Golf clubs are like flat tires on wet roads without grooves in their club face. Slippery and hard to control. It makes your game harder on the golf course. Best quality golf clubs feature grooves in their design. You can check clubs from top brands like callaway, taylormade, ping and many more. They all offer grooves. It helps you to have better control over your stroke.
You must be wondering how such tiny grooves can play such a massive role in your gameplay. This article is sketched to answer questions like this and fill any gaps in understanding golf club grooves.
Before learning about golf club grooves, you need to know what grooves are. It is the indentation on a plain surface. But, what is the relation of groove with golf club then? Let’s get in the groove to explore more.
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What Are Golf Club Grooves?
In a golf club, grooves are the deep notch on the clubface to allow more control and spin on each swing. The grooves on a golf club can be both horizontal and parallel. Not just the spin, the groove is vital for a better chip shot or lofted shot as well.
Have you ever noticed that tires of any wheels have tracks to ensure better control? It provides a better grip on the road for better steering on turning and stopping the vehicle on demand. The functionality is very similar to the groove of a golf club.
The groove’s concept in golf clubs is beneficial for the golfers to play with, but all sorts of golf clubs are not legal in golf. For example, squared grooves are illegal. And there is a lot to learn about it. Scroll down if you are looking for detailed learning on golf club grooves. We will be sharing its importance, the rules of using it, how to sharpen the grooves, and so on.
Why are golf club grooves important?
The grooves are designed to allow water to flow and clean specks of dirt. This was the primary reason behind golf club grooves. Which ultimately helps to have better control even in wet conditions.
If you feel that golf clubs have grooves for generating spin and control only, you are wrong. Yes, without grooves on the clubs, it would have been challenging to generate spin, especially backspin, and control the ball while hitting. But this is not the primary reason behind grooves.
As mentioned earlier, grooves on golf clubs are as important as having treads in tires. A flat tire has a higher possibility of slipping out on wet roads. Not just in waterlogged roads, it gets harder to control in dusty or slippery roads as well. Similarly, your swing can go wrong with a flat club face and may result in a slice or fade shot. Which ultimately results in more stroke plays to putt the golf ball.
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The only disadvantage of grooves on golf clubs is that it gets dirty as soon as debris can be stuck. So, should you sharpen your grooves? The answer is yes and regularly. Scroll down to learn the process of sharpening.
How To Sharpen Grooves On Golf Clubs
You can sharpen grooves on your golf clubs with a groove sharpener tool. The process is effortless to execute with utmost precaution. But if you don’t feel confident, you can always take help from experts. To help you gain confidence, we are here to help. This article will demonstrate the easiest method of sharpening golf club grooves, also known as regrooving golf clubs.
Things you will require in this process:
- Brush (a toothbrush is recommended)
- Liquid Dish Detergent
- Warm Water
- Lubricant
- Masking tape
- And last but not least, a groove sharpening tool.
Sharpen Golf Club Grooves: A Step by Step Guide
The process is pretty easy if you follow it correctly. You may face some difficulties initially, but we are confident that you will master the process on your second attempt after reading our concise guideline.
First thing first. Make some soapy water by putting some liquid detergent in the warm water and mixing it. Dip your golf club in soapy water and remove the dirt using a brush. You can use a scrubbing brush or toothbrush. You may even use a toothpick to replace a toothbrush, but that would take more time to clean. Avoid scrubbing the clubface too hard. It may result in scratches on your favorite golf club.
Now cover the area that has no groove on the clubface so that you don’t damage the clubface accidentally. We recommend using masking tape in this step.
Finally, take the groove sharpener tool in your hand and hold it like a pen. Put that tool in the groove at a 45-degree angle, as shown in the following image. Draw the grooves several times with the sharpener tool. This would clean the clubface and sharpen the grooves at the same time.
Watch this video for a better learning experience.
To summarize the complete process, here are the significant points you need to focus on properly:
- Clean the clubface with warm water and liquid dish detergent using a toothbrush.
- Cover the flat area of the clubface with masking tape
- Sharpen the grooves using the sharpener tool till you get your expected outcome.
- Clean up and smoothen the sharpened place using lubricant or oil.
- Remove the masking tape and wipe the clubface with a golf towel if needed.
Rules On Golf Club Grooves
Don’t worry it is legal to have grooves in a golf club. And it is okay to use a groove sharpener. But there are some regulations on it. The rules regarding club grooves were last updated back in 2010. Have a look at the following infographic that illustrates the situation effectively:
Conclusion
Once you know what grooves are, you have a better idea about how important it is to have it in a golf club. With the grooves on golf clubs, you have better control and spin as it helps remove the debris and keep the clubface clean.
Having grooves is legal but it includes some terms and conditions that we have discussed earlier. Besides we tried to include all the necessary information to understand the concept of the golf club regrooving and its importance. If we missed out any information to share, let us know so that we can help the golfer community with detailed and authentic information.
How about: “Use masking tape to cover the groveless area around the groves on the face.” I suggest this because the entire area of the clubface is “flat.” Lay a level across it. I am a professor and students might just cover the whole face, realize something was wrong, and the smarter ones will try to cut the center out at that point with a pocketknife. Or maybe just say “put each of 4 strips of masking tape around the perimeter of the groves on the face of the clubhead.”
Also, just read another article that suggests a grooveless face will put backspin, not fade or slice as you suggest, on the ball.
I wonder if the PGA has the neccessary staff to execute a definitive set of studies on these problem areas?