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groove sharpening

smokey

Smokey
Jul 7, 2006
99
0
i have a set of ping s59 3-sand + gap wedge
thinking about getting the grooves sharpened as im not the first owner and put alot of rounds through em.. my real question/ concern is the wedges.....is sharening them really gunna make that much of a difference or should i keep an eye out for a good deal on some new ones
 

anonymous golfaholic

Refusing Recovery
Supporting Member
Feb 10, 2010
6,519
4,795
Illinois
Country
United States United States
If you sharpen your grooves, your wedges will rust. Though this is strictly cosmetic and shouldn't effect playability in any way.
 

FATC1TY

Taylormade Ho' Magnet
May 29, 2008
2,878
0
Also, beware of going too deep. You will then have unconforming clubs... If that matters to you.
 

Hackin_Away

Well-Known Member
Feb 13, 2009
337
2
Anyone recommend any particular sharpener? I have cobra FPs if there is diff ones for diff irons. I looked on ebay, but as usual tons of different ones, wasn't sure if they stacked up the same.


Also the rust thing true? I can see how if ur taking off the protective coating by sharpening, not sure I wanna have that happen, lol.
 

Augster

Rules Nerd
Supporting Member
Mar 9, 2005
1,473
23
Groove sharpening will make your clubs non-conforming. If that doesn't matter for the comps you play, then sharpen them.

Secondly, cast PINGS are made of the toughest metals on earth. Their groove edges can't go dull. That is why people can still play Ping Eye 2's and spin the ball like it's 1989 again.
 

limpalong

Mental Ward Escapee
Supporting Member
Oct 18, 2006
13,821
13,653
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My Pings probably have over a thousand rounds on them... and the grooves are still in excellent shape. I just don't, typically, see the heat-treated 17-4 SST that Ping uses wear down the grooves. It would take hundreds of strokes on each club to have an adverse effect.
As others have pointed out, if you use a sharpening tool, you will make the clubs non-conforming. It is also easy to spot used clubs that a "basement builder" had attempted to sharpen grooves on. Such a set will have zero resale value.
Were they mine, and I believed they needed some "touch up", I'd send them to Ping for a refurbishing. For very little expense, the clubs will come back looking... and playing... exactly as if they were new, out of the box, clubs.
 

SilverUberXeno

El Tigre Blanco
Jul 26, 2005
4,620
26
Correct me if I'm wrong here on the dynamics, but I don't think the sharpness of grooves has anything to do with spin on full iron shots. On short wedge shots, the edges of the grooves can increase spin, but with a full shot, because of the way the ball compresses and the time it spends on the face, the "teeth" of the club do absolutely nothing. Make sure the grooves are CLEAN so they can move moisture away from the face at impact, for sure, but I don't think sharpening your iron grooves is going to do anything for you.

Making the grooves deeper would be advantageous in theory (and illegal). Is that what's being suggested?
 

Youngun5

Beware of the Phog!
Aug 26, 2004
2,734
11
I believe there was a negligible difference between a club with no grooves, and a grooved club on full shots hit from the fairway. If we get into half shots, and shots from the rough...then grooves are going to make a bigger impact.

If you do it with some obscure tool by hand you run the risk of making them illegal. I would imagine if you took them and has someone re-machine cut them, to specs, then that would be fine.

Having said that, given the metal that Ping's are made of, I have a hard time believing these could possibly be worn down enough to require re-grooving.
 

Noonan

Active Member
May 11, 2010
12
0
Some of you mentioned that the Ping clubs are made of a different material which is harder and lasts longer than most. For those NON-Ping clubs, how often do they need to be sharpened?
 

Augster

Rules Nerd
Supporting Member
Mar 9, 2005
1,473
23
Sharpened? Never if you want to conform to the USGA and R&A Rules of Golf.

If playing only legal clubs doesn't matter to you, then groove wear is a combination of how soft a metal is the club, how often you practice/play, how good your swing is, and what kind of soil you play off of.

The softer the metal of the club, along with sandier soil, and a good move through the ball that actually takes a divot, and you practice a LOT, your grooves will wear much quicker than someone who is a weekend warrior, practices once a week for a half hour, picks the ball clean, and plays off of black dirt when he does take a divot.

The only way to know you are conforming, without sending the clubs into the manufacturer to have the grooves redone, is to man-up and buy another club.
 

Mitch_DGCC

Active Member
May 12, 2010
6
0
Anyone recommend any particular sharpener? I have cobra FPs if there is diff ones for diff irons. I looked on ebay, but as usual tons of different ones, wasn't sure if they stacked up the same.


Also the rust thing true? I can see how if ur taking off the protective coating by sharpening, not sure I wanna have that happen, lol.

Go to Groovesharpener.com...some guys i golf with started this company and they use the scrap cutouts from the laser at their grandpas tool and die shop so it is high quality tooling steel..they work great i have been using them for over a year with great results. they have tools for u and v grooves and ones for surface roughness and everything like that
 

manaka

Active Member
May 19, 2010
8
0
Again, I please urge :diespam: you to oppose Florida S318. The current
Concern law is working; it just needs more time to accomplish its mandate. This bill would have a large negative
me personally, and would be particularly damaging to the many breeders of RoC animals in the state of Florida.
:diespam: Additionally, the
negative consequences of S318 could potentially extend to greatly worsening the problem it was drafted to solve. The
Reptiles of :diespam: Concern law, combined with the current efforts by
Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and with help from Florida reptile breeders, is more than enough
the python problem in the Everglades.
 

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