Cheating Pros?

[popey]

I have wondered that with all the test of golf clubs to see if they are legal or illegal does anyone actually test the equipment the pros use.

The pros are so close to the makes of the clubs that they could get them to make one that looks legal but has a slightly higher COR or over 460cc.

Im not accusing any pros of cheating here but are there any tests in place to test to see the clubs they are using are legal?

The golfing companies have shown that anything is possible with clubs and so it could be easy to add a few yards to there drivers. Also are there any test on grooves and golf clubs?

[BASHERBAKER69]

H Popey

you will find that most of the pros actually favour blades over the modern game improvement clubs-Callaway x14 for example is agame improvement club.

what you are told the pros use and what they actually use are 2 different things!!

off the point here but did you know that Lee Westwood was using a set of Ping Zing 2 irons last season and he was marketed as using a set of Ping i3 clubs-btoh game improvement clubs i know!!...the Zing 2 irons are ancient!!

bb69

[popey]

I no that last season westwood did use a ping zing 2 iron. Dont ask why but he did.

Although im not tlaking bout irons im talking bout the driver that they use and if there are any tests in place on the PGA tour or at any of the majors testing the equipment. Are they actually hitting that much further than amateurs or is it the club doing the talking?

[BASHERBAKER69]

Hi Popey

i play off 5 and have been privileged to play with some top amateurs in the UK and some Tour professionals who play on the lower tours-Nike tour, Challenge tour etc.

Honestly, the pros on tv do not hit it farther than the top amateurs who play at club and international level, or even some single figure amateurs that you bump in to at your local club. The difference is that the pros hit the fairways more and that they are consistently long. Also the pros have magical short games and thats what sets them apart from us.

The gear that the pros use is not any different to the stuff that we are sold, but with the talent that they have it allows them to fully use and get the most out of the equipment.

I don't know of any tests that are used on the clubs that the tour pros use. Perhaps drug testing would be more appropriate though as it is widely known that certain pros experiment with beta blockers and similar drugs to slow down the adrenal release that is experienced under pressure.

bb69

[gas_can]

I no that last season westwood did use a ping zing 2 iron. Dont ask why but he did.

popey,

Testing of all Tour equipment occurs at the OEM's before they get into the hands of the players. The PGA Tour tests players, but only sporadically and often times at the discretion of other players (recall the Tiger Woods Tom Pernice fiasco of a year or two ago). OEM's must be careful about this, because if a players driver did test illegal, it would be tremendously bad publicity their sales might never recover from. Yes, the pros do hit it that much further than amateurs, the main reason being that they hit the ball much higher and carry it much further. Even the shorter pros I've worked with such as Tom Byrum and Jeff Maggert are at the top end of the amateur level. In fifteen plus years I've been in the golf industry, five of which came on the Hooters and Sunshine tours, I can count the number of 300 yard carries I've seen on one hand. I've seen J.B. Holmes and Bubba Watson do it with their three woods three times in the same round. The real pros play a different game from tee to green.

[ipark1303]

In my opinion, sooner or later we will catch some players cheating....

I know that golf is a game of honor, etc. etc. but this is also professional sport with big hefty checks on the stake....

Check the major league baseball, players got steroids, cork in their bats, and who knows what else!

[diesel]

I don't know if any are cheating, but the same model clubs that they are using aren't the "same" that we can buy.

But like it's been said it's only a matter of time until someone gets found with a driver with a higher than legal COR

[cmarkmyers]

Tests have shown that a .860 COR over the current .830 limit would only give a few extra yards. Granted every yard counts on tour but I doubt any manufacturer or player would risk it for that small a payoff. Now if they could get 20 extra yards, then I would worry.