After a wet round, get everything out of the bag as soon as you're home. Dry each club with a towel, including the grip and shaft, take the headcovers off and dry them separately, and leave the bag open with the pockets unzipped so it can dry out. Nothing should go back in the bag, or back on a club, until it's fully dry.
Wet rounds are part of golf in the UK. A soaking does no harm if it's dealt with the same day. Left overnight in a closed bag in the car boot, it's how rust, slippery grips and musty headcovers start.
Why does it matter if your clubs stay wet?
Moisture left on clubs and in the bag causes rust, tired grips and smells that are hard to shift. The longer it sits, the worse it gets.
Steel is the first to suffer. Iron heads, wedge faces and steel shafts can show rust spots after a few days of trapped moisture, especially wedges with raw or unplated finishes. Titleist's club care guidance warns that "storing golf clubs in wet headcovers can lead to rust and corrosion and may not be covered by the warranty."
Grips are next. Golf Pride's grip care advice puts it simply: "Moisture is the enemy when it comes to keeping your grips feeling new." Grips that stay damp lose their tack and start to feel slick in your hands.
Then there's the bag itself. Wet towels, gloves and headcovers left zipped inside a bag will smell within a day or two, and that smell gets into everything else.
What should you do as soon as you get home?
Take the bag inside, empty it, and start drying. Don't leave it in the car overnight.
- Take the clubs out of the bag. Lay them on a towel or stand them in a dry corner.
- Dry each club with a towel. Do the head, the face and the shaft. Get into the grooves on the irons and wedges.
- Dry the grips. Wipe each one down with a dry towel, then leave them to air dry.
- Take the headcovers off. Dry them separately, off the clubs.
- Empty the bag. Take out wet towels, gloves, waterproofs and anything else that got damp.
- Open every pocket. Leave the bag standing with the pockets unzipped and the rain hood off, so air can get in.
Whenever I've been playing in the rain, or there's been a lot of surface water on the course, I always dry my clubs off when I get back home. My headcovers go on the radiator to dry out.
How do you dry headcovers properly?
Dry them off the club, and make sure they're dry right through before they go back on.
A wet headcover on a club holds moisture against the clubhead, which is exactly what Titleist warns against. Titleist recommends that "your golf clubs and headcover be completely dry before storage."
Seamus Golf's care guide suggests hanging a wet headcover or laying it flat to dry "as soon as you can", and stuffing it with crumpled newspaper to draw out moisture from the inside. The newspaper also helps a structured headcover keep its shape as it dries.
Check the inside before you put it back on. The outer fabric can feel dry while the lining and seams are still damp. If a headcover has picked up mud as well as rain, our guide to cleaning golf headcovers explains how to deal with it.
What can you do during the round to keep things drier?
Keep the grips and the inside of the bag as dry as you can. Wet clubheads are unavoidable, but wet grips and a soaked bag are not.
Use the rain hood. Most bags come with one. It keeps rain off the grips and out of the top of the bag between shots.
Carry two towels. Keep one for the clubheads and one, kept dry under the umbrella or in a pocket, for your hands and grips.
Keep the headcovers on between shots. They keep rain off the clubheads and keep water from collecting in the top of the bag.
Dry the putter during the round. Titleist suggests drying carbon steel putters "a few times during the round". It's a good habit for any club you use often in the wet.
Hang the umbrella over the bag when you stop. When you're waiting on a tee, tilt it to cover the grips rather than just yourself.
How do you dry out a wet golf bag?
Empty it, open it up, and stand it somewhere warm and airy until the inside is dry, including the base.
Golf bags hold water in places you don't see. The base collects whatever runs down the club shafts, the dividers at the top trap rain, and the pockets fill up if a zip was left open. Even a bag sold as waterproof can let water in through open pockets or the top.
Start by tipping the bag upside down for a minute to let any standing water drain out of the base. Then stand it upright with every pocket unzipped and the rain hood off. If the lining is soaked, stuff a towel into the club section overnight to draw the water out.
Give it a sniff the next day. If it smells musty, the bag needs longer to dry, or a wipe inside with warm soapy water and then another full day to dry. A bag that goes back into the car damp will only get worse.
Should you put your clubs away straight after drying them?
Not straight away. Give everything a few hours, or ideally overnight, to dry fully before it goes back in the bag.
Towel drying gets the surface water off, but water stays in the grooves, the joins between the head and the shaft, and the seams of the bag. Leaving the clubs out of the bag overnight lets that last moisture go.
Once everything is dry, put the clubs back, put the dry headcovers on, and store the bag somewhere indoors. A cold garage or a car boot will undo the drying. Our guide to storing golf clubs over winter covers where to keep them.
What about your shoes, gloves and waterproofs?
Dry them the same day, separately from the bag.
Shoes should come off the course, be knocked clean of mud, and be stuffed with newspaper to draw out the water. Leave them somewhere warm but not directly against a heat source, which can crack leather uppers.
Gloves are easy to forget. A wet leather glove left screwed up in a bag pocket will dry stiff and misshapen. Lay it flat to dry.
Waterproofs should be hung up to dry rather than stuffed back in the bag. Check the pockets first for scorecards, tees and pencils, which will be soaked.
Frequently asked questions
Can I leave my golf bag in the car after a wet round?
It's best not to. A closed car boot keeps everything damp, and moisture trapped against the clubs causes rust and slick grips. Take the bag inside and dry it the same day.
Should I take the headcovers off wet clubs?
Yes. Take them off as soon as you can, dry them separately, and only put them back on once both the club and the headcover are completely dry.
How long do golf grips take to dry?
A towel removes most of the water straight away. Leave them to air dry for a few hours after that, or overnight if they were soaked, before you play with them again.
Ready for the next round
Ten minutes with a towel after a wet round saves a lot of trouble later, and the clubs come out next time feeling the same as they did before the rain.
A headcover that dries well and holds its shape helps too. Our driver headcovers are lined in microfiber velvet and built for drivers up to 460cc. The Heritage is a tartan woven through the fabric rather than printed, so the pattern doesn't sit on the surface.