The Best Way to Clean Golf Clubs

Everyone (or at least I hope everyone) knows that a clean club is a happy club. Having a clean club is a huge deal because it will lead to better contact, better ball performance, and most importantly better scoring. I have some friends and people that I know who rarely ever clean their clubs, and they wonder why their balls never stay on the green. If you don't clean your clubs during and after (or before) a round, then your playing performance will suffer.

During a Round: For cleaning clubs during a round, the best thing to use is a stiff bristled toothbrush and your towel. That is it. I don't recommend using a wire brush on irons and especially not woods because over time it will add even more wear and tear to the club. After each shot, scrape off the mud and dirt with the toothbrush. It will come off easy since it is fresh. This is most important for wedges. If you really want those grooves clean, a tee can work as well.

After or Before a Round: This is when you pay more attention to the club itself, and not just the clubface. You need a bucket, dishsoap, stiff toothbrush, towel, and sink or hose. Put some dishsoap into the bucket and fill it just enough that the warm/hot water is covering the entire clubface, but it is under where the club meets the shaft. Only soak the irons. Then take the woods and the toothbrush. With the water running slowly, get some soapy water on the toothbrush and clean the entire clubface of the woods. Then rinse under the water. Be sure to dry well, and then put them back into your bag. Do this with the putter too...I never soak that either. By the time you  are done cleaning your woods and putter, it is time to clean the irons.

Take the toothbrush and clean the entire clubface, getting the toothbrush soapy. When you scrub the grooves, I find that it works best to get the whole face in circular motions and switching directions after a few scrubs. Make sure you get the bottom where the brand and number usually is because if those crevasses are filled with dirt, you will have poor turf interaction. Get behind the club, especially if you have cavity backs since dirt will stay there if it isn't regularly cleaned. Repeat with all irons and wedges, drying them all well before putting them back into your bag. Wipe the shafts and grips of all clubs to get them clean too.

If you notice any rust on the shaft or the clubface (only irons, wedges, and steel shafts), then use a little steel wool to rub it off. Obviously don't get too crazy with it as excessive use will ruin the club. If your clubs are maintained well, there shouldn't be any rust.

If you are in a hurry or your clubs aren't too dirty, then just run them all under warm water just using the brush.

Keeping your clubs clean is essential to your game considering that you want to perform your best on every shot. You simply cannot do that with grooves that are clumped with dirt.

Johnson Plays a Great Final Round to Win the FedEx St. Jude Classic

Dustin Johnson is the winner! If I had to choose from the first round, he most certainly wouldn't be my choice. For the 3 final rounds, he was on fire and finished with a total of -9. As I have said, his putting wasn't great, but Johnson didn't seem to struggle as much with shorter putts has he normally does.

The one person who did struggle with shorter putts, especially in the 3rd round was Davis Love III. He gave up a lot of birdie chances which definitely came back to bite him, though this was the first great tournament of -7 for the veteran golfer.

As a follow-up round of +3 from yesterday, Ken Duke surged back with a 5 under round today bringing him to a total of -6, but it was a little to late. It was a strong tournament for Duke, but he had to have been kicking himself for that one round that he gave the tournament away. He is still searching for his first win in his great rookie season.

Rory McIlroy also gave the tournament away in the last two rounds. He was 2 over in round 3, and played great for the first 9 today. On the back 9, he was 2 over which included a double bogey on the 18th hole...not a great way to end. McIlroy did lead the field in driving distance, but his driving accuracy killed him considering that it was under 50%, and he only hit about a third of his fairways today.

As you can tell, there was a lot of talent that threw away their chances at the winning the FedEx St. Jude Classic. Johnson surprised me considering this was his first start after he spent months recovering from back surgery. In fact, his driving distance was above 300 yards. The U.S. Open is just around the corner, and I am looking forward to the talent in this year's field. My pick would have to Ian Poulter considering that he is always my main golfer of choice.

My Favorites Going into the Weekend at TPC Southwind

Both Rory McIlroy and JB Holmes played excellent rounds yesterday. McIlroy was -5 for the day bringing bringing him from -2 to the lead at -7. Holmes played wonderfully with a total of 7 birdies which brought him from even par to -6. My two favorites going into the weekend are Davis Love III and Ken Duke. They are also two of my all time favorite golfers. Duke has had an excellent rookie season coming up from the Nationwide Tour where he clinched his PGA Tour card. Duke seems to be one of the nicest guys on tour and that is why I root for him. Davis Love III is a veteran golfer, yet hasn't played well this year. The Ryder Cup champion only made half of his cuts, and is pretty far down on the FedEx Cup points list. Both players have stated that the course has been playing tough, so 4 under for their total score puts them in great position for the weekend. As long as they both stay in the fairways and play consistent golf like they have done, Duke and Love have a promising chance at winning the FedEx St. Jude Classic.

Maggert and Merrick Lead at -4

Jeff Maggert played a great round of golf early today with only 2 bogeys, both coming on the front 9. He eagled the third with 4 more birdies coming on the back 9. He is tied for the lead with John Merrick. Merrick also played a great round with 2 bogeys, but he had a total of 6 birdies, including a beautiful 19 footer on the 13th. Maggert sounds pretty happy with his round in his post round interview, considering that he plays well at this course.

I wish that the veteran Davis Love III had played a little better. He finished strongly with a -2, and started the round solidly, but he had a few bogeys scattered on the latter half of the front 9, and 1 on the 14th. Davis made a nice jump-back birdie on the 6th, but then was followed by a bogey on the 7th, and another on the 9th where he found himself in the trees. Love was lucky to get out of it with only a bogey.

John Daly played a solid round at -2, though he ended up with a double bogey on the 11th where he hit his tee shot in the water. It was followed by a great 12th hole which resulted in a birdie. Daly is tied for 2nd in GIR, which definitely helped him, and his long putting was exceptional as usual.

My personal favorite in this tournament would be Ken Duke. He had a good looking scorecard, with his only bogey coming on the 17th. Nothing extraordinary, just good consistent golf that Duke has played all season. On the 11th hole though, Ken was joking around with Ryuji Imada about a water snake that was lurking in the pond. Duke finished -2

Though I didn't get to see him play, McIlroy also had a good round of -2, with 2 bogeys coming on the 3rd and 8th. Since I didn't see him play, I don't have much to say except it is about time he shot a round under par. In his post round interview, he acknowledges his recent struggles and obviously feels happy with his -2 start.

There are a few guys at -3 (Atwal, Overton, and Henry) who I didn't mention, but I didn't get to see them play either. Considering that they are only 1 stroke off the lead, they and the mass of golfers at -2 are in a great position to take the lead in round 2 at TPC Southwind

FedEx St. Jude Classic (6/7-6/10)

I find it hilarious that the so called "experts" are still picking McIlroy to win tournaments. He hasn't played well since before The Masters, with the exception of his 2nd place finish at Quail Hollow. McIlroy is in a serious slump, and he will eventually come out of it, but I doubt he will until he works on his issues. My picks are as follows:
Graeme McDowell: Graeme has played well here during his first start at TPC Southwind a few years ago. He usually plays good, consistent golf as well.

Justin Leonard: He has won this tournament twice before and enjoys playing the course. Even though his year hasn't been that great, Leonard will have at least one good tournament.

Zach Johnson: Johnson recently came off of his 2nd victory at The Crowne Plaza Invitational. This year, he has played very consistently and has always been hovering near the top of the leader board. It wouldn't surprise me if he joined the group with 2 wins.

I would like to see Camillo Villegas at the top of the leaderboard sometime soon considering he hasn't done much this year. The same with John Daly who is also playing at TPC Southwind. He would be a long shot, but he can be interesting to watch especially with the putter and driver.

TV coverage of The FedEx St. Jude Classic will be from 3-6 PM Eastern time, Thursday and Friday aon the Golf Channel, and Saturday and Sunday on CBS.

Golf Digest Tip of the Week

TIP: GET YOUR FEEL BACK       

"Sometimes you have to do something radical to regain your feel for the swing. Try this: Swing a broom like you would your driver. You'll instinctively support the weight of the broom at the top, let the broom lag on the downswing, and balance it in the finish. This helps overcome the urge that many players have to lift the ball in the air—that's when they lose a lot of power. So swing the broom (left) and then recreate that feel when you hit your tee shots.
—Randy Smith / Golf Digest Teaching Professional"

What I do when I struggle with my swing is hit some balls at the range, but swinging only at about 50%. While doing this, I don't change anything but the speed. When I am hitting balls consistently, then I will up it to about 75%, and eventually 100%. I have done this with a broom before and the increased wind resistance will help those who turn their hands over too early, and have a closed face on impact. For more power, a weighted driver will help as well because your normal driver will feel very light in your hands.

Golf GPS and Rangefinder: How important are they to your Game?

Golf GPSs and rangefinders are a growing and popular technology. They are becoming much more accessible through smartphones. The GPS's smartphone market is becoming much more popular due to the affordability of the apps ($5 vs $300).

I even have a GPS and stat tracker app on my phone, but I only use the stat tracker because I find the GPS feature a bit of a hassle. I have considered buying a real one, but didn't think I would really use it. I know that there are a lot of people out there who really feel the need to get everything perfectly precise, but I might be better at eyeballing the distance some people.

I do know a lot of people that fully use and rely on a golf GPS, and who won't go to the course without it. I am not that type of person. I couldn't see myself pulling out my golf GPS, taking a while to find the exact distance, but then missing just a tad long, or just a tad to the left. My shots are usually accurate, but I know I am not accurate enough to get it within inches of the pin each time. The distances marked on posts on the fairway are enough for me. Vote in the poll on the right hand side of the page to tell me what you think.

Golf Club Review: Cobra Trusty Rusty Wedge

The Cobra Trusty Rusty wedges are back this season, and since there has been a lot of buzz around them, I decided to demo one. I need a lob wedge, so I tested out the 59 degree black Trusty Rusty Wedge. I played with it for 18 holes, and when struck well, the feel was probably the best of any wedge I have ever tried. This wedge features a Tri-Bounce sole. On any other low bounce wedge, the average golfer wouldn't be able to hit it well, and they would cut into the ground easily. When I was first hitting this club, I was doing just that, and took a little bit bigger divots than I wanted. It took me a little bit to get used to the club, which is understandable if you have never hit a club before. By the 10th hole, I was hitting the club beautifully and very accurately. The Trusty Rusty wedge had great spin and was very versatile due to the Tri-Bounce sole. It hit well with the face wide open, and I had great results chipping. My only problem with it was that I underestimated how far I could hit it. A few times on full shots I would hit the back of, or behind the green. The wedge also hit well out of the sand. The new Cobra wedges are very aesthetically pleasing. They have a traditional style, but there is a bit of a modern touch to them. The only thing that is keeping me from ditching my Cleveland wedges in a heartbeat for the Rusty's is the price. If you are looking for a great all around performance wedge, which has great spin and great versatility, then the Cobra Trusty wedges are for you. I plan on getting the 51, 55, and 59 degree wedges sometime in the future.

Tiger Woods Earns his 73rd Win at The Memorial

Tiger Woods played a beautiful 5 under round (total -9) including a clutch chip in on the 16th hole that looked like a shot Tiger would've made a few years back. He only had two bogeys on the 8th and the 10th, and he truly looked phenomenal. Woods now is tied at 2nd place with Jack Nicklaus with 73 wins on the all time PGA Tour list for the most wins by a single golfer. He has achieved all of this in a very short time period compared to other greats such as Trevino, Nicklaus, Snead, and Mickelson, Hogan etc. The next step for Tiger is to either get to the most all time wins (Snead, 82) or the most all time major wins (Nicklaus, 18...Tiger has 14).

The leader going into round 4 of The Memorial, Spencer Levin, finished in a tie for 4th scoring +3 for the day where he completely fell apart on the back 9 with a double bogey on the 13th, with 3 other bogeys and only 1 par. He now has to qualify tomorrow in order to play in the U.S. Open.

Andres Romero had a great round of -5 including an eagle on the 15th hole, and he finished in a tie for 2nd place at -7 with Rory Sabbatini. Sabbatini had a round of even par with just as many bogeys as birdies (3), and he really didn't do anything special to get him in a position to win, considering that Woods passed him with his chip in on the 16th. Sabbatini had good shots on the 11th and 12th which lead to birdies, and had a great shot on the 10th where he saved par.

Rickie Fowler....there isn't too much to say about him. All you have to do is look at his scorecard. He was +12 for the day, and ended with a total score of +7. He started the day -5. Fowler had a total of 3 double bogeys today on the 3rd, 14th, and 18th, and his entire scorecard was swamped with bogeys. Not the best of day, but it'll happen to the best.

This year's Memorial was a great tournament, though a lot of the big names played badly or got cut. Tiger came out on top, and he is now 1 of 3 people to have 2 wins this season (Dufner and Mahan are the other two). Like I said in my post before about Woods, he will definitely have a good tournament here and there, but there is too much talent out in the field for him to win them all.

Levin Leads after Round 3

Spencer Levin played exceptionally well on the front 9 with an eagle on the 5th hole. and 3 other birdies with only 1 bogey on the 7th. His wedge shot landed about 4 feet from the hole and spun a good 70' away on the fringe. Levin also started the back nine with a chip in birdie on the 10th. On the 14th hole, Levin had a birdie putt off the green for about 80' or so. He missed the cup by less than half of a ball, and settled with a par. Levin bogeyed the 16th and par'd the 17th and 18th for a 3 under round (69) and a total score of -8 which leads. During the back 9, he didn't seem nearly as confident with his putter as on the front 9, but he still leads the field in nearly every putting category.

Dusin Johnson played an erratic round today with 7 bogeys, 4 birdies, and an eagle on the 13th hole. He bogeyed the last 3 holes and finished with +1 for the round, a total of -1.

Jim Furyk had an up and down front 9. He eagled the 5th hole (the same one that Levin eagled), but he had double bogeys on the 3rd and 6th. On the back 9, he played well until the 16th where he bogeyed, and then double bogeyed the 18th, and he finished the round +3, for a total of -1. Furyk basically gave away his chances during this round, and reversed his great round yesterday.

Rickie Fowler had a great round 3 under round today. He only had one bogey on the scorecard which came on the 6th. Fowler had a great birdie on the 17th hole, and he nearly had a chip on the 18th, but he settled for a par instead. His total score is -5, and he will be playing with Tiger Woods on Sunday.

Tiger had a solid front 9 with 2 birdies on the 1st and 7th. The back 9 was up and down. Woods had 4 bogeys on the back with only 1 birdie, and he didn't look comfortable at all, especially towards the end. He finished the round +1 with a total of -4 in 4th place.

Rory Sabbatini was another one who had an erratic front 9 with 3 birdies and 3 bogeys. He only had 1 birdie on the back 9 on the 11th, and he finished the round -1, in 2nd with a total -7.

Scott Stallings who was -5 at the start of the round was +3 for the round with 2 double bogeys and 2 bogeys, with 2 birdies. He didn't seem to play very confidently, so I would count him out for tomorrow.

Tomorrow should be a good round with Levin playing great today along with Sabbatini. Tiger and Fowler should also be an interesting group to watch, but hopefully there won't be the same cell phone issue that happened to Mickelson in round #1. I would say Fowler, Levin, and Sabbatini have the best chances. Levin and Fowler both played well today, and Sabbatini is close by in 2nd. I don't see Tiger in it, but you never know...especially since he is going for his 73th win to tie Jack Nicklaus himself. Tune in tomorrow at 2:30PM Eastern Time on CBS to find out.

Rory Sabbatini Leads After Round 2 (Cut +3)

Sabbatini had a great round today of -3 with a total of 5 birdies and only 2 bogeys. His putting average is 25.5 which is tied for 6th in the tournament. He also had made 100% of his sand saves. Good putting and getting out of trouble is a great sign of a good golfer.

Some other great golfers that jumped up a bunch of spots are Jim Furyk and Tiger Woods. Tiger did have one double bogey during the round on the 12th, but other than that played great with 5 birdies. He hit a lot of greens today (14/18) and looked pretty well putting. Tiger's total score is 5 under.

Jim Furyk had a very neat looking scorecard free of bogeys. He had 4 birdies, with 3 coming from during the first 9 holes. He putted well today with only 25 of them. Furyk hit a decent amount of fairways as well, and has a total score of -4.

Notibles:
Aaron Baddeley...............-3
Adam Scott......................-2
Rickie Fowler..................-2
Brandt Snedeker..............-1
Luke Donald....................E
Geoff Ogilvy...................+1
Hunter Mahan.................+1
Justin Rose......................+1
Ernie Els.........................+1
Vijay Singh.....................+1
Davis Love III................+3
Fred Couples..................+3
CUT
Bill Haas
Bubba Watson
Ben Curtis
Rory McIlroy
Keegan Bradley
Louis Oosthuizen
Webb Simpson
Main Contenders for the Weekend (my picks):
Sabbatini
Levin
Stallings
Woods (needs to stay consistent)
Furyk (with another surge like the one today, he is a shoe in)
Baddeley (not his year so far, but he needs to break out of his consistent par play)

Coverage for tomorrow starts at 3PM Eastern Time on CBS. There was a lot of talent that was cut, but there still is a lot of talent in play.

Levin and Stallings at the Lead with -5, but there are still more People to Finish (Another Post to Come)

Spencer Levin shot an even par today (3 bogeys, 3 birdies) and remained at -5, while Stallings shot 1 over for the day to bring him to -5 which is tied with Levin.
Stallings Interview Round 2
Levin Interview Round 2
Both golfers really sounded like they were glad the round was over, and the wind seemed to take a toll on everyone. Neither Scott Stallings or Spencer Levin had exceptional rounds, and they weren't anything to write home about, but they are still the leaders with more players close on their tails.