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News Commentary Opinion
OK So Now Its Grooves
With the USGA changing the rules for
grooves from the current square design to a
V-shape which harkens back to those in play
a generation ago every golfer should be
aware of a few facts.
First, the new grooves are required only on
irons with 25 degrees or more of loft,
essentially a 5-iron, and the rule was
specifically put in place to make it more
difficult to control shots to the green from the
rough. The USGA’s thinking being pros are
hitting the ball too far, we’ve done what we
can to rein in driver performance, ball
performance and course set up so let’s just
make it harder to hit from the rough and stop
a shot on the green.
The obvious rejoinder is, so what if touring
professionals hit the ball further. If a little of
that technology derived distance shows up in
my game, so much the better. But that will not
be the case since all clubs made after
January 2010 must follow the groove rules. It’
s probably fair to say Phil, Tiger and rest of
the PGA Tour players have more than
enough talent to overcome this roll back of
technology but very few if any recreational
golfers do or conceivable ever will.
In partial mitigation or maybe to quell the
howls of protest, weekend golfers won’t have
to comply until 2024 unless of course they
purchase new irons sometime in the next 14
years.
A side note, research by club companies
reports the effect of the new grooves will be
seen on shots from the fairway not just from
the rough, with lower of rates of spin and
longer run out on the green. So golfers can
expect less control and more run after the
ball lands.
With the USGA changing the rules for
grooves from the current square design to a
V-shape which harkens back to those in play
a generation ago every golfer should be
aware of a few facts.
First, the new grooves are required only on
irons with 25 degrees or more of loft,
essentially a 5-iron, and the rule was
specifically put in place to make it more
difficult to control shots to the green from the
rough. The USGA’s thinking being pros are
hitting the ball too far, we’ve done what we
can to rein in driver performance, ball
performance and course set up so let’s just
make it harder to hit from the rough and stop
a shot on the green.
The obvious rejoinder is, so what if touring
professionals hit the ball further. If a little of
that technology derived distance shows up in
my game, so much the better. But that will not
be the case since all clubs made after
January 2010 must follow the groove rules. It’
s probably fair to say Phil, Tiger and rest of
the PGA Tour players have more than
enough talent to overcome this roll back of
technology but very few if any recreational
golfers do or conceivable ever will.
In partial mitigation or maybe to quell the
howls of protest, weekend golfers won’t have
to comply until 2024 unless of course they
purchase new irons sometime in the next 14
years.
A side note, research by club companies
reports the effect of the new grooves will be
seen on shots from the fairway not just from
the rough, with lower of rates of spin and
longer run out on the green. So golfers can
expect less control and more run after the
ball lands.
Club companies of course are trying to come
up with new iron designs to compensate and
since the greatest potential problem will be
created with wedge shots a lot of very bright
people are concentrating on new wedges.
Mizuno is reworking their iron offerings,
Titleist is showing a C-C line of Vokey
wedges and industry leader Cleveland is
pushing a custom order of their popular
models. Callaway says their new JAWS
wedges will not comply but other models will
and TaylorMade maybe taking the most
original track of all.
TMaG’s TP xFT wedges will have
interchangeable faces using two screws to
hold the wedge face in place. Want a new
wedge? Unscrew the old face with a wrench
similar to the one used to adjust the
weighting of the r7 and R9 drivers and torque
a new face in place in a matter of seconds.
up with new iron designs to compensate and
since the greatest potential problem will be
created with wedge shots a lot of very bright
people are concentrating on new wedges.
Mizuno is reworking their iron offerings,
Titleist is showing a C-C line of Vokey
wedges and industry leader Cleveland is
pushing a custom order of their popular
models. Callaway says their new JAWS
wedges will not comply but other models will
and TaylorMade maybe taking the most
original track of all.
TMaG’s TP xFT wedges will have
interchangeable faces using two screws to
hold the wedge face in place. Want a new
wedge? Unscrew the old face with a wrench
similar to the one used to adjust the
weighting of the r7 and R9 drivers and torque
a new face in place in a matter of seconds.
are legal and which not caused by the new
rule making box or square grooves
nonconforming for their tournaments (a rule
also adopted by the world’s pro tours); there
is the question of the how golf balls might be
redesigned to compensate for the loss of
spin resulting from the new groove cross
section.All of the major ball makers either
have or soon will have softer cover, higher
spin rate balls on the market, an example
being the TaylorMade Penta TP. Five layers, a
first, with particularly the outer and inner
covers producing more spin off irons without
sacrificing driver distance.
A nice trick if you can do it and TMaG has a
history of doing some pretty amazing things
applying technology to golf, although to be
fair they haven’t anything approaching the
market success with golf balls and irons they
have had with their driver line.
For 99% of golfers or at least those unwilling
to pay the higher price for the latest in golf
ball-tech, it comes down to going with a
higher spin ball (more control on shorter
shots using new groove irons) and suffering
less distance off the tee. Or 180 degrees
opposite, a hard cover distance ball under
the assumption more yards from the tee will
put you closer to the green and therefore not
need the extra spin produced from softer
cover balls. Of course this is all within the
price framework of the higher spinning-no
distance loss balls being over $40 and the
lower spinning distance balls under $20.
Until someone brings to market a distance
ball with spin characteristics to recover the
loss of box grooves on irons at a price
around $25 everyone will continue to beat the
bushes to find previously loved Pro V1s and
Pentas.
rule making box or square grooves
nonconforming for their tournaments (a rule
also adopted by the world’s pro tours); there
is the question of the how golf balls might be
redesigned to compensate for the loss of
spin resulting from the new groove cross
section.All of the major ball makers either
have or soon will have softer cover, higher
spin rate balls on the market, an example
being the TaylorMade Penta TP. Five layers, a
first, with particularly the outer and inner
covers producing more spin off irons without
sacrificing driver distance.
A nice trick if you can do it and TMaG has a
history of doing some pretty amazing things
applying technology to golf, although to be
fair they haven’t anything approaching the
market success with golf balls and irons they
have had with their driver line.
For 99% of golfers or at least those unwilling
to pay the higher price for the latest in golf
ball-tech, it comes down to going with a
higher spin ball (more control on shorter
shots using new groove irons) and suffering
less distance off the tee. Or 180 degrees
opposite, a hard cover distance ball under
the assumption more yards from the tee will
put you closer to the green and therefore not
need the extra spin produced from softer
cover balls. Of course this is all within the
price framework of the higher spinning-no
distance loss balls being over $40 and the
lower spinning distance balls under $20.
Until someone brings to market a distance
ball with spin characteristics to recover the
loss of box grooves on irons at a price
around $25 everyone will continue to beat the
bushes to find previously loved Pro V1s and
Pentas.
