2017 GOLF CLUB CLEANERS BUYER’S GUIDE

Do you use a towel and a tee to clean your clubs? Or, maybe a wire brush from your local Lowes or Home Depot? Not surprisingly, many golfers do.

If the results of this Buyer’s Guide are any indication, then you should make a change. A good brush not only makes cleaning your clubs easier, you’ll do a much better job, and you’ll be more likely to spin wedges back like the pros. Who doesn’t want to do that?

We’re Here to Help

The process of buying anything in today’s time has become stressful and time-consuming. We feel the best reviews are those that help you make the right choices and help you get the most out of your time and money. This way you can buy with confidence and eliminate a lot of the guesswork. We are here to help show you how a product will perform before you buy.

One key to our testing protocols is that we test products head-to-head. We select the top products from each category and put them through extensive and detailed head-to-head testing. We test both in the lab and in the field. We score each product across a range of weighted categories. We then rank the products, explain why products finished where they did, and give awards to the best-performing products in the category.

Club cleaner scoring centered around how well the brush did its job. As you’d expect, the ability for the cleaner to clean was the most important factor in the scoring. We also considered the ease of use, size of the cleaner, and its durability.

THE METRICS

We’re always fine-tuning the process to make sure we’re collecting the best data possible. Continuing that trend we’ve updated and refined this year’s analysis to bring you the best buying advice possible.

Club Cleaners Feature Chart

Name	COST	Colors	BRUSHES	GROOVE CLEANER	DETERGENT
FROGGER BRUSH PRO	$17.95	5	1	Y	N
GROOVE CADDY	$24.91	1	1	N	N
CLUB CHAMP PREMIUM 3 IN 1	$7.68	1	2	Y	N
GROOVE DOCTOR	$10.41	1	1	Y	N
ATHLETIC WORKS	$8.99	1	1	N	Y
D-BRUSH (X3)	$5.55	1	1	N	N
RAY COOK	$4.99	1	2	Y	N
LOWES WIRE BRUSH	$6.88	5	1	N	N
GROOVIN-TEE	$11.95	1	0	Y	N
CLEAN HIT	$37.92	1	1	Y	Y
GROOVE TUBE	$5.97	1	1	N	Y

 

We put in hours of testing time, utilizing data-driven protocols to test new criteria. The metrics and attention to detail are better than ever.

The most important factor in terms of club cleaners is their ability to clean. Because of this, our testing centered around the cleaning ability of the products tested. We also noted the weight and size of the submissions. Then we took the dirtiest set of clubs we could find and got to work cleaning.

We asked our testers to rate the ease of cleaning with each product, we also asked specific questions about the durability of the club cleaners tested.

 

Cleaning Ability (40 points) – How well does the club cleaner do its job? Does it offer both a brush and groove cleaner? Does it offer different types of brushes? Over the course of testing, we found that there are many ways to clean clubs. The best performers in this category offer versatility. Not only to they provided multiple useful ways to clean the clubs, but they’re also easier to use. Enhancements include electric brushes, groove cleaners, and detergent containers. The worst club cleaners provided little more cleaning power than what you’d get with a tee and a towel.

Ease of Use (30 points) – Straight from the package, how easy is it to clean your clubs? Testers ere allowed to read the product’s instructions before the test began. Points were not deducted if a product needed to be charged, or required detergent to be added prior to use.

Durability (20 points) – Most club cleaners cost less than $10, but there’s little value if you have to replace your brush every month. The top finishers in the category should outlast the average brush. Poor products in this category likely won’t last very long at all.

Size (10 points) – We determined both the weight and volume of the club cleaner. While most golfers simply clip their club cleaner to their bag, a bulky brush can be annoying. The best performers in this category were small and simply clipped easily the bag. The poorer performers were bulky and lacked a fastening mechanism. This means that these club cleaners must be stored in the bag as opposed to attached to the side.

Final grades were awarded based on total scores. Best Overall is our highest overall scoring club cleaner, and awards are given to the top three submissions. Also, more specific Best in Class recognitions are awarded to club cleaners in certain categories (like durability, ease of use, and cleaning ability) that push the industry’s design envelope.

We also give an “Editor’s Choice” and a “Best Buy” award to those products that provide value products that compete with the bigger names on performance.

THE BEST CLUB CLEANERS OF 2017

2017 Golf Club Cleaner Buyers Guide

Name	COST	Cleaning	Ease of Use	Size	Durability	Score
FROGGER BRUSH PRO	$17.95	1st	3rd	3rd	2nd	90.25
GROOVE CADDY	$24.91	2nd	1st	9th	1st	88
CLUB CHAMP	$7.68	3rd	2nd	3rd	4th	87.25
GROOVE DOCTOR	$10.41	4th	5th	5th	3rd	85.5
ATHLETIC WORKS	$8.99	6th	7th	8th	6th	83
D-BRUSH (X3)	$5.55	7th	4th	1st	10th	81
RAY COOK	$4.99	5th	6th	6th	7th	77.75
LOWES WIRE BRUSH	$6.88	10th	8th	6th	8th	74.5
GROOVIN-TEE	$11.95	11th	9th	2nd	11th	74.25
CLEAN HIT	$37.92	8th	10th	11th	5th	73
GROOVE TUBE	$5.97	9th	11th	10th	9th	66.5