Run-ins with rain happen to the best of us. If you’ve just brought all your gear in from a wet day on the course, the absolute worst thing you can do is leave your golf bag in your trunk.
If your gear got wet on the course, here’s what you need to do to protect it from damage.
1. Take all of your gear out and bring it inside to dry (especially your clubs)
First things first, take all of your golf gear out of your bag. That means all of it.
Remove all of your clubs and bring them inside. Place them somewhere warm and dry to dry out slowly, away from a direct heat source. This will help prevent rust on iron shafts and protect the adapter/fitting between the tip and club head as well as the grips.
Then, remove all of your towels, gloves, shoes, rangefinders, tees, golf balls, scorecards, and even pens, and pencils from the golf bag. These will trap moisture and will damage your bag.
2. Open all of the pockets and turn the bag upside down to drain it
After you’ve completely emptied your golf bag, your work has only just begun. Open all of the pockets (even if there was nothing in them) and then hang the golf bag upside down.
This will allow any water stuck at the bottom of the bag or inside any pockets to drain out. Water-repellent coatings can be a blessing, but they work in reverse when you’re trying to dry a bag off and can prevent draining.
Leave the bag hanging upside down for a few hours.
3. After all of the water has drained, clean off any mud, dirt, grass, sand, or leaves from the inside and outside of the bag
After you’re confident that there’s no excess water lurking inside the bag or pockets (it’ll probably still be damp, though) take one of your golf towels or a brush and clean off the bottom and sides of the bag.
Be sure to remove any grass, mud, sand, dirt, or other debris that will cling to the bag and slow down the drying process or stain the fabric.
4. Place the bag somewhere warm and dry to thoroughly dry out (no direct sunlight or heat, though)
After you’ve hung the bag upside down and then cleaned it off thoroughly, you can place it somewhere warm and dry to dry it off completely.
You can bring your golf bag inside at this point, but do not place it in direct sunlight or near a direct heat source, as these can damage the bag as it dries.
Bear in mind that it may take a day or more before the bag is completely dry.
5. Do not load your bag up again until it and all of your gear are completely dry
The final step is to load your bag up once more – but remember, do not load up your golf bag if it or any of your gear is even the least bit damp.
If you load up a damp golf bag, all that’s going to happen is you’re going to encourage the growth of mold or mildew or allow the formation of untoward odors.
Simply wait until everything is completely dry. Then, load up your bag and get back on the course.
Need a Golf Bag Custom Selected to Replace a Damaged One? Visit Dallas Golf Company
If your bag has been better days – or perhaps just one too many in the rain – or it’s mold and mildew damaged from long, damp months in the garage, then what you need is not a tutorial on how to care for it in the wake of a rain day, but a new bag altogether.
If you want a new golf bag custom-selected to replace the one you lost, visit Dallas Golf Company online at DallasGolf.com. They carry a wide range of golf bags, including travel bags, cart bags, stand bags, and even push carts, from Sun Mountain, Callaway, Mizuno, Titleist, and others, with a wide range of variety, options, and color combinations in their catalog.
Visit their store in Dallas, Texas for more information, or check out their website online to see what they have in stock.
