The Death of Spin?

Will a new grooves rule mean the end of spin? Or will it even matter?

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By Mike Stachura

Photo By Phillip Toledano

September 2009

We still don't know what's going to happen. The PGA Tour doesn't know. Equipment manufacturers don't know. Average golfers don't know. Even golf's ruling bodies, the ones responsible for this historic rule change, can't say for sure. That's right. Despite spending three years studying grooves and their effect on imparting backspin, the United States Golf Association and the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St. Andrews still don't know if the game's first performance rollback in eight decades is going to make any difference.

At the end of June, after two months of curious debate about possibly delaying the implementation of the new standard it had previously wholeheartedly endorsed, the PGA Tour said it would institute the so-called "groove rule" as a condition of competition beginning Jan. 1, 2010. In short, the new rule limits groove-edge sharpness and groove volume on clubs with lofts of 25 degrees or more (generally, a standard 5-iron or above). The intent is to limit spin -- or control -- that irons and wedges produce on shots from the rough. The new rule will apply to professional competitions starting next year and amateur events in 2014. However, it doesn't apply to recreational golfers until at least 2024. The rule grew out of the desire of golf's ruling bodies to restore the value of driving accuracy, a response to the "bomb-and-gouge" school of course management. The R&A, which governs the game outside the United States and Mexico, and the USGA developed the rule to restrict this performance capability. They have charts illustrating spin reductions by 50 percent on 8-iron shots from light rough and charts showing shots hit with conforming grooves that land at a sharper angle and roll farther than shots with current grooves. It's all clear, from a laboratory standpoint.

But now that we've left the laboratory, there remains a patina of uncertainty hovering over all aspects of the grooves issue, from how the game will be played at the elite level to what average golfers should buy in the interim.

THE TOUR
PGA Tour Commissioner Tim Finchem said the decision to implement the new groove standard was "in the best interest of the game." But at the same time he admitted the change would present "challenges." Those difficulties come under two headings: players and competition.

Finchem's biggest concern is that players won't have enough time to adjust to the performance differences, but most equipment manufacturers are confident that PGA Tour players will have the clubs in plenty of time. In fact, players began testing clubs with the 2010 grooves well before the June decision. The tour is even reserving courses near tournament sites through the end of the season so that players can test new grooves.

However, some players, including the world's No. 1 golfer, don't consider the adjustment a hardship, especially considering that about 30 percent of tour pros already use irons with 2010-conforming grooves. "We've had plenty of time to make our adjustments," said Tiger Woods, whose iron grooves (but not his wedges) likely already conform to the new standard. "All the companies have been testing and getting ready for this, and the guys will make the changes." Finchem said an issue will be ensuring players at all levels of professional golf are using clubs with 2010 grooves. It's one reason the tour might not require competitors to use clubs with 2010 grooves at the weekly pre-qualifying tournaments next year. The USGA also might not apply the rule at next year's local qualifying for the U.S. Open, U.S. Women's Open and U.S. Senior Open.

The looming question, of course, is whether the change will matter. Many believe it will bring about a return to the flyer lie, in which shots from light rough are launched with so little spin that a player might miss the target by the length of an entire green. Champions Tour veteran Bobby Wadkins was only half-joking when he said "fans will need to get Bengay for their necks from watching the balls sail over them." In fact, Titleist circulated a report to PGA Tour pros that suggested "all players will be required to make time- and resource-consuming changes to their game." The report said in addition to making iron and wedge changes, players could be forced to make driver, ball and set-composition changes. It also said (in a tone that reads like it came straight out of the USGA's 2008 announcement of the rule change): "In addition to their equipment, players may also need to spend considerable time changing their course strategy and technique."

However, some golf-club engineers aren't convinced performance will suffer too much. "When it's all said and done, nine months from now, I think [the concerns] will disappear," said Benoit Vincent, chief technical officer at TaylorMade.

Others believe that you can't legislate against talent. "We're not convinced, nor do we believe, that the rule change will actually enact the desired outcome, because of player skill and their ability to adapt and to use trajectory instead of spin to compensate," says Jeff Colton, Callaway Golf's senior vice president of research and development.

Of course, one important factor that could influence the outcome is how the PGA Tour sets up its courses. Finchem said the tour used shorter rough at certain venues this year so it could compare performance in 2010. However, he admits course setup is a work in progress.