GOUGE: I've been too busy to care about the news of the world (did Obama win the election?), but over the weekend I got copies of the USGA's latest notice to manufacturers on a couple issues. One is really cool, as far as I'm concerned. The Notice, dated today, suggests the USGA will be conducting  "research on high-lofted wedges. This research is being conducted to determine if high-lofted wedges (for example, 60 degrees of loft and higher) can reduce the challenge of the game for shots near the green." I have heard recently that players at this year's U.S. Amateur attacked the bowl-shaped greens at Pinehurst No. 2 with a fleet of high-lofted wedges. Not exactly what Donald Ross had envisioned, I believe. Let's get rid of those wedges. The only people who really know how to use them are good players anyway. Allowing a club to further help a good player more than an average player is unnecessary at this stage, moreover letting a good player not have to develop the skill of manipulating a lower-lofted wedge to hit a particular shot is encouraging a leveling of the playing field that strikes at the heart of what golf competition should be.

The second announcement is not as exciting, just a series of clarifications of what the word "manufactured" means as it applies to the new groove rule. Apparently, manufacturers were questioning how long they can keep selling old-groove clubs and still have them be conforming. Those not playing along might not remember that the new groove rule goes into effect starting Jan. 1, 2010 as a condition of competition for elite events and as a requirement for clubs manufactured from that date. The new Notice allows those clubs to be shipped and/or sold until Jan. 1, 2011. This seems more a case of the USGA being fair about distribution, which I don't have a problem with.

But I can't say enough how much I love the anti-60-degree wedge Notice. This would make the game even more fun and just the right amount of frightening, no?

BOMB: I'm all in the on research on wedges. And it would be nice if they didn't stop at 64 degrees. In my mind 58 degrees should be max.

Back in 2002, Charles Howell III carried a Cleveland 588 64-degree wedge, saying that although the club was effective, it didn't get much call. "I rarely use the 64-degree club--maybe two times a tournament," he said. "But it's perfect when I short-side a green or if there's long rough and hard, fast greens. Then it's almost like cheating--the ball stops wherever it lands."

Whenever you hear a player say, "it's almost like cheating," then it's time to look into things. So we're in agreement on that. As far as the "clarification" on the groove rule goes, not so much. You say the USGA is being fair about distribution. I say they're seeking to close a loophole they didn't realize they had left open.

I use as Exhibit A a Sept. 23 article written by the USGA's Scott Smith and posted on the USGA's website. The article, titled, "The New Grooves Rules Explained" contained the following passage:

Clubs manufactured prior to Jan. 1, 2010 that conform to current regulations will continue to be considered conforming to the USGA Rules of Golf until at least 2024. This includes clubs purchased after that date from manufacturers’ existing model ranges. (According to the Darrell Survey of consumer golf equipment only 2 percent of irons in use are older than 15 years.) So long as these clubs continue to be conforming they may be used for establishment and maintenance of a USGA Handicap Index.

Do you see any mention of 2011 in there? Didn’t think so. The article continues . . .

"Ultimately, we came to the conclusion that the path forward was to get the top-level professional tours under the new groove regulations as soon as possible and to phase in the next level of amateur competition four years later, in 2014," said Rains. "This means that clubs you own today will still be conforming for top-level amateur competition for another 5 1/2 years and, for other competitions, conforming until at least 2024, if not indefinitely."

No mention of 2011 there, either.

But more to my thinking is the silliness of even trying to close this loophole. Let's be honest--this rule is aimed at the tour pro and elite amateur. They have to use the new grooves starting in 2010. Do we really think manufacturers are going to stockpile clubs by manufacturing a bunch of them only to hold onto them and sell them in the future? And if they did, so what? The groove rule says it's OK for us mortals to use such sticks until 2024. That's not cheating, it's playing by the rules the USGA set forth. Fair about distribution? Not really. Covering their you-know-whats? Absolutely. 

GOUGE: Truthfully, I think they should take all those clubs that don't conform to the new rule and throw them in a vat and melt them down right now. But you are missing the point. The point is all about the word "manufactured." But it's a loophole that had to be closed only because manufacturers asked it to be closed. Which I suppose is refreshing. Manufacturers working with the USGA because they really want to make only conforming clubs. Doesn't sound like Armageddon to me. Which is nice. And getting rid of high lofted wedges is even nicer.