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Golf Head Covers: Which Clubs Need One, Which Can Go Without, and the Types That Last

Golf head covers do one job: they stop your clubs damaging each other in the bag. Every time the bag is lifted, carried or pushed over a bumpy path, the heads knock together, and the irons are heavy, sharp-edged and made of steel. The clubs that suffer are the ones with painted crowns, thin faces or precision-milled surfaces. That makes four kinds of club worth covering, and the rest optional. This page sets out which, then the materials and fastenings that hold up over a season of rounds on a hilly parkland course like Lullingstone Park.

Why clubs need covers at all

Drivers and fairway woods have large, thin-walled titanium or steel heads with a painted crown. An iron landing on that crown leaves a chip or a dent you see every time you address the ball. Hybrids have the same painted finish on a smaller head. Putters are softer still: many have milled faces or soft inserts that mark easily, and a ding on a putter face is one of the few kinds of wear that can change how the ball comes off it.

Shafts matter too. Woods and hybrids usually have graphite shafts, and irons rattling against them can wear through the paint and into the fibres near the head. A long-necked cover protects the top few inches of shaft as well as the head.

Club by club

Driver

Always cover it. It is the most expensive club in most bags and has the biggest painted surface. Driver covers are usually sized for a 460cc head, the maximum the rules allow, so they fit almost every modern driver. Our golf drivers guide covers choosing the club itself.

Fairway woods

Cover them for the same reasons. Covers carry a number, often on a swing tag or a rotating dial (3, 5, 7 and X are common), so you can tell your 3 wood from your 5 wood without lifting them out.

Hybrids

Smaller covers, usually numbered by loft or iron equivalent. If you carry two or three hybrids, numbered covers save time on the tee.

Putter

Cover it, and pick the right shape. Blade covers are slim and often close with a magnet or a short strap; mallet covers are wide and deep to fit the larger head. Buy a cover for the shape you use: a blade cover will not go over a large mallet. More on putter shapes in our putters guide.

Irons and wedges

Optional. Iron heads are solid and designed to take knocks, and most club golfers never cover them. Iron covers make sense for soft forged blades you want to keep looking new, for air travel, and for a new set in the first season. The trade-off is time: taking a cover off and putting it back on every shot slows you down, and loose iron covers are easy to leave on the fairway.

Materials compared

On wet winter days, a waterproof synthetic cover beats a knitted one, which comes back heavy and dripping. In summer, the choice is mostly about looks and fit.

Closures: magnet, Velcro or nothing

Wood and hybrid covers usually pull on and stay on through friction, helped by an elastic collar. Putter covers rely on a closure. Magnetic closures are quiet and quick. Velcro holds firmly but makes a loud rip, which is poor form if someone near you is about to play: take it off before your partner settles over the ball, not during their pre-shot routine.

Looking after them

• Dry them after wet rounds. Take covers off when you get home and let both covers and heads dry. A damp cover left on for a week holds moisture against the club.
• Clean the heads first. Grit trapped inside a cover acts like sandpaper on the crown. Our page on how to clean golf clubs covers the routine.
• Check after each hole. Covers left by the green or on the tee are one of the most common items in any club’s lost property. Bright colours, and a quick count when you leave the tee, help.
• Replace a split cover. A cover with a torn neck no longer protects the shaft.

Head covers and the rules

Head covers are not clubs, so they do not count towards the limit of 14 clubs in Rule 4.1b. You can carry as many as you like. If you are unsure what counts and what you can add mid-round, see how many clubs you can carry.

Do covers matter more on a trolley or when carrying?

Both. On a trolley the bag sits upright and rattles over every bump on the paths; when you carry, the clubs swing together with every step and every time the bag is dropped on its legs. A bag with full-length dividers reduces contact but does not stop it, which is why most golfers cover woods and putter whatever bag they use. Our golf bags guide and stand bag vs cart bag pages cover the bags themselves. Back to the Lullingstone Park Golf homepage.

Sources: R&A, Rules of Golf, Rule 4 (the player’s equipment); R&A, Equipment Rules (460cc clubhead volume limit). Material notes reflect typical construction across current covers; check the maker’s description for any you are considering. Checked 26 October 2026.