A good set of clubs can last for years, but not every club ages at the same rate. Wedges wear faster than drivers, grips wear faster than both, and sometimes it's your game that changes rather than the equipment. These are the signs worth paying attention to.
1. Your wedge grooves look polished
Grooves help the ball grip the face, especially from the rough and on short shots around the green. Wedges are used constantly, often out of sand, so the grooves wear down. If the face looks smooth and shiny where you strike the ball, and chips are rolling out further than they used to, worn grooves are a likely cause.
2. The grips are slick, hard or cracked
Worn grips make you hold the club tighter, which affects your swing. This one is cheap to fix: regripping is usually far better value than replacing the club.
3. There's damage to the shaft or head
Dents, cracks or a bent shaft, and cracks in a driver face or crown, are reasons to stop using a club. Damaged clubs can break mid-swing, so they're not worth the risk.
4. Your swing has changed
If your swing speed has gone up or down, the shaft flex that suited you before may not suit you now. The same goes for forgiveness: as your handicap moves, a different style of iron can make the game easier.
5. You've stopped reaching for a club
If a club hasn't left the bag in months, it's taking up space one of the 14 slots could use better, and it's losing value while it sits there.
6. The gaps in your bag don't work
Big distance gaps between clubs, or two clubs that go the same distance, are a sign the set needs reshaping rather than just topping up.
