Care and feeding for your blades

[bradsul]

I'm curious how you guys take care of your blades and if they're any different than cast clubs?

Personally I wipe them down as I use them on the course to keep them as clean as possible.  Generally after any round or practice session I'll use a small bucket of water and a nylon brush to clean the club heads and grooves.  Then dry them thoroughly with a towel.

Does anyone do any kind of groove maintenance?

How often do you get your loft/lie angles verified?  The local Golf Town pro-shop told me I should get them checked at the start of each season as they tend to bend a lot more than cast over the course of a year.

Any other maintenance tips?

[sean_miller]

Originally Posted by bradsul

I'm curious how you guys take care of your blades and if they're any different than cast clubs?

Personally I wipe them down as I use them on the course to keep them as clean as possible.  Generally after any round or practice session I'll use a small bucket of water and a nylon brush to clean the club heads and grooves.  Then dry them thoroughly with a towel.

Does anyone do any kind of groove maintenance?

How often do you get your loft/lie angles verified?  The local Golf Town pro-shop told me I should get them checked at the start of each season as they tend to bend a lot more than cast over the course of a year.

Any other maintenance tips?

When I'm waiting, or walking down the fairway, I'll pull an iron and clean the grooves with a tee. The longer the wait, the more irons I clean. It's relaxing and I have clean grooves next time it's my turn to hit.

A damp towel and a wipe is all they get mid-round and I only "wash them" if I'm putting them into storage for a while (e.g. like when I switch to another set for a few rounds).

I get the lofts and lies checked on my Mizunos every couple years, on my Clevelands pretty much never, but I should get it done, and on my older blades (Hogans, Burkes, Macgregors) I just aim for the middle of the green and cross my fingers.

[Gerald]

Just as Sean said, after every stroke I clean them, no not with water and soap, but just by a towel, after a full round I mostly take them home and clean all with water and soap ...... I actually always play with a clean set, but i see people who clean their irons once per season, but they never ask me anything about backspin.

I practice a lot from mats (I know from the grass is better, but not allowed overhere) .... I Check the lofts and lies every few months, as I can use the tools of my fitter and he learnt me how to use them. That seems quite often, but the Mizuno's are soft and hitting from mats is putting more stress on the clubs, than hitting from grass.

[dak4n6]

I use a wet towel - it does a much better job than dry. I re-wet it with a cup of water from the water coolers every few holes. Also, as Sean said, i use a sharp tee end to get any mud out of the grooves (and it is actually relaxing too)

[GaijinGolfer]

Due to the fact that they are carbon steel, they rust easily and you should cover them with a light coating of oil about once a month.  That will protect them from moisture so that they dont rust.  Also, when cleaning them, make sure that you only use a soft-bristled brush (never a copper or any other kind of metal) because anything else is going to be too aggressive and cause premature groove wear.

As for getting the loft/lie checked, it depends how much you play.  If you play a couple times a month you could get away with only getting them checked once a year.  If you play several times a week youd probably want to get them checked every 6 months.  Also, if you suddenly find that one of your clubs is acting up or the distance with it is a little off but none of your other clubs are off, its probably time for a checkup.