carts, club dings and O.C.D

[TheNatural72]

Hi gang,

I am one of those guys who likes to clean my clubs religiously and keep them looking as spiffy as I can.

 

Well, I have a good older friend who said he would pay for my round if I would go play a quick 18 with him. I decided to go along and he paid for us to ride in a cart. I noticed in the cart He had no head covers on his putter or driver. We teed off and Immediately driving from the first tee to our balls I realized that my Buddy does not care about the condition of his clubs.

 

He was driving the cart over bumps at full speed and my clubs were bouncing and knocking together making a racket. I know how petty this sounds, but I was sitting there thinking to myself "HOLY CRAP" while I heard my irons clanking. Granted I had covers on my Woods and Putter, but deep down I was stressing about my clubs taking a beating all day. I did not say anything to him, but I did however wrap my golf towel around all my irons so that they would stop clanking.

 

I am the only one who is anal about this stuff?

Kid

[gotem]

youre not the only one. golf is expensive, why would u want your clubs to be dinged up

[Bayou Kato]

What??? You don't have iron covers??? For SHAME!!!!!

 

No, you're not alone. The only cover I leave off after the round starts is the driver, because it's taller than everything else in the bag. However, that's only after I've assured myself that the bag is well strapped in ... because I wouldn't want the driver hurt if the bag fell on the way to the first tee! I also carry a rag and clean the head of any club after I hit with it. And after the round, I stand at the laundryroom sink and wash every club I hit.

 

I'm anal alright. So much so my ex-wife frequently calls me an Word not allowedhole!!! Though maybe she's referring to other matters .....

[cheeser]

Here's the beginning of another iron cover debate. Can we just do the mods a favor and save some bandwidth?

[teejaywhy]

From spending time on this web site, I can say you are definitely not alone.

 

But I think there may be help available at your local mental health facility.

 

Nobody wants to be careless with their equipment, but come on guys, they are golf clubs, metal sticks that are made to dig in the dirt. Dings and scratches are NORMAL. Don't be such women.

[mat562]

You're certainly not alone. There appear to many like you.

 

The golden rule for obsessive club folk who almost have a heart attack at the sight of a slight mark on their irons is

 

1) Buy a set of Pings

 

2) Don't use them. Ever. In fact, once you get your hands on the box, have a couple of valium to calm your anxiety over whether the UPS driver hit a pothole on the way to your house and then just don't open it. Stick it in the temperature controlled dehumidified inner sanctum of your golf temple and then just leave them there.

 

If you ever want to look at the clubs, get an Edwin watts catalogue out and turn to page whatever...

[XYB34A]

Way to go Mat. Golf is a game where you strike a ball on the Ground and the ball is played where you find it. It might have sand, rocks or some man made object around or underneath the ball, hidden from view.

 

I have a set of irons that I played with in 1987 to about 1991, I beat hundreds and thousands of balls with them. They have dings gouges, and the chrome is worn off the soles and on the faces. I hit balls on a sand based driving range in South Carolina then.

 

If you arent just going to play, and enjoy the game. Then as Mat said, put them up, watch some golf on tv, and quit posting on here. It will be cheaper that way, so you wont have to buy clubs ever again.

 

Did you not use the bat your grandma gave you for your birthday to play baseball or softball as a small child. Or football, or basketball, or soccer ball. Do you wax your car all the time and never drive it, but still pay tons of insurance on it.

 

READ FREUD< READ IT AGAIN> Realize maybe I am wrong. GO Play

[not much time]

I only ride and I have head covers on everything, I wipe down each club after I hit a shot. My clubs look like I want. The people I play with do the same thing, in other words take care of their equiptment. Some time back a friend and I were put with another twosome at a place we had not played. These guys were a mess, their dress was lousy, two day beards, didn`t apply any of the rules of golf, constantly went out of turn, walk on others lines and yes no head covers on anything except one driver. Their clubs looked horrible just as they did. I have 2 sets I play with and one is 4 yrs old and in excellant cond. looks like it been played 1/2 a season. I`ve noticed the way one keeps his clubs is the way he keeps his life :cheesy:

[NiftyNiblick]

Once I take a headcover off, it goes into a bag pocket for the rest of the day. I even did this with real wood.

 

Little dings and scratches don't bother me a bit. It may be because I don't sell many of my clubs. My collection goes back to 1959.

 

Fifty seasons' worth of equipment, and every club shows its experience so to speak.

 

Still, I've no problem with folks who take a different approach. Some folks are always wiping down their cars as well.

[mat562]

In all seriousness, I'd largely agree with justaman's comments. I don't like huge dings or rock gouges in my irons any more than the next man, and I refuse to even hit a driver that's got a nobber mark on top of it, but my clubs are for cracking balls with off turf and occasionally sand and the simple fact is that they'll pick up some scars along the way if they're on the job for four or five years. I don't chuck them about or bang them together deliberately but, using forged irons and being someone who wouldn't use iron covers if you held a gun to my head, they inevitably get some bag chatter as they're carried around and they inevitably start to show some wear from all the balls they hit. I've worn out clubs to the point that they're unusable because the grooves have shallowed out so much in the sweet spot that they've disappeared. I've honestly never seen a club that's been rendered unusable by bag chatter or a couple of clash marks.

 

My clubs aren't an 'investment'. The shares that I bought a few years back that are now worth sod all and our house cover that side of things. I bought my clubs to use them and if they've been in my bag for any length of time they aren't getting sold or traded in. I've never once bought a golf club with the slightest thought of how much it'll be worth in 'x' amount of time. I get hold of the one I hit best and then it's mine.

 

I can appreciate the OP's sentiments - and it's always a bit of tearjerker when that shiny new set pick up their first battle scar - but I honestly don't worry that much about it as, in the grand scheme of things, hitting a bit of grit with my 6 iron is pretty small beer.

 

 

"I`ve noticed the way one keeps his clubs is the way he keeps his life "

 

I'm not sure that's always the case. I'm an ex military officer and still work in uniformed service today. I have a wardrobe that's so squared away it would satisfy Gunnery Sergeant Hartman and still rely on lashings of needless order in most things I do. When I'm at the golf course, I'm immaculately turned out. Shoes polished, trousers pressed, smart shirt/jumper; the lot. My bag has a twenty year old towel hanging from it, a couple of comedically tacky headcovers atop it and is typically full of worn old blades with big bullseye marks on the faces and, usually, lashings of lead tape all over them. I'm sort of a British version of Bernhard Langer really - precise and ordered almost to a fault, and yet hoiking round some clubs that look like they've been grabbed out of the clearance barrel. Ultimately, my clubs are there to do a job and, once they're set up how I want them, they stay in play almost until the heads fall off - and consequently get worn out. Wear isn't something to be ashamed of when it comes to a set of clubs. And a bit of bag chatter does not a deadleg make.

[packerfan1]

I view clubs as tools, just like a hammer or screwdriver, they are made to be used.

 

I always hear the line about resale value or protecting an investment in the clubs. I wonder truly how much resale value clubs get? I'll be willing to bet it is like a car, as soon as you hit the first ball (like driving the car off the sales lot), the club loses money. Not exactly an 'investment' if you buy a set of irons for $800 and they are worth $400 or even $600 or $700 in almost brand new shape a year later. Does anyone buy irons, use them, and resell them for a profit?

[InTheHole]

I love the sound of my irons banging together... it means I'm playing golf! Other than the sound of the club hitting the ball, what better sound is there? (Well, I can think of a few but this is a family forum.)

[NiftyNiblick]

I love the sound of my irons banging together... it means I'm playing golf! Other than the sound of the club hitting the ball, what better sound is there? (Well, I can think of a few but this is a family forum.)

 

 

And once you get to be my age, the sound of the clanging irons is even more enjoyable to you than that.

[Twoironblade]

The way you take care of your golf clubs reflects your personality. I would have to say the same thing for the way you take care of your shoes (not golf shoes). Of course clubs are meant to be used. And shoes are meant to be worn. But if your shoes get wet, do you just throw them in the corner or do you take special action (i.e., stuffing them with newspaper then cedar shoe trees). If your clubs get wet, do you just leave them in the trunk until the next time you play or do you dry everything out.

 

FYI: I can't stand when someone driving the cart is bouncing that thing around giving me whiplash. Thank goodness that I walk and carry most of the time. How about someone driving a cart that hits a rough spot so hard that the bottom of both bags come off the cart and the clubs bang into the basket.

[TheNatural72]

Hey gang,

I have enjoyed the replies. I guess since I walk 99% of the time, I just never have to worry about unintended dings. If I ding my irons up trying to hit a shot out of some rocky terrain from an errand drive is one thing. But when somebody is driving like a maniac over bumps in a golf cart, that just kind of made my OCD flare up. I am the same way with my Guitars I guess.

KId

[InTheHole]

Hey gang,

I have enjoyed the replies. I guess since I walk 99% of the time, I just never have to worry about unintended dings. If I ding my irons up trying to hit a shot out of some rocky terrain from an errand drive is one thing. But when somebody is driving like a maniac over bumps in a golf cart, that just kind of made my OCD flare up. I am the same way with my Guitars I guess.

KId

 

I hear you. I clean my clubs and shoes, etc. and like everything to stay nice. I guess I'm just not as OCD about it as you are.

 

I certainly don't like the rough ride, though- I can relate to that.

 

You don't wield your guitars like an axe and smash them to bits at the end of a show? :black eye:

[icec0ld]

kidwilson, don't worry to much. if the irons you have are in your sig (the rac lts), the cart rumble won't do much (if anything to those irons). casted irons seem to endure bag chatter better than forged.

[cigarnut81]

I have always been of the philosophy that a golf club is made for beating into the ground. The ball sits on the ground and you need hit it right so you will probably hit the ground. I am the type of guy to rip it off the cart path for fun or never take an unplayable if I can get the club on the ball rocks or not. No body wants to see my clubs I assure you.

[Pure745]

kid.. i am like you.. i like my stuff to stay nice.. and I wrap a towel around my irons when i ride.. no big deal.. i mainly just dont want any knicks or gouges on the top line of my irons.. anything else.. really doesnt matter but the towel does minimize it a little..

 

that said.. i will never ever use iron covers.. ever.

[cloudlx]

I clean my clubs after every round, I am very particular about some things, and this is one of them. My clubs even have an order that they go in my bag, but with that being said, if my irons get dinged up or look played with even after cleaning them, so be it- thats what I bought them for.

[highergr0und]

I'm not anal about my irons. But I'm still annoyed at people driving carts like an idiot and causing them to bounce all over. Just not a fan of stuff getting damaged in a manner it's not supposed to. Maybe I've just got a thing for a clean top line. No reason that should ever be damaged. I always keep headcovers on woods and my putter. I could get away with nothing on the driver but I've got to give Odie a little pat before every tee shot for good luck.

[birdieputt]

From spending time on this web site, I can say you are definitely not alone.

 

But I think there may be help available at your local mental health facility.

 

Nobody wants to be careless with their equipment, but come on guys, they are golf clubs, metal sticks that are made to dig in the dirt. Dings and scratches are NORMAL. Don't be such women.

 

I agree strongly with this.

 

Don't get me wrong i like to take good care of my irons, grooves are always spotless and check me lofts and lies at least once a year. But, iron covers just arent for me..if you've just spent £600 on a brand new shiny set, then i understand if you want to keep them nice and shiny, for the first couple months it is quite hard to come to terms with them getting battered but then you get over it, a little use looks good to me, that's what you bought them for, not to glare at every now and then. Wrapping a towel around your irons does help incredibilly. Dings and scratches make then unique to you!

[SetTheBarrHigh]

I refuse to use iron covers, but I do like my stuff to stay nice. My dad bought me a Bennington Quiet Organizer cart bag for my b-day a couple years ago. At first I thought it was kind of weird looking, but I've had my forged Mizuno's for about a year and the only wear on them is on the face.

[rapriebe]

I keep them clean, but otherwise, I consider the battle scars to be badges of honor. These guys have been to war and lived to tell the tale. I have a brand new set of Titleist AP2's coming next week, and I'll treat them like a carton of eggs for maybe a month... then the glow wears off and they'll just be another set of irons. I keep the head covers on my woods to protect the graphite shafts, and the main body of my putter is aluminum, so it needs the head cover too, but the rest just face the world as nature intended. :good:

[pingshack22]

One of the main reasons I like Ping's so much - almost impossible to damage or ding !

[Zlim]

I am a mix of both... I love iron head covers and use them religiously...until I get on the course...It's game time then and the shininess just makes them look awesome and makes me feel like they are ready...but I drive like i stole my car so i put them on when they are put in the trunk...I wash them after each round, not because i'm a neat freak but i like clean and ready grooves for tomorrow. and it comes in handy to have nice club in the BST

[buttuh]

I use headcovers except for the wedges. The covers for the hybrids and driver stay in the trunk during the round. I use a towel to quickly wipe down the dirt/grass from the club after every hit and then I go back and clean them with soap and water when I get home. I'll never start a round with dirty clubs. There are dings and scratches at the bottom of the clubs, but the club faces are extremely clean and I'm proud of that. For me it's not about resale value, it's about taking care of my gears.

[jebb]

One of the things you could do is check out the close up pics of clubs belonging to folks like Tiger, Langer, Faldo on the WITB section.

 

They are all banged up to hell. Other things you could do would be buying Pings or getting wedges that will rust.

 

You dont want to sweat it too much.

[rockmastermike]

Hello, my name is Michael and i use headcovers for my irons -

 

now that i have that off my chest I feel better, lol

 

Seriously, I agree with the op in that dings and scrapes from playing/hitting balls is acceptable and expected - I don't hit with the covers on, right !?!? But I do cover them whilst in the bag - am I worried about re-sale? not so much, but I do like to keep my gear the nicest it can be for the longest period of time possible.

 

It's just about personality. I mean I apply mink oil to my dryjoys after each round, I wash each club after each round, even if I used it or not (if I had a pneumatic air blower, I'd use that, too) and sometimes fall asleep looking at my bag. Maybe I do help :black eye:

[brad_polish_golfer]

i have headcovers on all my clubs except wedges, but i only have them on irons so they dont rattle because i carry and after a while it does get annoying, also i have them on my woods so if i come to sell them then they are worth more.

 

i also carry a towel and clean my clubs after each shot and i have a wire brush to clean the grooves out, i clean my clubs with fairy liquid after each round :rolleyes: