"What! You mean I'll lose spin with my wedges?" might be an average player's initial reaction to news that the United States Golf Association wants to make U-grooves in clubs illegal. But will the outcome of the proposal really make such an impact?
No, says the USGA's Senior Technical Director, Dick Rugge.
"The average weekend player - first of all, they don't for the most part, use urethane-covered balls," Rugge said, noting that the research shows only urethane matters with the U-grooved clubs. "Over two-thirds of the balls sold are Surlyn-covered balls; if you use an Surlyn-covered ball it doesn't make any difference to speak of. The grooves don't really matter.
"Number two, based on our all our research that the typical player doesn't hit the green out of the rough very often - around 13 percent of the time in the studies we have made. So it's a fairly low percentage when that would be coming into play. Then 67 percent of the time they're not using the balls that would make a difference anyway. So we think it has a really small effect on typical players."
Essentially, the U-grooves act like the tread of a tire to wick water away. As the tire tread prevents water from interfering with the tire's contact on the road, the grooves prevent water from coming between club and ball in wet, grassy lies. A square or U-shaped groove has more surface area for taking on that water than a triangle-shaped or V-groove. Without less water affecting how the club comes off the ball, players can spin the ball more and make it come into the green from a higher angle. Technically, the proposal doesn't limit the shape of the grooves, but rather the volume they can hold. The grooves would also have a minimum radius edge of 0.010 inches.
As Rugge explains, this doesn't make a big difference for a weekend player, who uses less expensive balls and struggles to make it from rough to green anyway. But it could have an impact on a very good player, especially those on professional tours.
Interestingly, the pros seem to be in favor of reigning back technology when possible - as long as all the other pros they're competing against have the same restrictions. That may be in part because courses are having to add length, playing to the long hitters, in order to stay challenging. If players are limited in length or there are more repercussions for hitting hazards and rough, the courses may not have to get so long - and they'll be easier for average-length hitters and true shotmakers to win on. At a minimum, players who hit the rough will have a greater penalty than they currently see.
"I'm all for going back to V-grooves, as opposed to boxed grooves or square grooves if you like to aid people having to hit the fairways and hit -- if they are laying up or whatever the case may be; the second shot on par 5s because people get it up-and-down too easily now," said Colin Montgomerie at the Johnnie Walker Classic. "I feel that's a benefit and it will aid better play and that's what we're all after."
At the Honda Classic, Jim Furyk said that such changes were likely in response to the power hitting focus the game has taken in recent years.
"Back in I think it was in '02 and '03, the Top-5 guys on the Money List each year, only one of them were in the Top-100 in driving accuracy," Furyk said. "We haven't started hitting longer overnight. Didn't happen yesterday in '06. But probably trying to figure out a good way to combat the distance has probably been more the issue.
"Being a player, I would just follow the rules and figure out a way to play the best I can within them and won't worry about it. The good players are still going to play the best no matter what they do with the rules. Our game has become a power-oriented game. If my kids want to learn to play or if they want to play competitively, I'm going to teach them to hit it hard... because that's the way the game is going and we'll teach them to hit it straight later."
Under the USGA's proposal, PGA Tour players would say good-bye to square grooves by the beginning of 2009. Amateur golfers would have another year - until January 1, 2010 - before the nonconforming clubs are no longer available.
Only golfers who play under USGA rules, such as for a handicap, will need to be concerned about having conforming clubs. Recreational and occasional golfers often don't carry handicaps, while those players with handicaps may not be so concerned about needing new clubs in three years. Plus, under the proposal, the USGA may not immediately make it illegal to play with nonconforming clubs, or may grandfather in the grooves for amateur players.
"The USGA is proposing to allow their use for a lengthy (at least 10-year) period of time," the official proposal reads.
Manufacturers are keeping pretty quiet about their plans, at least for the present. That could be because the USGA release is just a proposal, and feedback is still being accepted.
"The decision about what the final rule becomes and our implementation is probably going to occur next October," Rugge said. "At that point there is two years for manufacturers to retool their product and finish off their old product."
