Will groove sharpeners damage old irons?

Equipment The Persimmon Age (Steel)
1

Hi all.

I have some old irons arriving soon, and I was thinking of getting from e-bay either the groovesharpener or the backspin buddy.

I was wondering, are these okay to use with some old irons, or will they damage the clubs?

I also saw this thing on e-bay that’s basically a brush that gets water squeezed into the bristles; do those even really work?

Do you guys use groove sharpeners on hard to find golf clubs you really like?

On a side note, I’m having a tough time finding .355 tip diameter steel iron shafts that are more economical … the economical ones are usually .370. I’ve read that you can have it bore through the hossel so that the .370 will fit. Will this make the iron head less durable, maybe shorten it’s lifespan?

Thanks. :slight_smile:

2

Don’t go and bore out a hosel to change a taper tip to a parallel. That’s like putting a Bug motor in a Ferrari. Tapers are tip stiff for a reason, it keeps the shaft from torqueing at impact and stabilizes the head. The other thread is all about this stuff and if you want .355 tip DG S300, S400 or X100s right now you can get them all over the place, GolfWorks, GolfSmith and a bunch of other places for 13 bucks a piece or 110 for 3-P. If you want to wait a few days until I hear back from True Temper I’m trying to buy the heavier stiffer Xs strainght from them and I’ll hopefully have them pretty quick for cheaper. But don’t bore the heads, that’s sacriledge.

3

And yes a sharpener will damage the head. Only worry about the grooves if you’re hitting a bunch of HUGE flyers from semi-rough, that’s the only place they make a difference at all. The rest of the time if it doesn’t spin enough it’s either the ball or your angle of attack, the grooves don’t matter at all. A sharpener cuts too wide and deep and if you use it too much you start to lose surface area at contact and physical mass in the head. Plus if the grooves get too big and deep they get non-conforming to the new rules. Even if they look shallow they’re just fine, believe me.

4

Man, lecoeurdevie, thanks a lot. Solid advice as usual.

5

I took your advice and was able to find .355 tip diameter shafts. I didn’t know that the taper made much of a difference, but now I do. Thanks. :slight_smile:

6

no prob, glad to be of use for something… .370 parallel tip shafts suck, I dunno why anyone would want them for anything

7

What are you getting, pics?

8

E-bay right now, for sale, $40, 8 pieces Ben Hogan Apex #4 3-PW. I think there’s one more set left. The guy says he got them in a closeout in boxes and they aren’t labeled, but the seller seems to have a good reputation in e-bay.