Keep Golf Grips Fresh (How Often and How to Clean Them)

Golf grips are one area of golf equipment and gear that doesn’t get enough attention. Chances are you are not cleaning your grips as often as you should and it could be costing you strokes on the golf course. We will take you through how to keep your golf grips fresh, how often to clean them and how to do it (which we’ve written about more in-depth here). Keeping your grips in much better shape doesn’t take much time.

Why cleaning your golf grips matters

Cleaning your golf grips will remove oils and dirt that have accumulated. As you play your round of golf and reapply sunscreen, hit a shot out of the bunker or eat a hot dog, you are transferring residue onto your golf grip.

With a clean grip, you’ll have better traction, more confidence in your shots and add consistency to your swings.

If you’ve ever felt a club slip while you’re swinging, you know this story doesn’t end well. When grips get slippery, golfers tend to grip them harder, making it difficult to manage their grip pressure.

Keeping your golf grips clean also ensures they will last. Replacing grips is expensive and time-consuming. By cleaning your grips more often, you can save yourself the hassle and prolong their life.

How often should you clean your golf grips?

In a perfect world, you would clean your grips often. Maybe after every round of golf?

We aren’t living in a perfect world and should be more realistic about this process. If you can wipe your grips with a damp cloth after each round, that’s great.

If you can’t, make sure you don’t miss a monthly deep clean, where you work to get the grips to like-new condition.

Another thing to keep in mind is that if you play in wet, sandy or dusty conditions, you may want to set aside a few minutes for cleaning after the round.

How to clean your golf grips

We recently tested several different methods for cleaning golf grips, from Windex to dish soap to sandpaper. Although we saw mixed results, one clear method stood out and that was the basic soap and warm water method.

Here’s how to do it:

• Fill a bucket with a small amount of warm water and a few squirts of dish soap and mix the soap into the water until you get suds.
• Use a microfiber towel or washcloth (especially if you have softer grips) to scrub the grip from top to bottom.
• If you want to try a brush to clean the grips a bit, use an old toothbrush, as it’s not strong enough to damage the rubber grip.
• Rinse the grip with the clubhead pointed up so the water runs off the end and you don’t fill the grip with water.
• Dry the grip with a clean towel and let air dry (not in the sun) for at least 30 minutes.

When to replace your golf grips

Sometimes, a grip cleaning will make your grips feel brand new. Other times, they’ll still be slick or glossy. Any time you clean your grips well but they still feel slick, they must be replaced.

In addition, if you have visible damage like cracks, tears or splits, it’s time to replace the grips.

Some players notice feel changes where the grips feel thinner, less responsive or too soft. You may also see wear spots in areas like where the thumb comes into contact with the grip.

If you are an avid golfer, changing your golf grips twice yearly may be necessary. However, if you play less frequently, you may get away with it just once a year or so.

Tips to keep golf grips fresh

Here are a few last tips to keep your golf grips fresh.

• Wash your hands before you play golf and after you have put on sunscreen.
• You should clean your hands on your golf towel after eating lunch or touching the grass, dirt, sand, etc.
• After a rainy day on the course, leave your clubs outside of your golf bag to dry overnight.
• Wear a glove on hot and humid days.
• Don’t use harsh chemicals when cleaning grips.
• If you practice at the range often, bring different clubs so you don’t wear out one grip more than another.