Checking your lofts and lies on your irons is a great way to start the year.
Jack Hirsh/GOLF
These last few weeks in the northeast have been a reminder that Punxatawney Phil isn’t always right and spring golf really is just around the corner. That means now is a better time than ever to get your golf clubs in order for the season.
What that means could be a lot of different things, especially depending on how you store your clubs.
This year is the first year I’ve pledged to stop leaving my golf clubs in the car, which means I’ve been keeping them in a more controlled environment, and that should lead to fewer surprises once I’m throwing them in the car every day going to the course.
But, there are many different things you should do to ensure your golf bag is in tip-top shape for the start of the season so you can hit the ground running with your game.
Here are three things you can do right now to get your golf clubs ready for the 2025 season.
1. Clean or re-grip your grips
We all have a friend who has grips that are so slick, you wonder how he or she doesn’t have the club fly out of their hands on the backswing.
Our friends at Golf Pride tell us that since 2023, about 49 percent of golfers have re-gripped their clubs in the last year.
Regripping about every year is usually a good timeline, as the rubber in the grips will start to break down and become slick around that time. When your grips get slick, then you tend to grip the club more firmly, which isn’t good for anyone!
Re-gripping clubs can be a fun hobby to pick up if you have the space and can pick up a few key necessities. You’ll need a vice, grip solvent, a sharp knife to cut the old grip off, two-faced tape (and masking tape if you build your grips up), and some new grips. There are countless YouTube videos explaining the process and it’s pretty simple to do. This is something my dad and I have done together for years.
If can’t get the materials or just don’t want to do it yourself, a local golf shop or big-box store will generally charge around $5 or less, plus the price of the new grips.
If your grips aren’t a year old but still have a bit of slickness to them, try cleaning them with some soapy water, a brush and a towel. You’ll be amazed at the results.
2. Get your lofts and lies checked
Throughout the season — and especially if you play with forged irons and wedges — the lofts and lies on your clubs will definitely change a little bit.
During the winter it can get even worse, when you’re constantly playing golf indoors and hitting balls off a mat, which is much firmer than typical turf.
Let me be clear that hitting balls inside or off a mat once isn’t going to do any damage to your clubs, but over time you might start to notice different patterns with certain clubs. One might not go quite as far, or another you might have a tough time holding the green. Or maybe you see one going right too often.
My best example is the time I left a 2-iron in my car for about six months. When I pulled it out, it had become a 3-iron, just from getting shuffled around in the car (you would have thought I would have stopped leaving clubs in my car after that…). No wonder I had trouble keeping it down.
Take your golf clubs to a golf shop to get the lofts and lies adjusted back to your original specs to ensure the ball does exactly what you think it should when you hit it. Most shops charge anywhere from $5-$10 per club to make an adjustment and will often check them for free.
This could probably be first on the list depending on how old your golf clubs are, but there’s nothing like breaking in some fresh sticks right as the season begins.
You might think the beginning of the season is a bad time to get a custom fitting, but in fact, going through a fitting while your swing isn’t grooved might be a good idea. People often stress out about performing their best in a fitting, but if you struggle, you’ll more than likely end up with clubs that help you raise your floor and manage your mishits better when you don’t have your A-game.
And you’ll hit them plenty fine when you have your A-game.
TrueSpec Golf has dozens of locations all around the world that are ready to get you dialed for this upcoming season, no matter if you need a full bag, driver, irons or even just a new shaft.
Jack Hirsh is the Associate Equipment Editor at GOLF. A Pennsylvania native, Jack is a 2020 graduate of Penn State University, earning degrees in broadcast journalism and political science. He was captain of his high school golf team and recently returned to the program to serve as head coach. Jack also still *tries* to remain competitive in local amateurs. Before joining GOLF, Jack spent two years working at a TV station in Bend, Oregon, primarily as a Multimedia Journalist/reporter, but also producing, anchoring and even presenting the weather. He can be reached at jack.hirsh@golf.com.
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