2010 Groove Rule Change

The early weeks of the 2010 PGA Tour season have included considerable discussion about the new groove changes implemented by the USGA (and adopted by other governing bodies, including The PGA of America for its Championships). With that in mind, The PGA wants to ensure that its Professionals are prepared with answers the questions about the changes that are likely to be coming from club members, customers and even fellow Professionals in regards to how they will be affected.

In a nutshell, the impact on PGA Professionals will vary depending upon who they teach, and in what events they play. Let's start with the two main points:

Those two points certainly seem to narrow the scope of PGA Professionals who will be directly affected by the rules changes to the following: those who teach elite players who plan to play in events where the new rules are included as a condition of competition; and those who intend to play in those events. Let's look at those two categories first.
Of the former, Joe Hallett, PGA General Manager of the PGA Center for Golf Learning and Performance in Port St. Lucie, Fla., says that due to the rules change on Tour, PGA Professionals who work with elite players are studying changes to strategy, set makeup and swing techniques in order to "find repeatability and reliability" in how the ball reacts once it hits the green.

"Elite players need to know, when they make their swing, is the ball going to hit and spin back a few feet on the green, or is it going to release and run after impact," say Hallett. "Predictability is their goal, and the PGA Professionals working with them might be telling them, 'O.K., when we're coming out of the rough we're not going to fly it past the flag anymore, but rather hit a lower shot that lands short and releases.' The end result may call for a shallower swing plane, a less lofted club or some combination of both."
The main change – and ultimate intention of the new rules – may not be seen in the shots that players hit from the rough, but in the shots they hit before they end up in the rough. "Proper course management will be rewarded and the benefit of simply blasting the ball as far as possible and still being able to control the ball into the green will be marginalized, so teachers, caddies and players collectively are going to be rethinking strategy on many layouts," notes Hallett.

A prime example of the latter, a PGA Professional who will have to contend with the rules change for his own game, is reigning PGA Player of the Year Rick Schuller, a two-time PGA Championship participant who is preparing to play in a Nationwide Tour event this spring. Schuller says the changes should add "another degree of difficulty" to preparing for a professional tour event, but, at age 47, thinks players of his era might initially have an advantage in adjusting to the change because of their familiarity with the V grooves.
"I have many memories of having to read lies carefully before taking a swing, so I'm sure they will come back to me in short order," Schuller says, adding that his sponsor, TaylorMade, has provided him with a set of conforming irons to use in anticipation of playing in upcoming events where they are required (he expects the same will apply to all 20 PGA Professionals who qualify for the 2010 PGA Championship at Whistling Straits this August). Still, he echoes Hallett in noting that "you have to put the time in to know how the ball is going to react," and, with wedge shots in particular, "might have to change your trajectory in order to hold greens."

As noted earlier, all PGA Professionals are likely to be asked about the groove changes, and therefore the changes should be viewed as an opportunity to further enhance your position as an expert on all matters relating to the game and business of golf, including equipment issues. In this case, positioning yourself as an expert can also lead to some instant business, as Eric Hogge, PGA Director of Club Fitting at the PGA Center for Golf Learning and Performance, explains.

"The new groove rule has caused quite a stir and confusion for most players," notes Hogge. "The philosophy is to make shots from the rough more difficult to control for the elite player, but the question on the mind of the golf masses is, 'how this is going to effect play for our games at the local level?' The short answer is that it will not affect the average player and the weekend games played with friends. As a club fitter, though, I'm using the opportunity when asked about the grooves to recommend that they change their grips about three times more often than they are currently."

11 Questions and Answers for 2010 Groove Rule Change

1. "How will the new rules affect me?"
The answer depends on the golfer's skill level and participation in competitions.
For typical golfers:

For highly skilled golfers who may play, or aspire to play, in professional events:

For PGA Professionals competing in PGA of America championships:

For highly skilled golfers who may play, or aspire to play, in USGA amateur championships:

For those who play in championships conducted by state and regional golf associations:

For those who play in local events, including club championships:

2. "I thought that the new rules regarding grooves only apply to wedges. Isn't that the case?"
No. The new rules regarding grooves apply to all clubs except drivers and putters. There are two provisions in the new rules – smaller grooves (less volume) and rounder groove edges. All clubs with at least 25 degrees of loft (generally a 5-iron through the wedges) need to comply with both groove size and edge roundness specifications. Lower irons and fairway clubs only need to meet the smaller size requirement.

3. "I read that some current clubs conform to the new rules. How can I find out if the clubs that I've been using conform to the new rules regarding grooves?"
The USGA has published an informational database of clubs made prior to the new rules regarding grooves going into effect regarding their conformance to the new rules regarding grooves. It can be found on the USGA Web site at http://www.usga.org/InfoClubsDB/intro.html.

Most popular pre-2010 clubs are found on this database. However, should a particular club of interest not appear on the database, the manufacturer of the club should be contacted for this information. Additionally, the USGA can be contacted for further information.

4. "What happens if I lose one of my clubs? Can I get it replaced with the same pre-2010 club?"

5. "What if the grooves on my favorite wedge wear out in a few years? Can I get that club replaced as well?"

Yes, to both questions. If the manufacturer has a means of supplying replacements for older models with the same model, it will be treated as if it were manufactured at the same time as your current clubs. The exception – just like the rest of your clubs, if the condition of competition is in effect, any replacement club that does not meet the new rules regarding grooves would not be permitted for play in that competition.

6. "Can I buy a used set in a few years and continue to use it?"

Yes, until 2024. No matter how or when a club is acquired, it will be treated the same according to the Rules.

7. "Why were the groove rules changed?"
The changes are designed to reduce spin on shots played from the rough by highly skilled golfers, and thereby restore the challenge of shots played from the rough to the green. This should result in an increase in the importance of driving accuracy.
One of the goals of the USGA is to maintain the challenge of the game. There is ample evidence demonstrating that the importance of driving accuracy has decreased significantly over the past three decades.

8. "How are the new grooves different from the old grooves?"
The basic answer is that the new grooves are smaller (volume reduced) and have edges that are not as sharp as the old grooves.

9. "I read that the grooves need to be V-Grooves. Is that correct?"
No. While the size of the grooves is reduced, they do not need to be V-shaped.

10. "Can my old clubs be modified to comply with the new rules regarding grooves?"
It is very unlikely that this is possible with old clubs. The new rules regarding grooves require the grooves to be smaller than the old grooves and generally this is not possible to accomplish without somehow filling in the old grooves and cutting new ones.

11. "When should my club adopt the condition of competition requiring new grooves for our club championship?"
All USGA national amateur championships are not scheduled to use the condition until 2014. Therefore, one recommendation is not to apply it prior to 2014 at the earliest. However, the decision is up to each club or competition committee based on its own situation. Like other conditions of competition in the Rulebook, there is no requirement that this condition be adopted at any time. For example, the one-ball condition of competition is optionally applied and has never been applied across the board at all competitions.