Worth re-groove and re-finish old clubs?

I tested MP-4 and MP-64, not any better than my old MX-23. I think the PGA professional told me that Mizuno would charge $50 a club to regroove and rechrome. I am sure some would do cheaper than that . Is it worth it? For ~$25-30 a club I may consider. What do you guys/girls/AC-DC think?
Thanks

No. Not when you can buy a relatively pristine set on Ebay for $200 or so. As far as the condition of the grooves on old irons, you can buy a re-grooving tool for under $20. Just a handle and a blade. So what if the tool cuts your grooves out of USGA conformance. Does anyone not on Tour actually give a fuck about this? Pas moi, certainement. As for chrome loss, especially on the face where you hit the majority of your shots (hopefully on or very close to the pin-speck referred to as "sweat spot"), after a decent amount of gtood strikes, that area will lose its surface coating and suffer what is referred to as "brown out". That is, the slight corrosion looks brownish as the chromeless metal oxidizes.

Now if you just scrub the iron faces after each practice session or round, they will not brown out but just show a dull gray surface. The downside of this is that some owners feel that the iron won't play as well as when the chrome is shiny new looking. In actuality, when the chrome is gone, there is more spin imparted to the ball since the bare alloy surface produces more friction against the surface of the ball. The shiny chrome surface can negatively impact shots on other areas of the iron like the sole. In fact, many if not all PGA pros will never use a brand new sand wedge in play until the chrome is scuffed off the bottom of the sole where the max bounce lies. Nothing worse than a shiny chrome sole skidding through the sand instead of grabbing enough to put necessary spin on the ball. Works similar from the rough, also.

So if you are the type of guy who has to bag a set of clubs that look all shiny and new, go ahead and send them off somewhere for professional refinishing. If you just want to get your old irons to play better, buy the regroove tool. As for me, I use a tool periodically and also will sand the iron faces with a little Black and Decker hand sander just to smooth the nicks out a little bit. I think I can feel the difference but then I'm just a cheap bastard and it don't cost anything to hope.

Mongrel wrote:No. Not when you can buy a relatively pristine set on Ebay for $200 or so. As far as the condition of the grooves on old irons, you can buy a re-grooving tool for under $20. Just a handle and a blade. So what if the tool cuts your grooves out of USGA conformance. Does anyone not on Tour actually give a fuck about this? Pas moi, certainement. As for chrome loss, especially on the face where you hit the majority of your shots (hopefully on or very close to the pin-speck referred to as "sweat spot"), after a decent amount of gtood strikes, that area will lose its surface coating and suffer what is referred to as "brown out". That is, the slight corrosion looks brownish as the chromeless metal oxidizes.

Now if you just scrub the iron faces after each practice session or round, they will not brown out but just show a dull gray surface. The downside of this is that some owners feel that the iron won't play as well as when the chrome is shiny new looking. In actuality, when the chrome is gone, there is more spin imparted to the ball since the bare alloy surface produces more friction against the surface of the ball. The shiny chrome surface can negatively impact shots on other areas of the iron like the sole. In fact, many if not all PGA pros will never use a brand new sand wedge in play until the chrome is scuffed off the bottom of the sole where the max bounce lies. Nothing worse than a shiny chrome sole skidding through the sand instead of grabbing enough to put necessary spin on the ball. Works similar from the rough, also.

So if you are the type of guy who has to bag a set of clubs that look all shiny and new, go ahead and send them off somewhere for professional refinishing. If you just want to get your old irons to play better, buy the regroove tool. As for me, I use a tool periodically and also will sand the iron faces with a little Black and Decker hand sander just to smooth the nicks out a little bit. I think I can feel the difference but then I'm just a cheap bastard and it don't cost anything to hope.

Thanks Mongrel ... I will check around for proper tool to re groove my clubs. Any suggestion?
I found this one on Amazon
http://www.amazon.com/X6-Groove-Sharpener-Re-grooving-Cleaner/dp/B002QH6ZUY/ref=sr_1_1/177-8660390-0278148?ie=UTF8&qid=1379367416&sr=8-1&keywords=golf+club+regrooving+tool

That looks like a very good tool. I don't know what the hardness is of the 1035 alloy the 23's are made of but I doubt it approaches 65. The tool I use came from Home Depot maybe 10-12 years ago and is a plastic handle around a curved metal shaft with a triangular titanium blade on the end attached by one screw in a simple friction lock arrangement with the three cutting tips the same size and configuration. I doubt that it was designed for iron groove cutting but seems to do an adequate job. It was made by Sanvik and cost about twelve bucks. I think that the tool on the link would be better. The only caution would be to go slowly keeping firm pressure on the blade as you drag it through the grooves or else it might skip across the face of the iron and leave gouges. This happened with a couple of my wedges and some of my MX 20's but since I don't care much how they look, it didn't bother me at all. The only thing I really care about clubs is that all the faces are scrupulously clean and the iron grooves free from any dirt before I hit a shot. I carry one of those combo wire and nylon brushes clipped to my bag and clean the crap out of the iron grooves before using the club again in play.

Mongrel wrote:That looks like a very good tool. I don't know what the hardness is of the 1035 alloy the 23's are made of but I doubt it approaches 65. The tool I use came from Home Depot maybe 10-12 years ago and is a plastic handle around a curved metal shaft with a triangular titanium blade on the end attached by one screw in a simple friction lock arrangement with the three cutting tips the same size and configuration. I doubt that it was designed for iron groove cutting but seems to do an adequate job. It was made by Sanvik and cost about twelve bucks. I think that the tool on the link would be better. The only caution would be to go slowly keeping firm pressure on the blade as you drag it through the grooves or else it might skip across the face of the iron and leave gouges. This happened with a couple of my wedges and some of my MX 20's but since I don't care much how they look, it didn't bother me at all. The only thing I really care about clubs is that all the faces are scrupulously clean and the iron grooves free from any dirt before I hit a shot. I carry one of those combo wire and nylon brushes clipped to my bag and clean the crap out of the iron grooves before using the club again in play.

Thanks Mongrel... just order X6 tool to regroove my MX-23s ... will see how they turn out...Some grooves look pretty worn out. I don't care about more spins, I just want them to look decent

Unless your swing speed with a 6 iron is over 90 mph, spin with irons is your friend.

Mongrel wrote:Unless your swing speed with a 6 iron is over 90 mph, spin with irons is your friend.

The above statement is approved....

Fluffy wrote:The above statement is approved....

Yeah right, thanks... it's easy for a 26-yr old kid to say... My driver's SS is barely at 90, let alone a 6i  

Next time you are in a golf store that sells new irons, see if they have the Mizuno swing speed DNA club for you to try. Several months ago I found one in Golf Galaxy on a lazy Saturday afternoon when all the employees were with customers and figured out how to use it after about 90 seconds of messing with the buttons. Although the Mizuno fitting with the club, a 6 iron with some sort of Mizuno iron head on it, is supposed to give a reliable indication of your swing profile after only three swings, I hit about 20 balls wiht it and figured that my average swing speed was 85 mph and profile was 4-5-5-7 which are relative measurements for swing pace, toe down at impact, something else, and release point. My first two numbers were the same as Luke Donald's but his release was a good bit lower like around 4. For release, the lower the number, the better. I was surprised by the swing speed since, like you, I usually hit driver in the 90-95 range but I have no idea how fast I swing it on the course but suspect that at times it could be higher since I have a real aversion to hitting off mats, especially indoors.

If you think that you hit all your irons too high, you might want to consider reshafting them with shafts with higher kick points but with similar weight and flex as the stock Mizuno Exsars you have in them now.

Mongrel wrote:Next time you are in a golf store that sells new irons, see if they have the Mizuno swing speed DNA club for you to try. Several months ago I found one in Golf Galaxy on a lazy Saturday afternoon when all the employees were with customers and figured out how to use it after about 90 seconds of messing with the buttons. Although the Mizuno fitting with the club, a 6 iron with some sort of Mizuno iron head on it, is supposed to give a reliable indication of your swing profile after only three swings, I hit about 20 balls wiht it and figured that my average swing speed was 85 mph and profile was 4-5-5-7 which are relative measurements for swing pace, toe down at impact, something else, and release point. My first two numbers were the same as Luke Donald's but his release was a good bit lower like around 4. For release, the lower the number, the better. I was surprised by the swing speed since, like you, I usually hit driver in the 90-95 range but I have no idea how fast I swing it on the course but suspect that at times it could be higher since I have a real aversion to hitting off mats, especially indoors.

If you think that you hit all your irons too high, you might want to consider reshafting them with shafts with higher kick points but with similar weight and flex as the stock Mizuno Exsars you have in them now.

Thanks Dude... I have no problem buying another new set but I don't think it's going to help me. It's the Indian, not the arrow... I don't play enough to be consistent.
I was thinking of joining the CC next door, 2-3 miles from my house. $3.2K/7-day or $2.3K/5-day . I know it's convenient next door, so it would force me to play more... also it's a very very nice course... but I don't think I could play everyday.... maybe every other day , but I would rather play at different courses

http://www.deerfieldgolfclub.com/

I was a member of two private clubs in the 1980's and played 2-4 times per week because I was a self employed real estate dude. Although I worked my handicap into single digits, whenever I would play a course other than those two, I struggled to break 90 because I was tuned into and expected course conditions similar to what I was used to. The upside was that I could go play 18 by myself on off-hours and spend lots of time on immaculate grass ranges with practice sand traps and excellent putting greens.

Today, many private and semi-private clubs are sufferering from the prolonged recession. That's why my club has about 70 member who all belonged to private clubs in the past. Its a death spiral with declining membership brought on by increasing fees and dues necessary to support club maintenance and other operations. So the first thing to suffer when times get tough is the condition of the golf course.

So its your money and if you can afford it and you would enjoy it, pull the trigger. You might want to consider a cheaper alternative. Go talk to the head pro and see if you can't arrange to take a few lessons and have access to the range. Practicing off the turf is much better than beating rubber mats.

As for equipment, I'm sort of re-programming myself with both golf and guitar that what I have now is what I have. Must make it work. Just like golf equipment, I get bored with one guitar and after doing modifications to one I'll sell it after awhile and bag another one only to repeat the cycle. With clubs, I'll hit the club and maybe reshaft it to make it hit better. So now I tell myself that the clubs you gots are the ones you gonna play with and get used to them and make those mo-fo's work 'cause that's all you got. However, I think for the last few weeks of my competitive golf season, a ball change is indicated now that the weather has chilled and I will pick up a box of Titleist DT Solo's for the upcoming events. In white this time instead of yellow.

Mongrel wrote:Although I worked my handicap into single digits, whenever I would play a course other than those two, I struggled to break 90 because I was tuned into and expected course conditions similar to what I was used to. .

That's what I am afraid of. My friend who was a member at Brandywine CC, now a member of Dupont CC and he plays a lot, at least 3-4 times a week (Allergy Doctor with plenty of money and free time), but he barely beats me at other courses... and I only play twice a month at most, the rest just range time

There you go.Unless you have unlimited time and a bunch of money to throw at the game and play other courses besides your home club or clubs frequently, that's a common rut to fall into. And the real bummer comes when you play competitive events away based on your handicap which is artificially low due to your home rounds. I've played with loads of "vanity cappers" sporting a 4 or a 7 who have trouble busting 90 at a place like Pilgrim's Oak.