How to Use a Center Cut Golf Towel

A center cut golf towel is one of the most underrated pieces of gear for a prepared golfer, offering a simple yet brilliant design that can genuinely improve your on-course experience. If you’ve ever fumbled with a single, soaking-wet towel or wished you had a dry patch to wipe your hands, this guide is for you. We’ll show you exactly how to set up and use a center cut towel to keep your clubs, ball, and hands perfectly clean and dry from the first tee to the 18th green.

What Makes a Center Cut Towel Different?

Unlike traditional golf towels that attach to your bag with a metal grommet or carabiner at the top corner, a center cut towel - also known as a slit towel or tour towel - features a split right down the middle. This single design change is everything. Instead of having one bunched-up piece of fabric, you have two distinct "halves" that can hang independently over a club or alignment stick in your bag.

The genius of this design is its ability to create a dedicated “wet/dry” system. You can soak one half of the towel while the other side remains completely dry. This simple separation eliminates the common issue of needing one towel for wet cleaning and another for drying. With a center cut towel, you have both functions available in one streamlined package, easily accessible throughout your round.

This isn't just about convenience, it’s about preparing like a serious golfer. It’s organized, efficient, and ensures you always have the right tool for the job, whether you’re wiping down a muddy iron or drying your grips before a crucial shot in the rain.

Getting Your Towel Ready: A Pre-Round Routine

Setting up your center cut towel properly before your round takes less than a minute but pays off for the next four hours. Think of it as part of your warm-up. By doing this correctly once, you won't have to think about it again until you're back in the clubhouse.

Step 1: Create the Wet Side

Before you head to the first tee, isolate one half of the towel. Run just that side under a faucet at home or in the clubhouse locker room. You want it to be damp enough to clean Effectively but not so waterlogged that it's constantly dripping. A good approach is to get it fairly wet, then wring out the excess water until it’s perfectly damp. Be mindful to keep the other half completely dry, avoid any overspray or drips.

Pro Tip: If you forget to do this before the round, the ball washer at the first tee is your best friend. Just dip one half in the-washer water and wring it out.

Step 2: Attach it to Your Golf Bag

This is where the center slit shines. Don't use a clip or a carabiner. Simply drape the towel over one of the clubs in your bag, letting the slit serve as the anchor point. This method allows the towel to hang straight and flat, making both the wet and dry sides easy to grab.

Which club should you use? Here are a couple of options:

• An alignment stick. This is the most common and arguably the best method. Alignment sticks are usually positioned at the top of the bag, providing perfect height and accessibility.
• A club you rarely use. For many amateurs, this could be a 3-iron, 4-iron, or even a 5-wood. Draping the towel over a club that stays in the bag keeps it out of the way of your frequently used sticks.
• Avoid placing it over your driver or putter. You'll be taking these out of the bag too often, which just makes reorganizing the towel a constant annoyance.

Your On-Course Strategy: How to Use It During the Round

Once your towel is set up, it becomes an active part of your pre-shot and post-shot routine. Here’s how to put its dual-functionality to work on the course.

Cleaning Your Clubs: The Foundation of Spin and Control

The grooves on your irons and wedges are not for decoration, they are engineered to channel away grass, water, and debris at impact. This allows the clubface to make clean contact with the ball, generating friction that creates spin. Dirty grooves full of caked-on mud or grass will significantly reduce spin, leading to "fliers" from the fairway and shots that won't hold the green.

Here’s your new routine after every shot:

1. Wipe with the Wet Side: Grab the damp half of your towel and give the clubface a thorough wipe. Use your thumbnail through the towel to dig into each groove and clear out any stubborn dirt. This is especially important after a shot from the rough or a muddy lie.
2. Dry with the Dry Side: Immediately follow up by wiping the clubface and head with the dry half of the towel. This removes any final moisture, prevents rust from forming over time, and leaves your club looking pristine and ready for the next shot.

Having this wet/dry combo on hand makes the process fast and automatic. No more spitting on your clubhead or frantically trying to find a clean, dry patch on a completely soaked towel.

Maintaining Your Grips for Ultimate Control

Your connection to the golf club is through your hands. A slippery grip is a major confidence-killer. Whether it’s from rain, humidity, heavy morning dew, or just sweaty palms, moisture on your grips will cause you to instinctively tighten your grip pressure to prevent the club from slipping. This tension is a swing wrecker, destroying your tempo and feel.

The dedicated dry side of your center-cut towel is your best defense. Before every single shot, no matter the weather, make it a habit to quickly wipe down your grip with the dry half. This takes two seconds and ensures a secure, confident connection to the club, allowing you to swing freely without fear of the club twisting in your hands.

Keeping Your Ball Ready to Roll True

A clean golf ball is essential for performance, especially on and around the greens. A speck of mud on your ball can throw it offline on a putt, and it can affect aerodynamics on approach shots. While ball washers are great, they aren't always available when you need them.

Your towel provides an on-demand ball cleaning station. When you mark your ball on the green:

• Use a corner of the wet side to scrub away any grass, sand, or mud.
• Use a part of the dry side to polish it off before placing it back on your mark.

A clean, dry ball rolls more predictably and helps you trust your line on the green.

For Your Hands and Face

The towel isn’t just for your equipment. On a hot or rainy day, it's invaluable for personal comfort. Use the clean, damp side to wipe sweat from your brow or sunscreen from your hands. Then, use the dry side to dry them off completely. This little bit of personal maintenance can help you stay focused and comfortable, especially during a long, hot round.

The Professional Feel

There's a psychological component to being well-prepared. When your gear is clean, organized, and ready, you feel more in control. You walk up to your ball feeling like a player, not a person rummaging through their bag for a dirty, crusted towel. This confidence translates directly into how you approach your shots. Instead of adding a layer of mental clutter, your equipment helps you focus on what really matters: your target and your swing.

Caring For Your Towel

To keep your towel performing its best, a little post-round care goes a long way. After every couple of rounds, toss it in the washing machine. This prevents bacteria and mildew from building up in the damp side and keeps the entire towel fresh. Letting a wet towel sit in your bag for a week is a recipe for a smelly, unpleasant surprise next time you play.

If you're between washes, simply drape it over your bag or cart to air dry fully after the round. This will extend its life and keep it a hygienic and effective tool for your game.

Final Thoughts

Integrating a center cut towel into your routine is a simple switch that offers outsized rewards. This incredibly functional piece of gear simplifies keeping your equipment in top shape, which directly contributes to better, more consistent golf shots and a more enjoyable on-course experience.

At its core, golf improvement is about making smarter decisions to remove uncertainty. Just as the right towel eliminates guesswork in equipment maintenance, our tools can help eliminate guesswork in your strategy. That's why we built Caddie AI - to give you an on-demand golf expert in your pocket. Whether you're unsure how to play a tough par-5 or need to figure out the best shot from a tricky lie in the rough, our AI provides instant, personalized advice to help you play with more confidence and turn potential blow-up holes into manageable ones.