March 8 -- Whew! Now that the PGA Tour and Ping have agreed to ban Phil Mickelson’s iron of choice, the square-grooved Ping Eye2 golf clubs, Boston golfers can finally move on to more pressing concerns, such as waiting for Tiger Woods to commit to the Tavistock Cup and other life-or-death matters.
As of March 29, according to the agreement, Mickelson, Hunter Mahan, and Fred Couples (all of whom have used the wedges this season) will have to take the once-controversial irons out of their bags. The clubs, which don’t conform to the USGA groove rule that went into effect Jan. 1, 2010, were legal because of a loophole in the regulation.
The reasons why the USGA issued its new regulations and why the PGA Tour allowed the nonconforming clubs are really too boring to detail. If you just have to know, however, here’s the deal.
In the groove. Essentially, golf’s governing units, the USGA and Royal & Ancient, set out to make it harder for professional golfers to spin balls out of the rough by outlawing square grooves in favor of V-shaped grooves.
An escape clause in the rule allowed Mickelson, et al, to use the old clubs, as Lefty did during the 2010 Farmers Insurance Open. An old lawsuit that Ping brought against the PGA Tour and USGA exempted wedges made before 1990 from the new rule.
Name-calling. As dry as the issue seemed, it did spark heated emotions among the guys, with golfer Scott McCarron calling Mickelson a cheater for using the Ping Eye2s.
Mickelson said he agreed that the ruling was ridiculous, was trying to make a point, and threatened to sue McCarron for slander, which, of course, led McCarron to apologize for the cheating charge, blah blah blah.
Play on. So, what does all this mean for amateur Boston golfers? Absolutely nothing.
In fact, the agreement that the tour and Ping announced on March 8 applies only to the PGA, Champions, and Nationwide tours. The LPGA and Duramed Futures Tour will also ban the use of the old clubs, according to CBSSports.com’s Steve Elling.
Hack away. The pact specifically allows amateur golfers to continue using the pre-1990 Ping Eye2s at all USGA events, so Boston amateur golfers need not worry that their clubs are “illegal.” You may continue to use the old clubs in your member-member tourneys, club championships, and any USGA event.
Now that the groove rule is history, how about working on speeding up your pace of play? Read about 10 ways to avoid slow play on the golf course.
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