What Clean grooves can do
Clean Grooves
The grooves on a golf club are very important and are hugely influential regarding the ball flight produced.
Often, people come into our shop and ask if we can deepen the grooves on their wedges. We try to explain that the depth isn’t what creates spin as much as the width.
After a period of hitting lots of golf balls, the edges of the grooves start to become smoother and there fore don’t cut into the ball as much. This might be a good thing for some golfer’s as this will stop their golf ball from being cut up as quickly. The downside of course is that their ball will not spin as much or react as quickly upon hitting a green.
I have even had the odd person take a Stanley blade to their wedges grooves in the attempt to get more spin. All this will do is scratch their club face.
There are 2 types of grooves for wedges. These are called “square” and “V” grooves. The square grooves were deeper and wider with sharper edges. This allowed more spin and greater control around the greens, however they have now been banned for competitive use for professionals since 2010.
Clubs which were manufactured before 2010 will not be allowed to be used by amateurs from 2024 onwards.
This leaves the “V” grooves as the only option still being manufactured. They are slightly shallower, narrower and had more rounded edges compared to the “square” grooves.
It is important to have the grooves in top shape for your wedges to perform to their best. We have tools which allows us to re-open the grooves as they start to wear, so it is worth checking your wedges and seeing if the grooves are starting to look worn.
It is also very important to make sure the grooves are clean before every shot. I see golfers taking practise swings and not cleaning the club face before they hit their shot.
Would you hit a golf ball with your head cover still on?
If your answer is no, then why would you hit a ball with mud in your grooves.
Mud in the grooves is just a bad as hitting a golf ball with a big piece of mud on it. Unfortunately, the rules don’t allow you to clean the mud off unless your ball is on the green but there is no excuse to not clean the grooves.
If you would like any advice on your grooves don’t hesitate to get in touch, we can have a look and see if we feel your grooves could be hindering their performance.
Pop in store anytime, for a free groove check up on your wedges. Re-grooving and face sandblasting is available at just £10 per club.
