Each month, we tap experts from the equipment industry to answer your most commonly asked questions. In this installment, Kevin Tassistro, director of wedge development at Titleist, discusses the effect of worn grooves on your game.
Q. How big a handicap are worn grooves? I mean, if they aren’t perfect (and mine aren’t), am I putting myself at a disadvantage? Horace w., via e-mail
Absolutely. Creating optimal amounts of spin and having the ability to control that spin are critical when it comes to solid wedge play, so without sound grooves your short game — and scoring — will suffer.
When grooves wear over time, the performance loss can be surprisingly significant. And we can prove it.
In a recent test here at Titleist, we found that worn-out wedges (those on clubs used in approximately 125 rounds) produced 2,000 less RPMs compared to new wedges with fresh grooves on similar swings, leading to nearly 2.5 times more rollout once the ball hits the green. In other words, bad grooves can potentially leave you with a 25-foot putt instead of a makeable 10-footer.
See for yourself: Review our test at vokey.com/spin/spin-performance.aspx.
— Kevin Tassistro, Director of Wedge Development/Titleist