The smallest piece of golf equipment is likely one of the most important. I’m talking about those spikes on the bottom of your golf shoes. Years ago they were metal, but that’s just a memory for us old-timers now. Today, most clubs allow soft-spikes only on the course.

a bag of spikes

Beyond simply cleaning your spikes

Its recommended that you change spikes every twenty to twenty-five rounds of play. I’m going to assume that that is a number put out there by spike/shoe manufacturers. Then again, for most people, that works out to changing your spikes every 1-2 seasons of play.

You’ll need a spike wrench and new soft spikes.

Don’t slip because of worn-out spikes

It’s easy to change them. Head to your pro-shop or your favorite golf store. You’ll need a spike wrench and a package of soft spikes – approximate cost $5 – $15. Be sure to check that the spikes use the same system for your particular shoe. It turns out (after buying the wrong ones) that there are eight different cleat systems. Luckily your pro or store should know which brands of golf shoes align with each of the cleat systems.

Changing your golf soft spikes

Changing your spikes is easy to do and takes about 10 minutes to do.

Removing old cleats

OLD spike

1. Take your golf shoe and turn it over.
2. Using the wrench & place it in the appropriate holes on the cleat
3. Turn counter-clockwise. The spike should come out easily.

Shoe with old spike removed

To put in a new one

1. Marry the wrench and the new spike.
2. Place the spike system onto the bottom of the shoe.
3. Turn clockwise.

That’s IT! You’ll now have a slipless and grounded golf shoe. I hope that it improves your swing and don’t forget to take a golf lesson to help your swing as well.

PS Show me the money

Admission: I used to make fun of my wife for bargain shopping

I come from a time when a bargain = seconds (AKA – the one-armed sweater), but while looking at my options and making arrangements for test drives, I found pop-ups galore when I went to the dealers sites asking me to sign up for a test drive and in return I’d get a $25, $50, $75 or even a $100 gift card.

I was test driving cars anyway

So, why not make a little $$$ while I was at it? I found my pop-up directly on my local Subaru site. I simply clicked on the automobile that I wanted more information and up it came. A small box telling me that if I put in my name and phone number, that I’d get a $50 Visa card just for coming in and driving the car (in my case it was a Subaru Outback), no strings attached. I went into the dealership, took a spin in the car, gave the salesman the coupon, and I had an email in my inbox within minutes offering me a choice between a $50 digital card, or a plastic one to be mailed out.

If there was ONE offer

I figured that there must be more.

So, off I went to google “test drive gift cards” and there they were. Of course while on Google, I found blogs that listed MULTIPLE offers by all of the manufacturers who had current test drive deals, a much easier alternative to having to search for them myself.

Sites with test drive deals

Hustler Money Blog

This was the one that I used to find most of my test drive deals. This site offers primarily finance/bank bonuses for opening accounts, along with the best financing rates. A quick search for “test drive promotions” brought up the latest ones available including

• Subaru – $50 – $65 (depending on region – we were offered the $50 one)
• Jeep – $50
• Hyundai – $50
• and more

Maximizing Money

A similar site helping you to stretch that dollar offered those listed above plus

• Gander Outdoors RV Walkthrough – $25 (check to see if your state is listed)
• Local dealer offers from $25

They offer great tips for keeping on top of those offers by signing up with each of the manufacturers.

There are plenty more, but honestly, all of the deals are duplicates of the ones we found on these sites.

Make money while car shopping

I was car shopping anyway, so this was a great way to put a few extra dollars in my pocket while I was doing my test drives. Maybe we’ll list the offers in the future right here on Cars Bars and Pars. If you’d like us to do that, please let us know.

NOTE: Most of these test drive promotions offered us digital gift cards that came directly into our email. I was able to opt-in for a plastic one (to be used in stores and not only online) with Subaru. My wife did a Hyundai test drive for $50 and when she went to check the plastic card rather than a digital one, there was a $3 fee (so she’d get a $47 gift card instead.

Obviously, these offers vary by state and dealership.