Bag Drop: Is Rust a Must?

Gxgolfer · November 14, 2005

By Donald MacKenzie via TheSandTrap.com

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If your irons or pricey milled steel putter started rusting, you'd probably freak out. But rusty wedges are actually desirable to many golfers.

A recent post in The Sand Trap forum got me thinking about wedges and rust. Over the last decade, the number of wedges on the market that are "raw" and meant to rust has grown steadily. Why would you want to spend money on something that will rust? Does the rust increase spin or feel? Read on and find out.

Most premium, traditionally designed muscleback wedges are made in roughly the same way. Soft carbon steel is either forged or cast into the desired shape, then a thin layer of hard chrome is applied. But some tour players find that the shiny chrome can be distracting in sunny conditions. No one likes getting blinded by the glare off their sand wedge when they open the clubface to hit a flop shot, after all.

Wedge design guru Roger Cleveland - founder of Cleveland Golf and current head of design for Callaway Golf - came up with a way to customize his popular 588 wedges for tour players in the early 1990s. Cleveland decided to leave the chrome off the wedge, leaving the 8820 carbon steel used in the 588 wedges in what is called a "raw" state. This was a tour-only option that, combined with a special sole grind, came to be known as the RCG: the Roger Cleveland Grind. In the mid-1990s, Cleveland Golf made these wedges available to the public as the RTG: Raw Tour Grind. The RTG caught on, and now nearly every OEM has raw wedges in its product lineup.

Leaving the metal raw means the clubhead will be a dull gray color - at first. Without the protective chrome, moisture will quickly cause the wedge to rust. This typically starts as a few dots of rust, and can quickly spread across the entire clubhead. This gives the clubhead a dark brown appearance, like a fine patina on an antique. The rust tends to wear away from the sole and face when you hit out of a bunker, creating a club that is always subtly changing in appearance.

The biggest advantages to rusting your wedges are cosmetic. You eliminate the possibility of glare, of course. There are also many golfers who think that the darker color of the rusted clubhead makes it easier to frame the ball and square the clubhead at address. And the rusty wedges look cool, period.

Unchromed wedges may also be a bit softer than chromed wedges. The thin layer of chrome is harder than the steel underneath it, so eliminating that layer does away with some firmness. But this is a matter of degrees. If you play a two-piece distance rock, using a raw wedge isn't going to make you think you're hitting an old-school balata.

There are some disadvantages to rusty wedges, though. Because they lack the layer of chrome, they are less durable. The grooves are less protected, and more likely wear out more quickly. If you play and practice a lot, you could conceivably wear down the grooves in your raw wedges in just a season or two.

Also, there's a wives' tale that rusty wedges increase spin. The theory is that the rust creates a rougher surface, and that friction leads to more spin. That's bull. The spin is the same for a rusty wedge as it is for a chromed wedge - when they're both new. Once the wedges start wearing down, you'll lose some spin, and that will happen faster with a raw wedge than with one that is chromed.

Titleist's 200 series of Bob Vokey wedges are available in three finishes, including an "Oil Can" finish designed to rust and a "black nickel" finish designed to reduce glare without rusting.

Two other minor, and funny, disadvantage to raw wedges. The first is that rust can be messy. If you leave a rusty wedge in your bag, it will transfer that rust to whatever it leans up against in your trunk: Other clubs, towels, your golf bag, shoes, etc. Rust stains, so be careful. Second, rust costs more. When you buy a raw wedge, you're paying more - usually about $10 a club - for less. You're not getting the chrome, but you're paying more for the novelty of the raw finish. I've never understood this, other than the fact that people tend to pay more for what they perceive as special, even if it costs less to make. [Ed: like people paying more for CDs when cassette tapes cost 3x as much to produce.]

Raw wedges tend to rust on their own. In different areas of the world, they'll rust at different paces. It's all about humidity. If you have a raw wedge and it isn't rusting as fast as you'd like, you have some options. Some people leave their wedges outside in the rain. I'm not a big fan of that idea. I prefer using saltwater. Take a towel (one that you won't mind getting rust-stained) and soak it with water. Then liberally sprinkle salt all over it. Salt is a rusting agent that will start eating into your carbon steel in a hurry. Wrap you clubhead tightly in the towel and let it sit overnight. Or, fill a small container with salty water and submerge the head overnight. Either way, you should have a very rusty wedge in the morning. If it isn't rusty enough, let it sit longer.

If the rust is too orange or uneven, take some steel wool or a Scotchbrite pad and lightly rub the wedge to even out the rust. Or take the club out to the range and hit a couple dozen balls out of a bunker. You'll be ready to go.

If your wedge ever gets too rusty, or if you want to take all the rust off and get back to the dull, raw steel, you have a couple options. You can use steel wool or Scotchbrite, as mentioned above, and some elbow grease to rub it off. Or you can soak the clubhead in Coca-Cola for a couple hours. Coke will eat through just about anything (it can clean blood stains off concrete), including the lining of your stomach, of course.

Personally, I prefer to play raw/rusty wedges. I currently have a 54° Callaway Forged wedge and a 58° Titleist Vokey wedge with an Oil Can finish. The Callaway wedge is dark brown with rust, with the rust worn off the sole and the middle of the face from use. I love the way it looks. The Vokey wedge is starting to rust where the Oil Can finish has worn off, and it also has a rich look.

One other thing I like about rusty wedges is that they have sentimental value from the way I've rusted them. I have an old Cleveland 588 RTG 56° wedge that has been soaked in the waters of the beach next to the Old Course at St. Andrews, where the beach scenes from "Chariots of Fire" were filmed. The Callaway Forged wedge I use now has been baptized in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Carlsbad and in Crystal Lake, the site of a yearly vacation (where I've played some of my best golf). Pulling these wedges out of my bag remind me of these places, and that's always a cool feeling.

It's almost worth the extra $10.

"This article is republished with permission from The Sand Trap .com and
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Sakman · November 14, 2005

I was checking this out earlier this morning...Great article.

Goose · November 14, 2005

Great article... the last paragraph especially... i know we all have some fond memories of places weve played and whatwe've done there. :tongue:

Big Al · November 15, 2005

U gotta love rusty clubs

Mr Mizuno · November 15, 2005

A really nice article. Finally someone said it all.

fireice · November 15, 2005

Great article to start the morning, love my Callaway Forged+ Wedges.

Sakman · November 15, 2005

So I've been thinking about this article and am about to give it a try on some Nike SV wedges that are sitting in my basement. I obviously have to remove the finish to give it that "raw appearance" and was considering blasting it with a corn cob mixture (it leaves a smoother finish than sand), but wanted to see if there were any other suggestions, before going down this route.