Wearing Out Grooves; Seriously?!

[soupy1957]

I would imagine after 20 years of use, or 30 years of use, you might see some rounding to the edges of the grooves on the club head............ but wearing them out within a season or two?! Seriously?! I don’t believe it!!

It would have to be pretty lousy metal, to wear out so quickly!!

[Piz]

If the golf balls pick up a lot of sand grains, where you practice, it can abrade the club faces pretty quickly.  I rehearse on mats for that very reason.

[billchao]

41 minutes ago, soupy1957 said:

I would imagine after 20 years of use, or 30 years of use, you might see some rounding to the edges of the grooves on the club head............ but wearing them out within a season or two?! Seriously?! I don’t believe it!!

It really depends on how often you practice and play, your skill level (better players will wear out a spot more because they're consistently hitting it), and the soil conditions where you play. Some guys I know replace their wedges every year; PGA Tour players probably replace their irons often, too.

43 minutes ago, soupy1957 said:

It would have to be pretty lousy metal, to wear out so quickly!!

Remember that sand is an abrasive and is used in the manufacturing of metals.

[iacas]

20 to 30 years?

It's possible to wear out the grooves a bit in your irons in a year.

Especially if you're good and sensitive to small changes which can lead to little fliers, etc.

[jamo]

I've worn out the grooves on plenty of wedges, but never an iron. My current 6 iron may be getting close. 

[soupy1957]

Well I suppose I should ask what kind of condition the grooves must display in order to be considered worn out. 

Is it about losing their depth like the tread on the tire? Is it about seeing radiuses on the edges of the grooves as opposed to sharp edges?

[fishgolf]

I've been playing my Ping Eye 2's since 1986 and would guess they have seen about 1200 to 1500 rounds of play and perhaps a few hundred bucket of balls.  No doubt considered pretty low use compared to some, but I was a workaholic and fly fishing stole most of my free time. I also lived in the Seattle area during those years and don't like playing in rain. The grooves on my clubs sure don't look worn to me and there are no obvious wear spots on the faces.  Maybe I got an exceptionally good production lot of Karsten steel . 

[NEhomer]

I ruined a wedge a couple of years ago by carelessly hitting balls that I dragged into the mat from the driveway. As folks have said, it doesn't take long if you're abrading the face with wet sand on the balls. Now I clean and dry them and place them in a clean tray to hit from.

I hit dozens of wedges every single day so I will def wear out a club if I'm not careful.

Just now, fishgolf said:

I've been playing my Ping Eye 2's since 1986 and would guess they have seen about 1200 to 1500 rounds of play and perhaps a few hundred bucket of balls.  No doubt considered pretty low use compared to some, but I was a workaholic and fly fishing stole most of my free time. I also lived in the Seattle area during those years and don't like playing in rain. The grooves on my clubs sure don't look worn to me and there are no obvious wear spots on the faces.  Maybe I got an exceptionally good production lot of Karsten steel . 

I too have golf clubs that battle with my fly rod. Dammit, I miss the Hendrickson hatch every April 'cause I'm so psycho about golf in April. Then my fly rod wins in September when the BWOs hatch!

[kpaulhus]

The longest set of irons I’ve owned is 5 years and the faces were very worn. They worked still, but the occasional flier and minimal check backspin on the green had me upgrade. It’s quicker with forged vs cast irons but it happens. Everything wears out at some point. 

[soupy1957]

Hmmmmmm.......let’s see........plastic vs steel..........which wins?! 

Obviously it’s not the BALL that is wearing out the club face. MUST be the dirt/sand. 

Essentially a grit blasting over time OR a very soft metal, or both, no?

[woodzie264]

I play 15-ish rounds per year and hit approx 20 buckets of balls per year. I doubt I will ever wear out club...although I wish I could

[Fourputt]

4 hours ago, soupy1957 said:

Well I suppose I should ask what kind of condition the grooves must display in order to be considered worn out. 

Is it about losing their depth like the tread on the tire? Is it about seeing radiuses on the edges of the grooves as opposed to sharp edges?

The edges aren't sharp even from the factory.  The rules require that they have a .010" radius.  Anything sharper is nonconforming.

[iacas]

2 hours ago, soupy1957 said:

Hmmmmmm.......let’s see........plastic vs steel..........which wins?! 

Obviously it’s not the BALL that is wearing out the club face. MUST be the dirt/sand.

The ball can do it, too.

Dripping water can wear through metal given long enough.

[Patch]

How good of a golfer would one have to be to notice worn out grooves?

[Zeph]

Do you even notice much difference when hitting off clean lies?

[RussUK]

Where do you guys stand on the groove sharpeners that do the rounds every now and then? I've heard they can do more harm than good if you dont know what you are doing.

[Patch]

28 minutes ago, RussUK said:

Where do you guys stand on the groove sharpeners that do the rounds every now and then? I've heard they can do more harm than good if you dont know what you are doing.

I clean my clubs after each use. Wipe them down. When I clean the grooves I use one of those plastic, tooth pick, flosser combo thingies. I actually keep a bag of them as part of my golf bag make up. 

I have also heard if used too much, those metal groove sharpeners things can damage  a club face. Another reason for me to use plastic.

[RussUK]

1 minute ago, Patch said:

I clean my clubs after each use. Wipe them down. When I clean the grooves I use one of those plastic, tooth pick, flosser combo thingies. I actually keep a bag of them as part of my golf bag make up. 

I have also heard if used too much, those metal groove sharpeners things can damage  a club face. Another reason for me to use plastic.

I like that idea. I normally use one of those mutli brush thingies or a tee. I just dont like using the wire brush, the sound makes me cringe