Keeping your clubs in top shape is easy if you apply a little discipline and create a routine during and after you play a round of golf. The golf club has three main components; the clubhead, the shaft, and the grip. Each requires a small amount of care to be maintained in top condition which will provide you the best performance.
CLUB HEAD/FACE
The face of a clubhead has grooves on it, and they are there for a purpose. They create the spin on the ball when you hit it. Without spin you could not get the ball airborne leave alone hit a draw, a fade, or stop it on the green. Keep your grooves clean throughout the round. Always have a towel attached to your bag for this purpose, and before the round get one end of the towel wet. (Do not dip your towel into a water hazard to wet, as you could be penalized for testing the condition of a hazard) After you hit each shot wipe the face of the club with the wet end of the towel and all the grass and mud will easily come out of the grooves. Then dry the face with the other end of the towel. If you do this after each shot your clubface will always be ready to hit the next shot. You do not need to delay play when you do this, you can easily clean your club as you walk from one shot to the next. If you delay cleaning the face the mud and grass will dry and become stuck to the face making it much more difficult to clean.
After you have completed your round you should again clean the faces of each club and at this time it is useful to use a soft bristled brush to make sure they are perfect.
SHAFTS
The shafts of your clubs do not require much maintenance whether they are steel or graphite. After the completion of each round as you are cleaning the grooves on your clubfaces, just wipe the shaft down to remove any debris that may have attached itself. However if you are caught in the rain on the course and your clubs become wet with water dripping down the shafts inside the golf bag, be sure to remove them all from the bag, dry them off, and leave them out while the inside of the bag dries overnight. Leaving them wet, or putting them back into a wet golf bag could cause corrosion which would weaken the shaft and diminish its performance.
GRIPS
Modern clubs have rubber or composite grips that will last about 100 rounds of golf (depending on how many times you hit it each round). But dirt and perspiration will build up on the grips and cause them to get slick. About every ten rounds or so you should clean them. In a sink run the grip under a light steam of water. Put one drop of dish washing soap on the grip and brush them with a soft bristle brush. Rinse the soap off and dry with a towel. Then leave them out of your bag for a few hours to air dry. You will be amazed at how tacky they will get – almost like new. After about 100 rounds though they will be worn down and at that time they should be replaced with new grips. Regripping is not too difficult and you may learn to do it yourself, but it is not very expensive to have a golf shop do it for you and assure a neat professional job.