Stockpiling "Square" Grooves

All of the controversy over the Anchored putting ban got me to thinking about the last battle when they changed the rules on grooves.  There was at least as much crying and hand-wringing over that as there is about the putting ban.  But there was one difference, and that is that the groove rule allowed wedges manufactured before 1/1/2011 to still be made with the larger grooves, and club level players are still allowed to use them until 2024 unless playing in a competition in which the conditions disallow them.  

At the time of the change, a lot of players swore that they were going to stockpile a supply of the old wedges to last them until the ban when into effect.  What I'm wondering is how many of us actually followed through on that commitment?  And how many are still using the old large groove wedges?  By the way, it's a fallacy that the the new grooves are all V-grooves.  The only thing that was changed was the allowed width, spacing, volume, and edge radius.  They are still allowed to be "square", but not as deep or to have the sharp edges.

I have two pre 2011 wedges, not because I made a point of getting them, but because I don't change out my wedges as often as many do.  I just happened to have bought them before the change.  Mine are a Cleveland CG 15 56° and a Titleist Vokey 54°.

So, do you still have some large groove wedges?

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Originally Posted by David in FL 

I still have 2.  Both Vokeys..... 56* and 58*.  Both will likely be replaced this year.

 

My irons are pre-2011 too.

 

Certainly not stockpiling.  I'm nowhere near good enough to discern any real world difference.

My Titleist AP-2 irons are pre 2010 too, but they were already made with V-grooves.  I do 95% of my greenside chips and pitches with the PW and GW from that set.  I never did get what the fuss was all about.  A year from now everyone will have forgotten the anchoring debate too. 

Quote:

Originally Posted by dave67az 

I'm trying to figure out why anyone would need to stockpile clubs (unless you play on a lot rougher courses than I do).

 

Do you guys seriously damage clubs so much that they are unplayable after a few years?  Hell, I'm still playing with my first set of irons (over 30 years old now).  Granted, I'm not a great golfer so maybe I'm playing the game wrong, but how are your clubs getting damaged?

I've never quite understood it either.  I used the first SW I ever bought for more than a decade.  For one thing, I spread the wear out over the whole face so they last a lot longer that way. 

Quote:

Originally Posted by dave67az 

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fourputt 

 

I've never quite understood it either.  I used the first SW I ever bought for more than a decade.  For one thing, I spread the wear out over the whole face so they last a lot longer that way. 

 

You know, I think we're in the same boat because the only thing getting worn out on some of my irons is the edge of the blade.  Could be worse...could be the hosel.

 

 

Quote:

Originally Posted by mp33 man 

For the most part your wedges/irons don't get "damaged" they simply get worn. If your using cast wedges/irons than they probably wont wear as fast but if your using forged wedges that are forged from a much softer metal then they wear pretty quickly...

 

This I did not know.  So basically if you buy forged wedges and play a lot of golf, you're pretty much committing yourself to buying new clubs every few years?

That is a bit of a fallacy too.  My first full set were forged Golden Ram blades and I used them for nearly 15 years.  My current set are Titleist AP-2 forged and are almost 4 years old.  I have no intention of getting rid of them in the foreseeable future.