Mickelson, Harrington, Daly using PING wedges for grooves. Unfair advantage?

[Shindig]

Rocco...child please. Keep living of your loss to Tiger.

And his 5 PGA TOUR victories, only one of which

didn't involve edging out a major champion.

[Bastid]

You gotta love people finding a loophole. Technically, they're legal, so we can't say a word about it. I think it's rather tasteless though, the golfing authorities want to make it a shotmaker's game again, not this bomb and chip crap they've been doing the last ten years. I agree with the new rule, make it a bit more difficult for these guys, they're simply too good. They can't make the courses long enough, so make it more of a mindf@%* out there for pete's sake.

I just think it's cheesy for a guy like Phil to circumvent the rules. Don't be a tool Phil.

[jamo]

I think it's just like knowing the rules and using it to your advantage.

Thats a really good point, i hadn't thought of it that way. That may actually changes my mind about it. I still don't think it's quite in the spirit of the rules, though i don't rally care because i find it hard to believe 20 year old wedges will help anybody.

[MSDOGS1976]

Thats a really good point, i hadn't thought of it that way. That may actually changes my mind about it. I still don't think it's quite in the spirit of the rules, though i don't rally care because

Sounds like Phil is finding that out by comments he made after yesterdays round. He said something to the effect that he may very well switch to the newer wedges, just not this week.

[iacas]

Phil had a great opportunity here to work hard on his game, win some tournaments, take a run at #1, and become the King. Instead, he's turning into the court jester.

http://thesandtrap.com/tap-ins/tigerless_torrey_tidbits

[Shanks A Million]

Phil had a great opportunity here to work hard on his game, win some tournaments, take a run at #1, and become the King. Instead, he's turning into the court jester.

I find it interesting how you pointed out that the guys who talk about the spirit of the rules use long putters. I had almost forgotten about all that hooplah. In the end, the long putters seem to be favored by crappy putters. No one has ever won a major with a long putter, and the closest has been Angel Cabrera, who does use a long putter, but grips and swings it in the normal fashion. Maybe the wedges will only be used by crappy chippers in the end? Mickelson already seems to be backpedaling the issue, probably after realizing that a 17-4 cast stainless wedge is not quite the same when it comes to touch...

[DavidFehertysBike]

The things are legal. Until there is a rule saying players cannot use the ping i2s then i dont see it as an issue.

[MSDOGS1976]

CBS interviewed Phil after his round today and was asked if he had any idea there would be the kind of uproar about the square grooves he and others had put in their bag. He said he didn't realize he would be slandered over it and now it was out of his hands. I guess he is suggesting that he has contacted an attorney over the 'cheating' allegations. Or maybe I read too much into his comment.

[mcfc_nick]

i just think that the whole rule change is stupid, golf was getting the most exciting its ever been due to unreal shots and guys chucking it 30 feet behind the pin and ripping it back, it just doesnt feel as exciting!

[James_Black]

i just think that the whole rule change is stupid, golf was getting the most exciting its ever been due to unreal shots and guys chucking it 30 feet behind the pin and ripping it back, it just doesnt feel as exciting!

I loved seeing shots like that.

It's really boring now, like there's still god shots but no spin really. The older Ping grooves are probably not going to be that efficient for making spin. Can't the new wedges still be spin milled?

[Shanks A Million]

Can't the new wedges still be spin milled?

Um, no... The grooves have to conform, "spin milled" is just marketing BS, it doesn't mean anything.

[topspin4hand]

I went back and forth on this but then I read someone's post about Phil only using an Eye 2 for his 64°. The rules' intent was to make players drive the ball better ... what's the likelihood that Phil will be using his 64° wedge after a drive? I'd think no that likely.

He's all good in my opinion.

[James_Black]

Um, no... The grooves have to conform, "spin milled" is just marketing BS, it doesn't mean anything.

Well if the grooves were changed I was wondering if you could still have the mini grooves.

[iacas]

Well if the grooves were changed I was wondering if you could still have the mini grooves.

Irrelevant. The surface texture isn't what was "spin milled" anyway. "Spin Milled" refers to the way the grooves were cut, by turning a blade on its side. They still cut the conforming grooves that way:

http://www.titleist.com/golfclubs/we...spinmilled.asp . That's got nothing to do with the PING wedges, though, so let's stick to the topic please.

[-BAMA-]

no rules have been broken. i dont think phil, daly, mahan, or anybody else thats using the eye2 wedges is doing anything wront, morally or phiysically...

like others have said before.. everybody can buy the eye2 wedges if they choose to..

golf is very boring to watch now without the spin. i truly believe it will do more harm for the tour than good....

[iacas]

golf is very boring to watch now without the spin. i truly believe it will do more harm for the tour than good....

Comments like that make no sense to me. Golf requires more skill now. Spinning a ball backwards stopped being exciting... what... 15 years ago?

[Tiger Spuds]

Comments like that make no sense to me. Golf requires more skill now. Spinning a ball backwards stopped being exciting... what... 15 years ago?

I'd agree with that.it was getting to the point where even mediocre short game players were regularly hitting spectacular looking shots from the rough.Now at least wedge play requires genuine skill.that's why I can't understand phils stance on it being a bad move.you'd think he'd embrace it, as his skills now make him an even more standout wedge player and he'll probably be lauded more for it than he ever has been.

[bogeyhitter25]

I still don't understand how it can be an unfair advantage. It conforms, and everybody in the field can use it. It's not just limited to these two. And clearly it isn't that big of a deal, as it led to JD's "retiring".