I need an honest assessment

bradz1810 · October 20, 2014

I found an old thread about groove sharpeners but it didn't have a good consensus on wether they are worth it or if it will just damage your clubs/balls. I am playing SM Vokeys 60 and 56 degree, I bought them used and have noticed that the grooves seem to be dull....any suggestions? They are also chrome if that makes a difference with rust, etc.

Socrates · October 20, 2014

Don't think you will find any consensus in this one either.

I have used one, but found it really was only useful on forged wedges (Callaway X-Forged) and not so much on my Vokey's which aren't. I haven't used it since I retired my X-Forged (also recently retired the Vokey's in favour of Rotex's). On a forged wedge, you could make the grooves razor sharp and it was a b**** on balls.

NRJyzr · October 21, 2014

Grooves don't cause spin. Sharpening your grooves will only damage your golfballs.

It's overall face texture that will get it done, if the clubs are deficient in spin production.

If you're really worried about making sure they spin the ball, there's some good Tom Wishon's advice; he suggests blasting the clubface a bit with some form of media (IIRC he suggested aluminum oxide). This is allowed under the rules as a protective measure (go figure).

bradz1810 · October 21, 2014

No worried with spin really, more concerned with the overall performance of the club.

jmvargas · October 21, 2014

when i like a SW or LW i try to get at least 3 of them brand new...

bradz1810 · October 21, 2014

[quote name='jmvargas' timestamp='1413895508' post='10324809']when i like a SW or LW i try to get at least 3 of them brand new...[/quote] that's probably the best idea

cxx · October 21, 2014

[quote name='bradz1810' timestamp='1413893787' post='10324691']
No worried with spin really, more concerned with the overall performance of the club.
[/quote]

If you are not worried about spin then there is nothing to worry about. The other characteristics of these wedges are not going to change in normal use.

Greenie · October 21, 2014

I bought a groove sharpener and used it on an old set of Mizuno black ox wedges I picked up at a yard sale. It thought it brought them back to life a little. The grooves did rust quicker afterwards.

KARL M · October 21, 2014

As socrates mentioned they work easily on forged clubs like the x-tour. My "vintage" version x-tour 58* MD has some roughness to the face, but when you sharpen the grooves they do chew up soft balls and provide more backspin.

On stinless heads it takes more effort but they do sharpen up. On less lofted clubs, I can't tell if there is a noticable change in spin after sharpening. How crisp the shot is and the condition of the greens seem to be the more important factors.

If you are willing to wait untill the weekend, I'll take my 60* oil can spin milled wedge to the course. The 60* SM was replaced in my bag a few years ago with a 58* x-tour MD. After my round I'll hit some shots into a green with the SM. Then I'll sharpen the grooves on it and hit more shots to see if there is a noticable diffrence.

bradz1810 · October 21, 2014

[quote name='KARL M' timestamp='1413901646' post='10325299']As socrates mentioned they work easily on forged clubs like the x-tour. My "vintage" version x-tour 58* MD has some roughness to the face, but when you sharpen the grooves they do chew up soft balls and provide more backspin.

On stinless heads it takes more effort but they do sharpen up. On less lofted clubs, I can't tell if there is a noticable change in spin after sharpening. How crisp the shot is and the condition of the greens seem to be the more important factors.

If you are willing to wait untill the weekend, I'll take my 60* oil can spin milled wedge to the course. The 60* SM was replaced in my bag a few years ago with a 58* x-tour MD. After my round I'll hit some shots into a green with the SM. Then I'll sharpen the grooves on it and hit more shots to see if there is a noticable diffrence.[/quote] that would be excellent...thanks man