Driver 'undefined'?

[joekelly]

I played last week with a fellow who had a new TM 3 metal head club. This club had a deep groove behind the clubface from the bottom but the groove could not be seen from the top. He said that there was no rule regarding the 'trampoline effect' on any club but the driver. But in fact, the 'driver' is not defined in the rules book,  that i can find. In only one place do i even find the word 'driver' ;  in Rule 4, 1a, note. In Appendix II there are 3 classes of clubs mentioned, namely woods, irons and putters.

So how would you define a 'driver' and can anyone make a club with a high trampoline face which nominally avoids the driver definition?  The player in question loved his new club and hit the 3 wood 280 on average.

[iacas]

It's defined as clubs with 15 degrees of loft or less IIRC. The CoR rule, that is.

[joekelly]

Oops, sorry but have no idea of those 2 acronyms or abbreviations. Can you be precise and tell me  where in the rule book i can find this definition? Thanks. Unless IIRC has some meaning, 15 degrees of less also means all putters. And since putters are not limited in shaft length, as 'drivers' are to 48 in, we could have a confusion.

[David in FL]

Originally Posted by joekelly

Oops, sorry but have no idea of those 2 acronyms or abbreviations. Can you be precise and tell me  where in the rule book i can find this definition? Thanks. Unless IIRC has some meaning, 15 degrees of less also means all putters. And since putters are not limited in shaft length, as 'drivers' are to 48 in, we could have a confusion.

IIRC = If I remember correctly

CoR = Coefficient of Restitution

Appendix II to the Rules of Golf addresses the design of golf clubs.  I'm not sure what the length of shaft would have to do with the limitation in CoR though......

[iacas]

Quote:

In August 2002, the USGA placed an upper limit of 0.83 for clubs with a loft of 15 degrees or less. The R&A; decided not to put a COR limit in place, but did enable Committees to put a limit of 0.83 as a Condition of Competition from 1 Jan 2003 until Dec 31, 2007.

http://www.ruleshistory.com/clubs.html

Driver doesn't need to be "defined" in order for rules to apply almost primarily to drivers (you can have a 14 or a 13 degree two- or three-wood).

If his 3W has 15.1 degrees of loft, he can have a COR that exceeds 0.83.