I must be honest and write that I did this test in the hopes of proving a few people wrong. Instead, I have proven myself wrong. With my research for the Wedge Project I put my "stake in the ground" on what I believed regarding milling on the clubface. All the tests I performed using TrackMan and various wedges always showed that a wedge without a milled face generated less spin (albeit slightly) than wedges with the fine "corduroy" look of milling between the grooves.

I looked up a person I believe to be very knowledgeable when it comes to equipment, Tom Wishon. I read all that he had to say on the matter of grooves and surface roughness and his findings aligned with the results I was seeing in my tests.

Based on what I had available to me I had done my homework and had placed my "stake in the sand" in favor of milling on the clubface. It just made sense to me. Until this....

David Neville and the crew from Vokey Wedges have been kind enough to let me have access to a few test wedges. They sent me six wedges of which I chose to use three for this test.

All three wedges have the same grip, shaft (DG S200), length, grind (M) and a stated loft of 56 degrees. I did not check their weight, actual loft, lie angle or bounce measurements. I hit 60 shots off a mat (to eliminate ground interference) with the no groove, no milling club and 60 shots off a mat with the no groove, milled club. I then eliminated the 15 lowest spinning shots to leave the remaining 45 highest spinning shots with each club. I used slightly used ProV1X balls and attempted to carry each shot 50 yards. I wiped or cleaned the clubface between every 3rd or 4th shot. Here are the results:

Titleist SM4 TVD M 56 degree Chrome Fly Cut without Grooves or Milling

Titleist SM5 56.10 M 56 degree Raw Surface without Grooves/Milling Only

As you can see the club that had surface milling or roughness actually generated less spin - 6009 RPM to 6229 RPM. While the difference between the two is negligible and most golfers would have a hard time telling the difference between the ball flight of one versus the other (myself included), the result is significant to me in that I firmly believed the outcome would be reversed.

Keep in mind this is a test involving one golfer hitting a limited number of shots to one distance. The results might be a slightly different with multiple golfers at different distances, but I don't believe different enough to sway the outcome of this test.

I recently posted this quote by Martin Palmer on Twitter: "The secret to mastery in any field is to forever be a student." Today my "stake in the sand" moved - I was a student and I learned something. I think it is vital as a coach, or even as a golfer, to place your "stake in the sand" and firmly believe in a method, approach or theory. Stand by it and argue in its favor. That is, until you uncover sound evidence or reasoning against your viewpoint - then you pick up your stake, admit you were wrong and adjust your approach.

As a point of interest I wanted to see how a standard clubface might interact with the ball. I hit 25 shots (keeping the best 20) with the Titleist SM4 TVD M grind that has 17 standard grooves and a milled face. Here are those results:

Titleist SM4 TVD M 56 degree Black Oxide 17 Grooves with Surface Milling

As you can see this clubface with both grooves and surface roughness generated the highest spin rates of all three clubs. This leads me to believe that grooves play a larger, more important role on cleanly struck shots than I originally thought.

As I continue to learn and work towards providing my students with what I believe to be the best current information and knowledge available I know that I will continue to be wrong. The blessing is that each time I am wrong I will learn, adjust and be less wrong than I was before.

Basic Blades So often golfers are tempted into believing their equipment is the reason for the poor results they have been experiencing. Sometimes they may be correct, yet most times, this leads to the decision to make a change.

Here are a few simple things to keep in mind when considering making a change to your set:

The latest and greatest is not necessarily all it is hyped to be. It is more than likely the same old thing with a new and exciting paint job. Decide what you like and stick with that! I am currently using a set of irons with the same type of heads (blades), shafts (Dynamic Gold s-400) and grips (rubber with reminders) that I used when I first started to play the game. (Titleist 690.MB)
When it comes to irons there are three options: blades; the oversized helper set; and something in between the two. Get something you know you will be comfortable with.
As far as fitting for irons we all need to know two numbers: the length and lie angle that we prefer! Not 2 degrees over standard or plus a half inch on length! This is because all companies have different standards (don't we all?) and if you know the length and lie of your clubs you are immune to any problems that might arise. My 6 iron is 37.50 inches long and has a lie angle of 60.50 degrees. I will use those numbers for as long as I can swing.
Get clubs that fit your body and not strictly your impact position on the day of fitting! Lose the lie boards and tape on the bottom of irons please.
Find a shaft that fits your swing and feels good to you and then stay with it for as long as they make it! Make sure it is not too strong.
When it comes to putters keep in mind that there are essentially two genres: face-balanced and toe weighted. If you are considering making a putter change try to stay in your genre unless things have just been horrific on the greens.
There have been very few to no improvements made in the field of fairway woods. Titanium is very light and thus the heads tends get too big, so find a simple and small stainless steel head that you like the look of and set about developing a long lasting relationship with it.
When selecting a fairway wood decide whether you would like to use it predominantly off the fairway or more as a tee club. Select the loft of the club accordingly.
Limit the number of wedges in your bag to a maximum of three - that means a PW, SW and an LW at most! If you struggle with the wedges stick to a PW and SW so as to not cloud any decision-making around the greens. Tour players practice enough, are skilled enough and play the kind of courses that require precise enough shots to justify four wedges being in the bag.
There should be an even number of degrees between each of your wedges. Most PW's are 48 degrees and I have a 54 and a 60. Other viable options are a PW and a 52 and 56 or a PW and a 53 and 58.
When selecting your wedges be sure to incorporate enough bounce in each club. Unless your name is Eldrick, Phil or Vijay you need more than 6 degrees of bounce on any wedge you own. That's why manufacterers build clubs with 14 degrees of bounce!
There are two shapes of grips folks - rounds and reminders! Find out what shape you like and ask for it by name the next time you refresh your grips.
When it comes to grips forget the latest cool colors or which ones your favorite player is using - they are more than likely getting paid to use the ones on their clubs. Decide which grips are for you and your preference and now you don't have to worry about the latest fad.
The driver is the one club in the bag where it pays to stay current. Find a reputable club fitter in your area that uses a launch monitor and go and get fitted. Whenever you get the urge to replace your current big stick get back on that launch monitor to compare the latest offering with your trusty old steed!
The current fitting carts that most companies have make it very easy to try multiple different heads with various shafts. Be patient, try them all and then find a club that gives you good numbers and looks great to you!

Chipping Clubs

Enjoy watching the world's best wade through the quagmire that appears to be the 2009 US open this weekend.....

Andrew Rice Golf

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