Tag: Scottsdale self storage

How to Store Golf Clubs and Gear in Scottsdale Without Heat Damage

Most advice about storing golf clubs assumes a garage in a mild climate. In Scottsdale, that advice misses the two things that shorten golf gear’s life here: heat and long gaps between rounds. Clubs get left in a parked car after a morning round, bags sit in a garage through July, and snowbirds head north for half the year.

The short version: clean and dry everything, keep it out of the heat, and store it upright in a cool indoor space. Details vary depending on how long the gear sits, so this guide breaks it down by situation, then covers prep, sizing, and what to check when you pull everything back out.

Fix the Car Problem Before the Storage Problem

For many Scottsdale golfers, the hottest place their clubs ever sit is not the garage or a storage unit. It is the trunk. NHTSA notes that the inside of a parked car can heat up by about 20 degrees in just 10 minutes, and a trunk is no cooler on a summer afternoon.

Titleist makes the same point about golf balls: its guidance is to store balls indoors year-round and avoid leaving them in a car trunk in sweltering or freezing weather. Club makers and fitters give similar advice for clubs, since heat is hard on grips and on the epoxy that bonds each head to its shaft. Manufacturers don’t publish a precise temperature limit for that bond, so treat it as a reason for caution, not a hard rule.

The fix costs nothing: bring the bag inside right after the round, and if you are driving it to storage, go straight there instead of running errands first.

What Heat and Dry Air Do to Each Piece of Gear

  • Grips: rubber and synthetic grips dry out, harden, and lose tack with sustained heat and sun. If your grips already feel slick or cracked, replace them before storing, not after.
  • Shafts and heads: sustained heat is the main concern for the glue joint, and moisture is the concern for steel heads. Clean and dry them fully before they go away.
  • Balls: Titleist advises letting balls that have been exposed to extremes return gradually to room temperature before playing them.
  • Bag, towels, and gloves: a damp towel or glove left in a pocket can grow mildew, and Arizona’s monsoon season (mid-June through September) brings humidity spikes even in a dry climate.
  • Shoes and leather gloves: leather dries out and cracks in extreme heat, and wet shoes sealed in plastic develop odor and mold.
  • Rangefinders and GPS devices: lithium batteries and heat do not mix. See our guide to storing electronics safely.
  • Push carts: wipe down, dry completely, and fold before storing. Metal parts can rust if they’re stored damp.

Pick Your Storage Situation

Where the gear should go depends mostly on how long it will sit.

A summer break (a few weeks to a few months)

Many golfers play less from June through August, but the clubs stay in the house. The best spot is an interior closet in the air-conditioned part of your home, which beats a garage by a wide margin. If closet space is the problem, a small indoor unit solves it without moving the clubs into extreme heat. Our post on how Arizona’s heat affects stored items explains why garages and sheds are the weak link.

The snowbird off-season (six months or more)

Gear that sits for half a year deserves a more careful prep. Make the grip decision before you store, not when you get back: if grips are worn, schedule the regrip now so the clubs are ready for your first round in the fall. Plan a check-in too; our guide on how often to check on your storage unit covers what to do if you will be out of state. For the rest of the seasonal routine, see storage tips for snowbirds in Scottsdale.

Between homes or during a renovation

The priority here is protecting gear while everything else is in motion. Keep the bag upright and separate from boxes that could be stacked on it, and do not store it with paint, solvents, or fuel. Combustibles are not allowed in storage units.

How to Prep Clubs, Bag, and Shoes for Storage

  1. Clean the heads. Use warm water, mild soap, and a soft brush on the grooves, then dry fully with a towel.
  2. Wipe shafts and grips. Mild soap and water are enough. Let the grips dry completely before the clubs go in the bag.
  3. Empty the bag and check every pocket. Remove towels, gloves, balls, tees, and food. Look especially for sunscreen, bug spray, drinks, and other liquids or aerosols, since liquids and flammables are not allowed in a unit.
  4. Use headcovers and keep the bag upright. Stand it on a shelf or a stand, off the floor, with nothing stacked on top.
  5. Prep shoes and gloves. Clean and dry shoes, stuff them with paper or use shoe trees, and condition the leather. Avoid sealed plastic bags.
  6. Fold and wipe the push cart. Dry it completely first, and wipe metal parts so they do not rust.
  7. Take photos and label. A quick photo of what is in the unit and a labeled bag make retrieval easier. Our packing and storage tips have more on this.

A note on batteries: golf cart and electric push-cart batteries are the one item to ask about before you pack anything. Facilities generally restrict liquids, flammables, and hazardous materials, and our prohibited list includes all three, so confirm with the office first. If a battery is not approved, store it at home away from heat.

How to Store Golf Clubs and Gear in Scottsdale Without Heat Damage

What Size Unit Do You Need?

A golf bag is tall but narrow, so you do not need much floor space. A 5×5, about the size of a walk-in closet, typically fits one or two bags and a folded push cart. A 5×10 gives you space for several sets, shoes, and bins on a shelf. Measure your bag height and the folded size of your cart before you decide. Our guides to 5×5 units and 5×10 units and the space estimator can help you confirm.

When You Take the Gear Back Out

  • Check grips for cracks, slickness, or a hard surface.
  • Look over the heads for rust or loose ferrules, and listen for any rattle in the hosel.
  • Let balls come up to room temperature gradually before you play them.
  • Check shoes and bag pockets for mildew or odor.
  • Hit a few balls on the range before your first full round.

Need a Cool, Indoor Place for the Off-Season?

Every unit at McDowell Mountain Community Storage is indoors and air-conditioned, which keeps clubs, bags, and shoes out of the heat that builds up in garages and parked cars. Browse storage units in Scottsdale, or call (602) 899-5484 with questions, including whether we can take a cart battery. The office is open seven days a week.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can you store golf clubs in a garage in Arizona?

You can, but a garage is a weak choice from May through September, when it can get much hotter than the house. An interior closet or an air-conditioned space is a safer place for clubs, grips, and shoes.

Is it OK to leave golf clubs in a hot car?

Occasionally, for a short time, is unlikely to cause trouble. Regularly leaving them in a trunk through a Scottsdale summer is not advised, since heat is hard on grips and on the glue that holds the heads on.

How should you store golf clubs for the summer?

Clean and dry the clubs, bag, and shoes, then store them upright in a cool, indoor space with headcovers on. Avoid garages, sheds, and car trunks.

Should golf clubs be stored in or out of the bag?

Either works if the bag is clean and dry and the clubs have headcovers. Keeping them in the bag is simplest, as long as the bag stands upright and nothing is stacked on top.

Can you store golf cart batteries in a storage unit?

Ask the facility first. Many restrict liquids, flammables, and hazardous materials, and batteries can fall into those categories. If it is not approved, store the battery at home away from heat.

How long can you store golf equipment?

Clubs, bags, and shoes can be stored for many months if they are clean, dry, and kept out of the heat. Check them periodically if they will be stored for the whole off-season.

How Often Should You Check on Your Storage Unit?

Most advice on this topic assumes you can drive over whenever you decide it’s time. Check in every few months, the guides say, pop in and take a look around. That’s fine advice if you live ten minutes from your unit year-round. It’s a lot less useful if you’re one of the many Scottsdale storage customers who spend a good chunk of the year somewhere else entirely.

The Short Answer

As a general rule, long-term storage items warrant a check every three to six months, seasonal items should be looked at whenever you’re swapping them in or out, and valuables or important documents are worth a monthly glance if practical. In Scottsdale specifically, two local factors change that math: extreme summer heat that can affect certain items faster than in milder climates, and a large seasonal population that’s genuinely out of state, not just busy, for stretches of the year. If that’s your situation, the honest answer isn’t just “check more often,” it’s “have a plan for when you can’t check at all.”

Why This Question Matters More Here Than in Most Places

Desert heat isn’t just uncomfortable, it actively affects certain stored materials faster than a moderate climate would, particularly anything with adhesive, electronics, photographs, or fabric in a non-climate-controlled space. We’ve covered the specifics of how Arizona’s heat affects stored items in detail elsewhere, but the short version is that the margin for letting something sit unchecked is genuinely narrower here during peak summer months than it would be in a cooler climate. That makes the general “check every few months” advice a little riskier to follow blindly if your unit isn’t climate-controlled and your items are heat-sensitive.

The Snowbird Problem: What Do You Do When You’re Not Even in the State?

This is the part that generic storage advice completely misses, and it’s a real situation for a large share of customers in this market. If you’re a seasonal resident who heads north for the summer, “just check in every few months” isn’t really an option for the months you’re gone entirely. A few practical approaches work better than hoping nothing happens while you’re away:

  • Designate a trusted local contact who can check your unit on your behalf during the months you’re away, particularly if you’re storing anything valuable or heat-sensitive.
  • Photograph your unit before you leave. A quick set of photos showing how everything is arranged gives you, or whoever checks on your behalf, a clear baseline to compare against later.
  • Choose a climate-controlled unit if you’re going to be away for an extended stretch, since it meaningfully reduces how much can go wrong in your absence compared to a non-climate-controlled space sitting through a full desert summer.
  • Ask about facility-level options before you leave, since policies vary by location on whether staff can flag anything unusual during your absence.

If you’re a seasonal resident specifically, our guide on storage tips for snowbirds in Scottsdale covers more of what to plan for before you head out for the season.

General Frequency Guidelines, and Where They Still Apply

For anyone not dealing with extended absences, the standard guidelines are still a reasonable starting point:

  • Long-term, low-use items like extra furniture or keepsakes: a check every three to six months is generally sufficient.
  • Seasonal items like holiday decorations or seasonal clothing: check whenever you’re rotating them in or out, which naturally lines up with a reasonable visit schedule.
  • Valuables, documents, or anything you’d want to catch a problem with quickly: a monthly look, even a brief one, is worth the habit.
  • Business inventory: frequency depends entirely on how often you’re restocking or pulling items, which for many businesses means weekly or more.

What to Actually Look For When You Check

A quick visit is more useful if you know what you’re checking for, rather than just glancing around:

  • Musty odors or visible moisture, which can indicate a humidity issue worth addressing before it spreads to more items.
  • Signs of pests, including droppings or chewed packaging.
  • Items that have shifted or fallen, particularly if boxes were stacked and haven’t been checked in a while.
  • Anything that looks different from your baseline photos, if you took them before an extended absence.

Persistent moisture or mold concerns in any enclosed storage space are worth taking seriously, and general prevention guidance from the EPA’s mold and moisture resources applies just as well to a storage unit as it does to a home.

How Often Should You Visit Your Storage Unit?

How Climate-Controlled Storage Changes the Math

This is genuinely one of the more practical reasons climate control matters more here than in a milder climate. A non-climate-controlled unit sitting through a Scottsdale summer faces swings and extremes that a climate-controlled space doesn’t, which means the cost of going a little longer between visits is meaningfully lower when the unit itself isn’t subject to those extremes in the first place. It doesn’t eliminate the value of checking in, but it does buy real margin for anyone who genuinely can’t get to their unit as often as they’d like.

Frequently Asked Questions

How often should I check on a storage unit if I’m out of state for months?

If you can’t check it yourself, arrange for a trusted contact to look in on your behalf, particularly during peak summer months if your unit isn’t climate-controlled. Photographing the unit before you leave gives you a clear baseline to compare against when you or your contact does check.

Does climate control reduce how often I need to check my unit?

It doesn’t eliminate the value of checking, but it meaningfully reduces the risk of heat-related damage between visits, which matters more in a desert climate than in a milder one.

What should I look for when I visit my storage unit?

Check for musty odors, visible moisture, signs of pests, and anything that looks shifted or different from how you left it. Catching these early is usually much easier than finding them months later.

Is it normal to go several months without checking a storage unit?

For low-use, long-term items in a climate-controlled unit, this is generally reasonable. For heat-sensitive items in a non-climate-controlled space, or during an extended absence from the state, it’s worth having a more deliberate plan rather than simply letting time pass.

The Bottom Line

The generic “check every few months” advice repeated across most storage guides assumes you’re always within easy reach of your unit. For many people storing in Scottsdale, especially seasonal residents, that assumption doesn’t hold for much of the year, which makes planning ahead, climate control, and a trusted local contact more important than the standard advice suggests.

If you’re choosing a unit with exactly this in mind, McDowell Mountain Community Storage offers fully indoor, climate-controlled units built for this climate, along with a team that understands what seasonal residents actually need. Explore our storage units in Scottsdale or call us at (602) 899-5484 to talk through the right setup for your situation.