Spring Golf Gear Checklist: 5 Essentials for 2026

Can you feel it, Rock Heads? The days are getting longer, the frost delays are getting shorter, and the itch to play is hitting hard. But before you rush out to the course for that first glorious round of the year, you need to run through a proper spring golf gear checklist. Chances are, your bag has been sitting in the garage, basement, or trunk since November, and cold temperatures combined with months of stagnation can wreak havoc on your equipment.

Nothing ruins a season opener faster than a dead rangefinder battery on the first hole or slipping in the mud because of worn-out spikes. To make sure your game is ready when the course opens, we’ve put together this 5-step audit. Spend 30 minutes on this list now, and you’ll save strokes (and headaches) later.

---

---

The Ultimate Spring Golf Gear Checklist

1. The “Handshake” Check: Inspect Your Grips

Your grip is your only connection to the golf club. If that connection is slippery, hard, or cracked, your brain will subconsciously tell your hands to squeeze tighter. And as every teaching pro will tell you: Tension is the enemy of the golf swing.

Winter air dries out rubber, making grips slick and brittle. Here is the quick test to see if yours survived the offseason:

• The Visual Test: Look at where your thumbs sit on the club. Do you see shiny spots? Are there wear patterns or indentations? If yes, it’s time to change them.
• The Tactile Test: Hold the club lightly. Does it feel tacky and secure, or does it feel like hard plastic? If it feels like holding a dried-out marker, they need to go.

The Fix: If your grips are relatively new (around 40 rounds or fewer, or less than a year of regular play), give them a spa day. Scrub them vigorously with warm water, mild dish soap, and a bristle brush to remove oil and dirt. If they are still slick after drying, it’s time to regrip.

2. The Cold Weather Ball Swap

Here is a cold, hard fact: Golf balls do not like the cold.

When the temperature drops, the rubber core of a golf ball hardens. This makes it more difficult to compress the ball at impact, which can reduce ball speed and cost you some distance. If you are heading out in 50°F (10°C) weather with the same high-compression Tour ball you used in the heat of July, you are going to feel like you’re hitting a rock.

The Strategy: For the early spring season, when fairways are soft and the air is heavy, switch to a lower-compression (softer) golf ball.

• Why? They are easier to compress with slower swing speeds or in colder air, giving you better feel and maximizing whatever distance the conditions allow.
• Bonus: Soft balls are generally cheaper. Since spring golf often involves losing balls in plugged lies or piles of leaves, you won’t feel as bad losing a $2 ball as you would a $5 one.

Pro Tip: Never leave your golf balls in the trunk of your car overnight before a round. Balls that sit in the cold won’t perform as well as ones kept at room temperature. Keep your sleeve of balls inside the house until you leave for the course!

---

---

3. The Shoe & Spike Audit

Spring golf is beautiful, but let’s be honest: It is wet.

Between morning dew, thawing ground, and spring showers, traction is non-negotiable. If you are slipping during your downswing, your chances of making consistent, solid contact drop fast.

The Checklist:

• Spikes: Flip your shoes over. Are you missing cleats? Are the plastic “legs” of the spikes worn down to nubs? A replacement pack of spikes is the cheapest insurance policy you can buy for your swing.
• Waterproofing: Inspect the seams of your shoes. If they are cracked or peeling, wet socks are in your future. If your shoes are older but still in good shape, consider applying a leather waterproofing spray.
• Laces: Check for fraying. Snapping a lace while tying your shoes in the parking lot is a terrible way to start the day.

While “spikeless” shoes are a massive trend for summer comfort, we highly recommend sticking to spiked shoes for the mud and muck of March and April. You need that extra bite!

4. The Tech Tune-Up

We’ve all been there. You stand on the first tee, laser your target, press the button, and… nothing.

Modern golf relies on tech, and tech relies on power. Don’t let a dead battery ruin your club selection.

• Rangefinders: Even if it’s still working, swap out that CR2 battery for a fresh one. Keep the old one in your bag as a backup.
• GPS & Watches: Plug them in now. Lithium batteries can drain slowly even when powered off for months. Check for firmware updates or course map updates, courses change layouts more often than you think!
• The “Junk Drawer”: Clean out the pockets of your golf bag. Throw away the crushed granola bar from last October, the broken tees, and the glove that has turned into a crusty fossil. Start fresh.

5. The Loft & Lie Check (For the Serious Player)

If you play forged irons (and even some cast ones), hitting off driving range mats or firm ground can very gradually bend the metal over time. It happens slowly, but eventually, you might find that distance gaps between a couple of your irons start to shrink because the lofts and lies have drifted a degree or two.

The Audit:

• Take your clubs to a local shop to have the Loft and Lie angles checked. It’s usually a quick, inexpensive service.
• Clean Your Grooves: Dirt that has hardened in your grooves over the winter will kill your spin rates. Soak your clubheads in warm soapy water for 15 minutes and use a groove tool to get them perfectly clean.

The 2026 Bag Setup: Be honest with yourself, did you hit that 3-iron well last year? If not, the beginning of the season is the perfect time to look at gapping. Consider swapping that long iron for a 5-wood or a high-lofted hybrid. This is the year to make the game easier on yourself!

Ready to Play?

A clean, organized bag builds confidence. When you know your grips are tacky, your batteries are charged, and your shoes are ready for the mud, you can focus on what really matters: splitting that first fairway.

Need to restock on fresh balls or grab a new set of grips? Head over to The Cave right now! We’ve got the best deals on pre-season essentials to get your 2026 season started right.

Tell us in the comments: What is the one piece of gear you are looking to upgrade this year?

---