How Often Should You Change Your Wedges
26 February 2024
By independent reviewer Martin Hopley
Unlike most other clubs, wedges have a hard life so they need to be changed more frequently. This is because they are usually played from the rough and bunkers where soil and sand take a higher toll on the grooves.
The grooves on a wedge are like the treads on a car tyre. They are there to channel moisture and dirt away from the point of contact so that the club face gets a better grip on the ball and therefore generates more spin.
The manufacturers say that you should change your wedges every 80 rounds to maintain optimum performance. The number will reduce further if you practice with your wedges a lot, especially if that is with hard range balls rather than the usual premium balls you play with on a course.
For most keen golfers that would mean changing your wedges every year, so what is the likely loss in performance if you don't?
I took the latest Titleist Vokey SM10 wedges into the Hogan Studio to check the level of spin of a brand new wedge against my two year old Titleist Vokey SM9 wedges. I took full swings on Trackman using Titleist Pro V1 golf balls and checked out the difference with a 50° wedge.
As you can see from the numbers below, the SM10 generated 700 rpm more spin which implied a loss of about 8% of performance from SM9.
You may say that the SM9 went further, but this is because it spun less and everything else was the same, but these are not distance clubs, they are about accuracy.
The bigger difference was the variation in spin between the highest and lowest spinning shots with each club. For the SM10 it was 244 rpm, whereas for the SM9 it was three times higher at 603 rpm. This in turn affects the height variance which was twice as great with SM9 at 10 feet. This shows that the older grooves were not only reducing spin, but were also more inconsistent.
How To Make Your Wedges Last Longer
Clearly if you play a lot then ensuring you manage the performance of your grooves is key and there are a couple of things you can do.
Firstly, practice with a different set of wedges to the ones you play with to protect the grooves on your gamers. Either buy a second hand wedge in the same spec or keep your old wedges for practising with.
Secondly, only practice with premium golf balls, preferably the same type that you use on the course so you can learn how they spin with your clubs around the green. Try and avoid hitting full shots with range balls as they have harder covers and will wear out the grooves more quickly.
Finally, keep your grooves clean after practice and also on the course by using a damp towel to clear out any debris.
Getting The Perfect Wedge Set Up
If it has been more than a year or two since you change your wedges then you are probably due a refresh. SGGT custom wedge fitting is done outdoors from grass to get the right bounce and in the fitting studio using Trackman to get the distance gaps right. All with Titleist Pro V1 balls of course!
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