Experts unhappy with USGA study to ban high loft wedges

Happy Holidays from the U.S. Golf Association. Well, maybe not. Seems the Far Hills, N.J. crowd has a lot of time on its hands these days. So much so that it's considering a ban on wedges with lofts of 60 degrees and more. This is on top of the new rule it implemented this year that could severely limit the effectiveness of grooves. That rule is aimed at clubs made as of 2010 but all clubs made prior to 2010 will be grandfathered in through 2024 - assuming the USGA hasn't banned all clubs by then.

In a letter sent earlier this month to club manufacturers, the USGA said high lofted wedges "can reduce the challenge of the game for shots near the green.''

Yeah, right. Any average player who has tried to hit a 60-degree wedge from around the green, or within 50 yards of the green, probably would say otherwise. Can you say "skull?"

Tom Wishon, owner of Wishon Golf Technology and one of the industry's leading club designers, disagrees with the USGA, as does Terry Koehler, president of Eidolon Golf, a highly-respected wedge designer and short-game expert.

"The USGA is grasping at straws here," Koehler said. "The existence of high lofted wedges is mandatory for golfers to have a chance to deal with modern golf course architecture, with deep faced bunkers, thicker greenside rough and faster and firmer greens.

"What are we doing to help grow the game if we take away the golfers' tools they need to contend with these hazards and conditions? If the USGA isn't careful, it's going to lose respect as the authority. Average golfers are going to say 'to hell with the rules.' That would be bad for golf."

Never one to pull punches, especially when it comes to the USGA, Wishon is even more outspoken.

"The USGA is wasting all sorts of time and money looking into the possibility of setting a limit for loft on wedges," he said. "There is no way loft can be a technology that replaces skill in the game, so it's utter nonsense for (the USGA) to even talk about this, much less work to determine if there is any evidence to say a 60-degree or higher loft offers any technical advantage that replaces skill.''

Any player who has tried top incorporate a 60-degree wedge into his or her bag, Wishon said, soon learns there is a fine line in the precision required in the swing and angle of attack that makes a high-lofted club a benefit versus a villain.

"This club requires more skill to hit consistently than any other wedge in the bag because when you have that much loft, there is a less friction between the ball and the face, and less compression of the ball against the face than any other wedge," Wishon said. "Thus, most golfers have a real problem finding that fine line between how hard to swing at the ball and how steep to hit down on the ball to be able to hit a 60-degree wedge solid enough to get the ball on the green and not leave it short in the hazard they were trying to finesse the ball over in the first place."

In addition, according to Wishon, most golfers don't realize 60-degree and higher lofted wedges spin the ball less than wedges between 55 and 58 degrees.

"The reason is because the loft is so great that there is less friction between the face and the ball to generate greater spin," Wishon said. "So, many times the ball just slides up the club face and leaves with less ball speed. Then it falls short into more trouble."

Happy Holidays indeed.