How old are your wedges? Once the grooves wear down you lose a lot of spin. Have you tried the Vokey wedge fitting webpage to see what they recommend. That would be a good starting point before getting a fitting done.

A week or so ago someone else posted on the forum about lack of spin and it was down to the grooves being worn out.

Hi Jeff! Thank you for your response. I am currently gaming 2 new SM6 wedges. This is the first season they've been in use so the grooves are still in very good shape.

Forgot to mention that I used the Vokey fitting tool in the past and that's why I typically go with high bounce grinds.

One thing that surprises me is how much a good fitter can tell from a couple of swings. When I got my new set fitted last year I also had a 54 deg SM6 fitted. I tried a 10 deg bounce then an 8 deb nounce. I couldn't tell much difference, I hit them the same I thought, but the fitter said straight away that the 10 deg suited me better.

Your grooves shoudl be in good shape still. I've read elsewhere that 70 to 100 rounds is about the limit for a wedge before the grooves go. I'm still gaming an old 260.04 from about 15 years ago but we have a lot of stomes in our bunkers and I'm reluctant to upgrade until these have been cleaned out. Even though it's pretty old I still get a lot of spin from it. I use Pro V1x and our greens are soft.

Hi Jeff,

I am interested to know what the rational is for saying after 70 rounds your grooves are shot? I would be more interested in knowing how many times you can hit a club before needing to worry about its grooves. I probably use my 56 about 5-6 times a round, my 60 2-3, and my 50 maybe once or twice. I have played 150+ rounds this season. By your definition I need to replace my wedges at least once, maybe twice by now.

It was a post from someone on this forum a few months ago, around the time the SM7's were released. A lot of talk about when people should upgrade and the figure of 70 to 100 rounds was mentioned by a few people. I'm sure this was based on Bob Vokey's quote, which I've included below.

Clearly this would depend on the course you play, how many bunkers you are in, how many shot's you use your wedges for, etc.

“Tour pros are constantly replacing their wedges,” says Bob Vokey, whose eponymous clubs from Titleist are very popular with pros. “Most amateurs, on the other hand, don’t replace their wedges often enough. A wedge will typically perform for about 60 to 70 rounds, depending on the player’s practice habits. For most avid golfers, that works out to be 1.5 to 2 years.”

Also see: www.nationalclubgolfer.com/.../

Interesting. I have never noticed a difference in the grooves. To be fair, I can't tell the difference in grinds, either. I chose my wedges based on the bounce. I have an F grind, and M grind, and I can't remember the last one. I can't tell the difference. I know I like a low bounce, and nothing I have is over 8.

Depends on you soil conditions as well as angle of attack. A Vokey trained fitting site will best help you. When our clay soil is dry, a low bounce is useful as a high bounce will just bounce off the hardpan. I was interested in the Vokey 60 T slate blue for that reason - except it is RH only.

Yea the high bounce wedges are certainly what is recommended for my swing type and the soil conditions we have in Northeast Ohio. My thought was that I am not compressing the ball as much when the club is "bouncing" more than it would with a lower bouncing wedge that would allow me to dig down.

Spin Loft is the metric that is most relevant when considering the spin that you're producing. This is true for all clubs, not just wedges. A simplified definition of spin loft is the difference between dynamic loft and attack angle (assuming zero face to path). For example if you are hitting shots with a dynamic loft of 50 degrees and an attack angle of -4 degrees you have a spin loft of roughly 56 degrees. A rule of thumb is that you should be getting about a thousand rpm of spin for every 10 yards you hit your wedge. So 70 yard pitch you would normally anticipate 7,000 rpm of spin. To answer your question directly though wedge bounce has nothing to do with spin and everything to do with turf interaction and the ability to open/close the club face. Test your wedges to see if you're getting 1,000 rpm for pitch shots 50 - 100 yards. My assumption is that you are and that is normal. If you want more spin then you will need to manipulate how you deliver the club to increase spin loft and the spin of the golf ball.

Spin Loft is the metric that is most relevant when considering the spin that you're producing. This is true for all clubs, not just wedges. A simplified definition of spin loft is the difference between dynamic loft and attack angle (assuming zero face to path). For example if you are hitting shots with a dynamic loft of 50 degrees and an attack angle of -4 degrees you have a spin loft of roughly 56 degrees. A rule of thumb is that you should be getting about a thousand rpm of spin for every 10 yards you hit your wedge. So 70 yard pitch you would normally anticipate 7,000 rpm of spin. To answer your question directly though wedge bounce has nothing to do with spin and everything to do with turf interaction and the ability to open/close the club face. Test your wedges to see if you're getting 1,000 rpm for pitch shots 50 - 100 yards. My assumption is that you are and that is normal. If you want more spin then you will need to manipulate how you deliver the club to increase spin loft and the spin of the golf ball.

If you are having problems getting the spin you want with 2 new wedges, the money might be better spent on a lesson or 2. If its not the grooves, it may be your technique needs a slight tweek.

Jonathan, Thanks for sharing that video. Amazing Spieth changes his 60 degree every couple of tournaments. Also interesting stats on 125 rounds of play vs 75 rounds of play vs fresh grooves when hitting a wedge.