Today, a friend asked me if I was going to blog about the latest golf controversy. I wasn't going to, but then I decided I should. This weekend, Phil Mickelson, the #2 player in the world and my favorite player had a 20 year old Ping Eye 2 Lob Wedge in his bag. Why would he use such an old club? Well, because the USGA has ruled that the square shaped grooves in modern clubs impart too much spin on the ball, so they have mandated that all iron sets be manufactured with a shallower, U-shaped groove to reduce spin.
The PGA Tour adopted this rule this year, and anyone who competes in USGA events and "elite amateur" events has until 2014 to switch to clubs with the shallower grooves. For the rest of the world, we have until 2024. So, why is Mickelson's old wedge a big deal? Because it has square grooves, and it is legal due to a 1990 federal court ruling. This weekend, 1 player said that players using the grandfathered in Ping clubs were cheating, which caused quite a firestorm in the golf world. You don't say cheating to golfers.
So, what do I think? I think it's fine that Mickelson played that club...it is allowed, so use it. Further, I think this rules change is stupid! The USGA basically made this rule because it decided that the rough on today's golf courses isn't punishing enough anymore, and they blamed the grooves. Maybe the players are better and stronger? Hey, here's an idea...grow longer rough! If you look at it, the top 0.1% of golfers in the world might actually benefit from square grooves. For the rest of us, it's just a give away to the equipment companies that will eventually force us to buy new clubs. It's a stupid rule, and I'm glad that Mickelson helped illustrate that!
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