Regrooving your wedges...

[DavePelz4]

It's still winter here in Chicago and still (unfortunately) hitting lots of balls in the dome. I hit pitches, lobs, etc to various targets with my 60 degree wedge and probably hit 4-5X the number of balls with that club as compared to any others. The wedges are 3 years old and I started to notice that the shots were releasing more and checking much less. So I purchased a regrooving tool and regrooved the 56 and 60 degree wedges and the check is back.

 

But...that got me thinking (always a bad thing) about how often pros get their clubs regrooved and if there is a frequency that you should get all irons/wedges regrooved. Considering there are a lot more intelligent people on here than myself, does anyone care to offer an opinion?

[RightHandRough]

Pro's just get new wedge's every couple of months. Like you I also re-groove my wedges, usually when I notice a lack of check up. I think frequency of grooving them is going to depend on a number of variables so you might have trouble getting a straight answer on this one.

[dablph]

Yeah I heard VJ changes his out weekly.

[jmiller2]

Actually the pros replace there wedges every 2 to 3 weeks not months maybe a month at the most... great thing about getting them for free :) but they hit a lot more balls and play more rounds then the average player.

 

So id say regrooving wedges every month if you use it a ton, but probably for the weekend players could get away with 3months.. all depends on the frequency the club is used. A lot cheaper to regroove wedges then buy new ones...

 

I haven't regrooved my 60 deg because i want to change the bounce once it completely goes out, might regroove it and then give it to a friend or something, i have a 4* of bounce it's a little low for my liking... i want to get one at 7* or 8*...

[tbc777]

It's still winter here in Chicago and still (unfortunately) hitting lots of balls in the dome. I hit pitches, lobs, etc to various targets with my 60 degree wedge and probably hit 4-5X the number of balls with that club as compared to any others. The wedges are 3 years old and I started to notice that the shots were releasing more and checking much less. So I purchased a regrooving tool and regrooved the 56 and 60 degree wedges and the check is back.

 

But...that got me thinking (always a bad thing) about how often pros get their clubs regrooved and if there is a frequency that you should get all irons/wedges regrooved. Considering there are a lot more intelligent people on here than myself, does anyone care to offer an opinion?

 

 

Pros don't regroove they're wedges. They get new ones. you can buy a groove sharping tool but chances are is that you end up making the wedge illegal.

[DavePelz4]

It's still winter here in Chicago and still (unfortunately) hitting lots of balls in the dome. I hit pitches, lobs, etc to various targets with my 60 degree wedge and probably hit 4-5X the number of balls with that club as compared to any others. The wedges are 3 years old and I started to notice that the shots were releasing more and checking much less. So I purchased a regrooving tool and regrooved the 56 and 60 degree wedges and the check is back.

 

But...that got me thinking (always a bad thing) about how often pros get their clubs regrooved and if there is a frequency that you should get all irons/wedges regrooved. Considering there are a lot more intelligent people on here than myself, does anyone care to offer an opinion?

 

 

Pros don't regroove they're wedges. They get new ones. you can buy a groove sharping tool but chances are is that you end up making the wedge illegal.

 

TB...

 

Thanks for the response...that was a though while regrooving the wedges. How would I ever test the wedge to insure that it is within the specs? I play a bit of tournament golf and would not want to take that risk in addition to it being against the rules.

[Top Dog]

I always worry about how that make make your wedge illegal. Same with the thing that roughens the face of the club, is that legal?

[mat562]

I tend to spruce mine up every few months with a regrooving tool and typically see at least 18 months to 2 years out of a sand wedge and much more out of the lob wedge that I use pretty much exclusively from turf. My last 60 degree wedge lasted over six years with regular play and practice under its belt throughout that time. Only when the grooves shallow out completely and I'm unable to get into them with the tool are they a goner. Regular re-working of the grooves to remove the 'turned' edges will restore them to as-new performance in minutes and I've always preferred to stick with the same, familiar clubs than go tos new one that never feel or look quite the same as my old, well-weathered faithfuls.

 

As others have stated, there are pros who change their clubs on an alarmingly frequent basis, but there are plenty who stick with their clubs for much longer. I know several pros who play on the European Tour and they all string out their wedges for several months and, in some cases, several years. Not one of them is reaching for brand new ones, even in the case of their primary sand club, more frequently than every six months or more. I remember Ari Techner posting soimething on the boards that broadly tallies with this; IIRC even his most 'wedge happy' pro was stringing out his wedge for something like eight months or so.

 

Ultimately, people should go with whatever feels good to them and change as frequently as they feel they need to, but I'm able to get maximum performance and maximum confidence out of an existing wedge by sprucing it up on a fairly frequent basis and prefer to do that over grabbing new and unfamiliar ones.

 

As long as you're using a tool in the correct manner, you're not over-deepening or widening the grooves. You're simply removing excess 'turned' metal that has intruded into the groove volume as the edges have collapsed and worn. Done properly, regrooving will not reder a club non-conforming unless you're deliberately hogging it out and going at it like a bull at a gate.

 

To those who say pros don't use tools. They do. At least, some of them do.

[rymail00]

Honestly I dont think have to worry about breaking rules sharpening your wedge. I have a groove sharpner. I have used it quite a few times on my wedges. They dont make the grooves noticably deeper that would be noticed by eye. In fact when I do it, there is barely any "residue" (basically metal that is scratched out). So its not like you cheating. You are just making them "fresh" again. I dont think you will have an unfair advantage over the next guy, even if that next guy has brand new grooves.

 

Now if you play in USGA events next year w/ sharpened U grooves and you should have USGA approved V grooves than yes, you would have an unfair advantage (becuase they would be illegal)

[DavePelz4]

Honestly I dont think have to worry about breaking rules sharpening your wedge. I have a groove sharpner. I have used it quite a few times on my wedges. They dont make the grooves noticably deeper that would be noticed by eye. In fact when I do it, there is barely any "residue" (basically metal that is scratched out). So its not like you cheating. You are just making them "fresh" again. I dont think you will have an unfair advantage over the next guy, even if that next guy has brand new grooves.

 

Now if you play in USGA events next year w/ sharpened U grooves and you should have USGA approved V grooves than yes, you would have an unfair advantage (becuase they would be illegal)

 

 

My hope is that the groover sharpener, which was bought at GS doesn't deepen the grooves from the original depth but refresh the edges. I've noticed residual of range balls on the face of the club which was also the case when the wedge was new. I don't need to worry about the USGA...my game isn't at that level, but in club competition and other events I like to play within the spirit and literal intrepretation of the rules.

 

You do have to like the bite though! Thanks to all.