Do you remember that great, mid-80s TV show MacGyver?
He was a secret agent who would diffuse life-threatening situations by quickly making (or improvising) what he needed from the simple objects and materials around him.
I haven’t seen the 2016 remake (it’s apparently getting crushed by critics) but it did give me the idea for today’s tip: clever fixes that can “save” your golf vacations.
Here’s what to do when these little things threaten your golf travels…
Electric golf cart dies while you’re still playing?
Pour cola on any corrosion-caked battery terminals you see and scrub with a clubface brush (if you have one). The acid in the cola will help dissolve the corrosion and improve electricity flow.
Shoulder strap on your golf bag breaks?
If it’s the O- or D-ring, use a key ring as a substitute. If it’s a broken buckle or ripped strap, use the belt from your pants. It won’t be pretty, but it’ll get you back to the clubhouse.
Zipper stuck after a trip to the woods?
Rub the graphite from a golf pencil on there to lubricate the tracks.
Rain (or sweat) making it hard to keep a firm grip the club?
Rub some antiperspirant (Arrid Extra Dry works great) on your hands to help keep them dry. It feels greasy at first, but in about 15 minutes, you're good to go.
Need to draw an accurate alignment line on your golf ball?
Use the ring from a sports drink (i.e. Gatorade) bottle.
Down to your last tee?
When you tee up your next drive, lean the tee as far forward as you can without the ball falling off. This should keep you from snapping that last twig.
Pop a button your pants or shorts?
Use a paper clip, twist tie (perhaps sourced from the snack bar), or key ring to keep things on the up and up.
Need to dry rain-soaked golf shoes for tomorrow’s round?
Pull out the insoles and put in some crumpled newspaper…and use the hair dryer to speed up the process.
Got any golf travel hacks that would make MacGyver proud? Please share them with your fellow readers in the comments below!
Use the replacement cleat container to store your tees.
Use a magic eraser pad to clean driver/fairway wood heads especially white ones to get rid of dirt and grime. It restores to new condition
~ Use the spray product "Simple Green" to restore tackiness to your golf grips. Put a little in a personal spray bottle to carry in your golf bag - then use as necessary.
~ Use Childrens' sidewalk CHALK on the face of your woods to track "ball /face impact" when practicing at the range.
~ Use "fabric protector" spray on your caps brim and edges to retard the sweat stains in the summer heat.
~ Use the vinyl bags that your newspaper is delivered in to transport your golf shoes in when they're rather messy from a wet or muddy round.
They're like a crock pot liner -- helps with the clean-up after.
To clean my ball on the green(or tee), I use a piece of a "Sham-Wow"(any microfibre towel) placed in a regular sandwich bag It will hold moisture and stay dry in your pocket. Cut a small 6X6 piece and soak it before the round. They actually hold water for a long time so make sure to refresh it after a couple rounds. much cheaper than the pocket ball cleaners and better.
Also, I use one of my wife's old zippered makeup cases (Clear plastic so you can see all those tee's, divot tool, ball markers, coins, etc.
Again much less expensive and much better at the job. Clear makes it quicker to find everything, especially on the first tee.
Whilst on tour in Ireland our summer golf shoes became saturated during a downpour of biblical proportions at Lahinch. Worried that they would not dry out before our next round at Ballybunion, my Canadian friend suggested we put our golf shoes on the cylinder head of our car engine whilst on the Shannon ferry crossing. The heat from the engine cut the drying time by several hours!
Martini tees. They never break.
Take bungi cord with you to UK to hold bag on pull cart
Put freezer baggy in bag for if rain comes.keep stuff dry.