Driver with Sliding Weights

[jsgolfer]

So I was playing with a buddy the other day and he had a TaylorMade M1.  One of the sliding weights was loose.  In fact, It pretty much came loose after every drive. And he had to reset and tighten it.  Would that be considered making an adjustment to the club, under 4-2? O

[Piz]

One wouldn't think so.  The infraction only applies to a "stipulated" round.  Was y'all stipulated at the time?

[Missouri Swede]

40 minutes ago, jsgolfer said:

So I was playing with a buddy the other day and he had a TaylorMade M1.  One of the sliding weights was loose.  In fact, It pretty much came loose after every drive. And he had to reset and tighten it.  Would that be considered making an adjustment to the club, under 4-2? O

My bet is that it could be considered within the spectrum of damage in the normal course of play, and can be repaired without undue delay under 4-3a(ii).

But ... it sounds to me as though that particular club is non-conforming, since there is now a reasonable likelihood of the adjustable parts working loose http://www.usga.org/rules/rules-and-decisions.html#!appendix-ii

Quote

b. Adjustability 

All clubs may incorporate features for weight adjustment. Other forms of adjustability may also be permitted upon evaluation by the USGA. The following requirements apply to all permissible methods of adjustment: 

(i) the adjustment cannot be readily made; 

(ii) all adjustable parts are firmly fixed and there is no reasonable likelihood of them working loose during a round; and 

(iii) all configurations of adjustment conform with the Rules.

 

[jsgolfer]

34 minutes ago, Piz said:

One wouldn't think so.  The infraction only applies to a "stipulated" round.  Was y'all stipulated at the time?

Not a stipulated round, we were just playing. 

[iacas]

13 minutes ago, jsgolfer said:

Not a stipulated round, we were just playing. 

That's still a stipulated round. Heck, almost all of the Rules are for "stipulated" rounds. You're just the people doing the stipulating; you're your own Committee. Check out the definition for "Stipulated Round." It's just "The "stipulated round" consists of playing the holes of the course in their correct sequence, unless otherwise authorized by the Committee. The number of holes in a stipulated round is 18 unless a smaller number is authorized by the Committee. As to extension of stipulated round in match play, see Rule 2-3."

If it's loose it can be tightened. If it's broken, like it keeps coming loose, then it's damaged, and you can follow 4-3. (If it was loose before the round, it was non-conforming then.)