your golf grip.
Why Is It Important to Clean Golf Grips?
Having flashy equipment and a passable knowledge of how best to grip that iron for a precision shot is great, but what do you do when your grip gets too slick to offer a firm hold? First, understand that this can happen for a slew of reasons, from temperature changes to sweaty palms and too much sunlight. So, to get rid of oils and dirt that have built up we endorse cleaning your grips throughout the season.
Below are a few reasons why you should clean your golf grips.
- Slippery hands: No player wants to lose a game because of a hand slip, that would be frustrating and can easily be avoided by simply cleaning your grip. It is why professional players are seen wiping their grips with a towel after taking a shot. Sweaty hands during a game are unfortunately an occurrence a lot of players are used to, so gloves and towels are always at the ready. Cleaning your golf grip ensures you do not have to worry about a slip during a game.
- Sanitary playing: Cleaning grips is not a habit professional players imbibe to inspire themselves to drive further, or a routine just for routine’s sake, doing so keeps their grips from a ton of unwanted dirt and grime after using their equipment.
- Grip firmness: Using slippery grips costs players solid strokes during rounds all the time and can inhibit shot distance, causing you to pull the ball or even swing with a complete miss. It is one of the things to consider as you play, lest you are in the zone and a whiff happens.
Regularly cleaning your golf grips can make them last much longer, and also help save money as there is less urgency to replace them!
When to Clean Golf Grips
The frequency of cleaning golf grips depends on a few factors.
- Grip style: depending on this factor, some grips need more frequent cleaning, take, for instance, soft squishy grips; these grips are different from the full-cord style and they do not stay fresh for as long.
- Hand pressure: A solid grip is always advised, but too much pressure and you develop a death grip on your clubs. This can alter the regularity of cleaning as well as make it a bit hard to play steadily.
- Frequency of play: Another factor to consider is how often you play. The more you are out on the green, the more often you will have to clean your grips – having grip cleaners such as wipes or a spray bottle on hand will prove useful if you enjoy playing frequently.
- Conditions of play: Golf players have been known to play at the oddest times during day or night, this and the condition of the terrain play a large role in how much and often you will have to clean your equipment. If you are involved in a long game, you will also need to have cleaners on hand as there is the likelihood a lot of sweating has been happening. Depending on the situation of your home course, the weather might also affect your grips. In higher humidity environments or seasons, grips can get tacky and will therefore need to be cleaned more often. On the other hand, during the cooler seasons when the air is dryer, older grips can get hard and will result in a loss of the ability to keep a solid, firm grip on your club.
Players can generally tell when it is time to clean their grips. It becomes hard or even slippery, leaving little room for a tight grip on the club.
Grips can last for a while provided they are taken care of, otherwise they end up wearing down over time due to exposure to the elements and frequent use/play. Any serious golfer will point out just how important it is to maintain your golf grips–they are as important as any other equipment. To extend the life of your grips, we recommend cleaning your grips throughout the season to remove oils and dirt that have built up.
Grips are the connection a golfer has with his club; you want to keep both clean and ready. It is also recommended to store your clubs inside to avoid the weather or extreme temperatures, which can prematurely break down the rubber. But do not fret, there are easy ways to keep your golf grips in tip-top form.
How to Clean Golf Grips
To lengthen the life of your grips, we recommend cleaning them as much as possible each season to get rid of the oils and filth which can build up with constant use. With grips being mostly a darker color, it is easy to see how golfers hardly see the unavoidable build-up of dirt left by a wide variety of culprits such as grime, oils, even leftover sunscreen.
The best strategy is to maintain your grips with a combination of methods; employ wipes and sprays for when you have to clean as you go, and a more thorough approach when you are chanced, with warm water and soap. This can be once in two weeks–depending on how often you play. Cleaning the golf clubs and balls is also always a good idea, so do not neglect that as you clean your golf grips.
Now there are a number of ways to correctly get those golf grips fit for human use, but most of them would require you to have a few things handy first;
- A bucket or a sink
- Mild dish soap
- A soft scrub brush
- A cleaning cloth
- A towel, and of course
- Water–preferably warm.
Start by mixing the soap in a bucket of warm water, use a sink if that works for you. Dip the scrub brush in the warm, soapy water and scrub the grip all around its sides, it is also okay to use that toothbrush you no longer need. Be careful not to overdo the scrubbing, that is a sure-fire way of damaging the grips (depending on the grips of course). Scrub for as long as needed (a minute to be on the safe side) and when you’re done, rinse the soap off the grip and brush with warm water, and then use the clean brush to scrub for residues. Pat dry with a towel, ensure your grips are dry before use and use a cleaning cloth to maintain it during games. Air drying grips might not get the trace amounts of soap leftover and this could do some damage in the long run, so we recommend towels or cleaning cloths.
Golf grips can get expensive, and while most players enjoy stocking up on new golf clubs, the thought of restocking grips leaves most with dread. So, cleaning them really is the more efficient option, and the other methods doing this includes;
- The use of Cleaning Wipes: Although you will spend money on them, they are cheap and easy to get, and with cleaning wipes you can clean your grips on the go, with no need for warm water or soap. Cleaning wipes are designed to eliminate oils, dirt, and sweat, and it really can be said to be simple as only a few wipes are enough to clean up an entire set of golf clubs. Having cleaning wipes on hand is great, but if that is not your speed, try washing with soap and warm water and then having an extra towel in your bag to keep them dry. The dryer the grip, the more pressure you have during the round.
- Spray Cleaners: There are a number of biodegradable sprays in the market today just right for your grips, all you have to do is spray and wipe. Plus, most of them can clean not just grips but the golf clubs and balls. Wipe immediately after, apply a little pressure with the cloth and rotate your wrist back and forth to rub it into every side of your grip. Move your hand up towards the top of your grip as you rotate the cloth to cover every section of the grip.
See, easy ways… Make sure you keep your grips fresh and store them inside to extend the life of your grips.
