Take your clubs in for a winter checkup

You don’t have to go out and buy the latest and greatest driver, irons and putter this winter, but you should make sure your equipment—from driver to putter—is ready to go when spring rolls around. A golf club has more than 20 components and you should make sure you check on the most important ones as part of your winter tune-up.

First you need to check the loft and lie angles of your irons. Over time the lofts and lie angles can change through use. Make a visit to a club-fitting professional to ensure your clubs have the proper loft and lie. Improper lofts and lies can result in the ball being pulled or pushed even when properly hit. The club-fitting professional will also make sure there is a uniform distance between each iron and that your wedges are spaced apart properly for distance control.

Next you want to check your hybrids, fairway metals and driver to make sure the lofts fit into the spacing of your set. After that be sure to check your putter, because even if you had your putter properly fit when you purchased it, no club’s playing characteristics will change more. Your putter has the softest metal built into it, which is why it can change so quickly. For example, just leaning on your putter can change its loft and lie.

Finally, change the grips on all your clubs at least once a year—better yet, change them to start the season and midway through it. It’s not a bad idea to have the club-fitting professional make sure the new grips fit your hands properly, either.

Golf Magazine Top 100 Teacher Mike Perpich teaches at RiverPines Golf Club in Alphretta, Ga.

Comments

[DJ]

Change your grips once a year? C'mon. Get outta here.

[HB]

I agree with DJ, changing your grips TWICE every year seems a bit excessive. Changing them out every two years is probably more practical.

[Matt]

It's actually good to change your grips that much. Companies now put something in them to make them wear when their just sitiing in your closet.

[Alex]

How often you change your grips is really a matter of how much you play - so twice a year may be excessive for someone who only plays 30 or so times during that year - but is certainly a possibility for an avid golfer

[Peter]

Clean your grips with hot soapy water every couple of weeks and they'll last much longer. Depends how often you play, but in general wedge and driver grips might need to be changed long before the set of irons.

[Lefty1.4]

It also depends how much you practice, most people are lucky to go to the driving range once or twice a week, while most skilled golfers are there every day for hours on end.