Golf is a sport that is different than other sports. With golf, you carry all of your equipment with you. It’s not in a dugout or on the sidelines or back in the locker room.
Golf bags have a lot of compartments for balls, tees, and gloves. But there are a few more things you could have (not a must) with you in the cart, in your bag or attached to your push/pull cart.
Before I golf, I do a few things ….
After the obvious things are out of the way, like paying, getting my clubs from the vehicle and into a cart (or pull cart) and putting on my golf shoes and a golf glove.
I then get ready for golf by:
- Grabbing a few balls from my bag and putting them in my pocket or on a holder on the cart. I also take a Sharpie pen and identify each ball with my initials. Why? Well, if I happen to hit a shot into some tall, tall grass or into a bush. I might need help to find my ball. If I am using a Taylormade ball and my golfing partners find other balls, including Taylormade golf balls, if it doesn’t have my initials on them, they might want to keep the balls they find.
- I put a long and short tee in my pocket. Why? So I don’ have to hold up my group or others by digging in the bottom of my bag when I need them.
- I grab my club cleaning tool, ball marker, and repair tool as well. Yes, they all do fit in one pocket.
- Then I go to a water source and wet down my towel and hang it on my bag. This will give me a way to clean a club at any time on the course.
Now I am ready to start my round. Relaxed, ready and looking forward to a game.
Why carry a golf towel?
Golf is played outside. There are elements to contend with. Dew on the grass on early morning games. It may also rain before or during your round for a short period.
You may want a few towels with you.
- One to wipe down a wet seat on a golf cart (from rain or spilled beverage)
- One to wipe your hands and face. From sweat or rain, or splash from your partner hitting a ball into or out of the water.
- One to clean your golf clubs and golf balls. They can and will get dirty.
A really good option is a Frogger Amphibian Golf Towel | Watch Video. It is both a wet and dry towel.
If you wert the inside before your round, it will stay wet and you can clean your golf clubs and golf balls. The dry side can be to dry them, or your hands and face.
Why short and long tees?
Again, none of this is mandatory, but it does help. A quality plastic golf tee, like the Axglo Wedge Golf Tee. They should last several rounds if not a whole season (or more).
A short golf tee is also handy. On a par 3, you may tee up with an iron and not a driver. Using a long tee, you will have to push it in further and depending on the course conditions, the ground can be really hard. I prefer the 1 1/2″ Pride Golf Tee.
Why carry a golf club cleaner?
The grooves on the face of your irons aren’t there for show. They help with the spin on the ball. Even if you don’t know how to put the spin on the ball with your swing. There are pocket brushes and ones that clip to your golf bag with a pull cord.
I liked the pocket one best, but I do have both with me. The pocket one allows me to have it available at all times. If I am in a cart and I walk over to my ball and realize my club needs cleaning, I don’t have to walk back to the cart.
One side of the tool is a wire brush and the other is a soft brush. The wire brush really gets into clean the groves. Plus being portable, you can clean your club right away and not have to remember when you get back to your cart.
Why carry golf ball marker and repair tool?
Depending on how much you golf, one thing you may or may not notice is the condition of golf greens. One of the things that make golf fun and challenging is the dips and mounds and other hazards on the golf course. If you are in control of your game, you want to land on the fairway, the grass is shorter than the rough. It’s easier to hit the ball from the fairway.
Golf is a finesse game and it is no more finesse than on the green. A quality chip to the green might roll into the cup. Or when you are putting, you want the ball to roll smoothly. Yes, there may be a break left or right in your putt to contend with. But if you are putting on a surface that looks like … well, the dimples of your golf ball it will be bouncing all over the place and won’t go where you aimed.
This is because the grass on the green is mowed really short. Any ball hit to the green, typically comes in high and bounces on the green. Leaving a dimple/mark (large or small).
If you carry a repair tool, (you can also use a tee), you can easily walk over and fix it. You may have to putt through that mark yourself on your next shot. But surely, someone will have your mall mark in their way at some point. Fixing these marks will help keep the green smooth.
These tools come in a wide range of styles and materials. Sometimes they cost less than a $1 but can cost higher than $30. Sometimes courses give them away for free, that’s just how important it is to keep greens smooth.
Some of these tools also have a magnet for a ball marker. You can simply use a quarter or dime as well. Marking your ball is needed if someone behind you needs to putt first and your ball is in the way.