Geek Talk For Gearheads
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Bomb & Gouge
Whither the groove rule?
Q. Whatever happened to the USGA's proposal to roll back grooves? Wasn't it supposed to take effect on Jan. 1, 2009?
GOUGE: The USGA's proposal to reduce groove sharpness and volume is supposed to go into effect for elite events starting on that date, and all clubs, not just wedges, would have to be manufactured with the new grooves starting in 2010. The change was proposed more than a year ago. Since then, there has been little progress on adopting the proposed rule. But I wouldn't be playing taps just yet. The fact is, the USGA's lab research has found that the most aggressive grooves on the market produce more spin. The field research isn't as clear, but then it usually isn't. Is a groove rollback going to achieve a performance rollback that returns us to 1971? No. Will the design of grooves matter to average golfers? Also, no. The USGA might be struggling with a lot of aspects of its grooves proposal, but it will enact a rule eventually. And I'm fine with that. It's clearly a change that will tweak only the best players playing under the most difficult of conditions. And it gives us hackers a grace period. What's the objection?
BOMB: Here's the objection: Why are we doing this? To reference a popular term used for instant replay in the NFL, there isn't "indisputable evidence" to overturn the call. The USGA started looking at spin more than three years ago. And although the lack of a knee-jerk reaction is admirable, the fact that the USGA is going over every little detail tells me there isn't enough evidence that grooves need to be rolled back.
For example: One reason the USGA wants to roll back grooves is to restore accuracy to the professional game. Really? In 2007, the average driving accuracy for the PGA Tour was 63 percent. In 1987 it was 64.3 percent. That means players 20 years ago, using balata and persimmon, were hitting about one more fairway every 100 holes than today's players do.
The USGA's research is to be commended. It also should be tabled, at least for now. The easy out is to adopt a rule. But sometimes it takes more courage to do nothing at all.
GOUGE: There is some debate about whether the rough is the penalty it once was. There is little debate that less-aggressive grooves would be less effective on short shots around the green. How about a compromise? Dull grooves for all clubs with more than 40 degrees of loft, and, just for kicks, ban all clubs with a loft of more than 56 degrees.
BOMB: How about you go back to that rock you just crawled out from under?
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By E. Michael Johnson and Mike Stachura
Photos By Jim Herity May 2008
- The crescent-cut sole of the Solus 7.1 wedge is intended to deliver bounce only when needed ($100, solusgolf.com).
- TaylorMade's Z TP wedge features 10 percent more groove volume than its Y-Cutter predecessor to provide additional spin ($140, taylormadegolf.com).
- The face material on the Bobby Jones Pelz Collection maintains groove integrity ($180, bobbyjonesgolf.net).
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