After watching the pros play recently without their caddies, I noticed something they do that I don’t do nearly enough and I wonder if you do also.  No, not shooting constant birdies, but cleaning the grooves on the clubs, especially the wedges.

Watching them play without their caddies were a real eye-opener.  Not only seeing them hump their own bags around (except for Phil and Tiger) and choosing their own clubs for the shot; but I noticed that after their shots they looked down at their clubface, reached in their pocket, pulled out a tee and…….wait for it…..cleaned the grooves on the club.

That was a real eye-opener for me.  The pros clean (or have their caddies clean) the grooves of their clubs because they know how important it is to have clean contact each and every time they make contact with the ball.  The grooves serve a purpose and keeping them clean throughout your round will help you perform better.  And let’s face it, we all want any edge that we can get.

Look at it this way; try to imagine hitting a shot with one of your irons without any grooves at all.  Nope, not a single one on the clubface.  This means that whenever you strike your ball, the possibility of it sliding up the face is greater.  Hence putting the grooves on the clubface.  Now, what effect do you think that you get when your grooves are all filled with dirt, sand, grass, or any other cosmic debris?  That’s right, you have basically reduced the effectiveness of the whole design of the club’s loft and distance.

Now, we’re not talking rocket science here or the need for any special equipment.  In fact, just a towel and a golf tee will do just fine.  Make sure that you bring a towel with you, any kind will do actually, and wet one end of it before your round.  You can use the restroom before or during play, or use that bottle of water that’s been in your bag since last year (face it, it’s most likely undrinkable anyway).  After a shot just use the wet end of the towel, give the clubface a good rub with the rough side of the towel and follow it up with the dry side.  There, that took what….four seconds?  If there is anything that looks really embedded, that’s when you use the tee.  A word of advice, use a wooden or plastic tee if possible.  You don’t want to damage the grooves by using metal or anything too harsh.

Yes, you can also invest in a golf brush.  Or, me being the frugal golfer that I am, just go to the Dollar Store and in the hardware, aisle get a pack of mini wire brushes.  Now, here’s the secret to using these brushes; find the brass and soft bristle brush and put them to the side.  Take the stiff wire on and either put it in your toolbox or throw it away!  Remember what I just said about not using anything too harsh on your clubs?  That steel brush can really cause some damage.  So, use the brass brush on your irons and use the soft bristles on your woods or any club with a smooth face and very shallow grooves.  

Again, wet towel; tee or brush; dry towel.  Or maybe you can be a real rebel and use the tee or brush first and then the towel.   Whew!  I’m exhausted just thinking about that process.

                           Wet Towel End                                              Dry Towel End

                           Tee for the grit                                      Much better and ready for play!

So, keep it clean, hit it pure and let us know if this little bit of encouragement helped your round.

Play well,

Joe