sharpening grooves?

[mattyb0y]

I have Rac Tp black / satin taylormade wedges

the other half has taken a college course up near a local club so monday nights i go out looking for golf balls - found half a dozen and the course was quiet so took the 54 degree and did some pitching (two of the balls were NEW Pro V's)

However the wedge didnt seem to have the bite it used to have the wedge is quite old now and had plenty of use yet i will hit it well but last night it didnt seem to bite like it has done in the past

could this be down to the wet greens and we had / rain drizzle on and off all day

My technique (most probably)

Or could the grooves do with a touch up?

Im sure they are Y cut grooves on these clubs as the ones after are the Z Cut Tp wedges by taylor made - Flea bay are selling the tools to do this about £11 quid if they bring some life back to my wedges money well spent?

Anyone do this and can advise?

 

[USER1999]

I have posted on this numerous times. I still believe that groove sharpeners will make the club non conforming.

I expect the wet grass didn't help.

I am not a fan of massively spinning wedges anyway. I prefer to get a more predictable performance.

 

[mattyb0y]

I have posted on this numerous times. I still believe that groove sharpeners will make the club non conforming.

I expect the wet grass didn't help.

Id assumed the grass may be a factor - i have been practising pitching loads recently and feel really confident over them accelerating through the ball ect.. which is why i noticed the problem some stop others run through and so on

Yes i have the fear that the sharpening of them will make them non conforming which is pointless!

 

[Ethan]

I have never sharpened grooves once in 25 years of playing. Clean them, certainly, choose a golf ball with some spin, Pro V1 etc, and otherwise the most important thing is a good strike and technique

 

[lewy]

i would also like to know about the groove sharpening tools you can get on ebay. They seem like a good deal if its going to stop the need to purchase a new wedge because the grooves ain't gripping anymore.

 

[USER1999]

I don't see what stops the tool removing too much material. If you push it against the groove edges, it must make the grooves wider, and they are already machined to the limit.

 

[Imurg]

I'm with Murph here.
Wedges that leave the factory will have been quality controlled so the grooves meet the rules. Once you start playing with them then, yes, the grooves will lose some sharpness. But the moment you try to re-groove a wedge you are in danger of exceeding the manufacturing tolerance and therefore the rules.
A professional with the right equipment can get it right. Joe Public using what amounts to a kind of chisel can't!

 

[HomerJSimpson]

I prefer my grooves to be a little tired. It gives me much more control. If I buy wedges I really struggle with control with the factory sharpended grooves. The best advice is to make sure the face is dry after you've taken practice swings, clean the grooves after every shot and practice so you know how they'll react.

I'm with murph and think that any groove tool will ultimately make the club non-conforming. OK I grant you that they will probably never get checked but it's the principle. Pros take their wedges to trained club makers to get their set up including the grooves changed and checked and don't bodge it themselves.

 

[Owen_Thomas_14]

Just use a flat headed screwdriver

 

[drawboy]

trained club makers to get their set up including the grooves changed and checked and don't bodge it themselves.

Pro's can order any wedge they want made to their spec any time they require one. We amateurs need value out of our gear and I say until the R&A publically ban the use of groove sharpeners they should be ok to use. I cannot believe for one minute that the R&A would turn a blind eye to the use of illegal tools, they know they exist and must have tested them. If they thought they infringed the rules they would surely ban them.

 

[Imurg]

The R&A can only legislate on the Rules of Golf and the equipment used in playing it. They can't make rules about things that are outside their remit.
These sharpeners are just tools. Could the R&A legislate on which vices, glues or solvents should be used?
The rule is there. Don't have your grooves any deeper/sharper than "X".
Feel free to use these things. As Homer says, if you do make the groove non-conforming then its not going to get noticed but ........

 

[haplesshacker]

I once read an interview with the owner of Ping. He says that the tolerances in golf, given by the R&A and USPGA, are tighter than aerospace specced kit. Therefore I'd suspect that Murphs argument is correct.

 

[Twire]

You only need to look in the back of your rule book to see how tight the the R&A have set the tolerance for grooves. As Murph said, manufacturers have already machined the grooves to their maximum tolerance, so any metal removal (apart from a bruise) will make them non conforming. 99.9% of people would never be able to measure or check the grooves after refurbishment, so you could never be sure your club conforms. The manufacturers of these sharpeners/scrapers rely on the ignorance of golfers not knowing the rules on grooves.

If your still intent on sharpening your grooves, don't waste your money on these tools, go to B&Q buy a hacksaw blade, snap it in half and use the Sharpe edge on that, it will do the same job.