Groove Sharpening

[Morphy11]

This is a rather touchy subject especially if you're planning on playing in USGA sponsored events. In the past when I've noticed that if my wedge shots appeared to "leak" to the right on approach shots, I'd take my wedges into a practice bunker and swing them into the sand with a steep angle to really dig them out of the sand. Do this 12 or 15 times and you'll notice that the grooves give you the original bite you had when you first bought them. Plus this is probably the only way you can legally sharpen them without altering the depth of the grooves. Hope this helps.

[Tar Baby]

I, too find the anger about a fellow golf nut asking about a groove sharpener a little discomforting.

I now posit the following questions...

1)  Which wedge of the formerly conforming groove construction seems to have the sharpest grooves?

2)  How long can I play my formerly conforming groove construction wedges that everyone used to play not two years ago in my local member member?  And can I rub it in when I two hop and check a pitch to my playing partner?... Do I get bonus points if they are a Sand Trap member?

3)  Is it bad if I put a stripe of vaseline on my towel that gets swiped across my driver face before I hit?

And Most Importantly... Anyone who makes a bitter beer face to the previous three questions....

4) Can I hawkeye your approach and subsequent address and contact with the golf ball as you meet it in the rough or hell fairway... or hell marking and replacing the ball on your every shot?

I don't give a damn what you do... just play the ball down.  Something many of the hecklers in this thread probably do not stay true to... Those guys aye carumbing a groove sharpener also probably wear black golf shoes with shorts and think it looks cool.

[joekelly]

TarBaby! Where have been all these years? Repeating high school?

[Hacker James]

I was going to post query about groove sharpening tools. Moot point however, given that I ordered one anyway. But FWIW, plenty of info in the archives. I have to continually remind myself to check before posting. My irons are old, so it probably can't hurt and may or may not make a difference.

In retrospect, I guess I just "did" make such a post.  Oh well.....

[Dave2512]

FWIW I used one on my old 845s and while I can't say it sharpened the grooves with enough work it did take some of the small nicks/pits out. Word of caution be careful dragging it across the club. Doesn't take much pressure to get metal shavings and I put some nasty scratches on smooth part of the face a few times. At best it cleaned the clubs up a bit and I felt a tad more confident standing over the clubs seeing cleaner grooves, could actually see the bare metal where the tool made a mark.

[Hacker James]

Originally Posted by Dave2512

FWIW I used one on my old 845s and while I can't say it sharpened the grooves with enough work it did take some of the small nicks/pits out. Word of caution be careful dragging it across the club. Doesn't take much pressure to get metal shavings and I put some nasty scratches on smooth part of the face a few times. At best it cleaned the clubs up a bit and I felt a tad more confident standing over the clubs seeing cleaner grooves, could actually see the bare metal where the tool made a mark.

did you use the "V" groove end, or the "U" groove end?

[Hacker James]

oh, I tried looking it up but could not get a direct answer.  Are Hogan Edge Irons  "V" or "U"?  I can't tell by looking with my bum vision.  The tool I ordered says it can be used for either. I am assuming it has two ends.

[Dave2512]

Originally Posted by Hacker James

did you use the "V" groove end, or the "U" groove end?

Both, 845s are square groove but the V end works great for cleaning clubs. Though I wouldn't use it on my new irons, no reason to. I have several old iron sets and used the tool on all of them. At least I tried to, some irons had grooves wider than the tool. It didn't do much if anything for my forged, chromed irons. Finish was too hard and brittle. Worked fine on the older cast irons. Like I said it took shavings out of my 845s.

[jusanothajoe]

Anyone ever use one of these ? Do they work ? Something that needs to be done ? No ?

Thanks for any info

[jusanothajoe]

Reffering to this

[Hacker James]

A while back I bought a cheap groove tool online, with reversible blade for V groove and also U groove. It works a little too well. My practice balls are getting chewed up!  I guess I got a little aggressive.

[dennyjones]

I've never used one.   Are they worthwhile?  

[Hacker James]

7 minutes ago, dennyjones said:

I've never used one.   Are they worthwhile?  

jury still out.  While they do an excellent job of cleaning, not really sure any benefit to spin e.t.c. a lot is mental.

[mchepp]

2 hours ago, Hacker James said:

A while back I bought a cheap groove tool online, with reversible blade for V groove and also U groove. It works a little too well. My practice balls are getting chewed up!  I guess I got a little aggressive.

Which one? The one I bought sucks. Barely does anything. I feel it was a waste of time. 

[Hacker James]

the one I have is from GrooveSharpener.com. Another I have seen in my email ads, is a little more high tech, has a screwable cap cover, chain to attach to a bag D ring, Knurled Body. priced at at around $13.  and only has a V groove blade. 

[1badbadger]

14 minutes ago, mchepp said:

Which one? The one I bought sucks. Barely does anything. I feel it was a waste of time. 

Some tools are meant for "cleaning" and others are designed for "sharpening".  You may have a cleaning tool and not a sharpening tool.

[Hacker James]

4 minutes ago, 1badbadger said:

Some tools are meant for "cleaning" and others are designed for "sharpening".  You may have a cleaning tool and not a sharpening tool.

to get it to "bite" you need to use the corner edge rather than flat. It is like a tiny screwdriver, but with a carbide tip. On my six iron at address, I can see  a noticeable shine and difference in the bottom three or four grooves which are the ones that arguably influence action of a ball.

I just notice, the one I saw earlier is now appearing on the side of this thread. It is called SILVER TruGroove Golf Club Groove Sharpener by VersaGolf. (Amazon Prime $13.88)

 

Edited February 20, 2017 by Hacker James

[Bennett Stone]

Do groove sharpeners work, how much more spin will I be getting, do they comply with usga rules and should I get one? Another thing do they ruin your clubs, and can I use them on my irons  thanks guys :)

Edited April 9, 2018 by Bennett Stone