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Well gang, what are your opinions on rusting a wedge. I'm thinking about it with my sand wedge to reduce glare but I heard that the grooves will break down. Thoughts would be appreciated

Is your sand wedge chromed right now?

I'm in the process of rusting my Cleveland 588 gunmetals - as a matter of fact, they're sitting outside in a bucket right now. It takes a bit, but I can already tell I'm getting more "grip" on the ball. Once the surface is really rusted I'm sure the difference will be very noticable.

Yes, my club is chromed at the moment

I'm not so sure that chromed wedges rust all that well. If you notice, mr3856a is rusting a wedge, but it already had a different finish. Do a search, I now we've talked about rusting wedges, chromed or not, before here. I'm sure their more knowledgeable information out there than what I could give you.

off topic but Cosine, i noticed you live in milwaukee. where do you play? Im in waukesha just west of you.

I didnt know people actually made effort to rust their clubs! I hate that look!

In any case, if you really want to rust your club you can do it somewhat faster than with just water....

It's not for the look, but rather the grip of the rust. I've had them in saltwater, in a wet towel, etc. Just threw them in the bucket because it was sitting in the driveway with water in it. Definitely improves spin.

BTW, I don't think you can rust chrome wedges.

I guess I dont follow the school of 'spin'. I like to be able to get the ball to release as well as stop, so huge amounts of spin really isnt what I would want. In my case I wouldnt probably lose more because of my displeasure at the look!

According to this link, has pictures to show before and after, you can remove chrome from car rims with Easy-Off oven cleaner. It might work on your wedge.
http://www.rcbros.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=1498

I think I'd stop by the Goodwill or Salvation Army store and pick-up a $2 chromed club to test it on first.

I was curious as to just how much having rust on the wedge will increase spin vs. the hassel of dealing with a rusty club since rust stains can be a real pain to get out of clothing. I could not find a single test of spin from rusted vs. non-rusted wedges although every manufacturer of wedges designed to rust has a claim that the rust does increase spin none of them have published tests to back up this claim. It's also interesting that none of them make any specific claims as to the amount the spin will be increased. I find this curious since club manufacturers love to test their clubs for distance so they can claim that their club increases distance by 10% or whatever the number turns out to be. Can it be that they don't publish tests or make specific claims about spin and rust because there is no difference or the difference is so small as to be negligable? They certainly have a financial interest in perpetuating the belief that rust increases spin as the clubs designed to rust are cheaper to make since they don't have the added expense of chroming and they sell for a premium price.

Below are a couple of the articles that I found giving opinions on rust on wedges.

Here is an anwer to the rust question given by Frank Thomas. He was the Technical Director of the United States Golf Association for 26 years and was responsible for testing and ruling on the acceptability of every new club and ball so I think he probably knows a little about how golf equipment works.

Excerpted from http://www.franklygolf.com/Q_A/wedge.asp

I am a high handicapper who is thinking about adding another wedge to my game. I already have a 60-degree lob wedge and was thinking of getting something with a little less loft and more bounce. I was reading some comments about clubs and came to something called "rusting" the club. Does this really help to get spin on the ball? Should I buy a club that is made to rust, or go with the chrome one? -- Matthew Ward, Mishawaka, IN

If you increase the coefficient of friction of the clubface, you increase the potential for spin. Anything that can "grab" onto the ball will increase spin. So it is possible that rust could increase spin, but only by a very minimal amount. The poor esthetics of a rusted club far outweigh any very minor benefit of increased spin.

Here's an excerpt from the article Is Rust a Must? by Donald MacKenzie from The Sand Trap.com website. (I cannot link to the article since the first part of the URL is getting converted to *. ) While he does prefer to play rusty wedges because there is no glare and he thinks they look cool he says, "There are some disadvantages to rusty wedges, though. Because they lack the layer of chrome, they are less durable. The grooves are less protected, and more likely wear out more quickly. If you play and practice a lot, you could conceivably wear down the grooves in your raw wedges in just a season or two.

Also, there's a wives' tale that rusty wedges increase spin. The theory is that the rust creates a rougher surface, and that friction leads to more spin. That's bull. The spin is the same for a rusty wedge as it is for a chromed wedge - when they're both new. Once the wedges start wearing down, you'll lose some spin, and that will happen faster with a raw wedge than with one that is chromed.Two other minor, and funny, disadvantage to raw wedges. The first is that rust can be messy. If you leave a rusty wedge in your bag, it will transfer that rust to whatever it leans up against in your trunk: Other clubs, towels, your golf bag, shoes, etc. Rust stains, so be careful. Second, rust costs more. When you buy a raw wedge, you're paying more - usually about $10 a club - for less. You're not getting the chrome, but you're paying more for the novelty of the raw finish."

It seems to me the decision the decision about rust vs. non-rust is really a matter of preference for how the club looks and not one of spin performance. If anyone knows of a test showing that rust really does increase spin please post a link to it.

I have read similar articles that shoot holes in the rusting theory...I can't say as I have never played rusted wedges that were new...what I do know is that I bought a groove sharpener (cheap one...9.95 or something from Washington Golf) and I touch up my grooves about once a month...this combined with a soft ball (hx blue) allows for plenty of spin (and scuffed balls)...as far as releasing vs biting, it is really controlled as much by the swing as anything (steeper angle, high clubhead speed, more bite...dead hands and a more sweeping motion, release)...

I had a sharpening machine at one point... but I ended up with grooves which were a long way from legal! Does your machine do it without contravening the rules?

Not a machine, just a handheld tool that is little more than a groove cleaner, but it touches up the edges nicely similar to a sharpening steel used for knives...so much so that I ruined a sleeve on my last round...

I used to work in Peewaukee...I think my favorite course nearby was something like ironhorse?

Oh, and to answer the guys question...Rust WILL eat away at the grooves...but grooves account for MAYBE 10% of the spin action of a wedge...it's surface material/roughness that creates the most spin.