How often you replace your Wedges?

[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.

 

[Mackey]

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.

[Svo]

11 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...

I as well have been playing the same Callaway wedges for a few years. Every now and then I regroove them with my trusty groove tool. Beats the heck out of buying new wedges every year or two. That, and I'm not overly impressed with new wedge offerings.

[Headhammer]

It used to be never, I had the same wedges forever. But then I read the study that your wedges start to lose spin after 75 rounds and they should be replaced after like 150 rounds. This rate also varies based on how much practice you do, how much bunker practice you do, etc. So now about every 3 years.

[bwgerho]

Golf club companies are in the business of selling clubs:  consider the possibility their recommendations may be influenced by corporate greed.  

I stick with my old friends - same wedges as several years ago, BUT I use a groove tool to dress the groove edges.    The tool does NOT change groove depth or contour, it sharpens the edges.    Since I don't play for a million dollars every weekend, I am not concerned about minor groove work.   

 

[Kenny B]

It depends on how you use your wedges.  If you are player that hits full shots and rely on the ball "hopping and stopping", then you will probably want to replace wedges frequently; at least yearly depending on how much practice you do.

OTOH, a player like me who doesn't have a high swing speed and never hits a full shot with either my SW or LW can go years before replacing them.  I use my LW on most holes I play because I miss a lot of greens with long approaches.  My short game is bump and run or short pitches.  Even though I play quite a bit, my LW doesn't show much groove wear after 2 years.  I have worn the chrome finish off the sole from bunker play.  My SW is really a specialty wedge; only used for thick rough and long-ish greenside bunker shots.

I used to have no preference for wedges, then I played the SCOR wedges with the v-sole.  Took so getting used to but I liked them, but didn't care for the replacement Ben Hogan version.  I thought I would change to the Cleveland CBX style; several people I play with like them, but I liked the look of the Callaway 2019 PM Grind and decided to give a 60º a try... loved it, so ordered a 54º to match.  I don't see any reason to change brands, and since I haven't seen a replacement wedge from Callaway, I bought another 60º on sale... just in case.

[MrBandit]

I think for me what I found, its the bounce and feel of my current wedges is what I need to keep. But maybe like alot of you have mention here, use some kind of grove sharpener to get them back to where they where.
I used both by 56, 60 degrees every round, either taken shots from 100yds in, or around the greens when I miss them (often) .

There are so many types of wedges out there, and everyone says there Wedge is the best.. Just like the drivers, every year you gain 10yds, by now, I should be carrying 300yds.

 

[ciojohn]

It really depends on the club.  I primarily use my 56 Vokey, so it gets replaced at least every other year.  Gap wedge (50 degree Vokey) is next at 2.5 yrs typically (with more full swing shots, it's easier to see the gap wedge's performance start to drop off).  Last is usually the loft wedge (60 degree Vokey) due to me not using it as much as the other 2.

[Granata13]

On 4/29/2021 at 1:08 PM, 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.?

So I replace mine every year to year and a half, granted I live in northern Michigan and can’t play quite as much as others.  Personally I like to practice my short game so my 54* and 58* do get a lot of use.  That being said I do not just buy because there is something new, I have used a Ping 54* Standard grind (SS) and 58TS since the Tour S came out.  It’s been a while but I am so comfortable with them I don’t want to switch.  

 

[scott80109]

On 4/29/2021 at 12:49 PM, MrBandit said:

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.

I have those same wedges in raw, and with about the same number of rounds on them. The grooves look and feel fine to me, but like you, I am not getting any bite on them. I'm thinking it's time for some new ones. 

[DStar]

My Cleveland's are about 12 years old but I did stop playing a few months after getting them.

They'll see me through this season and I may look to do a proper bag fit next year as most of my current bag is off eBay 

[CRW]

I play or practice most days of the year and use a lob wedge for 99% of my shots inside 70 yards or so. It is usually replaced once a year. The others I can stretch out longer. Gap is usually changed when irons are changed.