Welcome to Stuff Golfers Should Know, a new GOLF.com series in which we’re taking a departure from traditional swing instruction to impart upon you all kinds of other useful golf (and life!) wisdom that is sure to make you the smartest, savviest player in your foursome.
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The temperature gauge on your car has been hanging around the freezing mark for the last few weeks and there’s a thick blanket of snow all over your front lawn. It’s about this time of the year where most golfers — unless you’re lucky enough to live in the Deep South or along the West Coast — shelve their clubs and press pause on regular trips to the course. (Time to dust off that snow shovel!)
Spring will be here before you know it, but in the meantime, it’s important to find a safe, secure spot for your sticks over the next few months.
Some golfers will tell you the trunk of your car is a sufficient storage spot for your clubs, but we’d caution against leaving them in there year-round. For starters, you’re just asking for them to be stolen.
Not to mention, the trunk of your car isn’t climate-controlled, which brings moisture into the picture. Speaking from experience, grips don’t like unnecessary moisture. The same can be said for those high-end putters — think old-school Scotty Cameron Newport — that can rust without proper care.
And unless your clubs are more than a decade old, don’t worry about moisture or heat wreaking havoc on the epoxy that keeps your driver or iron head attached to the shaft. The resin is meant to withstand extreme temperature changes, so your clubs shouldn’t come apart when you return to the course.
That being said, it’s still worth seeking out a storage location that doesn’t go through extreme temperature swings. If you have a free spot in a closet, store them inside during the winter months. Doing so will also give you a chance to go through your bag and take inventory of your gear and accessories from the season — or to easily grab your putter to work on your stroke in the hallway.
Maybe your grips are starting to wear and it’s time for a fresh set of handles. Maybe there’s a thick layer of dirt covering the grooves on your lob wedge that needs to be removed. Simply finding a good spot to store your clubs is a great opportunity to give your sticks a bath and once-over before they go into storage.
Who knows, maybe you’ll find a banana at the bottom of the bag that otherwise would’ve gone unnoticed for the next few months.
More than anything, finding a suitable storage spot beyond the trunk of your car is a simple task that’ll extend the life of your clubs and ensure they’re ready to roll come spring.
