Clubs wearing out?

[alexlax12]

As soon as you take the clubs off the rack, they begin to depreciate. With every hit, a club is subject to normal "wear and tear"(assuming your not hitting of the cartpath, rocks, etc.). But do clubs "wear out" to a point where its worth it to replace them? In my case, if I had the money, I would replace my irons every season. Not with a different set, but just replace them with the same model because I like the look of a new iron. However what I do replace yearly are wedges. I'm not saying I hit as many balls as Vijay, but after a season the bounce and grooves on my wedges have noticible wear, enough for me to replace them. Anyone else feel the same way?

[iacas]

And yet, sometimes you'll see a pro with a wedge that's four years old, and they hit as many balls as you probably do in ten years with that wedge.

I don't replace my irons every year. I like to see the wear spot on the sweet spot of my irons. I think it's a waste of money, and I think just getting used to new clubs is not worth it either - you know how your old clubs behave, so use 'em.

After a year of 100 rounds of golf and some practice sessions, your clubs should perform about 98% as well as they did the year before, and that 2% is more than made up for by knowing how they feel, behave, react, etc. And that number may be 99% for all I know.

[cmarkmyers]

Can't you get irons refinished and regrooved also?

[muskegman]

A club or set of irons would have to be in tough shape for me to replace them. I wouldn't do it just for the sake of replacement, it would have to be because they weren't performing well and that could take years.

My irons will probably be replaced not for wear issues but for interest in new equipment before they wear out. Having said that I'm pretty happy with the clubs now, minus the fairway woods.

[Donald MacKenzie]

A good clubfitter can help you keep your irons and wedges in shape from year to year. If you hit a lot of balls (especially if you hit off mats) you'll knock the loft and lie of your irons slightly out of whack over the course of a season (faster if your clubs are forged from soft carbon steel). A clubfitter can bend your irons/wedges back to the original specs, and you're good for another 3,000 miles.

And there are places that will refinish and even sharpen the grooves of irons/wedges to give them new life. If you google the name Joe Kwok you should get some good info about the work he does.

Me, I do keep my gamers in line by having the specs checked every season, usually when I get my clubs regripped. But I'm with Erik: I like seeing the wear on my clubs.

And as for wearing clubs out, you're most likely to wear out a sand wedge the fastest, especially if you practice a lot from the sand. But dudes like Tiger and Vijay are the only ones who hit enough balls (and hit the ball consistently well enough) to create a lot of wear on their irons and to notice the difference when it happens.

As a friend of mine who writes for Golf Digest told me, "If I was Tiger I wouldn't worry about wearing out my clubs with day-long practice sessions. I'd worry about wearing out my body parts."

[Everardo]

I'll echo what Don said about getting the loft and lie's checked at least once a year, more depending on the amount of rounds you play and where you practice. There are companies out there that will refinish your clubs, look at Mizuno's site for a couple listings. I'm with Jeff though, I'll probably swtich irons for boredom first.

Having said that I'm pretty happy with the clubs now, minus the fairway woods.

A little off the subject, how is that one I sent you Jeff?

[muskegman]

Its a great clube and it astounds me what a difference a shaft can make... It is way easier to keep the the ball between the trees with this shaft. The only problem is that I think the swing weight is quite a bit heavier than D2, my timing is off with this club. I can really feel the clubhead because of the lighter shaft.