This may seem a very strange thing to write about as a golf technique, but it is often the small things that amateurs don't tend to notice that cause problems in your game.

When I roll up at the Golf Club ready to play a round there are usually a number of folks in the car park getting their golf bags, trolleys and kit out of the back of the car or loading it back in after their round. I consistently notice one thing, it may seem small and insignificant but it will make such a difference to your game. The clubs going back into the car dirty and muddy I can understand - you've just spent a few pleasant hours going round the course and you naturally gather a fair amount of debris and dirt. What never ceases to amaze me is the kit that comes out of the car dirty!

Golf Clubs and balls are highly engineered pieces of equipment these days, and they cost a lot of money. On the grounds of preserving my investment alone I would be making every effort to keep them clean and make sure they are in good condition. Every golf club has grooves of varying shapes and dimensions tooled into the striking surface – there is a reason for them. Those grooves are there to help improve the quality of the shot, the ball flight, control any number of things but they won’t do that if they are full of mud, grass and dirt. The amount of mud I see on some clubs would even alter the angle of the blade so there is no hope of any consistency of shot.