Packing TipsHole-in-One Storage: Preparing Golf Clubs for Winter Storage
A golf club is a precision piece of sports equipment, and it must be cared for properly. This means appropriate care must be displayed in use, in transport, and in storage. Storage is an important part of every golf club owner's regimen, because most golf clubs spend the majority of their time in storage, where they must be ready for immediate use if and when they are called for. This is especially important in the winter.
It may be rare to go golfing during the winter months, but the cold temperatures and shifting humidity levels that we experience throughout most of the Northern hemisphere will have the potential to be as damaging to a set of golf clubs as the most strenuous summer has been. Fortunately, harm to golf clubs can be prevented almost entirely with basic storage techniques. It is essential to clean the clubs properly, to store them well, and to store them in the appropriate location. If these basic tasks are carried out, then the clubs should be ready to go for another season of flawless fun.
Cleaning Your Golf Clubs Before Storing
Golf clubs deserve a good cleaning after a season of use. With irons and all clubs except for woods, it is probably best to give them a good soaking. The cleaning buckets at a golf club are nowhere near thorough enough, and they may contain traces of fertilizer. Fertilizer creates rust. So the first step is to get a bucket, some warm water, and a little bit of ordinary dish soap. Put the clubs in with just a couple inches of water covering their heads, and leave them in there for a while. Use that time and a bit of that soapy water to wet a rag and clean off the heads of the wood clubs.
Wipe down the shafts and grips of the clubs as well. When that is done, scrub the club heads with a soft brush. A toothbrush is perfect. Pay close attention to the striking surface and the ferrule. The striking surface is the part of the club head that makes contact with the ball. The ferrule is the piece of plastic that covers the union between the club head and the shaft. Pieces of dirt and debris may lodge in it, gradually abrading and decaying the seal. This is very detrimental to the health and utility of the club.
When the cleansing is complete, then be certain to dry it every bit as thoroughly. Tiny amounts of water that stay on the clubs can get into the metal furrows and casings, rusting them and loosening their connections to each other. Milled putters and unplated carbon steel wedges may benefit from a thin layer of Vaseline or baby oil spread over their surface before they are placed in the head cover. This will prevent microscopic particles of rust from forming on their surface. Finally, if the clubs are to be stored somewhere with a lot of salt in the air, such as a home near the ocean, then it may be a good idea to wipe down the shafts with some #0000 gauge steel wool or chrome cleaner.
Packing Your Golf Clubs Before Storage
It is perfectly acceptable to store the clubs in their bag. A golf bag is already designed to hold clubs appropriately in a padded environment, safe from accidents and spills. So long as the bag is placed somewhere safe and flat, with nothing piled on top of it and no pressure on them, then it should be sufficient.
Placing the rain cover over the bag is an acceptable layer of precaution, though naturally clubs should never be stored anywhere that there is even a possibility of getting wet. If the clubs are going into long-term storage, then it may make sense to put them in boxes inside a nest of newspaper or packing material. However, it makes equal sense to put the entire bag in a box.
Don't Store Your Golf Clubs in the Garage or Basement
While it may be tempting to store your golf clubs in the garage or basement you may want to reconsider. Improper storage conditions can lead to rust and mold. If you have mold on your grips already then do not bother cleaning them. Mold is next to impossible to clean off of grips so you should just get it replaced. To avoid the hassle of replacing parts of your clubs, consider storing them inside a closet or at a climate controlled storage facility.
Maintaining the Storage Location For Your Clubs
Basic climate control is necessary for proper golf club storage. Variations in heat and humidity affects the differing materials of the separate parts of the clubs at different rates, causing joints and coverings to degrade and decay. The grips are especially vulnerable to this kind of mistreatment. Storage in a car trunk, an unheated garage, or an outdoor shed can cause the grips to split and fray.
Another season of hard play will exacerbate these conditions, and the cycle of strenuous use and poor storage will continue to wear away at the grips until they are useless. Wooden clubs are in a double bind when faced with this treatment. Either they will dry and crack, eventually rendering them useless, or they will expand and contract fully with the temperature and humidity, loosening their connection with the rest of the club. All this can easily be avoided by taking the clubs out of the trunk of the car, out of the garage, and leaving them in a closet or the corner of a room. This will keep them warm all winter and ready to go when the spring comes around.
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