How to Clean Golf Clubs (UK Guide)
Warm soapy water, a soft brush and about ten minutes a club is how you clean golf clubs properly, and it is the cheapest thing you can do to protect the spin you paid for. Irons and wedges can be dunked up to the ferrule, while woods and the driver should only ever see a damp cloth. Dry everything before it goes back in the bag, skip the dishwasher and the wire brush, and the whole job takes less time than a cup of tea.
- A bowl of warm water with a drop of washing-up liquid, a soft brush and ten minutes a club is the whole method.
- Irons and wedges can be dunked up to the ferrule, but woods, hybrids and the driver should only ever see a damp microfibre towel, because soaking a hollow head is how you start a rattle.
- Dry every club before it goes back in the bag, since damp clubs in a cold bag are how rust gets started.
- A bag brush with a groove cleaner covers the mid-round jobs, while a full care kit suits a winter deep clean.
Why cleaning your clubs matters
Grime in the grooves is not just untidy. The grooves on an iron or a wedge exist to channel water, grass and grit away from the strike so the face can grip the ball, and a groove packed with dried mud cannot do that. The R&A equipment rules set limits on groove geometry precisely because that shape changes how a ball behaves, which tells you the shape is worth looking after. A clean face also lets you inspect the face, and the same wipe that lifts the mud is when you spot the rust bloom or the chip you would rather know about before it costs you a shot.
The same logic is why used golf balls get washed before they go back in play, so if you buy them by the sack then our guide to cleaning used golf balls is the companion piece to this one. For the distance side of the same question, how far you should hit each golf club covers lofts and gapping, and how many wedges a beginner should carry explains why wedges in particular live or die on clean grooves.
What you need before you start
You do not need much, and most of it is already in the kitchen. A bucket or basin deep enough to submerge a clubhead, warm water you would happily wash your hands in, a squirt of ordinary washing-up liquid, a soft-bristle brush or an old toothbrush, and a clean microfibre towel for drying. A pocket brush with a groove cleaner earns its place in the bag, and a microfibre cart towel usually does more work than any other tool, because you reach for it every round rather than once a month. A golf bag with a towel loop and a couple of pockets is what keeps all of it findable.
How to clean irons and wedges
Irons and wedges take the most punishment and they are also the easiest to clean, because a solid clubhead can be dunked without much worry. Fill the bucket with warm water and a few drops of washing-up liquid, then stand the clubheads in it so the water sits just below the ferrule, the collar where the head meets the shaft. Soaking a ferrule for hours can soften the adhesive that holds it, so five to ten minutes is plenty and there is no reason to leave them in longer.
Lift one club at a time and work a soft brush along the face and the grooves, dragging it slowly from heel to toe rather than scrubbing at the middle of the face. Packed grooves need the brush to travel along them, which pulls dirt out instead of pushing it deeper. A dedicated brush with a groove cleaner does the same job with less fuss, and a pair of Therwen groove tools shifts the hardest dried mud from the bottom of a groove.
Rinse each club under a cold tap, then dry it straight away with a towel. Water left on a chrome face is how you get the small rust blooms that turn up on irons which have spent a winter in a shed, and the inside of the hosel is the spot people forget. Dry the club, check the face for wear and put it back in the bag. If your set is due an upgrade, our irons for high handicappers guide covers what to look at.
How to clean woods, hybrids and your driver
Woods, hybrids and the driver are a different job, and the rule is simple: never soak them. Most modern heads are hollow, and the joints between the crown and the sole were never designed to be submerged, so water that finds a seam can sit inside a head you cannot open. Dampen a microfibre cloth in warm water with a drop of soap and wipe the face and the sole, then use a soft brush on the face only if mud is packed into the grooves. Keep the brush off the crown, because most woods have a painted or gloss finish that marks if you scrub it.
The Callaway trifold towel suits this job, since the folded layers give you a damp side for the mud and a dry side for the finish, and the clip-on Desenda towel does the same for a few pounds. Dry the head straight away and put it back in its cover, which is where most of the protection actually comes from. Our drivers for beginners guide is worth a look if the head has seen better days.
How to clean a putter
Putter care is the easiest part of the routine and the one most people skip. A wipe with a damp cloth after each round handles almost everything, because a putter face rarely collects more than grass and sand. Give it a deeper clean a few times a season and treat it like a wood rather than an iron: damp microfibre, a soft brush over the face grooves, and no soaking. Many putters have a urethane or milled insert set into the head, and a long bath is a risk you do not need to take for a club that a towel will clean in seconds.
If you are weighing up whether a new flatstick is worth the money, our explainer on whether expensive putters make a difference gives the honest answer, and measuring yourself for a broomstick putter is here for anyone playing something unusual.
How to clean your grips
Grips are the one part of the club where water needs care. Dampen a microfibre cloth in warm water with a drop of soap, wipe each grip from end to end including the underside, then dry it with a clean towel. Do not soak a grip and do not use a bristle brush on one, because both wear the surface that is supposed to be doing the holding. If a grip feels shiny or slick even after a clean, it is worn rather than dirty, and the fix is a replacement rather than more scrubbing.
Winter is when grips go off fastest, because cold hands and damp gloves both push you into gripping harder than you should. Our guide to regripping golf clubs covers the replacement side, and if your hands are the problem rather than the grips, what golf gloves are actually for and how long a glove lasts both cover the fit question. A spray cleaner like the Tee Off bottle is handy for grips and shoes between proper washes.
How often should you clean golf clubs
After every round, do the two-minute version: a damp towel over each club face, the towel corner run through the grooves, and a quick wipe of the grips. That alone keeps a bag in decent order through a British winter. If you are heading to the range to practise, home practice gear changes nothing about the cleaning routine, since range balls are just as good at packing grooves with dirt as course play.
Once a month, or roughly every eight to ten rounds, do the full soak for the irons and wedges and give the woods, hybrids, driver and putter their damp-cloth clean at the same time. The whole bag takes about twenty minutes. If a set has been stored over winter and comes out dusty with small rust spots on the iron faces, a splash of white vinegar in the soak lifts surface rust, though you rinse and dry straight afterwards, because vinegar that sits keeps working on the metal.
What not to do
The dishwasher comes up in every conversation about this, and it is the one short-cut worth refusing. The heat warps graphite shafts, dishwasher detergent is harsh enough to strip a finish, and clubs knocking about in a rack chip each other. Wire brushes and steel wool are the other trap, because they take the finish off a face along with the dirt, and on black or coated irons and wedges they do permanent damage in a single go.
WD-40 is not a golf club cleaner. It displaces water rather than removing dirt, and the oily film it leaves on a face is not helping the ball or the next shot. Boiling water is out for the same reason the dishwasher is out, and bleach is not worth the risk to your hands or to the finish. Air-drying is the last habit to drop, because a wet club in a sealed bag is how rust starts in the first place.
Winter and storage care
From October onwards the job changes slightly, because mud, wet grass and a damp bag are all working against you. Wipe club faces before they go in the bag rather than after, so the mud never gets the chance to dry into the grooves, and empty the bag pockets after a wet round so the towel and the gloves are not sitting in a puddle. A trolley that lives in a cold garage picks up condensation too, so dry it off before the next round.
Before a set goes into storage, give it the full wash and a proper dry, then keep it somewhere dry rather than a damp shed. Golf balls age better than people think, so if you are deciding what to keep over winter, our golf ball buying guide covers which ones are worth storing.
Products mentioned in this guide
- Champkey PRO Retractable Golf Club Brush - Oversized brush head with a soft rubber grip and a retractable groove cleaner in the handle, so one tool clips to the bag and handles both the face and the grooves.
- FUZVOL Golf Club Brush Groove Cleaner with Built-in Water Spray - A water reservoir in the handle sprays as you scrub, which shifts dried mud off a face when there is no bucket or tap within reach.
- Therwen 2 Pcs Golf Club Groove Sharpener - Two 4.33-inch groove tools with steel tips for scraping compacted dirt out of iron and wedge grooves. Use light pressure, because these lift dirt and will cut metal if you lean on them.
- ROHMERIQUE 3-in-1 Golf Club Cleaner Brush Set - Pocket-sized brush with dual bristles and a retractable groove and spike cleaner on a carabiner clip, so it hangs off the bag and covers the face, the grooves and the ball.
- TaylorMade Microfiber Cart Towel - A cart towel from one of the big names: microfibre for wiping faces and grips, made to clip onto a trolley or a bag loop.
- Callaway Golf Trifold Towel - Trifold towel with a bag loop. The folded layers keep a dry section for the club face and a damp section for the worst of the mud.
- Desenda Black Golf Towel with Carabiner Clip - The cheapest sensible towel here. The carabiner clips onto a bag loop in a second and the microfibre is fine for a mid-round wipe.
- Tee Off Golf Club Cleaner 100ml - Spray-on liquid cleaner for club faces, grips, balls and shoes, which suits a mid-round tidy-up when there is no sink nearby.
- Caddies Golf Wipes - A small pack of wipes for the bag pocket, for a quick pass over the face and the grip between shots.
- Golfupp Golf Club Cleaning Kit - Starter kit bundling a groove sharpener, a towel and a water brush with its own spray bottle and retractable clip.
- JIQOER Golf Club Cleaning Kit - The full deep-clean kit: grip and shaft cleaner, polish, brushes and towels, aimed at irons, drivers and putters.
Frequently asked questions
How often should you clean your golf clubs?
A quick wipe with a damp towel after every round, and a full soak for the irons and wedges roughly every eight to ten rounds or about once a month. The whole bag takes around twenty minutes when you do it thoroughly.
Can you put golf clubs in the dishwasher?
You can, and you should not. Dishwasher heat warps graphite shafts, the detergent strips finishes, and the clubs knock into each other in the rack. A bowl of warm soapy water does the job without any of that risk.
Should you use hot water to clean golf clubs?
Use warm water rather than hot. Hot water can soften the adhesive that holds a ferrule or a putter insert, and it does nothing for the dirt that warm water cannot handle.
How do you clean golf club grips?
Wipe each grip with a damp microfibre cloth and a drop of washing-up liquid, including the underside, then dry it with a towel. Do not soak a grip and do not use a bristle brush, because both wear the surface. If a grip still feels slick afterwards, it needs replacing.
Can you use WD-40 on golf clubs?
It is not a cleaner, so leave it out of the routine. WD-40 displaces water rather than lifting dirt, and it leaves an oily residue on the face that attracts grit. Warm soapy water and a soft brush are the better answer.
Do you need a groove sharpener?
Not for routine cleaning, because a soft brush and warm water shift almost everything. A groove tool helps with compacted dirt in wedges, but use it gently, since these tools lift dirt and can cut metal if you lean on them.
How do you remove rust from golf clubs?
Surface rust on chrome irons lifts with a ten-minute soak in warm water with a splash of white vinegar, then a soft brush and an immediate rinse and dry. Deep pitting needs refinishing rather than anything you can do at home.
Tom compares golf gear for WeekendGolfer - balls, clubs, bags and gadgets. He plays off 14 at a municipal course and says when the cheaper option does the same job.
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Last reviewed: October 2, 2026 · Evidence-based content · Contains affiliate links