A set of clean, sparkling golf clubs can boost your confidence in your next round of golf. Think of it as cutting a tree with a well-sharpened ax in your hand. The tree might be big, but your ax is in optimal condition.
Similarly, a set of recently polished clubs boosts performance.
But how can you easily polish your golf clubs? You start by cleaning and de-rusting them. You can use a drill and buffing wheel to quickly shine them up, or you can apply some chrome/steel polish by hand. Use swirl motions to cover the head. Then wipe off the excess.
You want to avoid damaging your expensive clubs, so read on to learn all the steps to know how to make your golf clubs look new again.
Let’s dive in!
What Does Polishing Your Golf Clubs Mean?
Polishing, put simply, is to restore the shine to the metal components of your clubs.
Polishing also eliminates small scratches and creates new ones that move in a more uniform direction.
Now to do this, we can use abrasives or chemicals and do it by hand or with tools.
Why You Should Polish Your Clubs
Serious players know that a good polish puts a club in its most optimal condition to perform. This is because it guarantees the absence of any dirt or other debris on the club, which may affect the ball’s movement upon impact.
Polishing and cleaning your clubs also play an important part in maintaining your club’s value long-term and can see you get better rewards when reselling. This will keep you from having to do more extensive repairs.
To top it all off, polished clubs are more appealing to the eye and just make you look like a better player while on the course. This can be a huge plus for your mental game against opponents.
What You Will Need To Polish Your Golf Clubs
Before we get into the how, it is important you have all the items required from the beginning cleaning processes till the polishing stages.
Now, there are two ways you can go about the process.
- The first is to do a quick hand polish which involves rubbing metal polish on your clubs with a cloth.
- The second is the use of a cordless drill. The drill is connected to a buffing wheel which comes into contact with the club’s surface. While both methods achieve results through broadly similar processes, the difference is in speed and efficiency. With the cordless drill being the faster, more efficient, and more accurate method.
Here is a quick list of what you will need when polishing your clubs by hand:
- Cleaning cloth
- Metal polish
- Polishing cloth/microfibre cloth
Note: When choosing metal polish, be careful to choose one that is compatible with the material from which your club is made.
Here is what you will need for polishing using a cordless drill or a wood turner with a polish attachment:
- Cleaning rag
- Cordless drill
- Polishing drill chuck
- Buffing compound
- Buffing wheels
- A clamp
How to Polish Golf Clubs
Knowing how to shine your golf clubs can be one of the most satisfying experiences in your club maintenance routine once you know all the nitty-gritty.
Also, how to polish golf irons and iron heads is the same process for drivers. Here is what you have to do:
Clean Your Clubs
The first step to any polishing routine should always start with a thorough cleaning of your clubs.
You don’t want to have to polish away any excess dirt, which may also contaminate the polish you’re using.
- If you already have a cleaning routine in place that you have been doing, your club will probably not be that dirty. So you can use a cleaning rag to simply wipe off any surface dirt and proceed with the polishing.
- For tougher dirt stains, you may need a thorough clean before you begin. Here is how to clean your golf clubs.
- Another thing to note is you should make sure you clear out any rust that may be on the surface. For tougher rust particles, you can use a wire brush or go through a derusting routine.
Polish With a Cordless Drill or Turner
For this process, you will need to have a buffing kit/metal polishing kit. Most kits come equipped with various buffing polishing wheels and different golf club polishing compounds. Most will also come with instructions on which wheels to use for what and guides on how to use the compounds.
Read the instructions carefully; if you don’t, you might not get the desired results.
You can purchase a buffing kit from most local hardware shops. Alternatively, you can also purchase all the materials individually.
How To
Here’s what to do:
- Attach your club to a metal clamp to keep it from moving when you begin to use the drill. (If you’re using a mounted turner, you won’t need to do this step).
- Next, you’ll want to attach a buffing wheel to your cordless drill. You might need a special polishing drill chuck for this. The drill chuck adapter can easily be purchased at most local hardware stores.
- Apply a small portion of your correct compound to the polishing wheel. You don’t need too much compound here, as you use a drill that efficiently distributes any small portion. Read the instructions that come with the product to get a better understanding of how much to use. Most are usually color coded. Here is a guide on how and what compounds to use.
- Run the drill and establish contact with the club. You want to apply little uniform pressure and move in a consistent direction. Keep an eye out for changes and keep going until you are satisfied.
- Once you are done, use a cloth to wipe off any excess.
- Remember to store your club in its bag or in a safe space to maintain the polish longer.
Here is a detailed video on polishing your clubs with a cordless drill;
Hand-Polishing Your Club
Hand polishing is pretty straightforward, but it’s important to be thorough. Knowing how to make your irons and drivers shiny and clean doesn’t have to be difficult.
How To
- First, apply a small chrome/steel polish on your polishing or microfiber cloth. Some polishes can be sprayed directly onto the head.
- Use gentle swirl motions to apply the polish on the club until the entire head is covered with polish. Note that the longer you do this, the better the results will be.
- Once you are satisfied that the head is completely covered, leave it to dry for at least 3 minutes or whatever period is prescribed on the product. Use the cloth to wipe it one final time. You can also use a second clean cloth to wipe the excess.
- Store the clubs in their covers or in your bags to maintain the results longest.
4 Best Polishes For Golf Clubs
There are various types of polishing compounds in the market. Usually, you can just get them from a hardware store or online shop. Here are our top picks:
1) Club Doctor Golf Club Polish (Best Golf Irons Polish)
For golfers looking for something they can use for quick polishing routines, Club Doctor is the best. The solution is ideal for polishing golf irons and cleaning off scuffs and scratches from the iron’s head surface while on the go. It also works great in preventing rust spots and maintaining that clean, shiny look after every clean.
2) Rolite Polish Cream (Long Lasting at Home Polish)
This is the best option for golfers looking for a long-lasting polish. The Rolite Polish Cream is usable with a diverse range of metals including:
- Steel
- Chrome
- Aluminum
- Many others
This means you won’t have to worry about buying a separate polish whenever you buy a different kind of club. It is also made with non-harsh chemicals making it ideal for sensitive skin.
3) Aoke Golf Polishing Solution (Multi-Purpose Option)
The Aoke golf club polishing solution is ideal for players looking for something that will save them a bit of time when cleaning and polishing. This is because, apart from the fact that it leaves your clubs polished in the end, you can also use it to remove tough dirt and rust from your club. But, if you need something that will clean your club thoroughly, we still advise you to use a different solution for cleaning. While it can be used for some stains, it is most effective in polishing.
4) Finger Ten Golf Cleaning Kit (All Inclusive Kit)
Another great option is the Finger Ten Golf Club polish. As you can tell from the name, this product is purchased as a kit containing all the materials you will need for polishing and cleaning. This is a huge plus as you won’t need to worry about purchasing any extra material for the process.
As a polishing product, the Finger Ten Polish is one of the best you can get from the industry. It is a premium, odorless polish that you can use with all kinds of clubs. It is specifically equipped to get into the tiny groove areas that other polishes may miss, protecting against rust.
Wrapping Up
To summarize everything we went through about how to polish golf clubs above, you simply need to ensure your golf clubs are clean, apply an appropriate type and amount of polish, and buff by hand or with a drill/turner.
Chris's love for golf is only rivaled by his wanderlust. A globetrotter at heart, He’s played courses throughout Europe and Asia and at home in NSW, Australia. With a writing style as smooth as his golf swing, he’ll help you find the right gear to match your skill level and style. You can connect with Chris on LinkedIn.
