Dirty golf clubs just don't look very professional!

How much did you pay for your set of golf clubs? Regardless if you bought a brand-new set off the rack or found a used set online, your clubs were a significant investment. 

With proper maintenance and cleaning you can use your clubs for years. If you do decide to upgrade, the resale value will be impacted by how well you took care of them. Read on to learn some effective golf club cleaning techniques to treat your clubs like the investment they are.

How To Clean Your Golf Clubs at Home Quickly.

Not everyone has the time to give their golf clubs the time & attention that they deserve. If you're one of the people who's always in a rush, you can try these 2 faster methods below. Just keep in mind that they aren't the most effective:

Get an old towel and run half of it under some water. Bring it and your golf clubs outside. Wipe the clubs down with the wet end and dry them with the dry end. Unfortunately, this will only make your clubs look nice. You have to dig into the grooves to get rid of all that excess dirt weight.

Hold the grip of each golf club in one hand and the hose of a power washer in the other. Fire the power washer spray directly at the gold club. This should clear all the dirt out of the grooves of your golf club. Keep in mind, though, that the power of a power washer can severely degrade golf clubs over time. You should only use this technique once or twice a year.

Techniques For Cleaning Different Types of Golf Clubs.

If you can afford to spend more time cleaning your golf clubs, consider using a different golf club cleaning routine for each type of club in your set:

Gather your golf cleaning supplies first. Get a plastic bucket, a mild dishwashing detergent, an old toothbrush, and an old towel. Then fill the bucket up with enough warm soapy water (not hot) to cover the heads of your irons. Put your irons in the bucket and let them soak for a couple of minutes. Then use the old toothbrush to clean out all the dirt. Rinse the clubs with a garden hose (you can use the sink, but dirt isn't good for your plumbing) and dry them with the old towel.

Woods and putters shouldn't be soaked in sudsy water. Rather, you should just dip them in sudsy water, wipe them down with a moist towel and dry them with a dry cloth. You can rub the old toothbrush on the grooves of your woods and/or putters if your clubs have them but do so gently. The case is a bit different if you own persimmons woods. You should only wipe these with a moist towel and then dry them immediately.

A Method For Removing Golf Club Rust.

Some golfers might swear that using WD-40 is the best way to get rid of the rust on their golf clubs. This can work, but it's not a good idea if your golf clubs have any specialist finishes on them. WD-40 can remove these finishes.

Vinegar is a better alternative that won't run those finishes. To clean off golf club rust, put some WD-40 or vinegar on your golf clubs. Rub this over the rust on your golf clubs and it should clear up.

How to Clean Your Golf Club Grips.

You probably noticed that the above techniques only covered cleaning the shafts and clubheads and not the golf club grips. You may not have been surprised by that because you think, as many people do, that golf grips are not cleanable. This isn't the case and you can find a good method for cleaning golf club grips below:

The method for cleaning your golf club grips involves the same golf club cleaning supplies as the methods for cleaning irons, woods, putters, and wedges. The difference is that you don't soak the grips in water.

Rather, you take the old toothbrush and dip it in the soap and water mixture. You then rub this on your grips. Do this gently, but still try to get into all of the cracks.

Then you take a towel, dip it in plain water, and use that to get the soap out of your grips. Once the soap is gone, use a dry towel to dry off your golf club grips.

Extra Methods For Cleaning Your Golf Clubs.

If you want to spiff up your golf clubs you can use one or more of the following methods. However, you don't need to use them:

It's possible to polish your golf clubs to make them shine. You can just use a regular chrome or steel polish to do this. To polish your golf clubs, you first need to gently rub the polish in. Then you need to let that sit for a moment before you remove it. Get all of the polish off.

Do you have minor paint scratches on your golf clubs? Toothpaste is one of the best ways for you to remove those paint scratches.

Methods For Keeping Your Golf Clubs Clean & Performance Ready.

Now that you know how to clean golf clubs, your gear will be performing well for longer! However, there are still some additional actions you should take as well:

If you are an avid golfer you have probably played in the rain. It happens. Your clubs are engineered to work in all weather conditions, but they are not built to sit in a golf bag for hours after your round. If you get caught in the elements, take the following steps at the end of your round.

• Remove your clubs from your bag.
• Wipe them down with a towel and leave them out of your bag for a few hours.
• Remove your golf essentials to help your bag dry (gloves, towels, etc.). 

A new driver can cost $400 or more - you need to protect this investment. During your round, make sure you put your headcover on it following every shot. The head probably won’t get damaged, but the shaft can be worn down by rubbing on the top of your bag.

Now that you know how to clean golf club grips, shafts, rust, etc., you can see an improvement in your game. Just make sure that you create a regular golf club cleaning routine that will keep those golf clubs spotless.