Sheer Tackiness!!!

Of all the gadgets you can find in golf, most of them are absolute garbage with little practicality involved. Some you find, you think they are pretty gimmicky and a week later, they, like the rest of golf's tacky products, are consigned to the garage or the bin!

However, arriving by Parcelforce at the offices last week, came two items that I found very practical for golf and one of them was extremely tacky…tacky as in sticky, rather than tacky as in crap!

Clean and tacky…a godsend for the keen among us

While most of us either refuse to clean our grips, therefore reducing the chance of consistently striking the ball well on the course, some of us, in fact most of us that do make the effort to prolong the life of our grips, use good old fashioned soap and water!

Now, it normally takes me about an hour to clean my grips with fairy liquid and hot water assisted ably by lots of elbow grease and a nail brush. But with the new "Clean and Tacky" grip spray, which comes with a handy cylindrical tube to scrub your grips, that hour now takes around 10 minutes! And….it lasts for ages! Bargain…you bet it is, especially at £12.99 for the kit.

Clean and Tacky cleaning solution is a combination of a mild detergent, degreaser and rubber conditioner. This unique combination acts as a surfactant to remove all dirt and grime from the pores in the rubber, allowing the grip to breathe naturally.

As recommended by 1981 Open Champion Bill Rogers

And when you follow the simple instructions, ten minutes later, your grips are erm…Clean…and tacky! Just the way we want them!

The UK distributors, BluWhale.com reckon that you will only need to use this solution twice a year. And although there is enough in the bottle to last a year by their recommendations, further refill bottles are available.

So for those of you who don't clean your grips, now there is absolutely no excuse not to now that it is easy!

Why should I clean my grips?

Your grips are the only physical point of contact between you, the club and the ball. Maintaining them properly increases your chances of hitting better shots.

How often should I clean my grips?

At least twice a season, usually at the start and end.

I use soap and water normally

Rubber is a natural product and has to breathe. Over time soap blocks the pores stopping this process resulting in even faster dirt build up.

How long will Clean and Tacky take to work?

When used with the specially designed brush you can clean a full set of clubs in approximately 10 minutes. The results are immediate.

Does this mean I no longer need to re-grip my clubs?

Unfortunately not but by using Clean & Tacky you can prolong the life of your grips.

So save yourself around £60 for a full regrip and splash out on £12.99 for a bottle and a brush! You know it makes sense!

The other useful little item that fell through the post was the Gazelle Towel RRP £12.99. Now, a towel is a towel right? Naah…this towel has a chamois leather attached to it and in wet weather, it has proved to me to be a very handy item for both drying your grips and your hands when they get wet. In fact, I am not sure why nobody else has thought of this before…it's great and really practical. If you want to stick with your designer manufacturers towel, fine…But I want a towel that keeps things dry and with a chamois leather attached…how can you go wrong with this…you can't!

No ordinary towel…The Gazelle Chamois

This patented, revolutionary all weather towel lets you have a wet and dry towel at the same time! With it's feature of three layers: Terry, waterproof liner and chamois.
Bluwhale even give you instructions on how to use it properly!

FOUL WEATHER: In wet weather simply close the towel. Though the exterior towel becomes wet, the interior chamois remains dry due to the waterproof liner between the towel and the chamois. Use the chamois to dry grips and gloves. Use the towel to clean your clubs and equipment. Simple eh!

FAIR WEATHER: In dry, hot weather, use the chamois two ways. Either wet the chamois down and leave the towel dry or wet down the towel and leave the chamois dry. Both ways allow you to clean clubs, dry off grips or wipe free perspiring hands. PLUS: The quick release clasp allows a one-time clip to your golf bag, while the quick release button lets you "press and go" with one hand.

The Towel measures 16"x24" and comes in 4 colours, Black, White, Hunter Green and Navy Blue. Machine washable and can be custom embroidered with your corporate logo.

For further information and how to get hold of these products, click on BluWhale.com