Story About Nothing

2008-08-18

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By Steve Pike

The U.S. Golf Association's new ruling on grooves will cause a stir among club manufacturers and yes, equipment writers, for the next few weeks but look for the furor to die down in the coming weeks and end up like most USGA rulings, being akin to a Seinfeld episode. That is, a story about nothing.
 
Remember the hue and cry over the USGA's MOI ruling a few years ago? Its ruling that limited the size of driver heads to 460cc? Big news for a few weeks and then we all went on to something else. The same thing will happen with the new ruling on grooves.
 
First, the ruling is nearly two years away from going to effect. Second, it's only going to impact the world's elite players. Don't take my word for it. Read the words of Tom Wishon, president of Wishon Golf and one of the industry's more respected club designers.
 
"It's a 'ho hum' edict that won't do what they (the USGA) want it to do,” says Wishon. "They want to eliminate the bomb and gouge tour players from being able to whack it 320 yards into the rough and still be able to hit the ball on the green and stop it relatively close to the hole.''
 
Slightly reducing the groove area and slightly rounding the top edge radius of the grooves, Wishon says, is not going to stop the long hitters from getting balls out of the rough and onto the greens.
 
"The bomb-and-gouge player has an average iron swing speed of 90-95 mph,'' explains Wishon. "The 'Scott Verplank' type Tour player has an average iron speed of 80-83 mph. Contained in the iron swing is the ability to slash through three-inch rough with little to no effect of getting the clubhead fully on the on the ball and up to 1,000 rpms more backspin because of the higher swing speed.''
 
In other words, as long the USGA doesn't regulate swing speed, more often than not, the world's best players will be able to work their way out of trouble just as easily as they got into trouble.
 
Wishon isn't alone is his ho-hum belief. Terry Koehler, president of Eidolon Golf and a top-notch wedge designer, says this:
 
“The USGA hasn’t been elusive about its goal – to make it more important for Tour players to hit the ball in the fairway.  For the rest of us, this is really a non-issue,’’ Koehler says. "It is not even going to apply this new condition to its amateur championships until 2014. And currently conforming clubs can continue to be used in all situations where the condition of competition is not in effect until at least 2024.''
 
2024? Indeed, what's the big deal?