Wearing Out Grooves; Seriously?!

[Zeph]

I never use anything metal on the clubs. Running water, a soft brush and a rag gets rid of everything.

[colin007]

This is why I make sure I never use the same spot of the club face more than once, and NEVER on the sweet spot.

[Fourputt]

I have a brass bristle brush that hangs on my bag.  I use that to keep the grooves clean while playing.  Brass is softer than steel by a fair amount, so it can't do any damage to the club face. 

The dirt and sand that naturally gets pinched during a swing will cause far more wear that any cleaner I've ever seen.  Even when striking the ball first, the ball itself will often have some dirt on it to act as an abrasive on the club face.  Bunker sand can kill a sand wedge, especially if you practice a lot.

A friend of mine used to work at Castle Pines, where The International used to be played on the Tour.  He was watching a couple of the pros hitting balls on the range during the practice days before the tournament started.  One of them stopped after a swing, looked at the face of his club, then tossed it aside and told his caddie to go get another club (apparently he had a complete bag full of spares).  He hit a few shots with the new club, seemed satisfied and they left the range a few minutes later, leaving the discarded club behind.  Todd slipped under the rope and picked up the club, a 4 iron, and looked at it.  It was worn out right on the sweet spot, visibly concave to point of affecting the ball flight. 

If a pro, who makes contact almost perfectly every swing, can wear out a club, it's certainly likely that an amateur will do so with his far less than perfect ball striking, as long as he plays enough.  

7 hours 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.

Used wrong, or using the wrong one, can make your clubs nonconforming if they leave too sharp an edge on the grooves.

[Groucho Valentine]

Ive flattened out the grooves on my wedges in less than a year. Its certainly possible. 

Groove sharpeners are worthless. You're better off buying a new club or sending the worn one to a professional to see if the club can be salvaged. 

[Shanks for the memories]

Is this worn out?

[sheepdog]

Ever see the famous picture of Hogan's one iron at Merion. The club was stolen shortly there after and was found thirty or forty years later. The guy that found the MacGregor one iron knew it had to belong to a real good player because of the dime sized wear mark on the face. Hogan must have hit the sweet spot pretty much every time he hit a ball. It was very noticeable.