How often you replace your Wedges?

[MrBandit]

How often do you replace your wedges? Once a year? When a new model comes out?
groves are worn?

And do you stay with the same ones, or do you go an try a different brand.?

[RickyBobby_PR]

Some

Some brands like Vokey and Ping do every two years and TaylorMade seems to be heading that direction. Others have new model every year. I replace mine every two years max. I tend to stick with the same brand unless I want to tinker.

When to actually replace will depend on the amount of use they get by a golfer. It’s recommended every 75 rounds that the be replaced because of the groove wear and it’s impact on distance control.

Heres a link to titleist research video on it. I’ve seen Taylormade design and tour truck personnel say the same

https://www.titleist.com.au/teamtitleist/au/b/weblog/posts/video-the-vokey-team-on-groove-wear-and-spin-performance

[MrBandit]

I think I have my Cleveland RTX4 wedges for over a year now.. that's about 85-90 rounds with them so far.. I have notice they lost that loving feeling of stopping alot sooner now they are rolling alot more than before..

That is a great video.. thanks for sharing.

[CarlH]

5 hours ago, MrBandit said:

How often do you replace your wedges? Once a year? When a new model comes out?
groves are worn?

And do you stay with the same ones, or do you go an try a different brand.?

I probably replace them more often than most.  I find myself replacing the wedges at least yearly.  I do play a lot of golf, however.  The sand and lob wedges still look good, but the grooves lose their edge.  I use both wedges in the sand at times.  I'm waiting for delivery of 2 Sub70 wedges now.  

 

[jroot327]

I'm on year 2 of my 60*, and waited too long on my 56*. Maybe 5 years and it's not playing with the same bite. I have a pair of Zipcore Raws coming to swap them out. I think 2 seasons (in the mid-west anyways where we only get 6 months to play) is doable before having to consider changing them depending on how much you play.

[TBT]

Probably every 2-3 years depending on how many rounds I play

[cnosil]

I'll let you know when I swap them out.  I think I am 6 years in on the current wedges in my bag.  Have tried a few others, but they are pretty old as well.  

[silver & black]

I'm still playing SM4's, so........

[Micah T]

I replace my 60 degree every year, my other wedges 2-3 seasons.

[cnosil]

I guess I wait too long;  @Golfspy_CG2said I need to replace my wedge

[PMookie]

About every two years. I’ll replace mine again this summer.

[KC Golf]

Two years for my 52 and 60, but I have started replacing my 56 after just over a year.  It makes sense if you are playing a lot of sand shots / practice with my 56, particularly wet sand shots.  My 56 Vokey is great but it doesn’t spin as well after a year. 

I am now trying these new Haywood PVD 56 and 60 wedges.  Looks great and plays great around the greens.

 

[Dog Faced Pony Soldier]

I’ll usually buy a new set of wedges every year and put the old set in my range bag so I have a practice set, and a gamer set. 

[Play18]

Annually and at the start of the season.  Playing 75+ rounds and practicing on the chipping green wears out the grooves.  It's fun to play with fresh grooves.

[HDTVMAN]

That was an interesting video from Titleist. I can understand the SW needing to be changed every year or two, but what about the wedge and gap wedge? And if those two have forged faces, how does that relate to my 54° cast Ping Glide 3.0? I wish the Titleist video would have gone into comparisons of forged vs cast faces on different wedges, and comparing all the wedges separately from W to Gap to Sand to Lob. I carry 9 irons, 5-9, W, A, 54°, 58°, so does this mean I need to change half my clubs out every 2 years if I play 50+ rounds/year? I might as well get a new set every two years. $$$$$!

[juspoole]

Typically every 2 years for my sand wedge.  Sometimes a bit longer on the lob wedge and quite a bit longer on the gap wedge.  I don't use my lob or gap wedge nearly as often so the grooves last quite a bit longer for me.

[Beakbryce]

Whenever the USGA makes a new groove rule. Seriously though, there was a test several years ago that showed spin numbers come down through the proverbial "75 rounds", then flatten out, and then get better again as the club ages due to the wear adding some spin. The test definitely established that they never return to "new spin rates", but they remain eminently playable.

I wish mygolfspy would conduct a new test and see if this is still true. Additionally, maybe when they start to improve again, does rusting the club or any other legal mod add any spin to an old club? What would that mod be besides natural rust if any? Does the spin rate differ greatly between manufacturer PW, AW, GW, whatever, like the Callaway Apex, and a specialty wedge at the same degree of loft like an SM8 or Callaway Jaws? How about playability? Right now, an individual Apex iron is $185 while an SM 8 is $160. With all the specialty grinds etc, the Vokey sure seems like it could be fit easier and is less costly. However, if the Apex starts with less new spin but doesn't wear as much where it is actually better at 75 rounds and going forward, maybe initial price and bounce options would be secondary for most players. Also, does it matter having good grooves if you are pitching mostly on your course or chipping? At the courses I play in AZ, I mostly hit running chips which would seem to mitigate the need for sharp grooves. Inquiring minds would like to know?

I don't practice because I play a lot, so I expect my wedges to last for years. Not sure how many people have $450-$600 laying around to replace wedges every 75 rounds. Rocking SM6. 

[RickyBobby_PR]

2 hours ago, HDTVMAN said:

That was an interesting video from Titleist. I can understand the SW needing to be changed every year or two, but what about the wedge and gap wedge? And if those two have forged faces, how does that relate to my 54° cast Ping Glide 3.0? I wish the Titleist video would have gone into comparisons of forged vs cast faces on different wedges, and comparing all the wedges separately from W to Gap to Sand to Lob. I carry 9 irons, 5-9, W, A, 54°, 58°, so does this mean I need to change half my clubs out every 2 years if I play 50+ rounds/year? I might as well get a new set every two years. $$$$$!

Your set wedge probably doesn’t need to be replaced every 75 rounds but rather your specialty wedges aka non set wedges. 

[drb1956]

Was playing Cleveland RTG 900's since 2002(52* 56* 60*), till I replaced them this past fall 2020, with Cleveland CBX2's(52* 58*). I started to think the metal was getting fatigued, not so said an instore pro at PGA. I just needed to upgrade to new tech, and these wedges are the bomb! So easy to get up and down around the green. With the matte finish ball I play, does not run to far past the hole, if at all. Distance control is really not a problem. They give me great confidence that I can execute the shot I want!! Scores should be comming down...

[dlygrisse]

Every 3 years or so, it really depends on how much you practice with them, playing doesn’t really wear them that quickly.  If you play 52 rounds a year with no real practice you would probably not wear it out for many years, if you play 20 times a but beat balls and hit lots of shots off sandy soil and bunkers you might need to annually. 
 

saw a video where Tiger says he changes every tournament or two, but he gets em for free and practices a lot in his back yard practice area. He wants the spin to be the same all the time. In the same video Jason Day says once a year, but he adapts to the reduced spin, as it happens slowly. 

[Ed G]

I still play wedges after several hundred rounds.

I have my favorite groove sharpenor and it works like a charm.

only need to replace the grips...

[tdroma98]

Not a New Model must have guy.  I change my wedges out as grooves wear out, but have tried different brands of wedges over the last 5 yrs;  going between Callaway, Ping & Titleist.  Always go back to Titleist, though.  Like the feel, look and bounce options.  S Bounce in 60 degree and M bounce in 54 degree.  Tried the F bounce and did not like it. Also found the black nickel doesn't wear as fast and like the Titleist Wedge Flex Shaft.  

[Martinjfs]

I replace my wedges about every 3 years, however, if you have access to a launch monitor you can check your spin rates to see if they are still close to where they were when your sticks were new.

If you aren’t sure of the original spin rates, compare your current wedges to the ones you want to replace them with.

[MadMex]

Color me skeptical on the "rounds" part, because  how many time you use your wedge per round? there is rounds I never use my sand wedge or gap wedge, then there is times where I use it almost EVERY hole, this is due to L.O.F.T. (Lack Of Frickking TAlent)

The sweet spot on many of my clubs is a pristine as could be, this "research" in my humble opinion is nothing more than marketing towards us hacks, those with the sweet consistent swing KNOW when they should change wedges since the can SEE their performance diminish. 

But again, thats my two pesos and I could and have been wrong.

 

[mackdaddy]

I have been feeling like my wedge game had slipped quite a bit since I stopped playing my trusty old Cleveland CG 12 RTG DSG wedges.  They just lost there grooves.  I bought 3 sets when the square grooves got taken away from us so they lasted until 2015/16.

Since then I have tried most of the major wedge brands best wedges in the search for what would be best for my game.  Most had great faces and feel.  They all spun the ball really well.  I just couldn't find a bounce and grind combo that I could hit all the shots I could hit with my CG 12's.   I went for a Titleist wedge van fitting and a Cleveland van fitting.  I had Club Champion fit me to Callaway Jaws wedges.  I could hit some of the shots with all of the wedges yet not all of the shots with any of these wedges.

A friend told me about this guy: 

Jim Kronus
President
The Iron Factory
7615 N 75th Ave Suite 105 | Glendale, AZ 85303

P: 970-245-2444

Two wedges fully refurbished for just $46 plus shipping.  Fresh grooves and raw faces like new and legal grooves.

[BIG STU]

7 hours ago, Ed G said:

I still play wedges after several hundred rounds.

I have my favorite groove sharpenor and it works like a charm.

only need to replace the grips...

Yep I do basically the same thing and do not care because my old 588s are non conforming anyhow. I guess I will change when the face gets concave. But when I change I have a bag full of non conforming 588s in the shop. And some folks are going to cringe I rotate out my PW from time to time and play my 1963 Mac FC 4000 PW. That club was pristine 2 years ago. A bud of mine who knows classic clubs noted the other day that it was starting to wear the Ceramic Coating some at the leading edge. He also added ( correctly) that means I deloft , trap and hit down on the ball. 

Edited May 3, 2021 by BIG STU

[BIG STU]

5 hours ago, MadMex said:

Color me skeptical on the "rounds" part, because  how many time you use your wedge per round? there is rounds I never use my sand wedge or gap wedge, then there is times where I use it almost EVERY hole, this is due to L.O.F.T. (Lack Of Frickking TAlent)

The sweet spot on many of my clubs is a pristine as could be, this "research" in my humble opinion is nothing more than marketing towards us hacks, those with the sweet consistent swing KNOW when they should change wedges since the can SEE their performance diminish. 

But again, thats my two pesos and I could and have been wrong.

 

I can see your point--- I only carry 2 wedges and my 56 is the workhorse.  And do not think I am one of those guys that hits everything on the sweet spot because I do not. My wedges wear all over the face but then again some of it is deliberate. I always practice my wedges a lot even taking trick shots in the yard. But then again my irons have wear all over the face. Yep never pretended to be a ball striker. 

[BIG STU]

13 hours ago, HDTVMAN said:

That was an interesting video from Titleist. I can understand the SW needing to be changed every year or two, but what about the wedge and gap wedge? And if those two have forged faces, how does that relate to my 54° cast Ping Glide 3.0? I wish the Titleist video would have gone into comparisons of forged vs cast faces on different wedges, and comparing all the wedges separately from W to Gap to Sand to Lob. I carry 9 irons, 5-9, W, A, 54°, 58°, so does this mean I need to change half my clubs out every 2 years if I play 50+ rounds/year? I might as well get a new set every two years. $$$$$!

I think personally that is a bunch of marketing BS---- And you refered to the Ping Glide wedge--- Ping stuff may be cast but they know something on metal evidently no one else knows. They may be cast and hard but for some reason they feel good. Oh yeah I have a couple of Eye2 wedges and a couple of Zing wedges too. And we have a certain contengent of retirees here all good players that have been Playing all Eye2s for 30 years. They play darn near everyday and this is a salt and sand environment and I really do not see any bad wear. 

[RickyBobby_PR]

8 hours ago, MadMex said:

 

Color me skeptical on the "rounds" part, because  how many time you use your wedge per round

 

It’s not number of rounds you play but the number of rounds you use the wedge. So if you play rounds 100 rounds and only used that wedge in 50 Theres still 25 rounds to go for the wedge

[tigerpill]

For me it's rarely. At least with my Sand wedge. Once I found a wedge I love I have not replaced it. I tried upgrading a couple of years ago, but it hasn't worked out. The new one still sits in the garage. Just hard to replace the SW. My PW and GW I usually replace with a new set of irons. My irons are Callaway Apex Pros and the SW is an old Taylormade.