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What's inside U.S. Open champion Justin Rose's bag

Sunday, June 16, 2013

By E. Michael Johnson

Justin Rose closed out the 113th U.S. Open Championship at Merion G.C. for his first major championship.

Here's what's inside the bag of the U.S. Open champion.

Ball: TaylorMade Lethal

Driver: TaylorMade R1 (Matrix 6m3), 9.5 degrees

3-wood: TaylorMade RBZ Stage 2 Tour HL, 16.5 degrees

Irons (3-6): TaylorMade RocketBladez Tour; (7-PW): TaylorMade Tour Preferred MB

Wedges: TaylorMade ATV (52, 56, 60 degrees)

Putter: TaylorMade Spider Blade

Did you know? Rose was the first player to use the Lethal ball back when it was under the prototype name Project 5. He also switched to a 37-inch counterbalanced TaylorMade Spider Blade at the Players.

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Photo courtesy of Getty Images

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VIDEO: The mystery of the mud ball continues

Friday, June 14, 2013

By Mike Stachura

The mystery of the mud ball continues...

Our Golf Digest Hot List panel of scientists is nothing if not thorough and diligent. So when the question of what is the effect of mud on a golf ball was put to them, each had intriguing answers.

Related: The mystery of the mud ball.

But one of them, John McPhee, a professor of systems design engineering at Canada's University of Waterloo, wanted to know what actually was happening to the ball and the mud at impact. So he got out his high speed camera--and some mud--and got to work.

McPhee and his research engineer Aden Seaman took several high speed camera shots of impact with a 4-iron on a ball with mud on one side.

"As you can see, most of the mud gets blasted off at impact," he says. "But a thin layer remains, which may affect the aerodynamics (but not likely the mass distribution)." In other words, it seems likely that not enough mud stays on the golf ball to make it fly in a lopsided fashion.

VIDEO: Watch the mud on a mud ball get blasted away.

We're not sure if this makes those wild shots at the U.S. Open easier to understand or harder to believe. And while we don't really have any evidence on how it affects shoes and sneakers of walking spectators, we're pretty sure after a full day at Merion they've been rendered useless.

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The mystery of the mud ball

Thursday, June 13, 2013

By Mike Stachura

The U.S. Open is confusing and confounding enough. Now enter golf's version of Russian roulette known as the mud ball.

Since the USGA is on firm record that during this week's waterlogged U.S. Open players will not be allowed to lift, clean and place the ball on the fairway, a local rule that is typically employed during wet conditions on the PGA Tour, that means conditions will be ripe for tee shots that find the fairway to leave the ball with an extra passenger of dirt, mud or debris. Mud on a ball can have a significant effect on trajectory, distance and in-flight curvature.

The trouble is no one can really predict what that effect just might be. We even asked bright minds in the golf ball technology business, and our own Hot List team of Ph.D.'s. Nobody's quite sure.

Rock Ishii, director of golf ball research and development at Nike, has studied the mud ball conundrum for years. He has some specific answers, but concedes, "It all depends on how much mud is on the ball," he says, indicating the distance loss on a 200-yard shot might be as much as eight yards and that if there's mud on top of the ball a shot will tend to spin too much and balloon up in the air. He also believes the ball will curve in the opposite direction of the side of the ball the mud is on. "That's the basic tendency, but if there is too much mud, the ball starts going the same direction as the side the mud gets on. We don't have enough knowledge what amount of mud turns it to the opposite."

The main problem with the physics of a mud ball is that there are so many variables, and several of these variables conflict with each other. As John Axe, a Ph.D., member of the Golf Digest Hot List Technical Panel, former associate director of the Brookhaven National Laboratory and a former golf ball research scientist, explains, "I'm not surprised that people cannot agree upon a single answer."

Here are the issues:

First, if the mud gathers on only one side of the ball it will slightly change the ball's center of gravity toward that side (assuming the ball lies flat on the ground with the mud only on one side), making it off-center compared to a clean ball or, more simply, lop-sided. That off-center effect means the ball is going to rotate and curve in the direction of where the extra weight is, all things being equal.

However, all things are not equal. Because while the rotational effect is in the direction of the mud, the aerodynamic effect of having mud on one side is theoretically the opposite. It has to do with how the air flows around the ball as it flies through the air. In a perfectly struck shot the mud would stay on one side and the air would flow more unsteadily around the mud side and more cleanly around the non-mud side, causing to the ball's flight to drift toward the non-mud side.

Says Martin Broulliette, a Ph.D. in aeronautics and professore of mechanical engineering at Canada's Universite de Sherbrooke, "Conventional wisdom says that the ball would curve in a direction opposite the side where the mud is. This would be caused by early flow separation on the mud side which would cause an asymmetric flow pattern resulting in a higher average pressure on the backside of the ball on the mud side and thus a side force opposite the mud side."

When Axe conducted experiments with a small amount of lead tape on one side of the ball, the results were inconclusive to the players in the test. "Everyone, including myself, agreed that the shots went less reliably straight than control balls with no tape. But there was not a consistent pattern that we all agreed upon."

Axe raises a further variable: "The relative importance of these two opposite tendencies on a real mud-coated ball is hard for me to predict," he says. "For example, how much of the mud is left behind immediately following impact?"

The argument can be made as well that a mud ball is slightly heavier, and a slightly heavier golf ball, all things being equal, would fly farther. But conversely a ball with a larger surface area, created by a lop-sided mud passenger, would likely fly shorter.

Confused yet? Try hitting your approach shot to Merion's stream-guarded 11th hole with a giblet of dirt-goo on the side of the ball.

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When pros go shopping

Wednesday, June 5, 2013

By E. Michael Johnson

Look at those spoiled b-------. They don't know the value of a dollar." That was Gene Sarazen, commenting on tour pros who dropped new balls rather than search for ones hit astray during practice rounds for "Shell's Wonderful World of Golf" television series.

Although that comment was made nearly 50 years ago, it underscores the fact that when it comes to bags, balls, clubs and even apparel, tour players are, for the most part, pampered to the extreme. In fact, the swag on tour is almost nonstop. Need a new driver or wedge? No problem. A new putter? The practice green is littered with tour reps eager to hand you one. And when players arrive at their respective lockers for the week, they'll find anywhere between four and six gloves and a like amount of golf balls--in dozens--waiting for them. As such, it is rare that a professional player needs to go into his pocket to pay for equipment. On Monday of the Memorial, employees at Golf Galaxy in Dublin, Ohio (roughly six miles from Muirfield Village GC), were about 15 minutes from closing for the day when a customer walked into the store. This patron, however, was one they were perfectly happy to work overtime for: eight-time PGA Tour winner K.J. Choi, who was looking for a set of irons.

Over the years there have been numerous stories of players visiting golf retail stores and buying a club (not to mention many infamous putters "pulled from the barrel" that guys have won with). Matt Bettencourt visited a Dick's Sporting Goods last year and bought a TaylorMade RocketBallz driver and, of course, there is the tale of Jim Furyk, who visited Joe & Leigh's Discount Golf Shop at Pine Oaks GC in South Easton, Mass., prior to the 2010 Deutsche Bank Championship, bought a used Yes! Sophia putter for $39 and went on to win the Tour Championship and the $10 million FedEx Cup. Earlier this year Furyk went shopping again, visiting a local Edwin Watts store in Orlando during the week of Bay Hill where he purchased an Odyssey Versa putter.

Related: K.J. Choi's Swing Sequence

Then there is Pat Perez, who went to the putting green prior to teeing off in the first round of the 2003 AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am only to discover he left all eight dozen of his Nike TA2 balls in his car. With the auto too far away to retrieve the pellets and make his tee time, Perez dispatched his caddie to the golf shop where he bought three sleeves of Nike's DD balls (the TA2 was not available at retail at that time). The purchase set Perez back $57, but they did have the Pebble Beach logo on them. Perez shot 69, using just one sleeve. Asked what he did with the other two, Perez said, "We returned them."

It is rare, however, that a player is in search of a set of irons. Many years ago Payne Stewart bought a set of Mizunos at Golfsmith and, only a few years back, David Toms purchased a set of Mizuno MP-57s at Edwin Watts, but other than that, not many tour reps recalled a player buying irons at a retail outlet.

Choi, however, thought about the visit while on the flight to Ohio from Korea. "There are no tour vans here to help me out, so there's no other choice than to go to Golf Galaxy to pick up a new set," said Choi about his reasoning. Indeed, the Memorial is one of the few tour events where equipment vans are not permitted on the premises.

After entering the store, Choi was greeted by Jay Chiles, the store manager, and Michael Mayhugh, a PGA professional who has worked at Golf Galaxy for 2¿ years and conducts about 10 to 12 fittings a week.

According to Chiles, Choi did not come in seeking any particular set, but rather looked at what the store had, opting to try Mizuno's MP-59 and MP-64 models as well as Titleist's CB irons. An inveterate tinkerer who is particular about his clubs, Choi brought his Miura 7-iron with him and wanted to check the swingweights against that iron.

Related: What's in K.J. Choi's bag?

"K.J.'s 7-iron was measuring between D-2 and D-3, and leaning closer to D-3," said Chiles. "He was looking for something closer to D-2. Choi's reputation as a feel player is fairly well-known, and it was pretty cool to watch it live. He hit fewer than 10 balls with each club, and he knew the MP-59s and CBs weren't quite what he was looking for. But on the first swing with the MP-64 (which had True Temper's Dynamic Gold S300 shaft) he said, 'Yes, this is right.' The whole process probably took about 45 minutes. He thought about re-gripping the clubs, but after we measured them all out for swingweight, length and lie angle he decided against it."

"I was a little bit nervous the first two days but got used to [the clubs]," said Choi, who finished T-21. "The longer irons stopping on the green gave me a little bit more confidence." For the week Choi ranked 33rd in greens in regulation, having entered the tournament ranked 81st.

That was good enough to collect $58,202.50, which represented a pretty good return on investment for Choi, who didn't exactly get a bargain on his new bats. Asked if Choi was offered a discount, Chiles chuckled before saying, "Well, he didn't want the 3-iron so we prorated the price to seven clubs."

Somewhere Sarazen is smiling.

NEW STUFF

TaylorMade R1 Black
PRICE: $399 (Lofts: 8 to 12 degrees)

A limited-edition offering with the R1's adjustable hosel and sole plate as well as movable weights. An all-black finish features a muted crown graphic similar to the original.

taylormadegolf.com

BAG ROOM

Rory McIlroy had the Scotty Cameron by Titleist Studio Select GSS prototype putter he used to win the 2011 U.S. Open and 2012 PGA Championship in play again at Muirfield Village GC. McIlroy, who had been using a Nike Method 006, went back to his Cameron at the European Tour's BMW Championship. ... Keegan Bradley had a new set of irons in the bag at the Memorial, opting for Cleveland's 588 TC model (he had been using the company's CG 7 Tour). Bradley made the move after a practice session in which he saw an improved ball flight and divot pattern. ... Justin Rose had used a conventional-length (34 inches) putter up until Memorial, when he changed to a 37-inch counterbalanced TaylorMade Spider Blade with a short slant hosel and tour-only black steel shaft. Rose noted the putter fostered a taller posture that made it easier for him to release the putterhead. Rose finished T-8 at Memorial, but ranked 60th in strokes gained/putting.

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[Photo: AP Photo/Jay LaPrete]

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Tricks Of The Trade: Updating your irons

Saturday, June 1, 2013

By E. Michael Johnson

History lesson: Hot List irons from '09 and their trade-in values.

Golfers tend to hold onto their irons longer than most of their other clubs. Many assume that iron technology doesn't change as rapidly as other categories. It's also partly economic: A set of new irons likely will cost between $600 and $1,000. To make that investment a bit more palatable, consider this: You can trade in your old irons for good money.

Since 2004 the PGA.com Value Guide has been an easy-to-use vehicle for turning used clubs into currency. The guide lists about 60 brands with more than 6,500 models that are accepted as trade-ins by more than 10,000 PGA professionals at over 6,600 locations. Here we show the six game-improvement irons that earned gold medals on the 2009 Golf Digest Hot List -- clubs that could use an upgrade -- along with their sale price then and trade-in value today.

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TaylorMade goes back to black with new R1

Thursday, May 30, 2013

By Mike Stachura

TaylorMade, the dominant metalwood company in golf for the last decade, may have become well known in the last three years as the white driver company after converting its entire line of metalwoods to white-colored clubheads, but it also knows the value of listening to its customers.

Hence, the new R1 Black.

The company introduced today a limited edition version of its R1 driver in a glossy, all-black finish that features a muted crown graphic similar to the original R1. The new look comes to a driver that features most of the same technology found in the original white R1. Most notably, the driver is the most adjustable in TaylorMade history, including 168 possible settings just like the original R1. The clubhead features two movable heel and toe weights to manipulate center of gravity locations, a four-degree range of lofts courtesy a 12-way adjustable hosel (from 8 to 12 degrees) and a sole plate that accommodates seven different face angle adjustments.

"The No. 1 reason we did this is we were talking to golfers, a percentage of them really wanted something like this, and we listened," says Tom Kroll, global product marketing manager for woods at TaylorMade. "We certainly had players and club pros and better amateurs out there who said if I could get one in black I'd try it."

According to Kroll, the black version not only will be an option for consumers but for TaylorMade's tour staff, as well. The club is expected to appear on the USGA's list of conforming drivers on Monday and will be available to be played on tour as early as next week's FedEx St. Jude Classic in Memphis.

While the R1 Black does not feature the crown graphics or white/black crown/face contrast that was one of the integral technologies of the original R1, Kroll believes that answering the demand from a core group of golfers is just as important.

"The 0-4 golfer who is really kind of the voice of our brand and that's the guy that we want to connect with, and unfortunately there's a percentage of guys out there that were saying, 'I'm not going to play a white one," says Kroll, indicating that TaylorMade's research suggested that as many as 20 percent of its core golfer audience was averse to white drivers.

"There are some things that spur golfers on to buy golf equipment and the look of the golf club is probably the most emotional element. Those emotional responses you've got to pay attention to. So are we going backwards? No, it's the same technology underneath it. This is an unbelievable machine. It's more that we're tugging at a heartstring for the golfer so that when they set this thing down and look at it they've just got to have it."

Emotion, Kroll says, fuels performance. "There are players out there where this version that fits their eye better and they're more confident and excited about that than they would be for a white clubhead, and we've got to pay attention to that. There's something there that gets him a better result."

The company plans a number of events to roll out the new driver over the next few weeks, but the club is expected to be available in the usual shops and stores, just in a more exclusive number. It will be priced the same as the original R1, $399, and is expected to be in stores by June 10.

"The forecast of what we're going to distribute in R1 Black is far less than what the core market would demand," Kroll says. "Certainly, this will be one of the most-watched product launches we've had out there in quite a while."

But he said R1 Black does not signal a sea change for TaylorMade.

"If there's insatiable demand for something, we're not going to turn a blind eye to it," Kroll said. "But we still as a company strongly believe in the performance and technology of white and the contrast of a white crown with a black face and how it aids alignment and the entire aspect that white represents. I think we're definitely standing behind that. It's a part of our culture and people have come to associate TaylorMade with white."

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Even before the anchoring ban was announced, PGA Tour long-putter usage was on the wane

Tuesday, May 28, 2013

By E. Michael Johnson

During the May 21 announcement that the USGA and R&A were enacting Rule 14-1b, USGA president Glen Nager was asked about the potential for a legal challenge to the decision.

"Our mission is not to avoid legal challenges," said Nager, who has argued 13 cases before the U.S. Supreme Court. "Our mission is to determine the appropriate rules for the game that make the game strong for the long-term. ... We have looked at this from the legal perspective, as well, as we feel confident of our position."

That confidence, however, may be tested. Nine PGA Tour players, including Tim Clark, Carl Pettersson and Masters champion Adam Scott, have retained Harry L. Manion III, a founding partner in the Boston law firm of Cooley Manion Jones, to represent them. Although readying for a fight, Manion said the players are waiting to see the PGA Tour's response and that no legal action is imminent.

Related: Golf's notable rule changes

"Nobody wants to litigate, so you hope for the best and prepare for the worst," said Manion, who first met with players at Torrey Pines during the Farmers Insurance Open. "I am optimistic that the [PGA] Tour will not follow this rule."

Certainly players who will be affected by the ban come Jan. 1, 2016 are holding out hope that the tour will break from the governing bodies on anchoring.

"We tried during that [comment] period to reason with the USGA and the R&A and come to some sort of a favorable decision for ourselves," said Clark, who was an All-American at North Carolina State using a conventional putter, but changed to an anchored stroke halfway through college because of a congenital problem that doesn't allow him to supinate his wrists. "Now we are going to have to explore our options. I planned to play until I physically no longer could play. Now I've been told I'm going to have to change the way I putt in a few years. Now my future is uncertain."

Things also are unclear for Carl Pettersson, who has used an anchored long putter for 16 years. "I think it is grossly unfair for somebody who's been using the long putter for a long time to have to play catch up," said Pettersson. "I've refined 16 years of practice with it. If I change to a non-anchored putter, I don't know if that's fair but sometimes life's not fair.

"I still think we still have a battle with the PGA Tour. They stated their case that they are against it. Hopefully, they stay with that opinion."

Although Clark and Pettersson have steadfastly used anchored putters for some time, usage on the PGA Tour and sales at retail of long and belly putters have dropped, perhaps indicating a resignation that the rule will eventually go into effect. Sven Kessler, VP of retail for Edwin Watts, said long and belly putters accounted for nearly 25 percent of putter sales at the height of their popularity in late 2011 and early 2012, but now account for less than 5 percent of putter sales. Tour research conducted by TaylorMade through the first 21 events of the season showed an average of 13.6 long or belly putters in play per event. Of those, about 11 anchor (players such as Matt Kuchar and Angel Cabrera use belly putters without anchoring). That's about half the number anchoring at this time a year ago.

USGA executive director Mike Davis is acutely aware of the impact the ban will have. "We have genuine empathy for golfers who are struggling with nerves and anchoring has been something that has helped them out," Davis told Golf World. "That's been the hard part. ... But we're not taking away any of their equipment [long and belly putters will remain legal, they simply cannot be anchored against the body]. There are other ways to help them. There was strong support for moving forward with this proposal."

Along with the support Davis cites, the governing bodies may be on firm legal ground as well, said Matthew Mitten, professor of sports law at Marquette, director of the National Sports Law Institute and the author of Sports Law in the United States.

Related: Reaction to the anchor ban

"It would be a difficult legal challenge for [the players] to win," said Mitten. "Historically, courts have been very deferential to sports governing bodies to regulate what they determine to be the rules of the game and to regulate playing equipment. There's a recognition that sports are unique, and you've got to have uniform rules and there needs to be an independent governing body that has to take the necessary steps to preserve the integrity of the game and competitive balance."

Zach Johnson, however, isn't sure the ban is accomplishing that.

"I don't see the need," said Johnson, a non-anchorer. "That's just my personal opinion. I'm all about maintaining integrity. I'm all about the tradition and that sort of thing. However, we are so deep into it. I don't see how you go cold turkey. I know the tour will do what's in the best interest of the tour and the game of golf."

As for what the tour will do, a hint may come as early as Tuesday of Memorial week as the Player Advisory Council (a group made up of 16 players) will meet. The next scheduled meeting of the tour's Policy Board isn't until the the Greenbrier Classic the first week of July.

Although emotions currently are running strong, Davis believes come Jan. 1, 2016 things will have simmered down. "We're 2.5 years from this happening," said Davis. "You'll hear people make comments saying they're not going to follow the rules or they're quitting the game, but they are the people you want to talk to 2.5 years from now to see what they actually do. Are they really going to quit the game over this? Are they really going to defy it? I think over time, my personal opinion, that things will calm down."

Which would be a big change from where things stand today.

Additional reporting by Mike Stachura and Ron Sirak.

NEW STUFF

Nike VR Forged
PRICE: $130 (Lofts: 48 to 60 degrees in standard)

Forged from 1025 carbon steel, Nike's latest wedge line offers three grinds: standard, dual narrow (high bounce) and dual wide (low bounce).

nikegolf.com

BAG ROOM

Crowne Plaza Invitational champion Boo Weekley had prototype Aldila RIP graphite shafts in his Cleveland 588 MB irons at Colonial. The shaft is designed with low torque and is expected to become available later this year. ... Martin Laird had two 3-irons in the bag at Colonial -- a TaylorMade Tour Preferred 08 model he used during his win at the Valero Texas Open, as well as a new Tour Preferred CB 3-iron. Each provides a different ball flight that Laird felt would be valuable in Fort Worth. ... Hunter Mahan switched to Ping's Scottsdale TR Anser2 at Colonial. Mahan -- who finished T-26 for his second solid showing after a four-tournament stretch in which he finished no better than T-73 with two missed cuts -- ranked 15th in strokes gained/putting with the new club.

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[Photo: Darren Carroll]

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Winner's Bag: What Boo Weekley used to win the Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial

Monday, May 27, 2013

By E. Michael Johnson

By winning the Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial, Boo Weekley ended a five year victory drought; it was his first PGA Tour win since 2008's Verizon Heritage. Here's a look at the clubs he used en route to the Colonial title:

Driver: TaylorMade R1 (Fujikura Motore X), 8.5 degrees
3-Wood: TaylorMade RocketBallz, 15 degrees
Hybrid: TaylorMade RocketBallz Tour, 21.5 degrees
Irons (4-PW): Cleveland 588 MB
Wedges: Cleveland 588 RTX (52, 56, 60 degrees)
Putter: Odyssey Versa 2-Ball
Ball: TaylorMade Lethal

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[Photo: Scott Halleran/Getty Images]

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The anchoring argument and tradition

Saturday, May 25, 2013

By Mike Stachura

David Owen's recent post from a reader suggesting that the legendary Bobby Jones appears to be anchoring while putting raises one of the most inflammatory arguments in the roiling debate over whether the ruling bodies should have decided to ban a method of putting that has been around in one form or another for the last three decades--and, as it turns out, in other forms for maybe a century.

The ruling bodies propose an answer to that specific question of what is tradition and what isn't when it comes to the golf stroke, anchoring and putting in their 40-page explanation for Tuesday's decision. Is it sufficient to sway entities like the PGA Tour, the PGA of America and the lawyer representing nine players who object to the decision to ban anchoring? Don't know, but I'm pretty sure it just might be the center of the debate going forward.

From the "Explanation of Decision to Adopt Rule 14-1B of the Rules of Golf, Section 2.b

B. Freely Swinging the Entire Club is the Essence of the Traditional Method of Golf Stroke

In adopting Rule 14-1b, the USGA and The R&A have concluded that freely swinging the entire club is integral to maintaining the traditions of the game and preserving golf as an enjoyable game of skill and challenge. The essence of the traditional method of golf stroke involves the player swinging the club with both the club and the gripping hands being held away from the body. The player's challenge is to direct and control the movement of the entire club in making the stroke.

This traditional form of golf stroke has prevailed throughout the centuries since the game began. It is true to say that one can find isolated or episodic examples of anchored methods of stroke dating back into the early 1900s, just as one can find early examples of almost any method of stroke that creative players might invent or try, such as putting in a croquet style (seen as early as the 1900s or before). But it is only recently that a non-trivial and recurring use of anchoring methods emerged, first with the long putter in the 1980s and then with the belly putter at the turn of the 21st century - an extremely short time in the history of this 600-year old game and not reflective of any established tradition.

The concept of intentionally immobilizing one end of the golf club against the body, in a manner equivalent to creating a physical attachment point to use as a fixed fulcrum or pivot point around which the club can be swung, is a substantial departure from that traditional understanding of the golf swing. Reduced to its most basic elements, golf involves a player swinging a club at a ball to move it toward and ultimately into a hole. The player's most basic challenge is to direct and control the movement of the entire club in making that swing. Anchoring the club while making a stroke also involves a challenge, but it is a different one, in which the player uses the immobilization and stability of one end of the club as an essential component of the method of stroke. It is not the same as freely swinging the club.

A revealing point that emerged from the input received on the proposed Rule is that a great many golfers appear to agree that, ideally, golf would be played without an anchored stroke. A good number of those who oppose Rule 14-1b on collateral grounds, e.g., that it comes too late or may have undesirable effects at this particular time, say that the governing bodies should have prohibited anchoring at an earlier time; and many others acknowledge that, at a minimum, it would have been a reasonable choice to do so. The concept that a free swing is, or should be, the essential manner in which a golf stroke should be played is deeply ingrained in the traditions of the game.

Seeking to avoid this conclusion, a few comments suggested that an anchored method of stroke must also be considered acceptable and traditional because it satisfies the definition of a "stroke" in the Rules of Golf. But such a conclusion does not follow from this premise. The question at hand is not whether playing the ball with an anchored club constitutes a "stroke" under the Rules; it certainly does, as it involves a "forward movement of the club made with the intention of striking at and moving the ball." Rather, the question is whether anchoring is a method of making a stroke that should be allowed. There are all manner of non-traditional methods of playing the ball that would constitute a "stroke," yet are not permissible under the Rules. For example, playing the ball in a croquet style on the putting green or in a billiards style is a "stroke," but the Rules provide that a player who does so must, in stroke play, both count the stroke and apply a two-stroke penalty for using an improper method in making the stroke. The same will be true under new Rule 14-1b, which provides that "in making a stroke" the player must not anchor the club. An anchored stroke will continue to constitute a "stroke," but Rule 14-1b will establish that it is not a permitted method of stroke and therefore is subject to penalty.

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Anchoring update: Adam Scott lawyers up

Friday, May 24, 2013

By Mike Stachura

While it's been reported that both Tim Clark and Carl Pettersson have retained Boston-based attorney Harry L. Manion III to represent their interests in their potential response to Tuesday's decision by golf's ruling bodies to ban anchored strokes, Manion told GolfDigest.com this afternoon that he now has been authorized by Masters champion Adam Scott to speak on his behalf on the issue, too.

Earlier this month at the Players, Scott didn't seem to believe the rule would require him to make much of a transition.

"I'm just going to keep doing what I'm doing and deal with it then," he said. "I don't think there will be anything much for me to change. If I have to separate the putter a millimeter from my chest, then I'll do that. ... My hand will be slightly off my chest, probably."

Manion, a founding partner in the Boston law firm of Cooley Manion Jones and a former adjunct professor of law at Boston College Law School, says he represents nine players in this matter. Clark, Pettersson and Scott all use a long putter in an anchored method that would be banned under the stipulations of the new rule, known as Rule 14-1b, which is scheduled to go into effect in January 2016.

Mannion said there are no imminent plans to initiate legal action. Rather, he and the players are waiting to see how the PGA Tour responds to the decision. The tour announced on Tuesday that it would "now begin our process to ascertain whether the various provisions of Rule 14-1b will be implemented in our competitions and, if so, examine the process for implementation." It is expected that the issue will be discussed at a Players Advisory Council meeting next week at the Memorial Tournament, and that a final decision will be made by the PGA Tour sometime this summer.

"There's no rational basis for this ruling," Manion said, specifically indicating that players like Clark and Pettersson have putted for much of their lives this way without fear of it being against the rules. He said he has read the ruling bodies 40-page document explaining the reasoning for the decision to ban anchoring. "I'm not persuaded by it. There's some good lawyering in there, but I don't think they've made the case, and I believe the court would see it that way, too."

Matthew Mitten is a professor of sports law at Marquette University, director of the National Sports Law Institute and the author of Sports Law in the United States. He says the case history sides heavily with sports organizations making their own rules so challenging the anchoring rule might be problematic.

"It would be a difficult legal challenge for them to win," he said. "Historically, courts have been very deferential to sports governing bodies to regulate what they determine to be the rules of the game and to regulate playing equipment. There's a recognition that sports are unique and you've got to have uniform rules and that there needs to be an independent governing body that has to take the necessary steps to preserve the integrity of the game and its competitive balance. As long as they have independently exercised its judgment in prohibiting anchoring and they have a rational basis for coming to that conclusion, courts generally are not going to intervene. They're certainly not going to substitute their judgment for that of the sport's governing body."

Mitten said a governing body can run into difficulty if a playing rule would violate an individual's protected civil liberties. He specifically referenced the Casey Martin case, where Martin won the right to use a golf cart in PGA Tour events under provisions of the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Manion believes strongly that Finchem made his and the players' position clear back in February. At that time, Finchem publicly questioned the need for the rule, saying, "Essentially where the PGA Tour came down was that they did not think that banning anchoring was in the best interest of golf or the PGA Tour."

"I am optimistic that the tour will not follow this rule," Manion said today.

Manion believes nothing has changed since then and he believes many players who don't anchor support Clark's position. He also believes that while case law is widely in favor of the court system not getting involved in how sports organizations make their own rules, he thinks there are examples that work the other way, too.

"I think the Bob Gilder case against the PGA Tour is the leading case here, that you cannot do something arbitrary and capricious," Manion said, referring to the Ping square grooves lawsuit that was settled out of court in 1993, although largely believed to be a loss for the PGA Tour.

"Nobody wants to litigate," Manion said. "So you hope for the best."

In Tuesday's announcement, USGA President Glen Nager was asked specifically about the potential for a legal challenge to the decision.

"Let me start by saying that we're going to do whatever we have to do for the good of the game because that's our mission," said Nager, who has argued 13 cases before the U.S. Supreme Court. "Our mission is not to avoid legal challenges. Our mission is to determine the appropriate Rules for the game that make the game strong for the long⿿term.

"We believe that that's what golfers want, that's what golf organizations want, and we believe that the incredible passion that was demonstrated in the comment period shows how passionate people are about the game, that they don't want to tear the game apart. The people don't want litigation, they wanted to be heard and we heard them.

"In the event that any litigation is brought, we'll respond to whatever the claims are, but I can assure you this, as you mentioned a reference to [USGA General Counsel] Mark [Newell]'s professional training and experience and my professional training and experience, we have looked at this from the legal perspective, as well, as we feel confident of our position."

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