wedge groove cleaning during play

[CarlOwen]

Is there a rule of thumb on how often you should clean the grooves on wedges during a round? I sometimes use a pocket knife, does this ruin the grooves? 

Does excessive use of a knife or sharp object ruin wedges? Should I just stick with a steel brush? 

Lastly, I heard some players like to leave their wedges out to rust to improve grip and spin, does this work?

[dbuck]

I carry a normal bath towel with one end wet. I clean all clubs after every shot. It only takes a second, and by doing this, the grooves stay clean, the gunk doesn't dry and cake up, and there is no need for knives, tees, nor brushes.

[dennyjones]

If you watch the good players, their caddies clean the club after each use.   A wedge is no good if the grooves are full of dirt, it defeats the purpose of having grooves.   I wouldn't recommend anything sharp enough to damage the grooves because they could be non-conforming.   A wet towel is a good thing to carry but I use a sharp wooden tee to clean the grooves when necessary.

[MrGolfguy67]

The pointed end of a tee is all you need to clean the grooves of your wedges; every shot you take some turf you will probably need to clean them out.

[Shindig]

Wet towel, maybe a club-brush.  I have one club-brush that holds water and attaches to my bag, another that slides open and fits in my pocket.  I wouldn't risk sharpening grooves during a round for conformity reasons.

[Patch]

I am pretty finickety on cleaning my clubs. I wipe them down after every shot when playing. Even during practice, I wipe the club face down after 2-3 shots. More often if needed.

I even wipe down my grips several times during play. 

I use a flat style pocket screw driver to clean the grooves as needed. Just a quick back and forth motion on grooves cleans them out. It's usually only the bottom 3-4 grooves that need cleaning.

Note: this pocket screw driver can be purchased at any dollar store for a $1.00. it usually comes with a pocket phillips head screw driver to boot. I am pretty sure the screw driver does not hurt the grooves. I see more wear on the cheapie screw driver, which causes me to replace it a couple times a year. 

[1badbadger]

Not all wedges will rust.  Clubs with a chrome or satin finish will not rust, even if you leave them outside after they've gotten wet.  The wedges that rust are called "raw", which means there is no plating or finish over the head.  The unfinished carbon steel will naturally rust...you don't have to do anything to it.  Keep in mind this does not help spin the ball more.  It can actually create less spin if too much rust builds up in the grooves. The benefit is reduced glare in sunny conditions.

[b101]

Ideally it's worth wiping them down after every shot, but given that I'm not hitting every wedge shot out of the centre and the difference is so minimal anyway, it doesn't bother me that much.