When Is it Time to Replace Your Wedges?

[ChetlovesMer]

So, I stumbled upon this article.

Is it time for new wedges? Keep these 5 thoughts in mind

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Is it time to say 'so long' to your current set of wedges and spring for something new? Consider these 5 things before making an upgrade

Here's the part that caught my eye. "Studies have shown that a typical wedge will last 65-75 rounds before there’s a dip in performance." Let's say you carry 2 wedges and you hit 6 greens per round. By my math (I went to Ch!cago Publ!c Sch00ls) that means you'd only use each wedge maybe 6 times per round. Multiply that by 65-75 rounds and we are talking less than 500 hits. 

To me that feels like very few hits to wear down the grooves of a wedge. 

Having said that, I like to replace my wedges every other season. Which means next year I'll get new wedges. I really don't think the performance of my wedges has deteriorated in those two years. I just like new wedges. 

What do you all think?
How often do you replace your wedges?
Do you think the grooves start to wear out after 500 hits? 

[klineka]

28 minutes ago, ChetlovesMer said:

How often do you replace your wedges?

So I have 3 wedges, 50,54,58. 

Originally I bought 3 used MD3 wedges from Callaway PreOwned. That was easily probably 4 years ago. The 54 and the 60 at the time were by far the most worn out of the 3, so in 2020 I bought 2 brand new MD5 54 and 58 wedges but kept the 50 degree MD3 because I was still seeing high amounts of spin with the 50 so didn't feel the need to switch it yet.

Fast forward to today, I'm still getting tremendous amounts of spin with the 50 degree wedge, like a consistent 10-15 feet of backspin on full shots with that club. I'm not quite sure what it is about that club but neither of my newer wedges rip back nearly as much as that one does on full shots. 

Then of course with the relatively newer 54 and 58 I still see plenty of spin with those too, but to be fair I do flight those two down the majority of the time I hit those where the 50 degree is usually more of a full swing shot.

I don't change my wedges as often as the manufacturers say I "should" but most of the courses I play have relatively soft and receptive greens too, so as long as my flighted wedges from like 50-120 yds are capable of one-hop stopping that's enough spin for me. 

As of right now I'll be fine on wedges for this year, but I will be hitting a lot more shots once I have my sim setup, so probably looking at 2023 for the next time I'll get new ones, which would be like 2.5 years for the 54 and 58 and probably around 4 or maybe even 5 years for the 50 degree.

[TourSpoon]

Good topic, 

I replaced wedges last year with a new 50, 54, 58. The 50 and 54 are showing little signs of wear, but the 58 has a few months of useful life left. The 58 is probably hit the most, especially in the bunker which chews up a wedge. I ordered a replacement 58 last week and will transition it over in the next few months and I will keep the old one for bunker practice. I also have a 54 and 60 that are 5 generations ago so 8-10 years old. The 54 is in great shape, but again the 60 is worn from bunker use and practice. 

I know that the recommendation to change wedges every 75 rounds doesn't apply to every wedge equally and is like the oil companies that recommend you change your oil every 3,000 miles.  

[Piz]

I keep wedges forever.  My paternal grandfather's Silver Scot, and my father's Cleveland 53 ( he played everything with that 53) are on display in the den.  My current wedges are 10-12 years old.  I assembled them from parts.

[GolfLug]

I have an all-purpose Cleveland RTX 56 deg. It is 8 years old. By my math that is just north of 200 rounds and use it on an average 10-12 time a round. If recent shots are any indication I have not much difference in performance (Take it FWIW from a mid-capper).

I also have a Ping Glide from 2016, a Callaway Mack C-Grind from 2019 and an EDEL (18 deg bounce) - all 56 degs. I don't not use any of them except for practice (more like - experimentation) as to how diff wedges affect chips and pitches. They all have fresher faces and grooves than the the Cleveland. I can't tell the difference in 'bite' on similar shots.     

From what I know, grooves are not about spin 'bite' (not saying no effect.. just not as much as people think) as much as they are gutters that funnel away moisture (which affects spin more). But just like driver distance, golfers find spin sexy and wedges are the 'ultimate spin weapons'. At least that's the image most golfers have and gravitate towards replacing them more often than their performance indicate they should. It's also easier to buy a new wedge than, let's say, a new driver from a price point. 

But I also drive my cars to 250K+ miles.    and my neighbor could not be caught dead driving anything over 50K miles. No wrong answer, is there? 

 

Edited March 24, 2022 by GolfLug

[imsys0042]

The main reason I have heard about wedges losing their performance is that the grooves get worn down.   My 60 degree is a Vokey SM4 so however long that is, and it performs roughly about the same.   I think if you try and impart a lot of spin that wedges perform less over time (at least from what I've been told), but honestly my expectation is several years for playing anywhere between 60-80 rounds per year.

My other two wedges are 50 and 56 Vokeys and I've had them 2 years.   No drop noticed for me.

[pganapathy]

With the exception of a low bounce 60* LW I bought over 10 years ago, and use as a specialty club, all my wedges (PW/SW) have been part of my iron set.  I only change them when I change the iron set.  I do not buy wedges separately.

[Denny Bang Bang]

I replace my irons and wedges roughly every 5 years, generally within a month or so of each other.  Still playing the SM5 wedges, and they still bite just fine.  I’d normally be replacing them about now, but they are still in good shape (maybe because I barely played at all in 2019 & 2020).

[p1n9183]

I have 60, 56 and 51. I play like 70 rounds a year. 
I bought the 56 2 years ago, is not currently in the bad so is practically new to me. 
I bought the 60 5 years ago. I do wonders around the green with it.
I bought the 51 20 years ago. I use is normally around the greens and from 90/105 yards.
All of them are Cleveland golf clubs.  

As a scratch player I don't feel like I'm loosing ground with this old wedges. Maybe a tour pro can benefit from a new set each month, maybe he gains like 0.1 stroke a day and it can impact his season, but for us mortals I don't think it really make a Hugh impact on the score but I definitively think it make a Hugh impact on the wallet.    

Edited March 25, 2022 by p1n9183

[billchao]

I got my Edel wedges three years ago and there’s plenty of life left in them. I don’t see myself replacing them for another three years, at least. I don’t play and practice as much as some others here, though, so they don’t get worn down as quickly.

[Darkfrog]

The very first set of wedges I bought were Cleveland BeCu. I had them for about 18 years, but I wasn’t really playing golf that often for 15 of those 18 years. Then I bought some Edel wedges that weren’t fitted and used them for 3 years. I’ve had my new fitted Cleveland wedges for about a year-ish, and since I don’t used them for much more than short game shots, and don’t practice a ton with them, I expect they’ll last a long time, but maybe not 18 years like my first set.