Opinion & Analysis

Wedge Guy: What do grooves really do?

Published

6 years ago

Nov 26, 2019

The wedge stories from all the major brands mostly revolve around their treatment of faces and grooves. Everyone seems to claim their approach gives you more spin—but have you noticed that they leave it at that? I still have not seen anyone publish hard data about just how much more spin they can deliver.

As you know, everything about wedges fascinates me, from shaping to face treatments, grooves to sole grinds, shafts to…well, everything. In my many years of working with recreational golfers and their wedges and wedge play, I have learned that some golfers just spin the ball more than others and that spin can vary greatly from shot to shot. I’ve written about the spin matrix many times—it is a combination of technique and clubhead speed, but certainly, grooves have something to do with that, right?

Working with the largest independent robotic testing lab in the business, we set out to quantify just what grooves really do to help spin. The testing protocol was to put two identical wedges on “Iron Byron,” one with a full “hi-tech” face and groove treatment, the other with a completely smooth face, only showing the slight marks from being CNC milled to perfect flatness.

We tested these two 54-degree wedges at 75 mph clubhead speed, which represents the “typical” recreational golfer of reasonable strength. This was NOT a tour player test, as I have always focused my research on what the rest of us need. We conducted a series of eight tests on each wedge—face square and open with dry impact and with moisture added.

Let’s just say the results were enlightening, and a wedge geek like me can really dive deep. But let me share some revealing data that you can use.

Let’s first talk about a wedge with advanced grooves, and what happens to shot data when you inject moisture and when you open the face 4-6 degrees to hit a slight cut shot.

On clean impact shots with a dry ball, we found spin to vary by as much as 15-20% from shot to shot. If the robot can’t get the same spin on every shot, neither can we.
When you open the face just a bit to hit a cut or slide fade, two key things happen:
- Spin increases by 1500-2000 rpms
- Distance reduces by 2-4 yard
But even with advanced grooves, when you introduce moisture to a square face shot, lots of things happen:
- Spin is reduced by as much as half
- Launch angle is higher by 5-6 degrees
- Carry distance can be up to 4-6 yards longer

It really got interesting when we moved to the same tests with an identical wedge, but with nothing more than the face milled perfectly flat. Same robot, same clubhead speed and shaft angle at impact.

On a dry ball, spin was reduced by an average of only 12-15%, or less than the variance from shot to shot on a market-quality wedge.
Launch angle, carry distance and ball speed showed practically no difference.
But when you introduced moisture into the equation, you really see why we need grooves on the face of our wedges and irons.
- Spin decreased by as much as 75%
- Launch angle averaged almost 10 degrees higher
- The combination of the higher launch and lower spin added up to 12-14 yards to carry distance.

The moral of this part of the story is that you should always allow for “flyers” when you are certain to get moisture or grass between the ball and clubface. But you can improve your odds for optimizing spin if you will always wipe your clubface dry and clean your grooves before each shot. [Watch the pros; after their practice swings they almost always have the caddie wipe the clubface before their shot.]

About those wedges we tested…

The wedges used in this testing were prototypes I have worked on for almost two years. I did not publish actual spin numbers because they would not be relative to the wedges in your bags. We have a big story to release in the coming weeks, but if you want to get “in the know” before everyone else, send me an email (Terry@TheWedgeGuy.com) and I’ll invite you for a sneak peek.

I’ll leave you with this “tease.” The prototype wedge with no grooves generated more spin than any of the market-leading wedges we tested—purchased right off the rack. I can’t wait to show the world how we did that.

Opinion & Analysis

5 Things We Learned: Thursday at the PGA Championship

Published

4 days ago

May 15, 2026

Ronald Montesano

Aronimink is not a storied club, but when Donald Ross himself proclaimed it to be as good as he can design and build, one had to take notice. Jay Sigel was the pre-eminent male amateur golfer from the mid-1970s to the mid-1990s. He might have called any number of Philadelphia clubs home, but he chose Aronimink. It served him well. Gary Player won a PGA Championship here in 1962, and was followed by the 1993 winner … nobody. Aronimink gave that event away to Inverness, for reasons of which it is certainly not proud. So be it. We had to wait sixty-four years for the PGA to return to Newtown Square, but here we are. Aronimink has been neo-restored by Gil Hanse and team, to return Ross features with an eye toward defense against the dark arts, errrr, high-tech equipment.

Day one saw Rory McIlroy and Bryson DeChambeau dig big holes, to the tune of plus-four and plus-six, respectively. Since the first-round lead will be minus-three at worst, many shots will need to be made up for the power couple to reach contention. By nightfall, seven golfers held the day-one lead at three-under par 67. Shots and sticks caught our attention, and we are proud to present Five Things We Learned on Tech Thursday at the 2026 PGA Championship. Thanks to InsideTourGolfer, Today’s Golfer, and GolfWRX for initial equipment research.

First, meet Min Woo Lee

Min Woo Lee, aka Dr. Chipinski, has once again thrust himself into the conversation of Can he, will he, when will he? Lee has so much talent, wins not nearly as often as we believe that he should, and has no major near-misses (much less titles) on his wiki. The young Aussie is getting older and wiser, but is he able to avoid the scarring that holds the older and wiser back from breaking through? Philadelphia offers another opportunity. Min Woo signed for five birdies and two bogeys on day one, and grabbed a share of the opening-day lead at Aronimink. Winners transcend history and the moment, and Lee will need that sort of ascent to lift the Wannamaker on Sunday.

Second, meet Aldrich Potgeiter

The young South African golfer can rip driver with the best of them. Aronimink tips out at nearly 7400 yards, but beyond the fairway bunkers that ensnare only the mortals, Potgeiter can take his chances with wedge from the rough. On Thursday, he spent plenty of time in the spinach. Like Popeye, he used his muscles to gouge and thrash and dig his way out. Six birdies against three bogeys on the card brought AP in a three deep.

Third, meet Martin Kaymer

Not a major event takes place without a where’s he been throwback moment. We know that Martin Kaymer left the PGA and DP World tours for LIV golf, but the two-time (US Open and PGA) major winner has a lifetime exemption into at least one major event, and he seizes the opportunity each May. Kaymer joined the six-seven brigade with four birdies and a solitary bogey on day one. Kaymer was never a long hitter, and the years are kind to no golfer. The German champion will need to uncork every bottle of guile and strategy in his cabinet to remain in contention. For today, though, he occupies a rung on the ladder of Tour Tech.

Fourth, meet Scottie Scheffler

Let’s see, he’s the defending champion at the PGA, and he found his way back to the top tier with five birdies against two bogeys. To be a favorite and then play up to that stature and expectation is quite difficult. Just ask Rory, Bryson, and some of the other pre-tournament heartthrobs. Scheffler’s game is complete, and to knock him off the OWGR #1 pedestal, one needs to defeat him at the majors. Aronimink is the sort of course that fits Scheffler’s game. Better yet, it unfits the game of many of his challengers. Don’t expect Scheffler to go away anytime soon. Come Sunday, he’ll be around.

Fifth, meet Stephan Jaeger

Clocking in for the unheralded players shift are Ryo Hisatsune and Stephan Jaeger. Hisatsune logged seven birdies on day one, but gave most of them back with four bogeys. Still, he’s tied at the top for a time. Jaeger pitched five birdies against two bogeys, including a run of three consecutive, from holes four through six. Odds are that one of the two will hang around through 36 holes. Odds also suggest that both will be gone by Saturday evening. Still, the PGA Championship has historically been the major most likely to be won by an under-known. Both Hisatsune and Jaeger feature on that list, so good luck, lads!

Club Junkie

Club Junkie’s Titleist GTS driver fitting results!

Published

4 days ago

May 14, 2026

Brian Knudson

On this episode of the Club Junkie Podcast, I head to the Titleist Performance Institute for a full driver fitting with the new Titleist GTS lineup. We dive into the fitting process, talk about what made the biggest difference in performance, and break down how the different GTS heads and shaft combinations compare on the launch monitor. If you are thinking about a new driver setup for this season, there is a lot to take away from this one.

I also get into Brooks Koepka and the gear setup he brought to the PGA Championship, including the putters that caught my eye during the week. There are some interesting equipment trends showing up at the highest level right now and we break down what stands out.

To wrap things up, I talk about reshafting a few wedges, what I learned during the process, and swapping an adaptor onto a new shaft for another build project in the shop. A gear packed episode from start to finish for anyone who loves golf equipment and club building.

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Club Junkie

Club Junkie WITB, week 16: New Titleist GTS woods!

Published

5 days ago

May 14, 2026

Brian Knudson

Excited for this week’s WITB as we get to add the new Titleist GTS woods to the bag! I was fit at Titleist’s TPI facility in Oceanside California a few weeks ago and my new clubs just showed up. I am also adding a cool set of irons that I built last year some wild custom wedges into a new golf bag. Speaking of the bag I have a new Ghost Anyday Black Ops stand bag that I will be using on my Motocaddy Remote M7 electric cart.

Driver: Titleist GTS3 (11 degrees @ 10.25)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Red 6s

3-wood: Titleist GT1 3Tour (14.5 degrees)
Shaft: Graphite Design Tour AD CQ-7s

5-wood: Titleist GTS (18 degrees)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Red 7s

9-wood: Titleist GT1 (24 degress)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Red 7s

Irons: Bettinardi CB24 (5-PW)
Shafts: KBS C-Taper Lite 110 stiff

Wedge: TaylorMade MG5 (50-09 SB)
Shaft: Mitsubishi MMT 125 Stiff

Wedge: TaylorMade MG5 (56-12 SB)
Shaft: Mitsubishi MMT 125 Stiff

Wedge: TaylorMade MG5 (60-08 LB)
Shaft: Mitsubishi MMT 125 Stiff

Putter: Dan Carraher ZT Proto

Ball: Callaway Chrome Tour

Bag: Ghost Anyday Black Ops Stand Bag