{"id":1666,"date":"2007-03-05T10:00:00","date_gmt":"2007-03-05T15:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/thesandtrap.com\/columns\/bag_drop\/dear_usga_try_my_equipment_rules_suggestions"},"modified":"2007-03-05T10:06:39","modified_gmt":"2007-03-05T15:06:39","slug":"dear_usga_try_my_equipment_rules_suggestions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thesandtrap.com\/b\/bag_drop\/dear_usga_try_my_equipment_rules_suggestions","title":{"rendered":"Dear USGA: Try My Equipment Rules Suggestions"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"BagAs you may have gleaned from last week’s Bag Drop<\/em><\/a>, I’m not particularly fond of the USGA’s recently proposed rules change<\/a> on grooves. Still, as many have suggested, maybe it isn’t that big a deal.<\/p>\n

So in an effort to calm down a little, I tried to follow the reasoning of the USGA as they researched, discussed, and promulgated these pithy proposals. I must report it was a prolonged contemplative exercise employing some Zen meditation, navel lint picking and omphaloskepsis, and a fair amount of gin.<\/p>\n

Eventually it came to me that the grooves rule comes down to this: really good players are getting an unfair advantage from their equipment the rest of us aren’t. Following that premise, then, what else might we do to equipment to save the game from its very best players? Here are some ideas…
\n
\nHook Faces<\/strong>
\n\"GoofyThe most accurate drivers on the PGA Tour are averaging something approaching 80% of fairways hit. That’s seriously too good. They’re obviously getting more out of their driver than I, a mere mortal.<\/p>\n

If the gods of golf had intended us to hit that many fairways, they wouldn’t have invented rough. Thus I propose a rule that all drivers manufactured after January 1, 2009 be standardized to include at least a 6° closed face.<\/p>\n

Hundreds of thousands of amateurs who slice would rejoice and “highly skilled” players would simply have to adapt. Of course, the PGA Tour would have to ban galleries from the left side of fairways, but that’s a small price to pay for preserving what should be the game’s inherent difficulty. Don’t you think?<\/p>\n

Shaft Flex<\/strong>
\n“Highly skilled” players are commonly employing x-flex shafts. If you’ve never swung one, let’s just say it’s a lot like swinging an iron rebar. They’re obviously getting more distance and accuracy out of such a shaft than I can, so I think we should level the playing field a little.<\/p>\n

Since the USGA in its wisdom chose to allow springy clubfaces, I think they should seriously consider mandating springy shafts to go with them.<\/p>\n

So, after January 1, 2010, I propose that we put a limit on how stiff a shaft can be. Say… somewhere between regular and stiff. Perfect for me and most other amateurs.<\/p>\n

I envision something sort of akin to the early Ping and Callaway Memphis 10 shafts. Might even be a little closer to hickory. Let’s see “highly skilled” golfers try to control shafts that in their hands turn into buggy whips as they careen around a U.S. Open course.<\/p>\n

No Spikes<\/strong>
\n\"Bowling“Highly skilled” players are generating far too much speed and torque with their athletic rotation. Let them try to make that move in flat leather-soled shoes. In fact, think bowling shoes. That ought to slow them down a little. Might even make it a “Condition of Competition” they play barefoot. Sam Snead played with naked feet once in awhile.<\/p>\n

After all, were those shepherds hitting rocks with their crooked sticks at the dawn of golf wearing spikes? I don’t think so. If we’re rolling back grooves, let’s roll back to our roots.<\/p>\n

This also has the side benefit of eliminating spike marks and scuffs on the green as a splendid workaround for the ridiculous rule forbidding us to tamp them down on our way over to legally fix a ball mark. Vijay and Phil might even kiss and make up.<\/p>\n

Putter Loft<\/strong>
\nIf the assault on par by “highly skilled” players is so disturbing to the USGA, I think they should consider focusing their attention on the most important scoring club of all: the putter.<\/p>\n

Every weekend you can see some pro making everything from everywhere. That’s just not right. I can’t do that. These “highly skilled” players are getting more out of their putters than I do.<\/p>\n

That’s partly because every putter now is dialed in at somewhere between 3° and 5° of loft… whatever is perfect for a pro’s individual stroke. So I say let’s make a rule where the minimum loft on a putter is 10°.<\/p>\n

This too could have a dual benefit in that we could grow the grass on greens to carpet height instead of pool table height. Saves on maintenance costs, confounds “highly skilled” players… perfect. Plus we’ll get to see some crazy forward presses like you see in your Sunday foursome. That’s right: my rules are all about bringing professional golf to the masses.<\/p>\n

In the End…<\/strong>
\nOf course as talented and gifted as “highly skilled” players are, they will adapt easily to all my proposed changes. They’ll still drive it a hundred yards further than I do, they’ll still hit nearly 80% of fairways and 75% of greens, and they still won’t fall down while swinging.<\/p>\n

Oh… wait a minute. Could it be that “highly skilled” players also will adapt to new grooves? Will some use their supreme skills to fashion new strategies and techniques to escape from light rough? Will club designers figure a way to stay within the rule and still generate sufficient spin? Why, I just bet they might.<\/p>\n

And when they do, we can all look back at the proposed new grooves rule and ask, “Why, USGA, why on earth did you bother?” And then we can send them an invoice for our new irons and wedges.<\/p>\n

So those are my ideas for new equipment rules. What are yours? Silly or sane, we’d love to hear them.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In the spirit of the proposed equipment rule changes to grooves and adjustability, I offer up my own proposals for change. Hey, some may even make more sense.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[23,98],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1666","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-bag_drop","category-hot_topics"],"yoast_head":"\nDear USGA: Try My Equipment Rules Suggestions (Bag Drop, Hot Topics) - The Sand Trap .com<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/thesandtrap.com\/b\/bag_drop\/dear_usga_try_my_equipment_rules_suggestions\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:title\" content=\"Dear USGA: Try My Equipment Rules Suggestions (Bag Drop, Hot Topics) - The Sand Trap .com\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:description\" content=\"In the spirit of the proposed equipment rule changes to grooves and adjustability, I offer up my own proposals for change. 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