Whether you are playing socially or seriously, caring for your golf equipment will, not only, protect it from damage, but will also ensure longer performance. The following are some general tips to assist caring for your golf clubs.

Always store your golf clubs and golf bag indoors, not in the boot of your car or a garage where changes in temperature and humidity can damage them.

Use golf headcovers for your metal woods and hybrids. Due to the increasing size of the metal wood and hybrid heads, they are more likely to be scratched and dinted.

Golf Putter covers are also highly recommended to prevent dints or dings on the putter surface. A ding on the putter surface can really affect your ability to putt the ball in a straight line.

Keep a golf towel attached to your bag and wipe off the face of the club after each shot.

Give your clubs a good cleaning at least every few rounds. You don't want dirt hardening onto the clubface. See below a step by step guide to cleaning your clubs. Use warm, soapy water and soft-bristled toothbrush or other soft brush to clean clubfaces.

Towel-dry the clubface and shaft immediately after cleaning.

Use a damp cloth to wipe down the grips.

Inspect the grips for shiny areas, worn areas or cracks. Good grips are essential for you to play good golf.

Inspect the shafts for dents, nicks or splits. If you see any of these, it might be time to replace the shaft.

Tips:

Always clean your clubs following a rainy round. Wet clubs that are simply put away are sure to develop rust spots.

Never use an abrasive cleaning agent or a wire brush on your clubs.

Caring for your golf equipment, simply gather up a couple household items, a plastic bucket , a mild dishwashing detergent, an old toothbrush (or other brush with plastic bristles), and an old towel for drying.

Take your plastic bucket inside to a sink or bathtub. Squirt a little of the dishwashing liquid into the bottom, then add warm water to create suds. Make sure the water is warm, not too hot as very hot water can loosen the ferrule (The plastic ring or cover over the hosel at the point where the shaft enters the clubhead) on golf clubs. You only need enough water in the bucket to cover the heads of your irons.

Take the bucket, with its water and suds, outside near your garden hose (if you live in an apartment and don't have access to your garden hose, continue working in a sink or bathtub).

Set the bucket down, then place your irons in the bucket with only the clubheads submerged. Notice how the clubs' ferrules are above the level of the water and suds.

Allow the irons to soak in the warm water for just a couple minutes. This will help loosen dirt in the grooves of the clubface, and allow the suds to begin working on oils and golf course chemicals that are on the clubheads.

After 1-2 minutes of soaking time, take each club in turn and use an old toothbrush (or other plastic-bristled brush) to clean out the grooves on the clubface. This is the most important step in cleaning your clubs - removing all dirt and debris from the grooves.

Also drag the brush across the sole of the iron and over the back of the clubhead, removing dirt, grass and other debris.

A soft-bristled brush should work fine. If you've allowed dirt to build up in the grooves and harden over time, you may need to allow more soaking time and then use a stiff-bristled brush. Never use a wire-bristled brush during cleaning.

Use your garden hose (or tap, if you are working indoors) to rinse off the golf clubhead. When the suds are washed away, take a look at the club to make sure all dirt is removed from the grooves. Be careful not to splash water up the shaft.

Use your garden hose (or tap, if you are working indoors) to rinse off the golf clubhead. When the suds are washed away, take a look at the club to make sure all dirt is removed from the grooves. Be careful not to splash water up the shaft.

Use your old towel to dry off the clubhead. Also drag the towel up the shaft of the club. This will remove any loose debris from the shaft and also ensure that the shaft doesn't go back into your bag wet.

Cleaning Golf Grips

There are a couple ways to care for your golf grips. You can simply wipe them down with a moist cloth, then dry with a second cloth. You can also spray on a mild liquid cleanser, such as Windex, then wipe off.

The method described here takes a few more minutes than the Windex or water methods, but it works well for getting off the grime that builds up, and for washing away oils from our hands and chemicals from the golf course.

You'll need a mild dishwashing detergent and two cloths, one to use wet and the other to dry with.

Insert a stopper in your kitchen sink. Squirt a little dishwashing detergent into the sink, then fill the sink with warm (not hot) water. Create a lot of suds. Take each of your clubs in turn. Use the wet cloth to grab some suds, then rub the suds into the golf grip using the towel.

Turn each golf grip under flowing water to rinse off the detergent. Be careful not to get water all over of the shafts when rinsing the golf grips.

Using the dry cloth, dry each golf grip as soon as it is rinsed off. Check the shafts at this time, too, and if water has gotten onto the shafts, dry them as well.

While caring for golf equipment may take extra time at the end of the golf game it will maintain the performance of your golf clubs.